Trilogies
I watched the defiled/restored editions of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back on projector the other night. But it’s the revisionary trilogy, not the special edition changes, that have made the original trilogy strange and new.
The original trilogy now takes place in the debris of the Republic. While Old Ben may lament this as a sign of barbarism, I see it as mulch, from which something healthier can grow. It is unsettling to see evidence of something big destroyed - but I think it’s good to be unsettled too.
It almost drove me crazy watching Uncle Owen buy C-3PO - who was the family droid once before. Can he talk to vaporators because he knows Bocce, or does he know Bocce because he once talked to vaporators? Owen doesn’t recognise him - that model of droid crowd the original trilogy, as do astromechs. And 3PO doesn’t recognise Owen because he represents one of the revisionary trilogy’s concerns about machines.
But that scene is nothing compared to 3PO describing his amnesia to Luke in the room where Luke’s father once confessed his sins to Padme. Brrr.
The slippage from Obi-Wan’s knowledge of the last days of the Republic to Old Ben’s description is well done, but the most exciting creation of the revisionary trilogy is the first movie’s eponymous moment. You can see a new hope in Obi-Wan’s eyes the moment he sees the twins. He practically falls off his seat when he’s given this sure sign that the Force has begun to move in a new direction.
(With this in mind it’s hard not to see his benedictory “the Force will be with you, always” as a burden or even a curse. The Force controls, as it also responds to commands, but Obi-Wan misunderstands where the emphasis lies in his case. Then again, the new hope - when he again sees, not just Luke in the Death Star hangar, but Leia too - does lead him to suicide, so who knows, maybe he does understand. Loser.)
And through the whole movie it’s incredibly hard not to hear Anakin behind the mask of Darth Vader. And the “mythic” bloodlines become less contrived and more consequences.
PS
Regarding Episode III speculation: The Padme toy is pregnant, something not obvious about the character in the trailer. Clone Wars (vol 2) shows the starting-story will likely be about the rescue of Chancellor Palpatine from General Grievous. I think that’s most of my three-year-old theories scuppered now…
And following the first two movies, the third will start with an arrival, an explosion, and a negotiation that doesn’t even get started…
PPS
The restored editions, though nice, aren’t really appreciable unless compared side-by-side with the originals. The originals look great by themselves, and the restoration process still can’t handle some of the original defects and highlights others. The aesthetic clash grates on me - the CG, the altered flow, the new dialogue, all shoe-horned in. If you want new CG, scenes, and dialogue, check out the revisionary trilogy instead!