R2 Detour: How Lucas Lost the Plot

Up until a decade ago, the original Star Wars films were safely preserved in history, to be remembered nostalgically or watched religiously as one saw fit. As a monolithic cultural touchstone, Star Wars was quietly omnipresent, bubbling up in tributes and spoofs, references and sly nods everywhere from Time magazine to The Simpsons. But when, in 1996, George Lucas announced that he was to begin work on three prequels to Star Wars – which had since been rebranded Episode IV: A New Hope – it propelled the franchise back to the breaking surf of the pop culture wave. These films would tell the story of Anakin Skywalker; of how an innocent youngster grew up to be gnarly Darth Vader. As an aperitif, however, Lucas revealed the cinema release of "special editions" of the first three Star Wars films, promising cleaned-up prints, extra scenes and "enhanced" digital effects. And that's where things started to really go wrong... Source: Sunday Herald Online