Love these DVDs, you will

"Star Wars" is finally here on DVD, and, frankly, if you don't know the plots of these movies, you must have been stuck under a rock on Tatooine for the last 27 years. As for the DVDs, the release is filled with great stuff. The set consists of four discs with each of the movies, and a bonus material disc that comes with numerous documentaries and featurettes about the creation of the movies, the "Star Wars" universe and the cultural effect of the movies. It also includes a playable demo of yet another "Star Wars" video game.\nThe bonus material disc comes with a two-and-a-half hour documentary, "Empire of Dreams," about the creation and fan appeal of the movies. The documentary itself is good, but has been cheapened a bit by its recent release on television. In total, it's all good stuff. \nWhile George Lucas has kept the original trilogy off the DVD format like a scruffy-looking nerfherder, the wait is finally over to hear and see the original movies in all of their grandeur. However, when one sees the word "original" in relation to these movies, it is only in regard to the chronological order of the movies because these are the altered versions of the movies, but more on that later.\nVisually, the movies never looked or sounded better with remastered sound and video taken from the original film. With a surround sound system, these movies will absolutely blow you away with the brilliance of John Williams' score, the hum of the lightsabers and the deathly sound of Darth Vader's breathing apparatus. Visually, the sand has never been so rich on Tatooine, and the snow has never been brighter on Hoth.\nThat said, George Lucas still couldn't keep his grubby mitts off the film as more changes have been done to the film since the 1997 theater re-release. The most noticeable changes include a more detailed digital Jabba the Hutt in "A New Hope" and Hayden Christensen's (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the prequel films) appearance as Vader's force ghost alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda in the final scene of "Return of the Jedi." All in all, the changes are subtle with the exception of Christensen's appearance, but Lucas explains his decision to make the change in the audio commentary. \nThe audio commentary is well-done and comes complete with George Lucas (duh!), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Ben Burtt (sound designer), Dennis Muren (visual effects supervisor) and the directors of each of the movies. The commentary goes through various, though creative, decisions about the plot, overview of special effects and many other aspects one has come to expect from an audio commentary track. Among the most interesting commentary is Burtt about his decisions as a sound designer, including the origin of such iconic sounds as the lightsaber hum, the engine sounds of the ships and the R2-D2's beeps. \nWhen it's all said and done, you will be saying to the DVD, "I love these movies," and the DVD will only coolly reply, "I know"