Star Wars Ep. III CD Soundtrack + bonus DVD! (1 Viewer)

[Matt Butler]

Im still at work but I picked it up at Target for $11.99 on lunch.

The first few tracks on the cd are great. Look forward to the rest and of course watching the DVD.

 

[Sam Favate]

I had a problem downloading the Target bonus track. I didn't see the blurp saying only to use Explorer so I entered the code and used it, and nothing happened. Then when I tried again, it said I already downloaded the track! Kind of annoyed!

 

[Britton]

Just watched the DVD, pretty cool. However, I must say that Episode I is in desperate need of a video transfer on par with the other movies. The quality of clips from it were substantially inferior to the footage from the other 5.

Sam, check your private messages.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I stopped in Fry's, but the soundtrack was nowhere in sight and the workers seemed to have no idea.

 

[Mark Oates]

Wow and even more wow! I've watched the DVD and listened to the CD and I'm absolutely gobsmacked. The R2 version of the DVD puts me (against my better judgement) in fanboy heaven. I thought I was completely cynical about the Star Wars movies, but this has turned me back into the starwarsstruck fourteen-year-old I was when I saw the original for the first time. I'm listening to the final track of the CD on my headphones as I type and I've got that old thrill about a movie I haven't felt since...

Damn you, George.

 

[Jim Barg]

Alright, I caved. Sort of. Listened to the main and end titles, along with Battle of the Heroes.

The DVD is great. It's as close as we'll get to a Star Wars symphony.

Now I've gotta hide the thing for two weeks...

 

[Yee-Ming]

Abso-frickin'-lutely! This DVD is just awesome!

I must add, segment #6 (I think), A Hero Falls, plays like an extended trailer for RotS, so purists who want to stay totally spoiler-free might want to avoid it, though personally I thought it didn't actually show anything we don't already know is coming. And in any case unfortunately for me a friend who's already read the script (or was it the graphic novel?) has already leaked enough details to me (inadvertently, but in any case I'm not too miffed). It's also pretty amazing how Williams was able to modify the Force Theme into something more melancholy, even slightly sinister, to convey Anakin's fall to the Dark Side.

 

[CraigL]

Just finished watching the DVD.

My thoughts?

DO NOT WATCH THIS IN 5.1. I wasted about 50 minutes watching it this way and then randomly decided to change it (during the Forest Battle) to PCM and just used one of the various soundfields (I chose a DTS one) and it sounded absolutely enveloping and spectacular. The 5.1 was completely front heavy and lacked any sort of punch that I come to expect from the music. Just a waste.

The picture quality was good but definitely not great. There seemed to be a lot of grain and pixelization (more so with PM) and they obviously used the DVD's as the source because the slow motion shots could have been done a lot better with a better source.

The editing is damn tight and I have to say that overall I was very impressed with it.

Stick with the PCM and watch it WITHOUT the introductions by Ian and you should be a happy camper

 

[Doug Schiller]

I'm glad you liked the processed PCM but I'll stick with the discrete mix thanks.
If I were to listen to the PCM, I would do it in stereo only.

I thought the 5.1 mix was amazing. I could hear small details in the different instruments.

 

[Tim-H.]

Sam, same thing happened to me. I think it's the version you can watch/listen to at starwars.com in good ol Quicktime.
Edit: Alas, seems it's a different mix. Oh well.

 

[Ernest Rister]

My rear speakers are for support.

If I was at a concert, I wouldn't be hearing acoustical reverb blaring out all around me -- not unless the symphony was performing in a giant steel tank.

The 5.1 mix is lovely, and very detailed. I just wish I could listen to it without the dialogue cues.

Did anyone ever figure out what went wrong with some of the explosions on the SW DVDs? Why they're in black-and-white with wierd blue electronic ghosting around them? They're here on this DVD, too. The split-surrounds may be corrected, but the video goofs are still here.

And before anybody asks, Yoda is still a puppet in the Phantom Menace footage.

 

[CraigL]

I'm glad you liked the COMPRESSED and LIMITED Dolby Digital track but I'll stick with the UNcompressed PCM mix thanks.

 

[Brent M]

Regardless of what anyone thinks about the audio/video quality, the disc itself is absolutely AWESOME! All of those great scenes set to the wonderful score of John Williams is a big treat for SW fans. Hats off to George for releasing the soundtrack with such a wonderful bonus.

 

[Robert Anthony]

I watched the DVD straight through with no intros last night.

If I'm being honest, I think I'll end up watching THAT more than I will the movies in their entirety. Not because I think the movies suck, but because I've seen them so many times, I typically just chapter skip through ALL of them to get to the best parts.

This DVD pretty much is nothing BUT "The best parts" and it's over in like, 80 minutes or so. The music is GREAT, and the editing, for the most part, is really well done. There's some clunkers, some poor shot decisions, and some weird slowdowns and transitions, but overall, I found the experience EXTREMELY enjoyable, and I'm thinking this DVD is going to satiate a goodish amount of my Star Wars jones in the forseeable future.

Until the Episode III DVD comes out--and then I'll alternate

But for now..I think I'm good

 

[Brent M]

Well, I think I'll still watch ANH and ESB on a regular basis as I always have, but the Musical Journey DVD should get a pretty constant rotation in my system. It's like a 70 minute trailer for the saga........very cool.

 

[Patrick H.]

The DVD is utterly wonderful...can't think of enough superlatives, really. The Ian intros are a little unnecessary (it would've been better to have him actually comment on something pertaining to the music, maybe), but he delivers them gracefully and the menu gives you numerous chances to watch without. The video is clearly sourced from the already-released DVDs, but the editing is really quite good. And then there's the sound...

My...gods...

Either discreet or uncompressed, I have never heard ANY of these cues sound so good. The downside is those of us (which is probably most of us) who have the two-disc SE soundtracks for the original trilogy will never enjoy them quite as much again...the power and clarity of the new Shawn Murphy mix here frankly decimates them. The 'Empire' and 'Jedi' cues are revelations, and the prequel version of the main title has never, EVER sounded so good. It's always mixed low in the movies, but here it will literally blow you through the back wall! The little dialogue snippets are generally okay, and there are no gratuitous sound effects. A particularly special touch was the brief opening photo montage of Lucas and John Williams' working relationship during the Fox Fanfare. Then there's a nice credit roll at the end for the small band of folks who assembled this tribute...my hat is off to them. This was a real treat.

 

[Chris Atkins]

This DVD would be great to watch or show at a pre-ROTS party...really gets you in the Star Wars mood and showcases the best of the films (Lucas' eye for visuals and the Williams music).

 

[CraigL]

FYI...the reason why the video is NOT as good as the DVD release is because it is interlaced and not progressive. :frowning: I knew it didn't look as good.

 

[Kajs]

I also thought the introductions would be about the music, not the story of Star Wars...Other than that, awesome disc!

 

[Jay Pennington]

Good point, Kurt.

I thought the animated graphics were incredibly cheesy. Other than that, I much enjoyed this disc!