Star Wars Begins

Released in 2011, Jambe Davdar came back after 4 years off to release this "filmumentary" on A New Hope, his magnum opus on the Star Wars trilogy. He had already done one for ESB (review here: https://ifdb.fanedit.org/building-empire/reviews/?user=34747) and one for RotJ (review here: https://ifdb.fanedit.org/returning-to-jedi/reviews/?user=34747) Basically everything I said in those films is also true here, only this one shows the benefit of 4 more years experience, and is really the best of the bunch by far.

There are a couple of inescapable truths here. Firstly, that the A/V sources differ in quality greatly. But it seems a greater effort has been made to clean these up. Also, that some parts of the film are just going to have less to say about them. But really this whole thing is pretty packed, sometimes with interview comments coming in rapid fire, too many great points about a scene to fit in the time alloted for it. The issue with long stretches of silence in the other filmumentaries is not present here. You get the idea that sometimes the editor is choosing to give a breather and just let great moments play out, but it never lasts overlong.

The material here seems pulled from an even greater number of sources, and is truly informative even for a diehard Star Wars fan. There is footage I had never seen, or had seen but didn't note. That's the only real criticism I have, that sometimes the alternate scenes are almost identical, and I don't know that I need to watch an exchange two or three times in a row just because a word or two is different.

But generally, this is just a very tight, very smart commentary viewing on a really great film. With the other two SW filmumentaries, I'm not sure how often I'll choose to rewatch the film that way. But this is one that I'm eager to return to often. Can't wait to check out his work on Raiders and Jaws!

In the same vein as Roger Ebert's commentary for Citizen Kane, this is essential viewing for any and all cinephiles, regardless of your view on the film itself. If there was anyone competent on the Star Wars side of Disney, this would be on all official releases of the film.

A ton of fun -- the story of the genesis and development of Star Wars is one of the great stories in cinema history and I can never get enough of hearing about it. This A/V commentary doubles as a fun way to re-experience the film itself. The other reviewer who compared it to Pop-Up Video got it right. 70s and 90s nostalgia rolled into one, can't beat that!

Final documentary from Jamie Benning’s Star Wars trilogy is arguably the best.
Jam packed with extras, boasting an unbeatable menu design.
If you can only get one - this is the one.

Video - 720p X 480p. My version is NTSC. Quality wobbles a bit, though nothing unexpected. As far as layering of visual “extras” this seems to have had more than the other pair.

Audio - 2 Channel AC3. Movie dialogue clear, voiceovers clear - even from Harrison Ford, with whom I have problems occasionally.

Narrative - As with the other pair, memories, anecdotes, popups and background details are interwoven with the narrative proper. Perhaps because the film had been such an unexpected smash, and enthusiasm was so high, the voiceovers are optimistic and fresh. The “good cheer” factor is off the dial in this one.

Enjoyment - This is the doc I have watched over and over. Seems like I am always picking up on fresh details, or spying something in the frame corner. As far as extras, not much, which is mildly surprising. There was a plethora of material listed on the “cuts n additions.” Perhaps Benning desired a strict DVD-5 and goodies would have bumped this into a DVD-9.

The menu deserves singular praise. This is one of the finest menus I have even seen, and extraordinarily conceived. The entire show is encapsulized in Ralph McQuarrie’s conceptual art and John Williams’ music. Often viewers click past the menu as swiftly as possible. Not so here. This shines a graceful innocence and can be rewatched multiple times. Well done - really - well done.

This is essential.

Wow! Jambe's star wars documentaries are simply amazing! Imagine every single interesting bonus feature or commentary track brought together and edited in with the movie itself and you have this. It's not only a documentary, it's the ultimate commentary track for star wars and it contains footage that I have never seen before including alternate takes and alternate camera angles for nearly every scene. Another great thing about this is that Jambe used the theatrical version of this movie rather than the special edition.

This is a real treat for any Star Wars fan! 10/10