Probably the most anticipated DVD release in the format's history, the original three Star Wars movies hit stores as a box set this Tuesday, and as fans expected, it's a mixed blessing. Sure, it's great to have the movies available with high-quality sound and picture, and all the attendant special features (including a two-and-half-hour documentary and a slew of commentaries). But - and no surprise here - these are the doctored "Special Edition" versions of the films, replete with new special effects and various other crap that George Lucas figured would be a good idea to stick on the movies in the late '90s.

The films have been tweaked even more, actually, than when they were re-released in 1997. Hayden Christensen replaces wrinkly old Sebastian Shaw as the ghost of Darth Vader (Anakin) at the end of Return of the Jedi, and apparently a lot of work has gone into making the special effects even more up-to-date. If this sounds like blasphemy to you, you can always try the Internet for bootlegs of the original originals. » Mark Slutsky