t's impossible anyone has avoided hearing about it. On Jan. 31, Lucasfilm Ltd. will rerelease the 20-year-old SF classic Star Wars with new scenes, digital sound, and new special effects. This official Web site has been produced by Lucasfilm to celebrate and promote the release.
Currently the site has a big report on the premiere of the film that took place at Mann's Village Theater in Westwood Village, Calif. There is a photo spread of the celebrity giants who attended, including Lucas and much of the original cast. Many Star Wars characters also made appearances, from Darth Vader to Firgin Dan.
The standing area of the site is divided into five planets: Dagobah, Bespin, the Death Star, Hoth and Tatooine. As in the trilogy, on this site the Death Star packs the most punch, but to enter it one must pass either a reflex test in a Shockwave applet, or answer correctly four hardcore Star Wars trivia questions. Inside there are pages on the differences between the old Star Wars and the Special Edition, and biographies of the major characters. Another interesting section profiles some of the people who played a big part in making the film but who have never been in the limelight, such as Paul Huston, the senior matte artist.
The other planets are much smaller in scope. Tatooine just has a site map, and Bespin is a signup page for email notices of changes to the site. Dagobah sports a "coloring book" (more on that below) and Hoth contains links to other Lucas companies and Star Wars affiliates: book publishers, toy makers, etc.
More promo than info
The site is pure promo glitz and disappointingly lightweight. The information on how the film has been enhanced for the Special Edition is cursory, with few photos (nothing more than we've already seen in the previews). There are absolutely no behind-the-scenes secrets on how the enhancements were done, and there is no mention at all of the upcoming prequels. Zip. Nada. The so-called coloring book (16K .GIF) on Dagobah consists of thumbnail photos of various Trilogy characters. Clicking a thumbnail brings up a black-and-white outline drawing of the photo which users can print out and then color.
Graphic design on the site is nicely done, though, with thematic margins for each planet (an icy waste for Hoth, sand dunes for Tatooine). Also, goodies abound like animated GIFs of the planets and sound files of droids and dialogue from the Trilogy. Just be prepared to wait for it. Because it's a popular site and the pages are graphics pounders, load times can be extreme.
Admittedly, the designers say that the site will grow, so it will probably become more fleshed out in time. As it stands, there is not a lot of in-depth information here, but plenty of fun things to look at and play with.
