Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope [Blu-ray] [SteelBook] [1977]

I grew up with this – I was in my teens when this came out and went to see it in theater with my family. Video cassette players were not even affordable then, but when it came out, I saved money, little that I was making as a teenager, to buy this movie on a VHS. I later had the opportunity to buy the DVD version, and now the Blu-ray version came out, I am very happy to own it. The price is very reasonable – nowadays it costs a lot of money to go to a movie theater, and I prefer to stay home and watch a good movie on my 65 inch 4K television. I don't particularly care for the "experience" of watching a movie with others in the theater when I realized that for the same price, I can own the Blu-ray copy of it and watch it again at home. It looks fantastic on the Blu-ray up convert 4K player, and it sounds great, as well. Now that I am older, I realize that the acting is a bit corny (other than the legendaries Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing), but it didn't win an Oscar for acting and I believe it wasn't created for such a thing. "Extras" were added, and the true fans of Star Wars had a fit over that – it doesn't bother me that much. I do like the Steelcase and I am happy to have added this movie to my collection. Thank you Best Buy for keeping the price reasonable.

I received this item as a gift from my wife, but unfortunately, the movie is a Blu-ray, which we do not own, so when we opened the package to watch it (which has no distinguishing features of a Blu-ray), we couldn't watch it. We took the movie back to the store where it was purchased with a receipt and asked to exchange it for the DVD version, and we were met with hostility as though we wanted our money back. When I stated I only wanted to exchange the item for a DVD instead of a blu ray and that I didn't want any money back or store credit, the customer service person said we could only exchange it for the same item and that it was federal law (without any explanation of what she meant by it). I was very irritated and upset because I work for another retailer, and if this happens with one of our customers, we try to make it right and allow exchanges in cases like this. Obviously, I couldn't get a different movie, which I didn't want anyway. I find this return/exchange policy a bit harsh and don't understand why I can't exchange one product for a similar one-- all I wanted was the same movie in a different format; and by the way, the movie that my wife bought didn't come with any extra features; it was just the movie... Really disappointed with Best Buy now.

Being one of those that grew up on the classic trilogy, this film is almost seared into my memory to the point of knowing the exact slide transitions between scenes. But I can still watch it, and love every moment, despite Lucas' continual tinkering. If there's any downside, I would point at that. Otherwise, fans can all appreciate that these originals were what made Star Wars so iconic that they define multiple generations now. With regard to this steelbook, regardless of the quality of the film, relative to the original Star Wars films; This is a great release. The packaging is beautiful, the features aren't missing anything that you really need unless you are a Jedi Master of nerdiness :D Overall, for those who would like to own the film, this is an excellent way to do it, if you want to have a cool, collectible set. It even matches my Episode VII steelbook.

This release strikes me as being better for the casual Star Wars fan, one who knows the original, but won't be too picky about the details or enhancements to the film. The claim that the aspect ratio is enhanced for widescreen is inaccurate for lack of a better term. Other DVDs with that specification fill out the widescreen format screen I use more efficiently. This one presents a "letterbox" look even in widescreen mode, which is something of a distraction for me. Another problem with this release that I had was playback of the "original theatrical" release on Disc 2. It plays fine in stand-alone DVD players, but when trying to run the disc on a media computer (which is where my widescreen format screen is located), the disc will not play, even after all the troubleshooting steps and fixes are tried. Not the best release for more hard core Star Wars fans, but casual fans will get something out of it.

I remember the day I used my first paycheck to purchase this Trilogy on VHS long time ago, in a galaxy far away. Since then, I've purchased other video formats and versions including this Blu-ray. By far this steelbook Blu-ray is my favorite of Star Wars: A New Hope. The movie made in the mid-1970s looks to be made not long ago with its clarity picture and crisp sound; especially with the Star Wars: Rogue One releasing in theaters this December, A New Hope will look "New" in its Blu-ray version. This version does not have special features other than commentary (one disc only inside). Darth Vader is on cover, official poster image on back, and Luke looking at the horizon of Tatooine scene inside of the steelbook. Well worth to have this limited edition steelbook.

I got so caught up with the release of the new steel books and awesome covers that I rushed to Best Buy to purchase the original trilogy (episodes 4-6). To my surprise after watching A New Hope, there were no "Making of", "behind the scenes" extras! I did the math, if I were to buy the complete saga in blu ray it would've came out to 89.99 plus tax the same price for all six steel books together. Had I read (ugh I'm so dumb but you would think bonus features would be the standard) carefully, I would've bought the blu ray bundle with bonus content.

While I can't in good conscience rate this movie any lower than a 3, I am absolutely LIVID that these are not properly labeled as the Special Edition cuts. I was sold on this under the impression that they were finally releasing blurays of the original, unaltered editions of the movies, and while the added elements do look better than on the DVDs, they still effectively ruin the movie for me. DO NOT BUY THIS if you want to see the original theatrical version of the movie.

I'm all for the original version of this movie but got tired of waiting for its release, so just for the sake of it, I purchased this version for a very cheap price. I just needed to see some some version of Star Wars because it had been awhile. Well! if you can ignore the changes and the added visual effects than its sort of watchable with grit teeth. The blu ray itself is an okay transfer. there is a substantial amount of sharpness but a little too much crush in some scenes and whats with the pinkish skin tones. Oh well. I still prefer the original unaltered version. Watch it at your at own risk !.