Star Wars in Concert--Original or Rip Off?

Pictured Above:  My wife Debbie

I am a huge Star Wars fan.  I mean HUGE!!!  I have a corner of my bedroom dedicated to vintage Star Wars memorabilia (yes, I'm married), my children are named Luke and Leia, and we have occasional light saber battles as a family (lights out and all).  When my youth workers decided to send me to Star Wars in Concert, I was thrilled.  It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had.  There was a three story LCD screen playing images specifically chosen for this event, to a live orchestra complete with synchronized lazar lights and pyrotechnics.  It even had live narration by Anthony Daniels (C3PO).  The only problem I found, was that they did not sell a video of the event.

Today, I was given the soundtrack to Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith, and it was still sealed.  This CD came with a bonus DVD entitled Star Wars: A Musical Journey.  Every clip from the concert is on it with the same order, music, titles, and even narration between clips.  The only difference is in the narrator.  Instead of Anthony Daniels, they have Ian McDiarmed (Emperor Palpatine).  Even so, he is saying the same thing word for word.

This DVD is from 2005, and the "totally original" concert tour is going on now.  Wow!  Am I mad?  No.  I enjoyed the show and am glad that I have the video now.  Do I think that it is funny that fans are paying top dollar (my tickets were $55 each) to see something that came out 4 years ago?  Yes, I do.  Here is a quote from www.StarWars.com  "Creating the music for the Star Wars films has been an exciting and wonderful experience for me, and I therefore have derived particular pleasure in assembling a compendium of themes from all of the films to be presented in Star Wars: In Concert," said Williams. "The editors at Lucasfilm have created original film montages to accompany each of the musical selections, and in the process, I believe that a singular and unique Star Wars experience has been born."  I find all of this disturbing and yet funny.  I thought I would pass this on.