You don’t frighten us with your sorcerer’s ways. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion … oh, wait … it’s just that weird stuff in your blood…
Never mind! :o
Star Wars? Never heard of it.
Huh… maybe that’s where my buddy got that copy from. My oldest boy (5) recently expressed a desire to watch “Star Wars”, which I think really meant “The Force Awakens”. But being a good dad, I called up my super-geeky buddy who I knew had at least one, if not several versions of the original 3 movies.
Turns out that he apparently had this original cut; we watched it this last Saturday, and it was the version I recall from being a kid- Han shot first, no Jabba at all, one dewback, etc…
The boy loved it, and I did too. It held up surprisingly well- both effects-wise and story wise. What I noticed was how prominent the sound track was- it’s almost as if the music was an additional character in ways that more modern movies don’t have.
Here’s a mention of the 12 movie concept Film Firsts: The 25 Movies That Created Contemporary American Cinema - Ethan Alter - Google Books
As I recall it, there were a few mentions of the 12 movie concept before Empire came out, but that after that, all you heard from Lucas was 9 movies (people noted that on the one movie every three years schedule, the last one would appear in 2001).
Man, I miss those days of rumors, newsletters, and conventions. Just a different feel…
Tho I do like quickly answered questions and the depth of the interwebbs .
And cosplay babes.
I have all the original films on DVD in special metal box sets that were only sold at Walmart.
I refuse to watch A New Hope. I absolutely refuse to watch any of the 90s re-issues with the crappy CGI etc.
I saw Phantom Menace opening day 1st show and never had the desire to see anything new and Star Wars related again. Not only was Lucas’s involvement detrimental, by now the story has just gotten so freaking stupid I can’t see the point in following along.
YMMV.
Well, we’re already up to nine, now, with trailers up for the tenth.
(what, am I the only one who remembers the Ewok movies?)
My copy has the 1977 70mm, 35mm stereo, 35mm mono, isolated music, and various commentary tracks. At least one of those has those lines.
Preachin’ to the choir here, bro! 
A bit more about the four trilogy scheme http://www.starwars.com/news/the-long-winding-and-shapeshifting-trail-to-episodes-vii-viii-ix
"You know, when I first did this, it was four trilogies,” Mark Hamill recalled in 2004, speaking of their conversation in 1976. “Twelve movies! Out on the desert, any time between setups… lots of free time. And George was talking about this whole thing… ‘Um, how’d you like to be in Episode IX?’ ‘When is that going to be?’ ‘2011.’ […] I said, ‘Well, what do you want me to do?’ He said, ‘You’ll just be like a cameo. You’ll be like Obi-Wan handing the lightsaber down to the next new hope.'”
In 1978, a Time magazine article reported that the Star Wars Corporation (a subsidiary Lucas had formed for Star Wars) would be producing “Star Wars II [Empire], and then, count them, 10 other planned sequels.” At that time Lucas consistently mentioned 12 films and even created a barebones outline to that effect."
also this is of note:
“On December 29, 1975, in conversation with Alan Dean Foster per the novelization of Star Wars, Lucas mentioned the prequel trilogy along with what would become Episodes V and VI: “I want to have Luke kiss the Princess in the second book.”
In the early 90s I was fortunate to go to a charity event where they showed the Trilogy in a Theater (this was several years before the Special editions so it was quite a treat). The print of Star wars was an original one. You could tell because:
-
It didn’t have 3P0’s voice over explaining the tractor beam.
-
Mark Hamill really does call Leia “Carrie!” at the end. I heard this with my own ears so I am 100% sure. The audio must have been modified in subsequent prints to make it ambiguous but in this print it was clear as day.
I honestly remember it having the opening crawl so maybe it was not the absolute earliest of prints.
The film I saw in early July 1977* had the crawl, just without the “Episode IV” bullshit. It was there from the beginning.
*I hadn’t seen it in May because I was living in England. My first night back in Minneapolis in late June, I went to visit some friends: “Oh, Mike and Deb? They’re out watching Star Wars.” That was the first I’d ever heard of it.
Yup, I saw it in the theaters in the summer of '77 and that huge crawl of text on that big screen was pretty damn impressive. Made me know this movie was going to be epic.
I understand the complaints about re-doing the effects and adding shots, and dewbacks, and the return of Jabba, the insertion of Boba Fett, and Greedo shooting first.
However, I don’t understand the vemon spewed at the inclusion of “Episode IV A New Hope” IIRC this was done for the Empire Strikes Back re-release, but was anything else changed besides that? What is the big deal about adding this to the crawl? And besides, who thinks about the crawl once the Blockade Runner enters the screen?
NCC-1701. No A, B, C, or bloody D.
How can there be an Episode IV when there’s no Episode I, II or III?
Ahhhh…so this is all pre-determined prequel hatred. Never looked at it from that angle bethree*. Thanks
[bugs bunny]I’m lookin over a three leaf clover, that I overlooked be-three[/bb]
If, in fact, this is true. Lucas said it was, but
- His claims to this effect occurred largely after the movie was successful
- As has been pointed out, “Star Wars” was not referred to as “Episode IV” until it was re-released
- The prequels certainly do not suggest that they were planned out very far in advance, inasmuch as Episodes I and II are more or less redundant and border on the incoherent
- What involvement did he have in writing The Force Awakens? Was that even his story?
- Also as pointed out, the number of discontinuities between the prequels and the first trilogy do not suggest things were planned ahead of time
It meant that three terrible and completely unnecessary prequels were on the way, along with the whole father/incestuous son-and-daughter angle.
The first movie can be seen as a stand-alone feature, and that’s how I will always think of it. Ergo, the whole “Episode IV” thing is just bullshit.
Yes, the second movie was very good, up to the point where Obi-wan mentions “the other.” It all started going downhill from there.
I hated the third movie, and won’t even discuss the prequels. I just lost all interest in the series back in '83.
Has anyone binge watched the series in the machete order? I haven’t.