What do you buy to get the original Star Wars movies?

Cafe Society
1

Question in title.

I’m not familiar with all the issues between original and altered versions – wouldn’t mind the low down on that if you can help. But in general, what version do I buy? Separate movies or trilogy as whole are both fine.

2

This is what you want. It contains both the 1977 unaltered original version and the touched up 1997 20th anniversary Special Edition.

There have been rumours of this coming out on Blu-ray as recent as last summer but only the SE version is available right now.

3

It’s important to realize that the original versions are basically copies of the laserdisc editions. Among other things, that means that they do not fill a modern 16:9 TV properly the way the altered ones do. It’s not a huge deal, but it can be annoying.

Also, if you get the entire trilogy this way, Empire is generally watchable as the special edition. The only thing I can think of that really pulled me out of the movie is some additional footage early in the Battle of Hoth that isn’t scored and cuts into the middle of the 15-minute piece that is the entire musical score of the battle.

4

It should also be noted that some (possibly most) 16:9 TVs automatically stretch the image to fill the screen. The picture is a little fuzzier than if the discs were mastered in the correct way, but it beats watching the Special Editions.

5

You didn’t hear this from me:

Note to mods: I don’t know why “download” is in that URL since the link does not provide any means of downloading the movie. It does have a YouTube video about the making of the “Despecialized Edition,” which is an attempt to restore the movie to what I saw May 25, 1977 (the day it was released), at the second matinee. Every version since then has been botched up by Lucas.

6

I’ve bought several copies of all 3 Star Wars movies over the years. VHS, VHS THX remastered, the DVD’s, and the Blu-rays. I saw Return of the Jedi and all three prequels in the theater, as well.

So I have little problem admitting that I bootlegged the despecialized editions I watched them in full Blu-ray quality on a nice HD tv.

Amazing and truly the best copies of the movies I’ve seen. A commercial copy of these versions should be released. It’d be a huge hit.

I recommend them strongly.

7

And only $350 for the 6-DVD set.