# Why do so many people think the only way to see unadulterated Star Wars is VHS (or laserdisc)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925 "2013-10-10T22:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/41 "2013-10-11T21:12:40Z")
Han shot first is actually important Trekkie is right though I agree ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/42 "2013-10-11T21:20:06Z")
Important? It’s down-right **fundamental**! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/43 "2013-10-11T21:55:30Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > Oooh it’s on now! Can you give me a more useless waste of bytes to argue over for years and years than “Han shot first?” Who cares? I dare you to give me a Trek example that even nearly rises to such heights of anality! 😉 > P.S. it’s Trekkie. Trekker is snobbish. I have a bad feeling about this. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/44 "2013-10-11T22:48:23Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > Oooh it’s on now! Can you give me a more useless waste of bytes to argue over for years and years than “Han shot first?” Who cares? I dare you to give me a Trek example that even nearly rises to such heights of anality! 😉 “Who cares” about _the altering of a major story beat_? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/45 "2013-10-11T23:56:28Z")
The Jabba scenes did make it into the novelization and comic adaptation (where he was some furry alien thing, not human). > [@LawMonkey](#): > > FWIW, I’m aware of the DVD versions that are available, but they’re not anamorphic widescreen. Which means that if I were to get them and put them on my nice big flatscreen TV, I’d get a little box in the middle of the screen, with black on all sides, rather than a full screen. That’s why I’ve never bothered with them. VHS and Laserdisc copies would have the same issue, though. (Also, does your nice big flatscreen TV not have a “zoom” function?) > [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > I do. We were watching _Star Wars_ with the kids last week and I yelled at the screen when that “Episode IV: A New Hope” crap came into view The version on the “bonus” DVD actually does not have that (even though it’s on every VHS version I’ve ever encountered), so you should try to find a copy for your own peace of mind. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/46 "2013-10-12T05:23:51Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > No, film historians all agree that “Episode IV - A New Hope” was not included in the original 1977 version. It was added in a 1979 re-release to prime audiences for Empire. Minor nitpick: it was added in the 1981 re-release after _Empire_ the year prior. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/47 "2013-10-12T05:48:21Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > Oooh it’s on now! Can you give me a more useless waste of bytes to argue over for years and years than “Han shot first?” Who cares? I dare you to give me a Trek example that even nearly rises to such heights of anality! 😉 Let’s talk about the real versus prosthetic factions of the debate over Ricardo Montalban’s chest in _The Wrath of Khan_ and get back to me about the heights of anality. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/48 "2013-10-12T11:49:17Z")
Jesus, can’t you guys just close your eyes and run the original version in your brain by now? By the way, the Jabba scene as filmed was never intended to be in the movie. Lucas planned to add some kind of stop-motion Jabba but didn’t have time, so the whole scene was scrapped. The actor was essentially a stand-in. > [@AtomicDog](#): > > I dare you to give me a Trek example that even nearly rises to such heights of anality! 😉 Bumpy vs. smooth Klingon heads? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/49 "2013-10-12T12:13:23Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Speilberg??? 😕 Malcolm Reynolds shot first. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/50 "2013-10-12T12:31:32Z")
I haven’t really heard the idea that you have to seek out laserdiscs…not since the DVD’s did come out with the original releases. Even before 2006, it was possible(I think) to download the laserdisc versions from the internet using bit torrent, so there were avenues of getting them. Now that Lucas does not own Star Wars, I wonder if Disney will put out a re-mastered dvd/blu-ray of the theatrical releases. I think they would sell pretty well and it would be a great way to show fans that they are going to handle Star Wars well. > [@aceplace57](#): > > I stand corrected. I should have known that and didn’t. Sorry for the distraction. Carry on with the discussion. [Why didn’t you just say this, or something like this, after your “Yet another indication how poorly this Obamacare mess was planned” comment was so misplaced?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=703913) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/51 "2013-10-12T15:19:16Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Why didn’t you just say this, or something like this, after your “Yet another indication how poorly this Obamacare mess was planned” comment was so misplaced? **Mahaholth** , you’re out of line. Leave arguments from other discussions out of this thread – deal with them where they arose or take them to the Pit. Don’t do this again. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/52 "2013-10-12T15:23:17Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Bumpy vs. smooth Klingon heads? Oooh, burn! Well played, sir. Allow me to counter with. … Jar-Jar Binks? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/53 "2013-10-12T15:28:02Z")
I spent my entire childhood watching these movies as recorded on VHS off the TV in like 1985, so I consider the “original, unadulterated version” to be the one with commercial breaks. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/54 "2013-10-12T16:42:08Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > _Blade Runner_. In addition to all the original cuts and the non-director “Director’s Cut”, it finally had a true director’s cut released in 2007: _The Final Cut_. > > In addition to fixing things up both visually and in terms of dialogue, they reshot the scene of Zhora (a stunt double with Joanna Cassidy’s face stuck on) crashing thru the glass when she is shot. IMHO, the new scene is not any better done than the old. The Wikipedia [article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner) on _The Final Cut_ lists 33 changes. Most of the changes made in _The Final Cut_ were made to fix obvious mistakes. It is not really an editorial change to reframe a shot so that a boom mic does not show or digitally erase the stray reflection of a gaffer in a window. The real change was between the Theatrical and Director’s Cut. _Blade Runner_ differs from _Star Wars_, however, in that they made it quite clear that the different versions were different movies. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/55 "2013-10-12T18:19:53Z")
Lucas had been making changing long before the Special Editions. Along with adding Episode IV to prints prior to home video he also added narration by Threepio to help explain the Tractor Beam and exactly what Ben was going to do and changed the audio to hide Mark Hamill calling Leia “Carrie” at the end. I saw a print on the big screen in the 90s that didn’t have these changes. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/56 "2013-10-12T18:36:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > There are director cuts using alternate scenes. But they didn’t totally reshoot scenes many years later. In addition to Bladeruuner, The Night of the Living Dead probably fits the bill. After being rer-eleased in a colorized version and a 3D version, the co-writer [reshot and added new scenes and added a new soundtrack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Living_Dead#Revisions). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/57 "2013-10-12T20:02:59Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > **Mahaholth** , you’re out of line. Leave arguments from other discussions out of this thread – deal with them where they arose or take them to the Pit. > > Don’t do this again. > > **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator My apologies to the board. I almost pulled that back and obviously should have. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/58 "2013-10-12T21:31:43Z")
There are unofficial, restored, “despecialized” versions out there that fans have made by editing together scenes from different releases–including laserdiscs, the OOT DVDs, and the blu-rays–to get the best picture quality available while staying true to the original versions. Not hard to find if you look. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/59 "2013-10-13T01:21:10Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > VHS and Laserdisc copies would have the same issue, though. (Also, does your nice big flatscreen TV not have a “zoom” function?) Sure, but again, the drop in quality is a bit too much for me. And note that I don’t have the VHS or Laserdisc either, though I think Laserdisc was anamorphic widescreen. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/60 "2013-10-13T02:19:23Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Sure, but again, the drop in quality is a bit too much for me. And note that I don’t have the VHS or Laserdisc either, though I think Laserdisc was anamorphic widescreen. The Laserdiscs were letterbox non-anamorphic–indeed, the 2006 DVDs are straight from the Laserdisc masters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925.md?page=4)