# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/61 "2013-10-13T06:51:43Z")
Lucas has always fiddled with the film. I saw it in the theater during the first run, and he made changes between the first and second runs, long before there were any home video releases. He had a different actress overdub Shelagh Fraser’s voice as Aunt Beru before it ever became _Episode IV: A New Hope_. ---
**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, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/62 "2013-10-13T07:05:45Z")
The main differences between versions pre-Special Editions were in the audio mixes. IIRC, the mono mix was the last to be completed and included lines like “Close the blast doors!” and Threepio’s tractor beam explanation. It might have also included the newer Beru voice. So in reality, there isn’t even one definitive version of the original _Star Wars_ since there were three different versions showing in its first run. The initial release of _The Empire Strikes Back_ also had an earlier cut of the final scenes in the 70mm print, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/63 "2013-10-13T15:52:08Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Can you be more specific? The text crawl at the beginning definitely said “Episode IV: A New Hope” in the original, because I remember joking with a friend back in '77 that we must have missed the first three parts. > > I haven’t seen the DVD. Was it added someplace else? Going strictly by memory here but I saw SW 1 week after release at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. I am sure the “Episode 4 A New Hope” was in the crawl. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/64 "2013-10-13T16:02:19Z")
I want to remember that, at least, “Episode 4” was at the top of the opening crawl in the first theatrical release when I saw it at a special screening for radio contest winners the night before the day it opened nationally. (I still have my, “May the force be with you.” button that they handed out to all attendees.) Since, as I recall from reading at the time, it was Lucas’ desire to create something that looked like a chapter of an old serial, this seems like something he would have done. ---
**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 13, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/65 "2013-10-13T17:04:36Z")
I am astonished how many people think they saw the later crawl during the original release. It is completely documented. There’s even a Wikipedia [page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_opening_crawl#Episode_IV_opening_crawl) on it. Or you can just [watch it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKRIUiyF0N4) on YouTube. Repeat. The original did _not_ have: A subtitle. An episode number. It’s like that fictitious ending to _Big_ that keeps coming up here. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/66 "2013-10-13T18:03:31Z")
> [@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… Was that always your reaction, or is it something that only started bugging you after the special editions came out? I only ask, because I never heard anyone complain about that until it started getting bundled up in the “Han shot first!” and related outrages. I’m young enough that, despite seeing the movie in the theaters during its original run, I have no memories of ever seeing it without “Episode IV” in the crawl, and would swear that it’s always been there if I didn’t know better. (I also have a distinct memory of seeing the scene between Biggs and Luke on Tatooine in the movie, which is also impossible - pretty sure I saw a still in some related merchandising, and interpolated it into my memory of the movie.) But I always thought it was really cool. It was my first introduction to the idea of deliberately telling a story out of order, which was a completely mind-blowing idea when I was eight. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/67 "2013-10-13T18:41:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > As to Jabba in _A New Hope_: A. He wasn’t in the original. B. The actor who played Jabba in the scene that didn’t make it into the original was Declan Mulholland who was hardly skinny. I had the Marvel Comics _Star Wars_ issue back then, and it had a Jabba who looked like [this](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/JabbaHut.jpg). I wonder if that’s what aceplace57 is conflating with the film. I’ve fallen prey to this; until recently I could swear I remembered the “Indy ties himself to the submarine with his whip” scene being in the _Raiders_ film, when I was apparently just remembering it from the novelization which I read around the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/68 "2013-10-14T12:18:55Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I am astonished how many people think they saw the later crawl during the original release. It is completely documented. There’s even a Wikipedia [page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_opening_crawl#Episode_IV_opening_crawl) on it. Or you can just [watch it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKRIUiyF0N4) on YouTube. > > Repeat. The original did _not_ have: > > A subtitle. > An episode number. > > It’s like that fictitious ending to _Big_ that keeps coming up here. I’m just going off of my memory here. Also as **Lobot** mentioned up thread there were 3 different versions in the original release. If this is true it is entirely possible that one had a different crawl. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-think-the-only-way-to-see-unadulterated-star-wars-is-vhs-or-laserdisc/670925/69 "2013-10-15T15:38:01Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I had the Marvel Comics _Star Wars_ issue back then, and it had a Jabba who looked like [this](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/JabbaHut.jpg). I wonder if that’s what aceplace57 is conflating with the film. > > I’ve fallen prey to this; until recently I could swear I remembered the “Indy ties himself to the submarine with his whip” scene being in the _Raiders_ film, when I was apparently just remembering it from the novelization which I read around the same time. I believe the original scene with the original actor was released on the video cassette “From Star Wars to Jedi” - a documentary that showed the making of the first three movies. [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=3)