Right click, select "view image" is your friend. ;)

Should have a rough version of this this week. It's got a nice, old VHS feel to it :)

I only saw the original SW once in the theater, but I saw the HBO version literally hundreds of times- I even recorded the audio onto cassettes by propping a mic up to the TV's speaker.

In the medal ceremony scene, there's a close up shot of Luke, Leia and Han which was cropped for TV, and IIRC the HBO version cropped out Han, leaving only Luke to the left of the screen and Leia to the right. I remember seeing another TV version once (may have been the broadcast premiere on CBS) that cropped out Luke and left Leia on the left of the screen and Han to the right. The "faces" P&S VHS split the difference and cropped off half of Luke and Han's faces, rather than cropping one of them out completely.

I have the original full-page announcement for the SW premiere from the HBO directory booklet (which used to be sent to HBO subscribers) that I will scan as soon as I get my new scanner.

I think the USA airing went letterbox there?

The 1995 UK Fullscreen VHS tape certainly did. Check the last screenshot in post 1 here... http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/OBITUARY-Star-Wars-Fullscreen-Pan-and-Scan-versions-RIP/post/549821/#TopicPost549821

I have a vague memory of the last scene switching to letterbox on HBO. Guess I'll check the tapes when I get home. 

I don't recall seeing Letterbox for the finale until the SciFi channel airing in 1992. None of the Beta recordings have it.

none said:

Mielr wrote: I remember seeing another TV version once (may have been the broadcast premiere on CBS) that cropped out Luke and left Leia on the left of the screen and Han to the right.

Here's pics from a 1995 Sci-Fi broadcast:

<img src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg842/scaled.php?server=842&filename=swtv19950728scificfanhe.jpg&res=medium" width="320" height="235" /> <img src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg27/scaled.php?server=27&filename=swtv19950728scificfanhe.jpg&res=medium" width="320" height="235" /> <img src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg192/scaled.php?server=192&filename=swtv19950728scificfanhe.jpg&res=medium" width="320" height="235" />

In relation to russs15's page, in the opening widescreen shot in this 1995 Sci-Fi broadcast the last frame of the SD flyover (the next shot is FS) has a different vertical cropping then the rest of the shot.

The second pic is the shot I'm talking about (the close up). NOT the long shot of their entire bodies.

The version I saw (with Luke cropped off in favor of Han) was earlier than '95, most likely in the 80's. I remember being a bit startled when I saw that version (since I was used to the HBO version which I'm fairly certain cropped off Han).

I remember thinking at the time that there must be two different edits of the film (I had only seen it theatrically once and I didn't remember that originally the shot showed all three of their faces). I don't recall any letterboxing in the HBO version.

USA and Sci-Fi are "sister" networks, owned by the same corporation, so it stands to reason they would use the same broadcast master.

Sci-Fi was the first to show the OT in Letterbox a few years later.

Update: I have had zero time to work on this, so no update. :|

I am still going to finish this. 

reave said:

Update: I have had zero time to work on this, so no update. :|

I am still going to finish this. 

 How's it going?!

Very slowly, if you couldn't tell. It's the next project I'm finishing up, so hopefully it will be done soon(ish)

reave said:

Very slowly, if you couldn't tell. It's the next project I'm finishing up, so hopefully it will be done soon(ish)

 That's great news! I was hoping this wouldn't be a goner!

OK, finally finished up a couple of lingering projects and cleared up some space for this one. Should have this done sometime soon. I'm guessing no one has come across any new sources for this?

reave said:

OK, finally finished up a couple of lingering projects and cleared up some space for this one. Should have this done sometime soon. I'm guessing no one has come across any new sources for this?

Wow, awesome!!!

What I would do is just to have Harmy's version and add this to the beginning of it.

xD

That redone (apart from the very beginning) in HDCG would be a sight to behold.

A vintage promo I don't think has been mentioned here before?

http://youtu.be/SCws9-Fe70o