Here’s my spin. 😉
*Dear Disney and Lucasfilm,
Today is the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, the film that started it all. Yet, where is that film? No, not the special edition, the original 1977 film. The one we grew up with. The film that changed our lives forever.
Saying this isn’t hyperbole. Those of us who were there that incredible summer of '77 had never seen anything like it. It was a major event in our lives. It prompted a desire in some of us to make movies or tell stories of our own. No matter the path we chose, George Lucas lit a spark that remains within us today.
Many of us still share the memories of where and with whom we saw Star Wars and the lasting effect it had on us. We saw the movie over and over again, whether it was in the theater or on video, probably more than any movie before or since. We know the lines by heart; we love the characters. Seeing our heroes again on the screen in The Force Awakens was like reuniting with family.
All these years later, we would love to revisit that Original Trilogy, to recapture those memories of a long time ago, in a movie theater far far away. Those of us with families want to be able to show our kids and relive with them exactly what we saw at their age.
We’re limited in our choices to outdated video formats that are becoming difficult to obtain and inch closer to extinction each year. This includes the out of print bonus DVDs from 2006, which utilize ancient video transfers from 1993, so they are barely acceptable. None of us ever imagined that these historic versions would someday be at risk from fading to memory and, ultimately, disappearing from the collective consciousness altogether.
We don’t bemoan the Special Edition’s existence and respect Mr. Lucas’ decision in having those be the finalized cuts. It simply isn’t the version of the trilogy that many fell in love with. The Original Original Trilogy deserves to be seen in the absolute best quality afforded by modern cinema and 21st-century home video formats for not only nostalgic but historical purposes as well.
There is room for both versions of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of The Jedi to coexist. As devoted fans we want to give you our money for these pieces of cinematic history; we really do! Please give us that opportunity or at least hope that we will be able to do so soon. That is all we ask.
Sincerely yours,
The Staff and Members of Originaltrilogy.com*