I generally go with “A New Hope” or “Episode IV”, simply to make it avsolutely clear which one I’m talking about. To me just saying “Star Wars” makes things a bit confusing, what with that also being the name of the franchise and all.
Incidentally, from what I understand, in Norway the movie is still officially known as “Star Wars: Stjernekrigen”. The translated subtitle of “Et Nytt Håp” was only ever included on the 2004 DVD.
i say star wars.
Depends on the context, really.
I always refer to it as “Star Wars” because that’s what it was called when it came out in 1977.
I’m actually fine with using “A New Hope”. I think it’s a really good title, and it has been like that since 1981, so I really don’t think that it’s that big of a deal. “Star Wars” and “A New Hope” both work great. I usually stick with ANH when talking to non-hardcore fans or else it can be confusing.
The thing about the ANH title is that it’s meaningless without Empire and Jedi happening.
Edit : it works if you’re viewing in sum with the chronological saga, but not as the first film in what may or may not have become a series
I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.
I’m actually fine with using “A New Hope”. I think it’s a really good title…
It’s not. It’s bland and effete, and especially relative to the wondrous bang-zoom interstellar exotic adventure that it has been unceremoniously grafted onto.
You know what is a good title?
Star Wars.
Then, around the Special Editions, people started pushing the “A New Hope” name hard, and also episode numbers.
I thought the use of episode numbers only really started catching on when TPM was released, becoming firmly entrenched once AOTC arrived.
Yep. It was really quite brilliant what Lucas set up back in 1980. There are so many fans who accept the PT and give it a free pass, simply because it slots into the big gaping “Episode I to III” hole he left in 1980 and the saga feels incomplete to them starting at the actual beginning.Of course, it makes it all th e more frustrating to those of us who are critical of it. But it was a bit of well-planned marketing genius to make the films seem necessary regardless of how they turned out.
Agree totally. If you sort of have OCD, it almost bothers you if you only watch the originals (4,5,6) and don’t watch the prequels.
Do they not see the birds controlled in the atmosphere of the sky? none holds them up except Allah. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe. – Quran (16:79)
I always just refer to the 1977 release as Star Wars, and the 1997 “Special” Edition as A New Hope.
May the Shwarts be with you!
What do you refer to the 1981 release as?
An Older But Not Oldest Hope
What do you refer to the 1981 release as?
Still just Star Wars. It makes things easier to refer to the versions before the Special Editions as such.
May the Shwarts be with you!
I refer to the film by both its titles interchangeably. One day I’ll call it Star Wars and then A New Hope the next. Doesn’t really matter to me
I refer to the film by both its titles interchangeably. One day I’ll call it Star Wars and then A New Hope the next. Doesn’t really matter to me
This^
or one word of the title, ie; “Menace, Clones, Sith, Hope, Empire, Jedi, Awakens.”
That works for Clones, Sith, Empire, and Jedi, but definitely not for Menace, Hope, or Awakens.
And not for Jedi in the near future anymore. Because there will be two of them soon.
“People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians”
“In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.” --George Lucas on March 3, 1988
When I talk about “Star Wars” I usually have the 77’ version in mind. And when I talk about the 97’ version and all following special editions then and only then I call it “A New Hope”.
I usually complain about them.
I call it Star Wars because that was the name of the movie for the first 20 years. Even with “A New Hope” added to the crawl, the movie was still officially just called Star Wars… on all the home media releases I ever saw anyway.
I call anything released from 1997 onwards The Special Editon. To me the long-winded re-naming of the movie to “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” is just part of Lucasfilm’s attempt to rewrite history, and I don’t use any of it when referring to Star Wars… except the Star Wars part 😃
<span style=“font-size: 12px;”><span>We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life.</span></span>
I call it Star Wars because that was the name of the movie for the first 20 years.
It was called “Star Wars” for only four years. “A New Hope” was added to the crawl in 1981.
Yeah but on the packaging star wars was always emphasized over a new hope, where as with the other two esb/rotj was emphasized over star wars.
Yeah but on the packaging star wars was always emphasized over a new hope, where as with the other two esb/rotj was emphasized over star wars.
I’m aware, I just think it may be a common misconception that “A New Hope” was only added for the Special Edition releases; that’s what I see a lot of anyway.
Not on this site, sister.
Ceci n’est pas une signature.
Does the 2006 SE DVD contain the original unedited 1997 release? Trying to find the original and have heard the 2006 SE DVD has it.
Thanks
JJ
Does the 2006 SE DVD contain the original unedited 1997 release? Trying to find the original and have heard the 2006 SE DVD has it.
Thanks
JJ
What? It has an old Laserdisc master of the unaltered 1977 cut, but the 1997SE was never released on DVD.
What? It has an old Laserdisc master of the unaltered 1977 cut, but the 1997SE was never released on DVD.
Amazon has a 2006 DVD SE that claims it has the original 1977 theatrical release. Wondering if any has seen this version and cant verify or refute Amazon’s description.