I have the original release of Star Wars on vhs. This is what the box looks like:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jWw7eU7KrU8/TrdPIfyYb8I/AAAAAAAAAp0/afJqbpSUnww/s1600/Star+Wars+VHS+cover+1982.jpg

The box is wider than the tape itself, which was common in those days (my copy of The Muppet Movie is the same). Instead of sliding out the bottom, there was a “drawer” that you would pull out from the side that contained the tape so the box had to be a bit wider to accommodate the extra cardboard for the drawer (in the far right pic you can see the edge of the drawer poking out a bit).