An Introduction - and some useful information…
‘Introducing the Despecialized Edition and Its Sources’:-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGrXO2RDzLg - a video from the HanDuet youtube channel (with useful info in the description).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDz8VMMJU6I - the same 20 minute video as above, but in 4K, at the Petr Harmy youtube channel.
The blurb: ‘Star Wars: Despecialized Edition is a fan edit project with the goal to reconstruct the original theatrical releases of the Star Wars original trilogy at a quality comparable to the high-definition medium of our time.’
Harmy also has some useful and informative social media channels, here - Facebook : Youtube : Twitter : Instagram : Patreon
Harmy also made a video very much worth watching for anyone interested in his Despecialized Editions - or for Fan Edits and Preservation Projects in general:-
‘Fan Projects Must Never Be Bought Or Sold’:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrwKZHv4OS0 - a 4 minute video at the Petr Harmy youtube channel.
Be sure to check out his quality youtube videos - including the work currently being done for Version 3 of Despecialized…
The three main Despecialized Edition threads on the OT•com, by Harmy himself - where information is in abundance, along with the history and process of the project is also contained, and many many questions having been already answered:-
Star Wars - v2.7 is the latest version
Empire Strikes Back - v2.0 is the latest version
Return Of The Jedi - v3.1 is the latest version
HanDuet’s The Ultimate Introductory Guide to Harmy’s Star Wars Trilogy Despecialized Editions - in the 1st post in each of the Star Wars threads linked above… will likely be particularly helpful. All credit to HanDuet for making a great, easy-to-follow and useful guide.
^ a ‘must read’ for information on Harmy’s Despecialized Editions.
towne32 also had a thread here for his quality work on Harmy’s Despecialized Edition version of Star Wars (fully endorsed by Harmy himself):-
Harmy’s Despecialized Star Wars 1977 - Color Adjustment Project for v2.7 (released)
These two threads also contain a lot of useful info on a custom set of Harmy’s Despecialized Editions:-
Star Wars Despecialized Editions - Custom Bluray Set - by the talented and gracious NJVC
&
NJVC Custom Bluray Set of Harmy’s Despecialized Editions now available on Mega - by the generous and ever-helpful Solkap
Obviously, the main rule of acquiring the Despecialized Editions is that you must own the official retail release of the Original Trilogy on blu ray - or the HD Digital Download of the OT.
For more info see the ‘The Ultimate Introductory Guide’ by HanDuet mentioned above - and also the OT•com Rules on this…
Fan Edit / Preservation Forum Rules and FAQ can be found here - link
Harmy’s Despecialized Editions can also be found on some public (and private) torrent sites - in various formats and sizes.
Of course, it’s up to you which format you’d like to have the Despecialized Edits stored on - many people like them on blu ray discs - some in quality Box Sets and cases or covers with quality artwork, a few have them stored on USB flash drives, or their computer hard drive, some have them on standalone HD Players, or plex / kodi / media centre type set-ups…
PS - A few more Harmy-related threads for his projects:-
Despecialized Edition Quality Control Thread - Report Issues Here - by Harmy
Harmy’s Despecialized Star Wars 1977 - Color Adjustment Project for v2.7 - by towne32
Harmy DeSpecialized gets a big write up! - by TheBoost
Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles) - by CatBus
Harmy’s STAR WARS ReSpecialized Edition '97R thread - by Harmy (there are no ReSpecialized Editions for ESB & ROTJ)
Harmy’s STAR WARS TRILOGY “Partly Despecialized Edition” HD!!! These version are now obsolete - by Harmy
Harmy’s Grindhouse 35mm edition of Return Of The Jedi - by Harmy
Krieg der Sterne - Despecialized Edition 2.7 (German) - by Laserschwert
Das Imperium schlägt zurück - Despecialized Edition 2.1 (German) - by Laserschwert
Die Rückkehr der Jedi-Ritter - Despecialized Edition 2.5 (German) by Laserschwert
The Despecialized Editions by Harmy : Index of ‘How-To’s & Help’ Threads | Index of ‘General Despecialized Threads’ | ‘Where are they? And how do I get them?’ Mega-Merge Thread… thread may also be of interest.
The ‘Case Covers, Disc Labels, and Fan Art’ section of the OriginalTrilogy•com site has an array of cover and disc art for Harmy’s Despecialized Editions - well worth checking it out for ideas & inspiration, for printing info, and help too.
Also, if you are experiencing technical difficulties in acquiring Harmy’s Despecialized Editions…
In Section 10 of HanDuet’s superb and helpful The Ultimate Introductory Guide:-
'If you find any errors, have feedback, or can think of ideas for improving this guide, please leave a comment on my Facebook page. I will also post on that page when a new version of this guide is published, so please “like” the page if you’d be informed of future updates:
https://www.facebook.com/HanDuet.SWDE/ ’
Or read through the various threads located in the How-To’s and Technical Discussions section of the site - searching for any previous similar questions and answers to your own queries - before making your own post in there.
The three main Despecialized Edition threads, linked at the top of this post also contains some answers to technical queries.
These alternative options in acquiring Harmy’s Despecialized Editions may be of some interest…
Bluto’s comprehensive and quality Guide to Downloading Projects from Usenet thread, in the How-To’s and Technical Discussions section of the site, may also be of interest for those members looking to acquire Harmy’s Despecialized Editions, or TN1’s 4K OT Preservations, and many other preservation projects too.
Solkap’s insightful and step-by-step guide for acquiring the NJVC Custom Bluray Set of Harmy’s Despecialized Editions now available on Mega thread may also be of some use.
Harmy’s Despecialized Editions can also apparently be found on many public (and private) torrent sites - in a range of file sizes and formats to suit - including many of the previously released versions.
An online search using ‘unfiltered’ search engines such as ‘DuckDuckGo’ may also provide you with some links to obtain the Despecialized Editions (at your own risk, of course).
Good luck with it - and hope you enjoy watching them, and any of the other great projects on the site too.
Other preservations, fan edits and fan projects can be found in…
Star Wars Preservation - link
Star Wars Fan Edits and Other Projects - link
Preservation of Other Properties - link
Fan Edits and Projects for Other Properties - link
If you are new to the OriginalTrilogy•com then the following info may be of some assistance…
The Welcome to the OT.com; Introduce yourself in here thread is just that; a place to make your first post on here - and for more longstanding members to welcome new additions to our community.
Secondly, the About and Help sections may be of interest to you regarding this site and what the OriginalTrilogy•com is about.
Thirdly, the ‘How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com - some info & answers to members’ queries thread should also hopefully be of some help as to many of the functions of the site, along with other related info as well.
The Announcements Section - including Site Rules & Guidelines, Fan Edit & Preservation Rules & FAQ, as well info for Signatures, Linking Policy for Downloads, and Plot Spoiler Policy (and much more) that may be of use too.
If you are having any issues with the site, have a question, an idea to improve the site, or would like to give some feedback - then these can be done in the Feedback Forum and General Assistance sections.
There are also several Index Threads pinned at the top of many respective sections of the OT•com - which may help members find various topics of discussion, fan edits, preservations and other projects etc.
To Join the OT.com Discord server! click on the link. There is also the OriginalTrilogy.com Twitter too.
'An OriginalTrilogy.com Timeline | a history of the site | the why & how it came to be…’ chronicles both the history of this site & also it’s continuing evolution.
The ‘Complete Comparison of Special Edition Visual Changes’ thread by doubleofive contains many sources of information as to the numerous changes made to the Original Trilogy films over time - as well as serving as an insightful and comprehensive discussion thread and reference point on the subject.
Also, the ‘George Lucas: Star Wars Creator, Unreliable Narrator & Time Travelling Revisionist…’ thread attempts to highlight and catalog some of the revisionism, altering of history and contradictory claims by George Lucas / Lucasfilm as to the formation, planning and history of the Star Wars films and universe therein.
The Some useful OT.com threads re the non-release of the theatrical OT | How you can help… thread - highlighting just a few of the many discussion threads on this site focusing on our love and appreciation for the Original Trilogy - and ongoing attempts to achieve a modern, high quality, official release of the unaltered theatrical version of the classic Star Wars movies.
Looking to acquire projects on here? Then please read this…
(and take the time to look around to see how this place works - and doesn’t - before posting requests for projects on here - thank you)
The OriginalTrilogy•com is a community where a ‘read first - post after’ mantra benefits everyone here - especially for the ‘Fan Project’ sections. We appreciate some may be excited to see the projects featured on this site - information on how to acquire them is readily available - yet patience is also required. If you bring impatience, entitlement, aggressive or vitriolic attitudes, personal attacks, or toxicity… then expect some choice words in return - and also expect your stay on here to be a short one.
Do NOT create a new thread asking ‘for a link to’… to Harmy’s Despecialized Editions, TN1’s 4K77/80/83, adywan’s Revisited Edits, the Hal9000 Edits, or any other project listed on this site. It is for you to take 5 minutes and go find the relevant project on here, for you to then read up on what the project is about, and then how to acquire it. Do not ask / expect others to do this simple task for you - we’ve had hundreds of such entitled requests over the years - and the patience of OT•com community members understandably wears thin. If thousands of people have managed to find, read up on, and then acquire these projects listed on here over the years… then you can too. A little patience - and a ‘read first - post after’ mantra - goes a long way on here…
These ‘signpost’ threads, featuring useful info and links to the five most sought-after fan projects, may be of interest…
• Some info & help for Harmy’s Despecialized Editions of the Original Trilogy…
• Some info & help for Puggo’s Grande 16mm preservations of the Original Trilogy…
• Some info & help for TN1’s 4K77, 4K80 & 4K83 preservation projects of the Original Trilogy…
• Some info & help for adywan’s Revisited Editions of the Original Trilogy…
• Some info & help for the Hal 9000 Edits of the Prequel & Sequel Trilogies (+ more)
Obviously there are countless more projects in the four main Project Index threads in each of the ‘Fan Project’ sections of the site.
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Last updated: 29th September, 2020.
If there are any threads or information you would like to see added to this please let us know - thank you.