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Open letter to Lucas in October 1980 to release Star Wars on Home Video

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 (Edited)

An open letter to George Lucas for him to release Star Wars to the then embryonic but burgeoning home video market:

October 1980

The Videophile magazine

Scroll down to page 8:

magazines.lddb.com/The.Videophile/Videophile Issue 27 October 1980.pdf

It’s off topic but there is also a review of Superman The Movie’s debut home video release(the main contemporary big budget fantasy rival to Star Wars) on page 35.

Superman got it’s official 4k release late last year…….as for Star Wars…….

 

Mod Edit: a screenshot of the above linked image:-

I saw Star Wars in 1977. Many, many, many times. For 3 years it was just Star Wars...period. I saw it in good theaters, cheap theaters and drive-ins with those clunky metal speakers you hang on your window. The screen and sound quality never subtracted from the excitement. I can watch the original cut right now, over 30 years later, on some beat up VHS tape and enjoy it. It's the story that makes this movie. Nothing? else.

kurtb8474 1 week ago

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=SkAZxd-5Hp8


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 (Edited)

Awesome find! That letter could almost have been written this century. 😉

And wow, I didn’t know Sony had a prototype 8mm system that early. Lots of fascinating ancient tech in those pages. I didn’t know there were descrambler boxes with built in speakers designed to thwart VCR recording either. Diabolical!

The all black and white interior pages and simple layout remind me of the '70’s CB Radio magazines my Dad used to read.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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That’s really fascinating - thank you! My first copy of Star Wars was taped off the TV (with the ads carefully spliced out) circa 1982, so I guess that makes me a pirate. Of course the minute the films became officially available (as far as I was aware anyway) in 1992 I snatched 'em up and George got his cut.

This makes me think of the anger I felt whilst watching the Star Wars 40th anniversary celebrations on Youtube. There was George banging on about ‘mythological motifs’ to great applause while no-one dared call him out on the fact that the very film they were celebrating no longer exists.

Meanwhile in the upper right corner of my Youtube feed was a SW 40th anniversary interview with Gary Kurtz that had a paltry few hits and certainly none of the fanfare of the ‘official’ celebrations. But it had ten times the heart. Had it been up to Gary, we’d all be enjoying bluray (and I daresay 4K) versions of the '77 film right now. It’s like poetry I guess…

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No worries folks

If you are interested in more stuff from those vintage magazines then the fine folks at laserdisc database have a treasure trove:

https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=8174

I saw Star Wars in 1977. Many, many, many times. For 3 years it was just Star Wars...period. I saw it in good theaters, cheap theaters and drive-ins with those clunky metal speakers you hang on your window. The screen and sound quality never subtracted from the excitement. I can watch the original cut right now, over 30 years later, on some beat up VHS tape and enjoy it. It's the story that makes this movie. Nothing? else.

kurtb8474 1 week ago

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=SkAZxd-5Hp8


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I love this site for finding things such as this. Thankyou danny_boy!

Tighten Up and then turn it all the way up to 11!