So are we calling this one the 19SE yet? Dibs!
Let’s see, for Star Wars, ignoring some of the subtler differences (the cloudy composite/altered credits/natural home video variance between releases), we’ve got:
1977: original video (mono mix)
1977: original video (stereo mix)
1977: original video (six-channel mix)
1981 (3): “A New Hope” crawl and flyover, same three audio choices (crudely spliced onto 70mm reels, but still different)
1985: new audio mix, 1981 video
1993: new audio mix with alterations, 1981 video
1997SE: altered audio and video
2004SE: altered audio and video
GOUT: unique pairing of original video with 1993 audio
2011SE: altered audio and video
2019SE: altered audio and videoStar Wars is now weighing in at THIRTEEN distinct versions of the film. And that’s when you exclude the obscure ones!
I’m hesitant calling anything Special Edition that isn’t actually the Special Edition, from 1997. To me, they are the SE, DVD edition, BD edition and now this 4K edition.
For me Special Edition isn’t a particular release, it’s (essentially) a different set of films. More like a remake than a video release. So all of the pre-97 changes are alternate versions of one set of films (the Original Trilogy), and all of the post-97 changes are alternate versions of another set of films (the Special Editions). Just as I include the 1993 release as part of the OOT, I include the 2019 release as part of the SE. Words mean different things to different people, YMMV.