Post #1349501

Great idea for a thread, Vin! 👍

Edit: as V.I.N.Cent is no longer around the site, he won’t be able to update his quality Index any further with new articles. So…
 

A continuation of the Index in the opening post of this thread - for new ‘articles and sources of information’…
 

1. Disney+ Should Offer the Star Wars Original Cuts - at Wired by doubleofive & his OT•com thread

2. What We Want And How To Make It - at Star Wars Visual Comparisons (by doubleofive)

3. The Star Wars George Lucas Doesn’t Want You To See - at The Atlantic

4. J.J. Abrams is calling for the original versions of ‘Star Wars’ to be released - at NowThis

5. Dear Disney - A Plea for the Unaltered Original Star Wars Trilogy - at HelloGreedo (with many more videos)

6. Why We Should Be Able to See Star Wars‘ Original Theatrical Cut - at 411 Mania

7. Star Wars on Blu-ray: George, don’t do that… - at The Guardian

8. We Can’t See ‘Star Wars’ Anymore - at New York Times

9. Why releasing the ‘Star Wars’ theatrical cuts is culturally important - at Hypable

10. From A Certain Point Of View - at Contingent Magazine

11. Disney Can Now Release The Unaltered Star Wars (But They Probably Won’t) - at Screen Rant

12. The glass-half-full gift of the only official unaltered Star Wars Original Trilogy DVDs - at SyFy

13. Why Hasn’t Disney Released The Original Unaltered Star Wars Films? - at Gizmodo

14. Star Wars: Why Disney Won’t Release the Original Theatrical Cuts’ - at Den Of Geek

15. A load of ‘MacClunkey’: will George Lucas’s Star Wars tinkering never end? - at The Guardian

16. Why Lucasfilm Needs To Release The Unaltered Theatrical Cut Of The Original Trilogy On Blu-Ray - at EpicStream

17. Will the original unaltered theatrical Star Wars Trilogy officially be released again - at SWNN

18. The Original Star Wars Trilogy Deserves An Unaltered Blu-Ray Release - at ScreenRant

19. The search for the ‘Star Wars’ George Lucas doesn’t want you to see - at Mashable

20. We’re Still Waiting For the Unaltered Star Wars Trilogy - at The Wrap

21. Opinion: Saving the Original, unaltered Classic Trilogy - at Star Wars Aficionado

22. George Lucas Wants Desperately To Preserve Old Movies… Unless They’re His; So Fans Do It Instead - at TechDirt

23. OK, so the original Star Wars trilogy probably isn’t coming back - at Force Material

24. Could Disney finally give us the remastered, unedited Star Wars we want? - at ARS Technica

25. The release of the Original Trilogy to DVD - at MCW Toys

26. Will the original, unaltered 1977 Star Wars ever be released on Blu-ray? - at Episode Nothing

27. Star Wars: The remarkable quest to restore the original film - at Red Shark News

28. John Landis Says Original ‘Star Wars’ Theatrical Cuts Will Be Re-Released - at IndieWire

29. Why finding the original 1977 Star Wars is verges on the impossible - at Inverse

30. A “New” New Hope: Film Preservation and the Problem with ‘Star Wars - at Popoptiq

31. Disney Has Acquired Fox; What Does that Mean for Star Wars? - at SWNN

32. An Uncut and Non-Remastered List of Star Wars Editions! - at Tor

33. Whose Film Is It, Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom - at DOI, & Academic OUP

34. Nooo! George Lucas Makes More Changes to Original Trilogy - at CA Movies

35. Untouched is impossible: the story of Star Wars in film - at ARS Tecnica

36. Star Wars original cuts on Blu-ray: the evidence - at Den Of Geek

37. George Lucas Approved Rare Pre-Special Edition Star Wars Screening - at ComicBook

38. Star Wars Original Cuts Could Be Released, But Disney Won’t Do It - at Den Of Geek

39. Star Wars on Blu-ray: what surprises does LucasFilm have in store? - at The Guardian

40. Disney+ Should Offer the Star Wars Original Cuts—All of Them - at Wired (by doubleofive)

41. The Original Theatrical STAR WARS Trilogy Will Never Get an HD Re-release Because of George Lucas - at GeekTyrant

42. Rick McCallum - Producer of the Star Wars Special Edition - at Maik Eldas

43. Star Wars, Blu-Ray and a Boycott - at Our Gazebo

44. Disney’s Fox Acquisition Likely Won’t See Original ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy Released - at ComicBook

45. Why Old School STAR WARS Fans Should Be Insanely Excited About The Disney/Fox Deal - at Revenge Of The Fans

46. Disney Has Acquired Fox; What Does that Mean for Star Wars? - at SWNN

47. The Disney/Fox Merger is Done; Release the STAR WARS Original Trilogy Theatrical Cut Next? - at That HashTag Show

48. Star Wars’ Films Coming to Blu-ray Next Year - at NY Times / ArtsBeat

49. Will Disney Ever Release the original pre-Special Edition Star Wars Movies? - at TheStarWarsTrilogy.com

50. A last (definitive) Original Star Wars update for a while - at The Digital Bits

51. Star Wars Doesn’t Belong to George Lucas. It Belongs to the Fans - at NY Times (2015)

52. The theatrical Star Wars trilogy hasn’t just been replaced, it’s being destroyed - at Our Culture (2021)

53. Disney Is Still Pretending The OG Star Wars Movies Don’t Exist - at ScreenRant (2021)

54. Will Disney Ever Release The Unaltered Original Star Wars Trilogy? - at ScreenRant (2022)

55. Disney Releases Non-Special Edition Star Wars OT Footage in New Trailer - at CBR (2022)

56. Original Star Wars footage used in new Disney Plus documentary - at The DigitalFix (2022)

57. Why Disney Won’t Release The Original Star Wars Films - at ScreenRant (2023)

58. Disney Needs To Release The Original Unaltered Star Wars Trilogy For One Huge Reason - at GFR (2023)

59. Will the Original Unaltered Theatrical Star Wars Trilogy Officially Be Rereleased Again? - at The Lone Wolf (2020)

60. Star Wars: The Theatrical Cuts Of The Original Trilogy Should Be On Disney Plus - at GameRant (2021)

61. Why Disney Should Re-Release the Rest of the Original ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy in Theaters - at Collider (2022)

62. Why I Prefer The Original Trilogy Without The Special Edition Changes - at CultureSlate (2023)

63. The secret to seeing Star Wars in its original form - at TechRadar (2022)

64. ‘Star Wars’ Fans Feel the Force Calling Them Back to Original Cuts - at Wall Street Journal (2015) (article in full here)

65. PLEASE Release the Unaltered Theatrical Version of the Original Trilogy - at The Corellian Connection (2020)

66. The Unaltered Cuts of the Original Star Wars Trilogy need an official release - at Keir Jarvie (2020)

67. Disney will NEVER release the original Star Wars Trilogy - at YellowFlash2 (2019)

68. Why I Bought Star Wars on DVD in 2023 (Theatrical Star Wars on DVD) - at Brave Blade Productions (2023)

69. How Disney have embraced, ignored, and changed the controversial SE re-releases - at Gizmodo (2022)

70. Will Disney ever release an unchanged original Star Wars trilogy? - at SO Mag News (2022)

71. 10 Disney-Owned Movies that Deserve the Criterion Collection Treatment - at Collider (2022)

72. What It Means for ‘Return of the Jedi’ to be in the National Film Registry - at FSR (2021)

73. George Lucas explains why you shouldn’t digitally alter films - at Force Material (2022)

74. What Happened to the Original ‘Lost’ Version of Star Wars? - at MoveiWeb (2023)

75. 10 Most Famous Lost Movies - at CBR (2023)

76. Star Wars Fans Don’t Care About an Original Trilogy Theatrical Cut, Says Jon Favreau - at CBR (2023)

77. Jon Favreau Doesn’t Think Most People Care About The Original Star Wars Cut - at 411 Mania (2023)

78. Mandalorian Creator Jon Favreau Addresses the Release of Theatrical Cuts of Original Trilogy - at ComicBook (2023)

79. Return of the Jedi Will Be Back in Theaters for 40th Anniversary Celebration - at StarWars•com (2023) ^

80. Return Of The Jedi Returns To The Top 5 At The Box Office 40 Years Later (2019 SE version) - at SlashFilm (2023) ^

81. The Force Is Strong With ‘Return of the Jedi’s 40th Anniversary Box Office (2019 SE version) - at Collider (2023) ^

82. Return Of The Jedi Just Proved It’s Still One Of The Best Star Wars Movies (2019 SE version) - at GFR (2023) ^

83. The Return Of The Jedi Rerelease Is Number 5 At The US Box Office (2019 SE version) - at Jedi Temple Archives (2023) ^

84. Why Disney Should Re-Release the Rest of the Original ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy in Theaters - at Collider (2023)

85. Star Wars Fans Campaign For Disney To Release All Versions Of Every Movie - at We Got This Covered (2020)

86. Why Star Wars should be left to the fans - at the BBC (2011)

87. Why Star Wars’ Original Trilogy Looks A Bit Different On Disney Plus - at SlashFilm (2023)

88. Rebel Scanners: Preserving Star Wars (with Rob of Team Negative 1) - 55 minute video at Trash Compactor (2023)

89. Format Wars: The Journey of Star Wars on Home Video (with Nathan Butler) - 91 minute vid at Trash Compactor (2023)

90. 5 Worst Changes Star Wars Made From The Original Cuts - at ScreenRant (2023)

91. A Truck Full Of Letters Got Star Wars Re-Released In Theaters - at SlashFilm (2024)

92. 8 Director’s Cuts That Are Worse Than The Original - at ScreenRant (2024)

93. Disney, PLEASE Release the Unaltered Theatrical Version of the Star Wars Original Trilogy - video at Corellian Connection (2020)

94. What Is The Star Wars 4k77 Project & Why Is It So Important To Some Fans? - at Looper (2024)

95. Star Wars Fan Remasters And Project 4K77 Explained - at SlashFilm (2024)

96. I was WRONG about the Star Wars Special Editions (Watching 4K77) - 18 min video at Brave Blade Productions (2023)

97. Return of the Jedi 4K83 Review - 5 minute video at Evan’s Media (2022)

98. 4K80 Is Finally Out! - 3 minute video at Brave Blade Productions (2024)

99. The Empire Strikes Back Original Theatrical Version Restored In 4K By Fans - at GFR (2024)

100. The ORIGINAL THEATRICAL version of Empire Strikes Back is here! - 4K80 - 7 minute video at Evan’s Media (2024)

^ (No. 79-83) = a limited time release of the 2019 SE of Return of the Jedi made the Top 5 of US cinema takings in May 2023 (marketed as the 40th anniversary of ROTJ). It makes you wonder how much money an unaltered theatrical cut release would have taken - and also disproves Jon Favreau’s baffling prior claim re the unaltered original cuts:-
 

“Do you think anybody but us, like, the people who grew up with it, like anybody would care? Because I know to younger people… that’s what I figured out is that the younger people have a whole different perception of what Star Wars is.” - Jon Favreau

 
Which is actually quite similar to George Lucas’ quote re the 2006 GOUT DVDs - shortly before being released…
 

“It’s just the original versions, as they were. We didn’t do anything to it at all. But we’re not sure how many people want that… Now we’ll find out whether they really wanted the original or whether they wanted the improved versions. It’ll all come out in the end.”

 
^ this despite Lucasfilm already acknowledging in their announcement for the 2006 GOUT DVDs… that the release was due to “overwhelming demand” and that “over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us they would love to see and own the original version they remember seeing in theaters”.

Note: the 2006 GOUT DVD release, despite originally being available for a “limited time” between 12th September and 31st December of 2006 were still being pressed and sent to retail stores as of April 2011. They were also still being sold in stores until September 2011 - until just before the 2011 SE version on blu-ray was released.

Seems it did indeed “all came out in the end”.

An insightful and informative article from 2012, by Emmet Asher-Perrin, that many on here may recognise and agree with…

 
‘Lucas Shot First: The Surprisingly Powerful Sense of Betrayal George Lucas Creates’ - at ReactorMag | archived copy

‘Dear Disney - A Plea for the Unaltered Original Star Wars Trilogy’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1a4yKJOzYU - at the HelloGreedo youtube channel. (2015 - 4 minutes long)
 

HelloGreedo has similar feelings to many here on wanting an official release of the unaltered Original Star Wars trilogy…

A few of his other quality videos on the subject:-

‘JUST DO IT - Release the Original Cut of the Star Wars Trilogy’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0HKSSW8adM (2015; 1 minute long)

‘RUMOR - Disney Releasing the Original Cut of Star Wars’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKtkmeGp8iA (2015; 4 minutes long)

‘RUMOR: Unaltered Star Wars Trilogy Being Release This Year - Here We Go Again’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WjAlJQm_H4 (2017; 4 minutes long)

‘I’m Done With Unaltered Trilogy Rumors’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnEcXksaw8Q (2017; 3 minutes long)

‘J.J. Abrams wants the Original Theatrical versions of Star Wars, too’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOHgaPQTTlc (2019; 6 minutes long)

‘OH MY GOD IT WAS CHANGED AGAIN - “Maclunkey” - Star Wars Changes’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wFNyaCGpvk (2019; re the 2019 SE Release / Disney+ changes - 7 minutes long)

‘The most authentic UNALTERED THEATRICAL cut of Star Wars is here … and it’s in 4K | PROJECT 4K77’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwnMWS1iFTE (2020; 4 minutes long)

‘Despecialized vs 4K83 vs Disney+ vs Official Blu-Ray - RETURN OF THE JEDI - Star Wars Changes’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUYywx6ojVg (2021; 12 minutes long)

‘Steven Spielberg Gets It’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvWUG_16oo0 (2023; 4 minutes long)

‘Some People Don’t Get It - Star Wars Changes’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bS-qoPbrYQ (2023; 10 minutes long)

‘4K80 Now Available! | Star Wars Unaltered Original Trilogy’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbyAkc4__tc (2024; 4 minutes long)