I saw them in theaters. I didn’t know the significance of the Special Editions at the time – that the original films from that point forward would be unavailable. I thought they were just a weird alternate edit of the trilogy that would eventually make its way as bonus features onto future home video releases of the trilogy – a moneymaker, because you can charge more for six films than three. DVD was the next big thing in 1997, I figured it was just going to be a cash grab and nothing more. Everyone would be re-buying Star Wars in a couple years on the new format, and they knew it, that’s all. That’s what I thought was the meaning of the “one last time” Faces home video advertisements. Get it one last time… on VHS.

It just didn’t seem… even remotely plausible that things would turn out the way they did, especially given the quality of the edits. And it still didn’t seem plausible for the next decade as they still failed to make a new home video release of the original movies. There must be a plan, I thought. Nobody would actually throw away these beloved classic films.

Shows what I knew then. I’m definitely more cynical now, and see how filmmakers can often be the worst parents of their own creations – first bringing them to life, and then proceeding to destroy them. Although thankfully none are as bad as Lucas.

And people are still clinging to those same Star Wars home video releases they had back in 1997, keeping their VHS and Laserdisc players in repair decades after both formats were effectively dead. I would certainly never have guessed that. That so many would watch some of their favorite movies on the big screen in anticipation of a new home video release, and then never buy them on home video ever again.