Well tape now in hand, I can confirm that it's from the 1984 showing. How do I know? After pulling the tape out and using precision carbon-dating techniques... no... I could only wish. The first commercial break (following Magic Johnson's fond ode to R2-D2 "I really dug on R2, he's my boy.") There's an exclusive first look at Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan coming March 30th... Greystoke, of course, being released in 1984. Jackpot. The only catch is that the recording on the tape starts immediately at the Fox fanfare... no intro. And for some reason, even at a young age, I decided to re-edit the trench run to include Lando flying the Falcon into the Death Star, figure that one out... But everything else is firmly in place. Hamill in his tux on a "set" closing things up is also on the tape. (And I'm sure everyone's dying to hear Valeri Bertinelli talk about the first time she saw Star Wars and how R2 and 3PO remind her of Laurel and Hardy.)

I'm just amazed at how well this tape has withstood the test of time. The reels may have yellowed and the tracking may phase in and out but it's still in fantastic shape given it's age...

So given that the feature is somewhat incomplete (man did I F with the continuity having Lando show up or what) maybe I should do a transfer of the bumpers and commercials? Put together a mini-featurette of sorts?