So I was looking over some of the notes I was sharing with OCP when he was cobbling together Deleted Magic and I found some observations and other items that never made it in to DM or things that proved to be inaccurate. So... based on the revised 4th draft the script:
FADE IN...
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away
an incredible adventure took place...
FADE OUT...
FADE IN
1. EXT. SPACE
A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the MAIN TITLE. War drums echo through the heavens, as a ROLLUP slowly crawls into infinity...
It is a period of civil wars in the galaxy. A brave alliance of underground freedom fighters has challenged the tyranny and oppression of the awesome GALACTIC EMPIRE....
We've already discussed this. The crawl DM has is cool (his is from the 3rd draft) but it too weird for my tastes. I'm glad to see this closer to the rough cut.
2. INT. REBEL SPACEFIGHTER - MAIN PASSAGEWAY
...An explosion hits near the robots and the lanky Threepio becomes entangled in the mass of dangling wires, which spark and pop every time he attempts to move. Artoo waddles to his friends aid.
THREEPIO
Help me! I think something is melting... This is all your fault! I should have known better than to trust the logic of a half-sized thermocapsulary dehousing assister...
Artoo counters with an angry rebuttal as the battle rages around the two hapless robots.
One of the things that I tried to get OCP to emphasise is the likelyhood of the droids walking through the lasers in the corridor was filmed as an unscripted gag, which the rough cut was notorious for having. Much akin to Chewie scaring the mouse droid or the cut moment where Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie stroll past Imperial Officers while whistling and hiding their guns behind their backs. (is it any wonder that a majority of the British filming crew thought the film was 'complete rubbish'?
I'm sure you will note that the "I think I am melting" scene was moved to much later on in the film. In the shot with Artoo laughing at Threepio, I'm not sure where Artoo is or where this footage was taken as the background doesn't really resemble the control room in the Death Star or anywhere else (that I can tell).
8 EXT. ANCHORHEAD SETTLEMENT - POWER STATION - DAY
Heat waves radiate from the dozen or so bleached white buildings. Luke pilots his landspeeder through the dusty empty street of the tiny settlement. An old WOMAN runs to get out of the way of the speeding vehicle, shaking her fist at Luke as he flies past.
WOMAN
I've told you kids to slow down!
I'd love to see more on this scene, although I'm not sure how much more can be done aside from showing the daily from the Insider magazine.
19 INT. SANDCRAWLER - HOLD AREA
It is dim inside the hold area of the Sandcrawler. Artoo switches on a small floodlight on his forehead and stumbles around the scrap heap. The narrow beam swings across rusty metal rocket parts and an array of grotesquely twisted and maimed astro-robots. He lets out a pathetic electronic whimper and stumbles off toward what appears to be a door at the end of the chamber.
20 INT. SANDCRAWLER - PRISON AREA
Artoo enters a wide room with a four-foot ceiling. In the middle of the scrap heap sit a dozen or so robots of various shapes and sizes. Some are engaged in electronic conversation, while others simply mill about. A voice of recognition calls out from the gloom.
While scene 19 was omitted from the revised 4th that is going around the net, the published version of the script has this curious mention of a second room. Thoughts?
28. INT. LARS HOMESTEAD - KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON
Luke's Aunt Beru, a warm motherly woman, fills a pitcher with blue milk from a refrigerated container in the well used kitchen. She puts the pitcher on a tray with some bowls of food and starts for the dining area.
Blue milk! What could be more exciting that watching Aunt Beru serve some supper!
29. EXT. TATOOINE - LARS HOMESTEAD - ENTRY AREA - SALT FLAT
The giant twin suns of Tatooine slowly disappear behind a distant dune range. Luke stands watching them for a few moments, then reluctantly enters the domed entrance to the homestead.
The Editdroid bonus discs have this with the alternate score as well as the dianoga scene. But you are already on this, I’m sure.
A50. EXT. TATOOINE - MOS EISLEY - STREET - ALLEYWAY - USED SPEEDER LOT
BEN
If the ship's as fast as he's boasting, we ought to do well.
The curious thing about this line is that it was replaced with an alternate take in the DVD release of 2004.
1977: “If the ship's as fast as he's boasting…”
2004: “If the ship's as fast as his boasting…”
This last take adds a bit of wit that was missing before. I tried to put notice of this change on wiki, put some know-it-all kept taking it down.
116. INT. DEATH STAR - HALLWAY LEADING TO MAIN FORWARD BAY
VADER
Your powers are weak... old man, you should never have come back.
I’d love to see this dialogue reconstructed.
The information of Jack Klaff as Red 4 in the briefing room as reported in DM is now believed to be wrong.
That’s it for now.