The first full screen/pan and scan trilogy boxset was released in 1992. The 1989 was just all three films with a cheap carboard band around them. I have that set. Neither set features the theatrical audio from the 35mm mix of star wars. That was released in the 1982 rental tape and 1984 mass market edition.
I paid about 50 bucks for the rental tape, and 4 bucks for the CAV laserdisc release. The picture quality difference is staggering the vhs is washed out and flat looking way less resolution. The 1985 CAV laserdisc Has nice colors i only wish the widescreen versions looked as nice though being zoomed in to the middle of the picture cropped cover up a lot of the problems prevalent in the widescreen transfer. Sadly before the days of anamorphic DVD, full screen and pan and scan offered higher resolution than letterbox. The image had to be further dumbed down to fit a 4:3 television set.
Despite being a rotter is you can find a non rotted copy of the 1985 it probably is the nicest of the transfers and the only thing it does not have is digital sound or the full uncropped image. But what do you want this was 1985. The first letterbox releases came in Japan in the late 1980's as the Japan Special Collection. The image was shifted higher up on the screen to fit the japanese subtitles which are hardcopied into them.
Lucky enough America got its own widescreen releases directly from the same master as the japanese set but CLV instead of CAV. The first release for star wars had the incrdible shrinking ratio problem but they released a fixed copy later. Also Empire strikes Back and Star Wars appear to be properly centered. Jedi however the picture is shifted to the top of the screen which is dumb because the subtitles were gone from the japan release. Fox excuse at the time was it was for the Jabba Subtitles. lol. The only fixed jedi widscreen release would come years later in the definitive boxset and the seperate clv release. Though it had dvnr done to it and had a brand new sound mix. It is sad that the closest you can get to the theatrical return of the jedi is the Japan Special collection release.
Star Wars had a pan and scan CAV as i already mentioned in 1985 with analog sound only. Also the second Installment Empire strikes back was released in CAV in 1986 with its 35mm theatrical sound mix analog only and pan and scan. No return of the jedi was ever released in 1987. The Jedi Release is clv Only and is sped up to fit less discs. I also have the Re-issue in 1992 taken from the same video master only now it had digital sound.
I think Van Ling who created the menus for the 2004 went and corrected the Luke's Saber Color on the menu. Though in the movie it still remains incorrect. They had quality control checking on the menus but not on the movie itself,lol. The explanation the TFn guys came up with always gives me a laugh. Perhaps Lukes Sword was Silver white, greenish on the Falcon because it was on a training stun only setting.