Yes, there was an Extended original cut of first film which was about 15 or 20 minutes longer and yes, a little group of theaters showed it, but not long. It was pulled after two showings on opening today. Lucas has turned this little thing into an urban legend. Some of the Usenet posters are telling the truth. No one could have seen it many times because they all were pulled. It also was missing some effects and the lightsaber effects were odd. It was not the greatest way to see star wars for the first. The only good thing about it is Vader use more force powers and acts more cocky in the original cut. I think one day Lucas will add some of these back in some type of new SE.
    the Marvel comic adaption of Star Wars shows visual details that are only in the original cut. Which make me think the people who work on the Marvel comic adaption of Star Wars saw this cut of the film because the comic visual matches those scenes. How did the artists of the Marvel comic draw things just like how they are in the deleted scenes if they did not see a type of original cut of the film. The screenplay would not show how the actors stood and moved in those scenes.
    This is one Urban Legend which is real.
    hell, one day in the future Lucas may try to make it seem like the OOT was all in people's heads too and that the SE versions were the original ones.