Say for a moment that Hunter6 was right and an extended print did get some showings, does anybody have any idea why it might have been released?
Re the scenes not having dubbed or foleyed sound, the Jabba and Han and Biggs on Yavin scenes sure did when they were released as part of the SE and I doubt that sound was recorded with the actors in the 90s. If those scenes had it why not the others? Behind the Magic's versions of them may just have been crappy versions -maybe versions with improved sound did exist and didn't survive or weren't put on the disk for some reason.
I don't see how we can rule out that an extended cut might have gotten out. We've got no absolute proof that it got out but we've gots tons of witness accounts it seems. And if Lucasfilm claims it didn't happen, that means nothing -since when are we going to trust them?
That article mentioning Luke missing with the grappling hook as a known claim is notable seeing as a guy on this forum claimed that. Why would multiple people claim that if nobody saw it? It's in the novelization, but would that really make them envision it? Lots of people?
The idea of Lucas changing the film after it was released is pretty plausible in light of events 1997-onwards.
I find it hard to disimiss all these witness accounts. All that extra stuff being put in the adaptions would fit with it being released as part of the film. I mean, those adaptions make it look like there's something missing from the version of the film we know.
That article mentions Chewie not scaring the little droid in the Death Star as one of the changes people claim to have seen. Imdb seems to credit that, because they have it listed on their page of alternate versions of the film.
adywan said:
Hasn't this already been debunked because it was never even filmed? So how the hell could they have seen it? It was the same with ESB when people swore that they saw the Wampa drag Luke off and attack the rebel base. Yet again they scrapped that idea during filming so how the hell would it end up finished in a theatre showing?
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_scenes_cut_from_Star_Wars_Episode_V:_The_Empire_Strikes_Back
It looks like some of those scenes were filmed. They've got photos there of Luke manning a gun in the base, seemingly against wampas and a tauntaun dead in the base seemingly killed by wampas.
ESB was a different thing all together. The 70mm version and the 35mm were different, with the 70mm version being slightly shorter. The 35mm was the final cut, with a few extra shots and some differing fx, audio and wipes. This i saw, along with many other people and has been documented. Strangely enough, if you think about it, the 70mm version is actually the original, with the 35mm which we all know and love is actually a special edition. lol
See here:
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2003/empire/index.htm
It sounds from that like the 70mm was the final version. That's the version they used for the SE I think. It has a few extra lines.