When I was a kid I had a vhs bootleg copy of Return of the Jedi. I was the coolest kid on my block for about a week after I got it.

I can tell you that it was not the full screen version mentioned earlier in this thread. My copy was of very low quality, due to the fact that it was many generations down from the original. It was also presented in letterbox mode. The strange thing is it was more 1:85:1 letterbox than 2:35:1 mode. I am not 100% sure if it was a camcorder copy or telecine copy due to the low quality. It did have direct audio though. I am leaning more towards a camcorder copy. The part when the large Imperial cruiser falls from space and crashes, the film actually froze and broke. There was then a harsh edit point.

I grew up in the Detroit area and first learned of the is bootleg while at the barber shop with my Grandfather. They guy who owned the shop told me he just watched the new Star Wars movie at home. Surely I thought he was confused and had just watched Star Wars on HBO. He said come back the next day and he would have a copy for me. This was summer of 83. Needles to say I never made it back the next day.

A few days later the local news ran a piece on Return of the Jedi bootlegs hurting profits at local theaters.

I received my copy from a friend of my parents a couple of months later. Like I said though, by the time I got it many generations in quality had passed.