All right, I have discovered yet another subtle print variation but this time I found it in reel 5. As I suspected, the credit roll and X-Wing matte shot were not the only things revised.
The very subtle difference is in the matte shot of the rebel base - while the live-action footage utilized for the shot is exactly the same, the timing of it is slightly different, causing us to see five frames less of it from the beginning and five more frames of it at the end in the 80's video master.
Top: Special Collection LD Below: '06 Bonus DVD
First frame:
^ see the different position of the rebel trooper in the middle of the frame.
Last frame:
So why the heck did they bother to revisit this shot? that's a good question but the reason for it may have been the blue streaks that appear across the frame at the end of the shot:
A video sample of the scene from the Special Collection resized to 16:9: http://www.sendspace.com/file/6f0g9o
As with the X-Wing matte shot, the same pattern follows...
Blue streaks:
- 35mm Widescreen bootleg (Moth3r)
- 35mm Widescreen bootleg (AntcuFaalb)
- 16mm (PuggoGrande)
- 16mm (Catnap)
- Super 8 Derann
- NTSC home video versions '82 - '92
- PAL home video versions '82 - '91
- UK ITV Broadcast version (1982)
No blue streaks:
- IB Technicolor prints
- Puggo Krig (Swedish 16mm print)
- Starkiller / MeBeJedi / TWC326 Fullscreen bootlegs
- US Special Letterbox Collector's Edition VHS '92 / SWE LD (Technidisc)
- DC LD / Faces / 2006 Bonus DVD
- French "Pyramid" LD ('94 pressing) '89 source?
- UK PAL Digitally Remastered Widescreen VHS '94
- PAL Digitally THX Mastered LD & VHS '95