Info: ANH mono soundtrack

I’ve got hold of a copy of ANH on VHS that has the mono soundtrack, but it’s very poor quality. The tape must be 20 years old; it’s a recording off TV. The first few seconds of title music are missing, there are frequent dropouts where the tape is worn, and interruptions where the tape was paused for the ad breaks.

I don’t think the quality is good enough for use on a DVD project, but I’ll sample and post to a.b.starwars if anyone is interested.

Some of the differences, e.g. Beru’s voice, the blast door line, are detailed Here.

Condensed from http://in70mm.com/news/2003/star_wars/star_wars_1977.htm:

After completing the multi-channel versions, the soundtrack crew created a
monaural mix for versions prepared for ancillary markets. A new dedicated mono
mix was created from scratch, and the filmmakers seized opportunities to revise
and enhance selected portions of the soundtrack. Sound designer Ben Burtt
recalls: “Because we were always trying to make the film better and better and
fix things that were not right, there was some ‘sweetening’ done; things like
different Stormtrooper or C-3PO lines, additional sound effects, or some
different ADR.”

At the time, some members of the production felt the mono mix represented the
definitive soundtrack of the movie (not in terms of a sonic experience but,
rather, in terms of audio content). “George put a lot of effort in that mono
mix,” Burtt remembers, “and he even said several times, ‘Well, this is the real
mix. This is the definitive mix of the film.’”

Knowing that multiple mixes were made that contained subtle yet detectable
differences may help explain any conflicting or confusing memories of moviegoers
who remember hearing a certain sound effect or line of dialogue in one
presentation but not in another (a Stormtrooper calling out “Close the blast
doors” while chasing Han Solo and Chewbacca through a Death Star corridor, for
example).