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STAR WARS
Video - There was a 35mm and a 70mm print. I am unaware of any differences between the two visually. Originally, all prints had the following crawl format:
STAR
WARS
It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have
won their first victory
against the evil Galactic
Empire.
During the battle, rebel
spies managed to steal
secret plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the
DEATH STAR, an armored
space station with enough
power to destroy an entire
planet.
Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her
starship, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save
her people and restore
freedom to the galaxy. . . .
In the 1981 re-release, the crawl was altered to:
STAR
WARS
Episode IV
A NEW HOPE
It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have won
their first victory against
the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel
spies managed to steal
secret plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the DEATH
STAR, an armored space
station with enough power to
destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her
starship, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save
her people and restore
freedom to the galaxy. . . .
That is, as far as I know, the only visual difference until the 1997 SE rerelease which will not be covered here.
AUDIO - There were three different sound mixes made in 1977:
1.0 Mono Mix (35mm)
2.0 Stereo Mix (35mm)
4.2 Six-Track Mix (70mm)
The mono mix contains the most differences between the rest. If I miss anything please tell me.
- The alarms are different throughout
- Some Threepio dialogue uses alternate takes
- Aunt Beru has a different, younger-sounding person dubbing for Shelagh Fraser, whose real voice has never been heard in a Star Wars film to date
- The voice of the stormtrooper searching for the droids on Tatooine is different
- There are some added sound effects aboard the Falcon
- Tarkin's comlink communications are completely different
- Threepio's tractor-beam line is in
- "Close the blast doors!" is in
- Countdown voices aboard the Death Star and on Yavin IV are different
- Communications between ships during the final battle sound less "synthesized"
- Luke's line is "Blast it, Wedge! Where are you?!" and sounds more distressed
The stereo mix I have not heard but from what I understand the differences are as follows:
- Alarms in this version are the same as every other version besides the mono mix, as are Threepio takes, Aunt Beru's voice, the stormtrooper's voice, Falcon sound effects, Tarkin's conversations via comlink, countdown voices, oversynthesized communication voices, and the less-distressed "Blast it, Biggs, where are you?"
- The tractor beam line is gone
- "Close the blast doors!" is gone
I have no idea what differences there are in the 4.2 (or six-track) 70mm mix.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Video - There were apparently some differences in video from the 70mm and 35mm versions:
In the 70mm version:
- The hard cut between the probot and Luke on the tauntaun is an optical wipe.
- After Luke wanders through the snow and falls face down, there is an optical wipe to Han instead of a straight cut.
- The bacta tank scene starts on a close-up of 2-1B and pans right to a closeup of Luke in the tank. It then cuts to FX-7 extending it's arm to the tank. There is no cut to Leia, Han and Threepio observing.
- The AT-ST in the Hoth battle has no depth to it.
- The Emperor hologram does not "tune in," it is there from the start.
- When Luke falls from Cloud City into the Millennium Falcon, the Falcon's radar dish is not added to the shot.
- The Luke/Vader "telepathy" conversation has hard cuts rather than quick dissolves
- The final scene begins with the first establishing shot of the rebel fleet, then cuts inside the Falcon for Lando to say, "Luke, we're ready for take-off" (but a different take of this was used). After Luke says (voice over), "Good luck, Lando" the scene cuts to inside the rebel cruiser where Luke says, "I'll meet you at the rendezvous, " etc. Not in this version are two more establishing shots of the fleet and an interim effects shot over which Lando says, "When we find Jabba the Hutt and that bounty hunter we'll contact you."
Audio - There were two different audio mixes - no mono mix this time:
2.0 Stereo (35mm)
4.2 Six-Track (70mm)
Differences between the two:
- On Hoth, right after C-3PO tells R2 to "Switch off," R2 gives out a little 'blurp.'
- When Luke finally collapses in the snow, he lets out a grunt as he lands on his face.
- Han says "until I can get the shelter up" instead of "until I can get the shelter built."
- Luke says an additional "Ben... Dagobah..." just before Han says "and I thought they smelled bad on the outside."
- When C-3P0 tells Luke "It's so good to see you fully functional again," Luke replies "Thanks, Threepio."
- The line "Headquarters personnel report to Command Center" is repeated three times instead of two.
- The line "The first transport is away!" is said in a different voice altogether.
- When R2 is being loaded into Luke's X-Wing, C-3PO says the word "and" before saying "do take good care of yourself."
- Han's line "Transport, this is Solo. Better take off, I can't get to you. I'll get her out on the Falcon" is followed by, "Come on!"
- In the asteroid field, after C-3PO says "Oh, this is suicide." He says, "There's nowhere to go."
- Luke says "You were lucky to get out of there" instead of "You're lucky you don't taste very good."
- Yoda makes a frightened "Ehhhhh!" sound just before Luke says "Like we're being watched" and points his blaster at him.
- Yoda says the word "Run!" before "Yes. A Jedi's strength flows from the force." The following lines "But beware the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side of the force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight" are also much louder and clearer.
- In Cloud City, after C-3PO says "That sounds like an R2 unit in there. I wonder if it..." he says "Hello?" only once instead of twice.
- Before C-3PO gets shot, a different voice says "Who are you?"
- The Imperial fleet establishing shot after the magic tree scene has a different TIE fighter sound effect.
- While C-3PO is on Chewie's back when they enter the carbon freezing chamber, the line "Now remember, Chewbacca, you have a responsibility to me, so don't do anything foolish" is louder and heard more clearly.
- During the duel, when Luke knocks Vader off of the platform, Vader lets out an "ooooh!" instead of an "aaargh!"
- Lando's line at the end, "Luke, we're ready for takeoff." is a different take.
- In the final scene, there is no tracked music from "Yoda and the Force".
{Thanks go to Neil S. Bulk and Obi-Wan Spicoli for the information on Empire}
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Video - There were two film types, 35mm and 70mm. I am at this moment unaware of any visual differences between the two.
Audio - Again, two mixes:
2.0 Stereo (35mm)
4.2 Six-Track (70mm)
Some differences between the two mixes:
- In the 70mm version, Han says, "It's alright, I can see a lot better" instead of "It's alright, trust me."
{Once again, thanks go to Neil S. Bulk and Obi-Wan Spicoli for information on Jedi}
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Well, there you have it - not entirely complete but I think you guys can fill in the gaps, unless you feel this thread is unneccesary.