Hello there, forum dwellers. I’m the new guy in town. I’ve been reading through some forum posts about the various different edits and preservations people here have made of the Star Wars movies, and I must say this is fantastic. Y’all (<— excuse a Southern boy) have really done some great work getting around old Mr. Lucas’s obstinate refusal to release these movies the way they were seen in their original forms. With that in mind, I’ve seen many projects for each different movie, and I was wondering if y’all could help me out with something.
Can y’all help me find the best theatrical version of each movie? I don’t care if it’s a cam bootleg or a cleaned-up, color corrected visual masterpiece. I just want to see it how people first saw it. I’ll also need you to tell me which website I can find it on. I know there’s a stigma about linking to torrents here, and I understand because it could get the site in trouble.
I’ll put what I’ve figured out so far about each movie in further detail below. Feel free to correct, add on, or offer your opinion about which version is the best.
EPISODE IV
I know there’s Team Negative1’s Silver Screen Edition and Harmy’s Despecialized. I have heard before that the Silver Screen Edition is the most accurate because it literally is a scan of a 35mm film reel that was shown in theaters in 1977. Can someone shed some light on the differences for me? I’ve also heard that there’s some disparity between different audio mixes that were used in theaters during the original run. I know literally nothing about audio mixing, so without being too complicated, can you explain the differences in lines and sound effects?
EPISODE V
I know that there are two versions of the theatrical release. The 70mm was used for the premiere in select theaters across the country, and the 35mm was later completed and sent out for the second wave of showings. I have heard that Negative1’s Grindhouse edition uses a 35mm reel, and I assume it also uses the 35mm’s theatrical audio mix. Is there a way to obtain the 70mm version? I know it contains substantial differences in both video and audio.
EPISODE VI
I don’t know much about the theatrical version of Return of the Jedi. I’ve seen the 2006 Bonus DVD “Theatrical Version”, but apparently that’s not the real theatrical version. I think Harmy made a Grindhouse version for it, but I don’t know if the source he used was one of several different theatrical releases, like with The Empire Strikes Back.
EPISODE I
This is where I get a little fuzzy. I want to say Adywan made a theatrical version, but I’m not sure. I do know there are some changes in the 2004 DVDs (we won’t discuss the adulterations of the 2011 BDs), but I’m not sure if they’ve been found and preserved.
EPISODE II
I know that there were a few different theatrical versions: the 35mm, the DLP (digital), and the IMAX. From what I understand, the IMAX had no additions but was simply cut for time, so I’m not concerned with it. I think the digital version is identical to the DVD. I know Centropy (which, from my understanding, was a bootleg group that got shut down by the FBI in 2005) made a cam release of the 35mm in 2002 containing Padme’s different lines, the extra speeders in the background of the Coruscant chase scene, and the alternate mechanical hand shot, among other minor differences.
EPISODE III
I haven’t heard anything about alterations from the theatrical version to the DVD, other than an optical wipe during the Mustafar scene that was changed to a straight cut in the DVD and restored in the Blu-ray.
EPISODE VII
I’ve heard a little about the credits being extended with alternate music, the First Order spy at Maz’s bar whispering audibly instead of silently, and BB-8 chirping during his closeup shot while Rey, Finn, and BB-8 are escaping from Niima Outpost. Is this correct, and if so, is there a version containing those changes that is on the Internet?
ROGUE ONE
Nothing. Is it too early to discuss this yet? LOL
So that’s what I know. Which is the best, most accurate theatrical version of each movie, and where can I find it? Thank y’all. Sorry for the wall of text.