2006 GOUT : The changes to the OT films & general 2006 GOUT DVD discussion thread

The 2006 GOUT DVD Release

The changes to the OT films & general 2006 GOUT DVD discussion thread…

Introduction:-

 
To any Rebels, Imperials, Guild Members and the dedicated scum and villainy from the OT•com reading this…
 

This is just one of a seven-part set of linked threads (see the end of this post for the links) to talk about each of the four main ‘Special Edition’ releases and the respective changes made to them over time - including a post for the original unaltered theatrical version, and also an unlikely scenario where “Somehow Lucas has returned!” with more changes made in yet another improbable future release.

The reason for these threads is try and help inform, educate and highlight any new fans who are unaware or are uninitiated with some the history of these continuing changes made to the three iconic Original Trilogy films (or be a reminder for me some of more forgetful members here). As well as highlighting a lack of release for the Original Trilogy films in their classic pre-1997 Special Edition version, and also about some of the changes & tweaks made to the groundbreaking and award-winning OT films from 1977 to 1996 too…

To serve as a centralised discussion and information thread for each of the main Original Trilogy releases… and also an archive of some of the quality threads and posts on the subject which has taken place on here down the years - as well as any useful, insightful or informative articles elsewhere.

Or a chance to just chat some more about the 2006 DVD release of the unaltered theatrical Original Trilogy.
 

Much credit to oojason for sending me his plans & ideas for the incomplete version of these threads - ‘I will finish what you started!’
 

Below is some hopefully useful & introductory information on the GOUT release (or simply a reminder for us oldies)…

The Announcement (+ Promo material) for the 2006 GOUT bonus discs DVD release:-

‘The GOUT - aka the 2006 Original Trilogy DVD release’

(with the unaltered theatrical version of the OT films on bonus discs)
 

After a long campaign by Star Wars fans all over the world - and spearheaded by this very site since 2003…
 

…George Lucas finally gave in to the massive demand from fans for the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy - the version he said no longer existed anymore - to be released on DVD.

On 3rd May, 2006:

• StarWars•com announcement that the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy would be released on DVD:-

^ StarWars•com’s actual post on the announcement can be found here - via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

• Rebels striking from a hidden base (sort of) have won their first victory - as acknowledged by Lucasfilm…

A screenshot image of the article on the Baltimore Sun website from the 5th May 2006, featuring quotes from Lucasfilm spokesman John Singh about the OriginalTrilogy•com - the passion of the fans here - as well as acknowledging that the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy films are “…the movies that some fans have always wanted own, because they’re the ones they first saw in theaters.”…

An abridged screenshot image of Jay’s post on the OriginalTrilogy•com at the time:-

^ Jay’s actual post can be found here - via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (read from the bottom of the page to the top)

Then, later in May… came the news that coming unaltered theatrical version release on DVD would be in letterbox format - and not anamorphic widescreen. Followed by the reveal that the transfer would be from what was used for the 1993 Definitive Edition Laserdiscs - a 13 year old project and, even back then (in 2006), of substandard quality - using compressed sound and adding DVNR to reduce the picture quality and detail further.

Upon learning of this, the previous claims on Jim Ward, Lucasfilm’s VP, quoted in the official announcement as returning…

“to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we’re very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars”

in the shade. Along his words of…

“Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters”

also ringing hollow.

Fans here and elsewhere then immediately contacted Lucasfilm via email, phonecalls, faxes, and letters - politely informing them of our dissatisfaction with their decision to use this lazy and substandard transfer as a means to release the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy on DVD…

^ Jay’s actual post can be viewed here - via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (read from the bottom of the page to the top)

• Lucasfilm’s following PR statement in 2006 after receiving a barrage of criticism from fans for their choice to use such a 13 year old substandard and limited quality laserdisc transfer for the coming 2006 DVD release - complete with somewhat nonsensical and factually disingenuous reply:-

^ The actual post above can be viewed here - via the Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine

George Lucas in 2006, on the theatrical Original Trilogy films finally being made available on DVD - as bonus discs on a repackaged 2004 Special Edition DVD boxset - along with trailers for the “Lego Star Wars” game on the theatrical version discs:-

“It’s just the original versions, as they were. We didn’t do anything to it at all. But we’re not sure how many people want that… Now we’ll find out whether they really wanted the original or whether they wanted the improved versions. It’ll all come out in the end.”

 
Lucasfilm Vice-President Jim Ward was more forthcoming on the quality of this 2006 unaltered Original Trilogy DVD release:-

“It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that’s not as good as state of the art 2006.”

 
^ re the source for the 2006 unaltered Original Trilogy DVD release originally being used for a 1993 laserdisc release. To say nothing of the DNR and many other quality issues on the 2006 release.
 

So… the people did indeed speak - and did indeed want “the original” - and still do.

Though both George and Lucasfilm knew that anyway - and are on record as admitting this.

George’s comments above also highlight he didn’t seemingly consider that fans may have actually wanted both versions in the highest quality possible, using the best sources, with the love and respect they deserve.

The OOT has been officially unavailable for almost a decade now - a 2021 thread by Lucas The Barbarian.

^ The thread notes that despite the 2006 GOUT DVDs being originally promoted and sold as a ‘Limited Edition’ release - only being available for a 4-month period from September 12th 2006 to December 31st 2006 - it wasn’t until April 2011 that the 2006 GOUT DVDs actually ceased production, and they were still being sold on store shelves up until September 2011, just before the 2011 SE / Saga blu-rays were released.

• For more detailed information on the events surrounding the 2006 GOUT DVD release the following threads may be of some assistance:-

An OriginalTrilogy.com Timeline | a history of the site | the why & how it came to be…

George Lucas: Star Wars Creator, Unreliable Narrator and Time Travelling Revisionist

^ To date, the 2006 GOUT bonus disc release is the only time the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy has been officially available to buy and experience in your home on a digital format.

• ‘Star Wars Original Trilogy 2006 DVD Trailer’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmtnEQS8ICw (3 minutes, 8 seconds long)

^ Only 20 seconds of time was dedicated to the unaltered theatrical version version in the above trailer - with the Lego Star Wars game & the release being a 2004 OT SE re-release taking up the remaining time.

Sources Of Information:-

2006 GOUT changes information:-

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases#2006_DVD_release

Since the 1997 Special Editions through to the 2019 Maclunkey releases - EXCEPT the GOUT (all credit to doubleofive)…

‘Never forget that the Death Star has been in clear site of Yavin IV from the beginning of the battle since 1997 and this is how the Special Edition should have ended.':-

www.wired.com/story/put-original-star-wars-on-disney-plus (and scroll down to the ‘The Game Breaker’ section)

‘Got GOUT? The 2006 Original Version Bonus Feature Fiasco’:-

https://savestarwars.com/gout.html - article at the superb and comprehensive Saving Star Wars website

^ from Michael Kaminski - the author of the excellent and exhaustive ‘The Secret History Of Star Wars’ book.

‘From the Star Wars Home Video Library #15: Original Trilogy on DVD, Part 2 (2006)’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgLEP76PHoo - 14 minute video, from the Nathan P Butler YouTube channel.

‘From the Star Wars Home Video Library #94: Original Trilogy DVD and Comic Packs (2006)’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sVRJQChsig - 13 minute video, from the Nathan P Butler YouTube channel.

‘From the Star Wars Home Video Library #166: The Original Trilogy UK Collector’s Tin’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C57km_81Adk - 15 minute video, from the Nathan P Butler YouTube channel.

‘From the Star Wars Home Video Library #187​: Australian 30th Anniversary DVD Set’ (a 2007 GOUT DVD release):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNFTbiMkuEw - 21 minute video, from the Nathan P Butler YouTube channel.

• The Opening Post of the ‘Complete Comparison of Special Edition Visual Changes’ OT•com thread has an index for multiple source of information on many of the changes made to the Original Trilogy films over the years.

‘All Changes Made to Star Wars Original Trilogy’ by Marcelo Zuniga (now reuploaded at the Luke Skywalker YouTube channel)

• ‘All Changes Made to Star Wars (Comparison Video) PART I’: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEch4j4KyoU
• ‘All Changes Made to Star Wars (Comparison Video) PART II’: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aFJuehq3o4
• ‘All Changes Made to The Empire Strikes Back (Comparison Video)’: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4FG_MqVfmE
• ‘All Changes Made to Return of the Jedi (Comparison Video)’: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hT_i05btHI

^ The informative videos above were made in 2015 - and cover the changes from the OOT through to the 2011 SE release on blu ray.

For further information on the home releases of the 2006 GOUT DVD release of the Original Trilogy:-

• Star Wars Visual Comparisons - Website : Twitter - by doubleofive
• Star Wars On Video - Video Collector’s website
• Star Wars Home Video Reference website - projectcclarke’s website
• Star Wars on DVD (up to 2005) - Prillaman’s website portal
• Star Wars Trilogy Limited Edition (2006 GOUT DVD) - Prillaman’s 2006 GOUT info / review website page
• Star Wars Release Info: 1982-2004 - DavisDVD•com website (via Archive•org)
• Star Wars - The Changes: 1997-2011 - DVDActive•com website (via Archive•org)
• ‘Star Wars home video releases’ - at Wookieepedia
• ‘Original Unaltered Trilogy’ (2006 GOUT DVD) - at Wookieepedia

A 2006 GOUT DVD Release poster:-

General online articles about the 2006 GOUT DVD Release:-

 
• BluRay.com page for the 2006 GOUT DVD Release - at bluray•com
• Original Star Wars Trilogy DVD Artwork Online - at MovieWeb
• Star Wars On DVD – Again - at CBS News
• Han shoots first on DVD - by CNet
• Original Version of Star Wars Trilogy Coming to DVD - by AWN
• Star Wars Trilogy to Be Released in Non-Anamorphic Widescreen Video - by MovieWeb
• Who’s The More Foolish… The Fool Or The Fool Who Buys His Non-Anamorphic DVDs - at Lard Biscuit Enterprises
• The unaltered Original Trilogy to be released on DVD (2006) - at TFn (Jedi Council Forums)
• Yikes… more OT STAR WARS DVD details have been released and Quint goes on a little rant… - at AICN
• The Star Wars Limited Edition Original Theatrical Version - review at CinemaBlend
• Star Wars Limited Edition 2006 DVD Review - review at IGN
• Star Wars, the GOUT edition… - review at Velocity Reviews
• AVForums Reviews for the 2006 GOUT DVD Release - SW : ESB : ROTJ
• DVDTalk website Reviews for the 2006 GOUT DVD Release: SW : ESB : ROTJ
• Star Wars on DVD - Reviews - Star Wars Trilogy Limited Edition - at the Prillaman website
• DVDs: Re-release of the Star Wars Trilogy - by Sound & Vision
• The Best Ways to Own the Original Star Wars Trilogy - at the redvdit website
• ‘Star Wars’: Where to Find the Theatrical Versions of the Original Trilogy - at Yahoo
• The Glass-Half-Full Gift Of The Only Official Unaltered Star Wars Original Trilogy DVDs - at SyFy•com
• Original ‘Star Wars’ films available on DVD, if you’re willing to settle - at The Star Tribune
• Why Finding The Original 1977 Star Wars Film Verges On The Impossible - at Inverse
• The 2006 Original Trilogy DVDs. Not quite what we wanted. - at Episode Nothing
• Original Unaltered Trilogy (2006) - at Wookieepedia

^ If anyone has any suggestions for any online articles on the GOUT release to be included here please post them below - thank you.

Relevant OriginalTrilogy•com threads on the 2006 GOUT DVD release:-

 
Obviously, there are countless OT•com threads about the 2006 GOUT DVD release of the original Trilogy on here - many of which can be found in the ‘Original Trilogy Discussion’, and the ‘Theatrical Cuts vs. Subsequent Releases’ sections of the site.

Here is just a small selection of threads…

• The OOT on DVD - then what? - by Figrin_Dan (2004 thread)
• Any truth to this? Lucas is releasing the three unaltered ORIGINAL Star Wars films? - by BentMyWookie
• IT HAS FINALLY HAPPENED (The OOT being released on DVD) - by Nanner Split
• ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM - by rstammer
• We won! - by bomma
• What is GOUT? - by 5acrifice
• The Reason the OOT was released - by xombie84
• How “original” do you think it is going to be…? (the 2006 GOUT DVD release) - by Vess
• “GOUT” is not “unaltered”!?!?! - by g-force
• The Official 2006 Discs Will Be No Better Than What We Have! - by Neil S. Bulk
• Lucas talks about the Sept 12th Release of the O-OT - by CO
• Fox France confirms the French OOT release >NOT< to be anamorphic - by Vigo
• New DVDs NOT 16x9 - by seventiesfilmnut
• Why is the GOUT not anamorphic? - by Johnboy3434
• Make your voices heard! (again) - re the 2006 GOUT DVD being in letterbox format - by yanksno1
• OOT DVDs - interlaced or progressive? - by Moth3r
• The Official Lucasfilm Response - by Neil S. Bulk
• Soundtrack for Star Wars OOT DVD? - by BountyHunter
• OUT Audio: Pablo Speaks - by Zion
• Torn… To buy, or not to buy - by skyranger
• O-OT Star Wars “Bonus Disc” menus (www.starwars.com) - by Darth Cracker
• The “original crawl” on the new DVD is NOT the original crawl! Screenshot inside! - by zombie84
• 2006 OT DVD: The Crawl on Star Wars - by Cable-X1
• The GOUT crawl - by Darth Editous

• So, this is how the DVDs are going to look… - by Laserschwert
• 2006 OT DVD: Poll: So What are You Going to Do? - by ESHBG (just prior to the release of the GOUT)
• We have to buy this set at least to preserve it for the next generation of fans - by CO
• Original Trilogy DVD FAQ (Unofficial) - by TheCassidy
• Star Wars Trilogy - Original Theatrical Versions: 2006 DVD Flaw List - by Moth3r
• What’s missing from GOUT - by Darth Mallwalker
• Are the PAL GOUT DVDs upscaled from the NTSC masters? - by Moth3r
• What Has Changed? the 2006 OT DVD release… - by THX
• It has begun: StarWars.com to celebrate original films - by Zion
• SW.com: “First and ONLY Time” - by ESHBG
• Star Wars Trilogy tops IGN’s “Most Wanted DVDs” - by sybeman
• www.dvdempire.com O-OT pre-orders rankings (updated) - by CO
• Even Cosmo Magazine is Talking About the 09/12 Release… - by ESHBG

• first viewing of the 2006 OOT dvds - by grifter (re AICN’s preview)
• Original Trilogy DVD Article in Total Film - by Jambe Davdar
• First Impressions of the OOT … - by The Dark Lord
• 2006 OT DVD: Got mine! - by MST
• My store just got the new DVDs - by Scallenger
• 2006 OUT DVD to Definitive Collection LD comparison question? - by jhfagan
• 2006 DVD OOT - by bbbb
• For me…it all came out in the end… - by Cable-X1
• I heard the 2006 set with the GOUT is now gone… - by American Hominid
• DIF - Difference tool to spot visual changes - Current 2004 vs 2019 - by none

• Is GOUT resented? - by S_Matt
• Which is considered canon, the Special Edition or GOUT? - by knreuben
• What is better quality original trilogy? 2006 bonus dvd PAL - or NTSC 2006 bonus dvd? - by nobodybutjarjar42
• Question about the 2006 “GOUT” DVDs - by drfsupercenter
• A question re the 2006 OT DVD versions - by Farquh
• Question about the 2006 dvds I think you call the GOUT - by Vaderisnothayden
• 9 years ago Lucasfilm announced the GOUT on DVD - by Haarspalter
• 10th Anniversary of the “GOUT” dvd release - by Knightmessenger
• Will you buy the OOT again? - by SW
• Could the 2006 DVDs become collector’s items? - by JamesEightBitStar
• The OOT has been officially unavailable for almost a decade now - by Lucas The Barbarian (final GOUT DVD pressings in 2011)
• How George Lucas created the O-OT fanbase… - by CO
• When/Why did you become an OT purist? - by DominicCobb
• Explaining the shoddy OOT treatment in public - by Vigo
• You know you’re an O-OT fan when… - by JennyS1138
• Random memories from 1977-83 - by CO
• Fondest Memory from the OT Days - by Cable-X1
• How do you feel about Star Wars being re-titled A New Hope in 1981? - by ray_afraid
• Several BR/DVD players can’t access second layer of the 2006 GOUT DVDs (disc rot or other playback issues?)

^ If anyone has any suggestions for any OT•com threads on the GOUT release to be included here please post them below - thank you.

2006 GOUT DVD Improvement Projects can be found in ‘An Index Of Projects & Help Thread for Star Wars Preservations’.

General online articles on the Special Edition changes & releases:-

 
• ‘Disney+ Should Offer the Star Wars Original Cuts — All of Them’ - at Wired
• ‘What We Want And How To Make It’ - at SWVC, by doubleofive
• ‘Special Edition Changes’ at Saving Star Wars, by Zombie84
• ‘The Star Wars Special Editions’ - at The Star Wars Trilogy
• ‘15 Changes to the Original ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy That Still Make Us Crazy’ - at Yahoo Entertainment
• ‘Star Wars Original Trilogy Changes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ - at ScreenRant
• ‘Who Shot First? The Complete List Of Star Wars Changes’ (actually, it is more of an overview) - at Empire Online
• ‘Greedo Shoots First’ and ‘Greedo Shoots First, Take 4: Maclunkey’ - at SWVC, by doubleofive
• ‘Star Wars: 10 Worst Crimes Against the Original Trilogy’ - at Den Of Geek
• ‘The 12 Worst Changes George Lucas Made To Star Wars’ - at Goliath
• ‘How Star Wars’ Special Edition Ruined Mos Eisley’s Scum & Villainy’ - at ScreenRant
• ‘Star Wars: Why Do People Hate Vader’s Added Line in ROTJ So Much?’ - at CheatSheet
• ‘The Version of Star Wars on Disney+ Changes the Canon Once Again’ - at Wired
• ‘J.J. Abrams Wants The Original Star Wars Trilogy Theatrical Cuts To Be Released Again’ - at ScreenRant
• ‘The Star Wars Blu-Ray Blues’ - at Saving Star Wars (debunking Lucas’ 2010 claim of the ‘difficulties’ in restoring the OOT)
• ‘Save Star Wars’ - doubleofive’s Blog article (re Lucas’ disingenuous 2010 comments on the ‘difficulties’ of restoring the OOT)
• ‘Untouched is impossible: the story of Star Wars in film’ - 2010 article at ARS Technica
• ‘Could Disney finally give us the remastered, unedited Star Wars we want?’ - 2017 article at ARS Technica

General OT•com threads covering the unaltered theatrical version & releases:-

 
• An Index & Help Thread for ‘Original Trilogy Discussion’
• An Index & Help Thread for ‘Theatrical Cuts vs. Subsequent Releases’
• Complete Comparison of Special Edition Visual Changes
• An OriginalTrilogy.com Timeline | a history of the site | the why & how it came to be…
• George Lucas: Star Wars Creator, Unreliable Narrator & Time Travelling Revisionist
• Some useful OT.com threads re the suppression of the theatrical Original Trilogy films
• The 'Naysayer Guide’ by people who DON’T want an unaltered theatrical release of the Original Trilogy…
• Articles & info that highlight / call for a classic version release of the Original Trilogy
• 4K restoration on Star Wars

• Modern SE Revisionism
• Reasoning Behind Changes from Release to Release
• It seems like nobody involved in the making of the OT has spoken up about GL’s oppression of the OOT
• You’d think they’d clean this up - the unfixed issues of the 2004 OT SE DVD release…
• What HASN’T changed on the 2011 OT SE Blu-ray release – the uncorrected mistakes…
• Uncorrected mistakes or unfixed issues of the 2019 (Maclunkey) Original Trilogy release?
• Credits & Leaders Thread
• Disney Plus should release all of the theatrical versions of the Star Wars movies

‘The changes to the Original Trilogy films & general Special Edition discussion’ threads:-

 
• The OOT (1977-1996)
• 1997 Special Edition
• 2004 Special Edition
• The 2006 GOUT DVD
• 2011 Special Edition
• 2019 Special Edition
• 2037 Special Edition (“Somehow… Lucas has returned!”) - or any possible future SE release.

If you know of any articles or OT•com threads that are relevant, or would improve this thread, please post them below - thank you.

The content of thread was originally part of the The OOT : The changes to the OT films & general (1977-96) discussion thread - though after a few suggestions from other members it seemed a good idea for the 2006 GOUT Release to have its own thread instead, so here we are!

The GOUT trilogy was very frustrating to me. On one hand, I have a fond memory of being able to view the films in their unaltered state again. I grew up with passed down VHS copies from the 80s, so even though I’m a child of the 90s, my first memories of these films were the non special editions. Even though there are one or two SE changes I admire, nothing compared to being able to watch the films the way I did the first time around.

The huge negative was that infernal letterbox aspect ratio. As a teenager I’d watch those discs on my xbox, and the options for viewing them on my TV were as a tiny box in the middle of the screen, zoomed in (which completely cut off the subtitles for the alien speak), or horribly stretched. It was always really annoying to me that I owned the unaltered films in a format I could watch on my TV again, but not at all the way I wanted to watch them.

It really makes me thankful for projects like Harmy’s Despecialized Trilogy and Project 4K77/80/83. Without the great people from this site, TheStarWarsTrilogy and elsewhere preserving the past so beautifully, we’d be stuck with an option so tedious, that the original cuts would probably get lost to history eventually.

yotsuya said:

Technically the GOUT release of ANH created a new version of the film. They used the 1993 master tape and replaced the opening crawl with the version they had scanned for The Empire of Dreams.

IMO the main unique thing about the GOUT version of Star Wars is the 77 crawl/93 audio mismatch. The fact that the 77 crawl was spliced onto the 93 video is a comparatively minor detail, although it’s a funny reversal of how the 81 crawl was frequently spliced onto 77 film.

Oddly, even though I’ve never considered any of the GOUT versions to be in any way equivalent to the original films, they work out to be the same for the purposes of subtitles, since the 93 audio doesn’t change any dialogue from the original stereo/multichannel mixes for any of the films, and the crawls have the same text.

I just popped my GOUT copy of Star Wars 77 into my blu ray player and displayed it on my 55 inch lcd flatscreen the other day . First time in a very long time that I have watched it ,and it looked atrocious on that . Hell , my letterbox 1992 VHS looks better on that tv . ( I tried it right after ) . The GOUT is a grainy mess in comparison . I also messed around with the settings on my tv and displayed each in both 4x3 for proper proportions ,and in zoom mode .I will have to take a look at these on my crt’s later to see if they look better .Looking back at some of the links at the top of this thread , I do think Mike Verta was right in his belief that there was artificial grain applied to this release to make it look sub standard .Also , when this release came out , a lot of people were saying these looked better than the laser disc preservations that were being made at the time .Is that due to the displays they were being watched on at the time ? A lot of people still had crt’s back then . Granted , the dvd image may be sharper , but I will take the softer look of VHS or Laserdisc over this grainy image any time . I did watch my 92 VHS letterbox copy on my 30 inch widescreen Samsung Slimfit HD CRT recently , and that looked spectacular and crisp and vibrant on it ,though the colors did not “pop” like on the 95 faces VHS , but it looked more like I remember it looking in the theater originally .I go back and fourth sometimes , but I now think this is my ideal way to watch it out of all the media formats I own . I will definitely have to see how the GOUT looks on that crt .

Ri~Lei said:

screams in the void said:

I just popped my GOUT copy of Star Wars 77 into my blu ray player and displayed it on my 55 inch lcd flatscreen the other day . First time in a very long time that I have watched it ,and it looked atrocious on that . Hell , my letterbox 1992 VHS looks better on that tv . ( I tried it right after ) . The GOUT is a grainy mess in comparison . I also messed around with the settings on my tv and displayed each in both 4x3 for proper proportions ,and in zoom mode .I will have to take a look at these on my crt’s later to see if they look better .Looking back at some of the links at the top of this thread , I do think Mike Verta was right in his belief that there was artificial grain applied to this release to make it look sub standard .Also , when this release came out , a lot of people were saying these looked better than the laser disc preservations that were being made at the time .Is that due to the displays they were being watched on at the time ? A lot of people still had crt’s back then . Granted , the dvd image may be sharper , but I will take the softer look of VHS or Laserdisc over this grainy image any time . I did watch my 92 VHS letterbox copy on my 30 inch widescreen Samsung Slimfit HD CRT recently , and that looked spectacular and crisp and vibrant on it ,though the colors did not “pop” like on the 95 faces VHS , but it looked more like I remember it looking in the theater originally .I go back and fourth sometimes , but I now think this is my ideal way to watch it out of all the media formats I own . I will definitely have to see how the GOUT looks on that crt .

Greetings ScreamsfromtheVoid, just to ask, were you ever capable of testing those G.O.U.T. discs upon that aforementioned HD CRT screen; if so, did they fare samewise or worse than the letter-boxed VHS-cassettes?

~Ice~

Hi , thanks for asking , I did finally get around to checking it out , the GOUT dvd did look a lot sharper on my widescreen crt , and the grain was a lot less noticeable , but still there ,in the scenes on the blockade runner and when the droids arrive on Tatooine , but looks like more natural film grain here . The colors were more vibrant , as the GOUT is the 93 laserdisc transfer , as is the source of the 95 vhs faces set ( Though I am still not sure why the blue tie fighter lasers show up on TESB on the vhs and not the GOUT) . I prefer the colors of my letterbox 92 VHS over the 93 and subsequent versions . On the GOUT , playing on my widscreen crt , the colors are amped up a bit too much for my tastes in places , the skin tones appear a bit too orangeish and I noticed in the droid sale scenes , the blue on the legs of R5-D4 are an almost neon blue . I adjusted the tv settings to movie mode and it toned these issues down a little , it helped , but they were still noticeable . Another nice thing about the tv , is it has different widescreen modes , normal , panorama , wide and zoom . I have it set to wide and there is no window boxing on the image and no one looks stretched out like " taffy vision " . I did not notice picture info lost on the sides either . The sound on this tv is phenomenal , with deep bass and the black levels are fantastic . I love this tv and hope it keeps working , though it has developed a few problems in recent years , And I think it may be due to being moved around too much. There is slight phosphor burn in on the upper right hand corner of the screen and a noticeable buzzing noise an it recently started making a continuous ticking sound like an old clock .Probably needs new capacitors , but beyond my scope of knowledge to fix .Overall , even though the 92 letterbox vhs has a softer image , it still looks pretty crisp on this tv and I prefer it over the GOUT on this tv or any other tv .This is the Samsung Slimfit Widescreen HD CRT that I have…https://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-tx-s3082wh/ I would love to get a laserdisc player and the 89 widescreen disc an try it out n this tv .

JadedSkywalker said:

There is a pan and scan of the definitive collection master. What do you think they used for the 1995 vhs set. Although the only pan and scan version on Laserdisc happened in Hong Kong. And of course beyond Dark Jedi’s preservation of the VHS release there is no DVD, especially not official retail.

does that pan and scan of the definitive collection have the gaffe with the blue tie fighter lasers in TESB ?

Unfortunately these DVD releases on their own have some changes, though this is also the first home video release to have the original 1977 title crawl in the first movie

A lot of sound effects though mostly minor were added for the 1993 masters, one notable one was during the shootout in the prison cells glass breaking sounds were added whenever monitors were shot at

An insightful and informative video form the ever quirky, quality, insightful and informative Nathan Butler…

‘Top 5 Frustrating Fox Star Wars U.S. Home Video Decisions (From the Star Wars Home Video Library)’

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGl9wa05S0 - a 33 minute video from Nathan Butler youtube channel

^ the 2006 GOUT DVD content starts at 22 mins 22 seconds into the video.

A decent recap / overview on the 2006 GOUT DVD release at the time.

The whole of the video is well worth a watch too. 👍
 

I picked up the 2006 editions of the original trilogy in a second hand store a few months ago, and just watched the GOUT version of A New Hope. Since I’ve been a member on here for a while, it might be a surprise that this was my first time properly watching any of the movies in their original versions.

I grew up with the 2004 edition of ANH, which is what made me a fan (that, and Angry Birds Star Wars… in the midst of a good number of people who were seated in cinemas back in 1977, I’ve really felt the generational difference) and while I’ve been interested in the SE changes and the ethics of film preservation, vfx authorship etc for some time, I never actually sat down and watched the OOT in full before now.

My issues with George replacing the original films and the work of talented special effects artists will always remain the same. But I have to say this viewing has cemented the 2004 Special Edition as the version of the film I know and love, the same way many are nostalgic for the original version they watched on release. It’s occasionally jarring to expect a noise, a line of dialogue, or a completely different shot from a scene and be abruptly reminded that it’s not there. It’s like I felt the frustration that many older fans felt watching the altered editions, but in reverse. And at the same time, I know if this was the first time I was watching the movie, I probably wouldn’t think of anything as awkward or outdated in the same way; nothing would seem out of place. I think if you’ve ever watched something and fallen in love with it, any differences upon a rewatch, whether good or bad, will just seem intrusive and wrong.

A few other observations: Vader’s voice seemed more distorted in this version and it helped lend even more of a sinister robotic quality to him than I’m used to. Previously, the addition of more aliens or creatures in the Mos Eisley streets might have seemed justifiable, but I think Andor has changed the way I feel about ‘too many humans’ in Star Wars (i.e: I don’t care). I think there’s a fine balance to strike: the world should feel familiar, and only tinged with strangeness - veering directly into the alien and other-worldly should be saved for special moments. Strangest of all, I actually kind of missed the Jabba scene - redundant, yes, but I like exploring more of the criminal world of Mos Eisley, and I think the fade transitions and abrupt change in music in the scene’s absence derail my immersion more than any questionable Jabba CGI does.

Sorry for the long and rambling post, but hopefully some of you might find my first impressions of the OOT interesting.

Servii said:

Honestly, that’s almost exactly how I felt watching the GOUT when it first released. It felt jarring, like I was watching a prototype or rough draft of the movies I was familiar with. I do think a part of that, though, was due to the GOUTs having such low visual quality. Watching Despecialized for the first time honestly made me see the movies differently, since it was like watching a modern remaster.

I’d love to watch Despecialized, this has made me want to finally get round to it!

I bought them back in 2014 because at the time I thought it was the only way that I’d ever be able to see the original versions of the movies. Obviously I didn’t know about the despecialized versions and stuff like that back then. And they were not cheap either. If I remember right, Empire and Jedi were about $40 or $50 used.
Back then I thought they looked alright, at least on the TV that I had. It was a square TV, so the formatting issues weren’t a problem. I was also less picky about picture quality back then.
Half a year ago, I pulled out the DVD for Star Wars and checked to see how it looked on the flatscreen TV and that was when I realized how obvious the flaws were with it. Not very good sound or picture quality and the image was right in the center of the screen.
I do still keep the DVDs just because I like having the original movies in a physical format, but if I watch them, I’ll just watch the despecialized versions or other fan restorations. I keep waiting for the day they eventually just release the damn things on blu-ray.