2011 SE : The changes to the OT films & general 2011 Special Edition discussion thread

2011 Special Editions

The changes to the Original Trilogy films & general 2011 Special Edition release discussion…

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 specific & differing releases of the 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 2011 Special Edition release of the Original Trilogy films (or simply a reminder for us oldies)…

The Announcement (+ Promo material) for the 2011 Special Edition:-

• ‘George Lucas Announces Star Wars on Blu-Ray at Celebration V’:-

^ The above image from the official Star Wars website is no longer functioning. However, it can still be accessed here:-

https://web.archive.org/web/20100816010259/http://www.starwars.com/themovies/saga/mebd/bluray/index.html

• Star Wars The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvS3OUNKHZw (2 minutes)

• ‘The Star Wars Saga on blu ray’:-

^ The above image from the official Star Wars website is no longer functioning. However, it can still be accessed here:-

https://web.archive.org/web/20110923151508/http://www.starwars.com/news/starwars_blu-ray.html

Sources Of Information:-

 
‘What has changed?’ article from doubleofive’s ‘Star Wars Visual Comparisons’ website:

^ at https://starwarsviscomp.wordpress.com/versions/11se

2011 Special Edition alteration information:-

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases#2011_Blu-ray_release

Since the 1997 Special Editions through to the 2019 Maclunkey releases (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)

‘From the Star Wars Home Video Library #20: The Live Action Blu-Rays (2011 - 2013)’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCUBxgGrZc8 - 25 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 2011 Special Editions:-

• 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 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
• ‘Star Wars: The Complete Saga’ - at Wookieepedia

The 2015 Digital Release (still the 2011 Special Editions):-

 
In 2015 it was announced the 2011 Special Edition releases would be available as a Digital Movie Collection…

https://www.starwars.com/news/the-star-wars-digital-movie-collection-coming-april-10
 

• ‘Star Wars: The Digital Movie Collection’ trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuNhZ8K4iow
 

a couple of comprehensive and intriguing articles on the ‘Digital Movie Collection’:-

• https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2015/04/11/star-wars-the-digital-movie-collection-review
• https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2015/04/08/star-wars-the-digital-movie-collection-pros-and-cons
• https://collider.com/star-wars-digital-release-new-extras

‘From the Star Wars Home Video Library Intermission #2: The Digital HD Collection’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtwQQyatC3c - 33 minute video, at the Nathan P Butler YouTube channel.

‘a 2011 SE Original Trilogy blu ray release poster’:-

Relevant online articles on the 2011 Special Editions:-

 
• “Archiving seminar reveals ‘Star Wars’ tidbit?” Another SE?! - by Jambe Davdar (2009 thread)
• ‘Star Wars on Blu-ray: George, don’t do that …’ - at The Guardian (2010 article)
• Star Wars on Blu-ray: what surprises does LucasFilm have in store? (2011) - at The Guardian
• ‘The Star Wars Blu-Ray Blues’ - at Saving Star Wars
• ‘The ‘Star Wars’ Films Have Been Changed Again On Blu-ray’ - at Slash Film
• ‘Lucasfilm Confirms Change to Blu-ray Release of ‘Return of the Jedi’’ - at New York Times (via the Internet Archive)
• Blu-ray: Some More Tinkering With The Saga? - at TheForce•net
• ‘New Star Wars: Blu-Ray release of original trilogy contains yet more changes’ - at CS Monitor
• ‘George Lucas issues yet more changes for ‘Star Wars’ Blu-ray – video’ - at NME
• ‘So About Those Changes on the Star Wars Blu-rays…’ - at IGN
• ‘Hardcore Fans Call For Boycott Of George Lucas’ Altered ‘Star Wars Saga’ On Blu-Ray’ - at Deadline
• ‘Star Wars: The Complete Saga’ - at Hi Def Digest
• ‘Jamie Benning reviews the Star Wars Trilogy on blu ray’ - at Wired
• ‘Star Wars: Original Trilogy Blu-ray Review’ - at AV Forums
• ‘That Wars: The Complete Saga (blu ray review)’ - at The Digital Bits
• ‘Star Wars: The Complete Saga (blu ray review)’ - at Collider

^ If anyone has any suggestions for any articles on the 2011 SE to be included here please post them below - thank you.

Relevant OriginalTrilogy•com threads on the 2011 Special Editions:-

 
Star Wars on Blu in 2011? - by captainsolo (a 2009 thread)
• Star Wars Movies on Blu-ray (and some documentary) News - by digitalfreaknyc (a 2009 thread)
• Star Wars coming to Blu Ray (UPDATE: August 30 2011, No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!) - by Adium
• So you think george lucas will do this again? - by luke.the.darkside.is.fun
• I will refuse to buy STAR WARS on bluray! - by Jedi Temple34
• Besides “The films need to be the way I want them,” has Lucas stated anything as to why the Blu-rays became the travesty that they are? - by The Terminator
• Do you think George Lucas will correct the colors for the blu-ray release? - by Janskeet
• Will the color of the star wars films episodes 4-6 be fixed for the blu-ray release? - by kenkraly2007
• OOT Letter Writing Campaign for Blu Ray release - by zombie84
• FACEBOOK PAGE & Sticker Campaign - by Mielr
• What does the blu-ray set have to offer? - by Judge
• Does it depress you… - by S_Matt
• Cultural impact can’t be steered - by Anchorhead
• New Blu Ray Special Editions - by Darth Bizarro
• What was your first reaction to Vader’s “Noooo” in ROTJ? - by Windows7Guy100
• Star Wars Blu Ray Impressions - by zombie84
• Blu Ray movies look…wrong - by theprequelsrule
• Should I buy the Original Trilogy Blu ray? I already have the 2004 DVD. - by knreuben
• Finally ordered Blu Rays of original series - by MathUser
• With all the changes to the Blu Rays…is there… - by swingbelly
• Overlooking all the problems with the blu rays( it’s additions or it’s unfixed problems) is the 1080p pq make it worth the purchase?? - by lordsidi
• Digging up those blacks - using the STAR WARS Blu-ray for preservations - by You_Too
• Condition of the 2011 Bluray deleted scenes… Quite rough - by RIJIR
• So how bad is the 2011 Star Wars sound mix really? - by Funcha
• Star Wars Blu-ray and DVD Combo Packs. (Please Read 1st post) - by pat man
• Current Star Wars Blu-Ray Going Out of Print? - by XWing4492
• Now it’s just getting ridiculous - Obi Wan’s new howl. - by adywan
• The Krayt Dragon Call - by The Nerd
• What’s Your Favorite Version of the Krayt Dragon Call? - by nightstalkerpoet
• 2011 Rocks and 2004 Krayt Call in this Clip from Starwars.com - by nickyd47
• Source of the sample videos on starwars.com? - by DrDre
• DIF - Difference tool to spot visual changes - Current 2004 vs 2019 - by none
• Special Editions - Improvement to Film or Changing History?

• Star Wars Digital HD Release … April 10th (2015) - by Jetrell Fo

• OT Special Editions to have USA Roadshow Summer '16 - by rpvee

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

A YouTube video of the original ‘Han Shot First’ scene - and all 4 changes made to it since:-

‘Han Shot First - All Changes Comparison (1977, 1997, 2004, 2011, 2019)’-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcswEZFvGgM - at the OriginalTrilogyDaily YouTube channel (2 mins long)

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 OriginalTrilogy•com threads covering the Special Edition changes & 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

^ https://twitter.com/starwarsviscomp/status/1023961415214747648

‘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.

Lexa C said:

ORIGINAL Funeral Pyre/Celebration | Return of the Jedi (1983) [DeEd, Blu-ray, GOUT, LPP]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Z6G9LewT8 - 4 minute video from Star Wars Comparison

Shit, they really did butcher the editing to the end of Return of the Jedi for the Special Editions. Not just adding Hayden in, either.