-1977 limited release: 35mm optical stereo, 70mm magnetic stereo
-1977 wide release with new credits and FX shots: 35mm optical stereo, 70mm magnetic stereo, 35mm magnetic stereo, 35mm mono
-1981 re-release with new crawl: 35mm stereo, 70mm stereo, 35mm mono
-1985 home video release with new audio mix
-1993 Definitive Collection/“Faces”
-1997 Special Edition
-2004 DVD
-2011 Blu-ray
-2019 Disney+/Blu-ray
I would appreciate more information about the 1977, 1981, and 1985 releases.
-1977 limited release: 35mm optical stereo, 70mm magnetic stereo
-1977 wide release with new credits and FX shots: 35mm optical stereo, 70mm magnetic stereo, 35mm magnetic stereo, 35mm mono
I was aware of the audio changes for the 35mm monaural prints, but what were the credits and FX shot changes between these two? I wasn’t aware that there were supposed to have been any.
Bravo for taking on this topic!
I’d be very interested to know the aspect ratios of all these versions.
Also I think you might be missing the 2006 “GOUT” version?
And it would very interesting to know the format of each and every release. For example, StarWars.com says the OT was release no less that five times on videocassette:
https://www.starwars.com/news/collectibles-from-the-outer-rim-star-wars-vhs-releases
Finally if we’re categorizing format, the 2019 release should say 4K or 4K Ultra Blu-ray, instead of just Blu-ray. And if you want to be nitpicky, wasn’t the streaming version released in 2019 and the disc released in 2020?
surroundsound99 said:
I’d be very interested to know the aspect ratios of all these versions.
You may already be aware, but the 35mm releases were 2.39:1 (actually 2.394285714285714:1). That is a result of the SMPTE standard for projection apertures from October 1971 to August 1993. For the 70mm (which was blown up from the 35mm original) it was 2.2:1 (2.197701149425287:1), losing a small slice of the left and right from the 35mm image. What was actually projected in individual theaters likely varied from these standards.
The original video releases for all formats (VHS, BetaMax, CED VideoDisc, & LaserDisc) were all 4:3 pan & scan. After that it gets more complicated.