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A thread to follow on from none’s awesome OriginalTrilogy.com in the Press thread - to list and highlight quality articles and information supporting the call for a official release of the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy films - on a modern digital format.
I know many of us may be aware / have already seen some of the links and pieces - yet I think it is worth doing for newcomers to the site, and also for younger fans who may be not be aware it has been 25 years (and counting) since the original theatrical version of the Original Trilogy had a dedicated release (on videotape and laserdisc).
Please add any articles, quality blogs or sites, sources of information to this thread. Hopefully it will grow into something worthwhile whilst chronicling many peoples’ wish to see these films have an official release - and our dissatisfaction in not being able to experience the classic theatrical version of the three award-winning and landmark films that underpin the entire Star Wars universe.
To start things off…
doubleofive’s ‘Star Wars Visual Comparisons’ website : blog : twitter - covering all of the releases of the Special Editions…
Some related info:-
doubleofive’s Complete Comparison of Special Edition Visual Changes thread on the OT•com (which contains multiple sources of information on the continuing changes made to the Original Trilogy films with each passing ‘Special Edition’ release)
doubleofive’s Modern SE Revisionism thread on the OT•com
doubleofive’s Sources on the Special Edition thread on the OT•com
doubleofive’s “Disney+ Should Offer the Star Wars Original Cuts” thread on the OT•com re his awesome article on Wired
doubleofive’s ‘A Visual Guide to Changes, Fixes & Tweaks in the Disney 4K Version’ articles on The Digital Bits: SW : ESB : ROTJ
zombie84’s Saving Star Wars website…
“In 1997, George Lucas refilmed, re-edited and redid many scenes for the Star Wars trilogy in a “Special Edition.” Since then, Lucas has refused to have the original versions of the films be seen in high quality. All 35mm prints of the original versions have been recalled from circulation and confiscated, and the originals are no longer aired on television nor screened for special events. Lucas has stated that he would like the original versions to disappear, and that once the existing VHS and Laserdisc releases deteriorate he hopes no one will even remember the originals existed, except as “rough drafts” of the Special Editions. Not only is this robbing the world of a very important part of its cinematic and cultural heritage, but it is engaging in the re-writing of history. The original theatrical versions of these films deserve to be continued to be released and preserved in as high a quality as possible.”
zombie84’s (though re-hosted by none) The Secret History of Star Wars website (for the book of the same name)…
"From the cover: "Star Wars is one of the most important cultural phenomena of the Western world. The tale of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker has become modern myth, an epic tragedy of the corruption of a young man in love into darkness, the rise of evil, and the power of good triumphing in the end.
But it didn’t start out that way.
In this thorough account of one of cinema’s most lasting works, Michael Kaminski presents the true history of how Star Wars was written, from its beginnings as a science fiction fairy tale to its development over three decades into the epic we now know, chronicling the methods, techniques, thought processes, and struggles of its creator. For this unauthorized account, he has pored through over four hundred sources, from interviews to original scripts, to track how the most powerful modern epic in the world was created, expanded, and finalized into the tale an entire generation has grown up with."
Some related info:-
zombie84’s ‘The Secret History of Star Wars’ thread on the OT•com
‘The Secret History of Star Wars’ book on Amazon
‘The Secret History of Star Wars’ book on Barnes & Noble
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