Original, theatrical cut specs please

Hi SW fans,

I've been through the entire internet searching for the very original, theatrical cuts of the Original Trilogy. As I expected, I found a LOT of different releases, both official releases by Lucasfilm, and bootleg/fan releases. And, of course, this is driving me mad.

So I wanted to ask if someone could give me some specs, that is, what to look for in order to identify the original version (what kind of soundtrack should it have, any specific details in the movies, video specs, etc.).

Thank you in advance.

There is no one original cut.  The film opened in a variety of theaters each requiring something different.  Two different film types (70mm or 35mm) and three types of audio (mono, Dolby stereo (optical or magnetic))  If you saw the film back then, it's down to remembering what theater you were at, this link can help you:

http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/star_wars_a_day_long_remembered.htm

Since we into the second generation of kids to not have been around back then, the general answer is to choose the best home video version created by Lucasfilm.  Because quality plays a big part in this the GOUT (despite it's shortcomings) is considered this release.  This is the 2006 Bonus disc release.  So track down a copy of that.

Once you've got it, then you can look into what the public has done to improve the GOUT.  This would be dark_jedi's V3, he's taken the GOUT, converted to the correct aspect ratio and added on all the various audio versions. 

If this version you still don't find clear enough as in visuals, then you get the 2004 DVDs and look into Harmy's DeSpecialized version.  He's taken the highest version of the 2004 presentation and taken out the parts which were included in the Special Editions.

There are variations which people remember which influence which version they prefer, if there are anything specific then you'll need to let us know what they are and people can guide you to that appropriate release.

none said:

There is no one original cut.  The film opened in a variety of theaters each requiring something different.  Two different film types (70mm or 35mm) and three types of audio (mono, Dolby stereo (optical or magnetic))  If you saw the film back then, it's down to remembering what theater you were at, this link can help you:

http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/star_wars_a_day_long_remembered.htm

Since we into the second generation of kids to not have been around back then, the general answer is to choose the best home video version created by Lucasfilm.  Because quality plays a big part in this the GOUT (despite it's shortcomings) is considered this release.  This is the 2006 Bonus disc release.  So track down a copy of that.

Once you've got it, then you can look into what the public has done to improve the GOUT.  This would be dark_jedi's V3, he's taken the GOUT, converted to the correct aspect ratio and added on all the various audio versions. 

If this version you still don't find clear enough as in visuals, then you get the 2004 DVDs and look into Harmy's DeSpecialized version.  He's taken the highest version of the 2004 presentation and taken out the parts which were included in the Special Editions.

There are variations which people remember which influence which version they prefer, if there are anything specific then you'll need to let us know what they are and people can guide you to that appropriate release.

Thank you very much for this useful answer.

I will try to track down the GOUT. From the screenshots that I saw in the meantime (the comparison between GOAT, 2004 SE and DeSpecialized Edition), the GOUT actually looks the best to me, and I think in a way the closest to what a 1977 version should look like by now, with a bit of restoration (it's quite pale and washed out)...

Edit: Okay, I've found what might be the 2006 bonus disc version. However, in the opening text for the episodes 5 and 6 it says "Episode V" and "Episode VI". This shouldn't be the case if they were original, right?

mark7 wrote: the opening text for the episodes 5 and 6 it says "Episode V" and "Episode VI". This shouldn't be the case if they were original, right?

ESB & RotJ always had Episode titles.  Star Wars got it's Episode title added in when the film was re-released, in anticipation of ESB coming out. 

This is an example of one of those caveats about what is the Original Version of Star Wars.  Some people do not want to see the Episode title, others just don't want to see the 1997 Special Edition changes, like Jabba.

As you mentioned the GOUT looking pale, this is another one of the things which the fans have attempted to revise.  There are multiple projects in the preservation section of this forum where people have gone in and color adjusted the films.  As my first viewing of SW was on a black and white Library Super8, i'm not a good person to ask what the films colors should look like.

Thanks everyone for your explanations.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know whether or not the 1981 version was ever shown theatrically with the mono mix or was it just showing with the 35mm stereo by that time? I think this goes with the topic asking for theatrical specs.

Anyway, I do know that they eventually showed it with the mono mix in Britain but other than that...