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Help: looking for... star wars ITV broadcast version

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 (Edited)

hey all,

i’m kind of new to this and have had a good look round without joy in finding any information about this.

i grew up watching, probably several hundred times, a VHS of star wars i recorded from ITV in the UK in about 1982. i went to see the special editions in 1997 and was quite … unsettled by the new additions and also the differences in aunt beru’s voice, the radio voices in the death star attack etc. i got over it, until recently i borrowed the recent official dvds from a friend and these differences stuck out to me again. then i got to thinking that this might mean i will not be able to see the version of the film i know and love in the future. so my question is - is there any available version of the film with this mono version of the soundtrack?

as i said it featured a different voice for aunt beru, it had the stormtrooper line ‘close the blast doors, close the blast doors’ which was one of my favourite bits as a kid and has now been re-recorded (?), the c3po speech about the tractor beam was in and the radio chatter through the death star battle sounded like radio chatter, rather than the strange flanged effect we have now. there were also other little differences, but i think they are all to do with the audio.

any light from anyone?

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Originally posted by: GregEvigan
i grew up watching, probably several hundred times, a VHS of star wars i recorded from ITV in the UK in about 1982.
Me too. Do you still have your VHS copy?

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Okay folks, i know a bit of the timeline for the star wars trilogy in the 1980s...


Febuary 1984 - Star Wars shown on TV for the first time

September 7th 1985 - Ewoks & Droids Adventure Hour cartoon premire on TV

Febuary 1st 1986 - The Empire Strikes Back shown on TV for the first time

May 1986 - Ewoks, The Battle Of Endor airs

I belive Jedi made it's TV premire in 1987 or '88. i'm not too sure
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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The irony is when Star Wars finally aired on CBS in 1984, it got kicked in the ratings by a trashy miniseries called "Lace". It had already been shown a zillion times on HBO and other cable movie outlets before that. Not to mention being one of the early "pay per view" events.
It would be nice if someone had the CBS airing though. Mark Hamill did a little intro for the movie. Some footage from the Making of Star Wars was used as well as scenes of a family whose collection was devouring their house!
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Where were you in '77?

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I can't remember which version, but that is an optional intro on a version of ANH I have.

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That sounds like the ISOMIX ANH.

4 - 5 - 3 - 1 - 6 - 2

Discuss…

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^yeah, what he said^
ISOMIX - "With Broadcast TV Premiere Intro" - highly recommended . . . for its Meco music !

However, in practice you must take into account the “fuckwit factor”. Just talk to Darth Mallwalker…
-Moth3r

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that's interesting about the dates, i think i had it in my head as earlier because i remember putting stickers on the VHS case from the return of the jedi panini book.

thanks for spending the time to put the list of other threads together russs15, you have truly humbled my efforts to find out about this. i never imagined that so many people would have put together so many different versions...

i downloaded the mp3 of the mono mix but... i'm sure i remember the 'close the blast door' line being repeated twice, like the open one. does anyone else remember it this way? is my memory growing old and confused? i'll have to check on my old VHS next time i go and visit my parents. yes i do still have it, moth3r, but i don't have it with me.

unfortunately not long after recording it i lent it to a friend of mine (at the time) who saw fit to record an episode of the flintstones over the first twenty minutes. as a result of this i have a very uneven knowledge of the film and, quite probably, a unique version of it on tape.
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Yeah, it was ISOMIX. Thanks for clearing that up!

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Hi everybody. You’re all awesome. Keep up the good work.

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thanks for spending the time to put the list of other threads together, you have truly humbled my efforts to find out about this. i never imagined that so many people would have put together so many different versions...


Not a problem.

The recreation of a perfect as possible version of the 1977 Theatrical version of Star Wars is something that I am very interested in seeing done so I know all of the threads where this is discussed.

The problem seems to be that neither of the known mono soundtracks are perfect, hence the hope that one good version can be rebuilt.

4 - 5 - 3 - 1 - 6 - 2

Discuss…

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I would guess the UK ITV broadcast was earlier than '84, but I can't be 100%. As Silverwook says, it might be the CBS broadcast that was in 1984.

At one time I had all 3 films taped off TV, but Empire and Jedi have been since taped over. It's a shame because I remember that the Jabba's subtitles in Jedi were cropped off the sides of the screen, which would suggest that they were an accurate representation of the theatrical version.

My ANH tape was a lucky survivor - altough there's a bit missing off the start, and there's part of a football match taped over half of the end credits.

I've now got a new VCR, so I'm planning to re-capture the mono sound mix in better quality. This time I'll make it available as an AVI with the video in XviD format for reference - should make it a lot easier to sync up the audio.

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What broadcasts on pay services before the CBS 84 were there? A friend mentioned a system called "OnTV" a pre-cable decoder box of some kind. Anyone know any dates for pre public broadcasts?
none
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It first aired on CBS on February 26, 1984. Before that, it debuted on HBO on February 1, 1983. I don't recall it airing on any other "pay services" other than HBO. At least not in the US.

Also, it is my understanding that the mono sound mix was aired on ITV in 1985.
Greedo shoots first? Not in my DVD player.
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Moth3r,

If your recording is of the first ever ITV broadcast of Star Wars, then it'll be from 1982.

I've just dug out some clippings I saved from the TV Times way back then, and its dated for the week of 23-29th October 1982, with Star Wars being shown on the Sunday at 7.15.

Seeing these old, dog-eared pages makes me wish i had a scanner. I'll try grabbing some shots with my digital camera, cos these TV Times extracts make interesting/nostalgic reading.
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s7en, if you'd posted just a little earlier you would have saved me ten minutes on google.

looking for anything about this itv broadcast i found this site: http://www.kellybooks.co.uk/4-TVT-80s.htm where you can buy a copy of the TV Times issue s7en mentions, october 23rd - 29th, front page STAR WARS - The Force Comes to ITV.

seems pretty definitive now.
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s7en, if you'd posted just a little earlier you would have saved me ten minutes on google.


"Curse my metal body! I wasn't fast enough!"

By bizarre coincidence - well ok, google - I just stumbled across the same site you mentioned about ten minutes ago. Was hoping someone else had scans of the magazine in better condition than mine... Good to see someone has a copy for sale, I'm not sure I want to part with ten quid for the privilege though.
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nICE link dude.
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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So, can anyone confirm whether or not it was also broadcast in (or around) 1985? I have a mono mix Aunt Beru clip from a UK broadcast that's dated 1985. I guess they could have got the date wrong.
Greedo shoots first? Not in my DVD player.
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IIRC, ITV used to show it regularly, usually around Christmas time. So yes, it is very probable that it was shown in 1985 as well.

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There was a version that I'm sure was shown either in the late 80's or it may have been the early 90's on ITV that I saw which had an extended scene with Beru and Owen talking at the dinner table.

When I saw it, I thought that it was strange that Luke had not gotten to the table and I realised that the dialogue I was hearing was not the normal stuff. I haven't seen this broadcast since or on any of the media released since this.

Does anyone remember the broadcast as I'd like to think that I'm not going mad ? (Unfortunately I didn't record it)
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Anyone got this? I would really love to see it! And bumped the thread.

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coltonlolz said:

Anyone got this? I would really love to see it! And bumped the thread.

You win the Necromancer of the Year Award! Congratulations and thanks for playing.

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Seriously HOW many thread necromancies has this guy done?

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