^ by Heather J Cohen:-

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/gv1pz1/star_wars_original_trilogy_dialogue_wordclouds_oc
 

40th Anniversary poster for The Empire Strikes Back:-

^ by Matt Fergsuon - https://twitter.com/Cakes_Comics/status/1263451802386784256

https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/star-wars-40th-anniversary-poster-empire-strikes-back-205944845.html

a riff on some of the Ralph McQuarrie art, by ‘Chewbacker’ (I much prefer the ‘box logo’ too for ROTJ):-

https://mightymega.com/2014/05/19/star-wars-trilogy-posters-ralph-mcquarrie-style
 

^ by Christopher Cushman

https://technicalillustrators.org/2019/12/christopher-cushman (including some other sci-fi series and franchises etc)
 

That Ewoks t-shirt looks well boss 😃

For the ‘76 Cast & Crew’ t-shirt…

https://www.teepublic.com/de/t-shirt/5476603-og-mcquarrie

(I’ve bought from them before (all the way from the US to the UK - good quality t-shirts, large range of colours and sizes, and styles - v-neck, tri-blend, ringer, heavyweight etc, decent prices and occasional sales / offers. Also offer mugs, stickers, hoodies etc too 😃)
 

Edit: Lucasfilm did a nice piece on their website about the above logo and t-shirt:-

https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/history-in-objects-early-star-wars-logo-t-shirt (from February 2021)

This one of the old early-mid 70’s alt logo is pretty decent too…

https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/6907423-ralph-mcquarrie-star-wars
 

Hi & welcome AntikAmaro 😃

Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott put on a great evening (he of The Housemartins and Beautiful South, with Jacqui of Beautiful South fame too) - a really good vibe and atmosphere, and will likely leave with a smile on your face.

They’ll change the tempos to some of the more popular tunes to keep things fresh and fun etc.

There are a few youtube videos of them live - in concert both indoor and at festivals etc.
 

Johnny Marr (of The Smiths, Electronic fame) also puts on a top show; superb guitar playing and a lengthy catalog of music to choose from 😉 Plus, he is getting more confident in his own right as a vocalist too. At times you may think he’s not playing live - as his guitar playing sounds the same as it does in the studio or for a single release - the man is that good.

Johnny Marr - Getting Away With It (6 Music Live October 2014)

Johnny Marr performing “How Soon Is Now?” Live at KCRW’s Apogee Sessions
 

The Specials and the The Beat (The English Beat in the US, and RIP Roger) are well worth catching if you can - great atmosphere at their gigs.

John Power (of Cast, and The La’s) is well worth going to - a top night out.

Dido was surprisingly good - just wasn’t expecting it (I wasn’t a fan, previously thought she was a little bland, and went as a favour for a mate), yet she great sense of humour & interaction with the crowd. Good voice and turned up the power and range as and when.

Jazz wise, Candy Dulfer (saxaphonist) puts on a good show - she a very strong band playing with her - modern, covers, funk, as well as some traditional.
 

For more modern stuff you’d have to ask someone else 😃 Though… The Tea Street Band, The High Dials, and The Cheap Thrills all put on a good set.

You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force… Administrators?

(or a likely backup account for ‘just in case’, made by Jay? 😉)
 

TK-422 said:

JakeRyan17 said:

Has anyone had success removing the timecode burn-ins from “Finn meets a villager” or “Kylo searches the Falcon” scenes?

I found this a while ago: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_QH0BZEDXP1TkhXcUd0VkF5RFU/view?usp=drivesdk

ForceGhostRecon posted it, so I assume he removed the timecode, but it might’ve been someone else.

I think that is xxtelecine 7xx’s upload mate 😃
 

Anchorhead said:

Nice moment for a nurse in San Diego. https://youtu.be/BCRnYGIEJlw

Beautiful that, mate.

Spoiler…

Mark Hamill is such a top man. Pure class from him - as always.

It may be worth checking out the An Index & Help Thread for Star Wars Fan Edits and Other Projects… and going through the 10 or Return Of The Jedi Edits listed in there…

and both of the ‘Original Trilogy Edits’ & ‘The Best Star Wars Fan Edits’ sections of the above Index to see if there is something there for you too.
 

Good luck with it mate 😃
 

darth-gary said:

^ LOL
He had the high-ground and everything 😄

I want to see a fanedit with this dubbed over top:
https://youtu.be/aVMvmnQX4LI?t=52

Someone could insert the ‘Nooooooooo!’ SE change as YS falls 😉

^ by James Hance - https://jameshance.com

From the ‘Star Wars Characters Reimagined As Winnie The Pooh And Friends’ 2016 article at the BoredPanda website.

(with a few more OT-themed images in the article - and a LOT more OT-themed images, books and audio CD at his website).

^ from his ‘Wookiee The Chew’ storybook

A space for moderator comments / categories / updates etc.

Some other relevant OriginalTrilogy•com ‘info threads’ of interest…

The ‘Archival / Historical Discussions’ section - especially the ‘George Lucas’ sub-category - of An Index Thread for Original Trilogy Discussion features many interviews and quotes from George over the years. Some statements from George are somewhat contradictory, hypocritical or disingenuous - whilst others could be considered as divisive, fractious, and gaslighting of/for fans.
 

A number of members have asked me to include the main section of…
 

 
…FAQ-style post in this thread. Probably for having more ‘useful info and clearing up many of the myths, misconceptions and confusion on the ability to have an unaltered Original Trilogy release’ in one place. So, here is the main section of that thread…

‘The unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy’… the few words that can send certain Star Wars fans into an angry tizz… often triggering some quite uninformed, somewhat ignorant, and wholly incorrect claims and statements over the years. Especially when there is talk about wanting to have the option to buy a high quality, official release, on a modern digital format.

A number of fans who do seemingly get quite angry, defensive, and hostile… are no doubt big proponents of the various Special Editions - which represent ‘George’s vision(s)’ - all four of these continuing visions, since 1997, and believe these are the only versions that should only be available? Perhaps seeing themselves as somehow defending George, and his latest vision(s)?

Sometimes, comments from certain fans are ostensibly said with malice, likely in an attempt to troll. Perhaps parroting others’ past comments in a bid to appear ‘knowledgeable’ - or maybe attempting to be ‘contrarian’… for the attention. Plus, there are some fans with a cultish pro-George / ‘George can do no wrong’ attitude, who struggle to believe, accept, or even question Lucas’ contradictory statements or erroneous claims - or even when caught out attempting to retcon and suppress Star Wars history.

Also, many of the somewhat uninformed & ill-judged claims made by certain fans could also genuinely be borne out of some confusion… likely due to George and Lucasfilm’s somewhat disingenuous statements over the years… and possibly also Lucasfilm not publicly commenting or responding to fan queries as to the availability of the unaltered classic cuts since 2006!
 

Below are just some of the comments often seen when the topic of the classic cuts of the Original Trilogy is mentioned online…

Along with these claims & statements are some hopefully concise, informative, and reasoned replies. Click on ‘Expand’ to see them. 👍

A dozen or so of the ‘Naysayer’s FAQ-style Guide’ for the oft-repeated claims, statements & comments (in no particular order)…

1: “The unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy is on VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. Why are you complaining?”

We’re not complaining - we are simply asking for an official, high quality, modern release of these much-loved award-winning, iconic, and ground breaking films to be able to be viewed, experienced and enjoyed as they originally were… the films that underpin the entire Galaxy Far, Far Away.

2: “Duh! There was already a release of the unaltered theatrical version in 2006 on DVD!”

We know. We are responsible for that unaltered classic cut on DVD release happening - along with other fans campaigning for such a release at the time too.

To date, it is the only time the unaltered classic cuts have appeared on a digital home format, albeit in SD, and is riddled with DNR problems and other quality issues such as overly high levels of grain, gate weave (aka frame jitter), aliasing (aka jaggies), and also a 1993 sound mix - in compressed sound quality…

To say nothing of Lucasfilm choosing a master source meant for a 1993 laserdisc transfer, in an obsolete letterbox format (even for 2006), and Lucasfilm then trying to pass off the… “1993 laserdisc masters represented the best source for providing the original versions as DVD bonus material”… a claim we all know to be very far from being anywhere near true.
 

Even Lucasfilm VP Jim Ward is on record as stating… “It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that’s not as good as state of the art 2006.” - and that ignores the many issues with the actual quality of DVD itself, as chronicled in the following article…

 

More information on 2006 GOUT DVD ‘bonus disc’ release can be found in this insightful and informative article on here:-

Got GOUT? The 2006 Original Version DVD Bonus Feature Fiasco - at the ‘Saving Star Wars’ website.

 

3. “The negatives were permanently altered for the 1997 Special Edition - there can’t be an unaltered version release now!”

Yes, we are aware of the Lucasfilm Press Release from 2006 claiming just this. However, whilst the original negatives may be currently configured to the 1997 Special Edition cut… it completely ignores the fact that many other high quality sources still exist in their original ‘unaltered theatrical’ form… sources such as 3-color separation masters, interpositives, IB Technicolor prints, some great 70mm prints, other 2nd generation and 3rd generation back-ups and quality prints… available at, and to, Lucasfilm.
 

If fan-made Original Trilogy preservation projects, such TN1’s 4Kxx quality endeavours, using the limited 35mm prints available to them… can look as good and as detailed they do - even surpassing the quality of Lucasfilm’s previous releases… then surely Lucasfilm themselves are undoubtedly capable of producing their own high quality release of the unaltered theatrical versions for the Original Trilogy.
 

A viable alternative to the above is to reconstruct the unaltered theatrical Original Trilogy films - similar to what Harmy has achieved with his much-loved Despecialized Editions. In 2017 it was also confirmed that the footage from the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy, that was replaced for the 1997 Special Editions (and later SE releases) still exists and has been archived - by 20th Century Fox’s Senior Vice President of ‘Library and Technical Services’ at the time, Shawn Belston.

Again, if Harmy’s quality endeavours can result in a such a high quality and respected reconstruction… then surely Lucasfilm can too… with all the numerous sources and elements available to them at their disposal.
 

More information on the subject of both preservation and reconstruction can be found across these articles, here:-

Disney+ Should Offer the Star Wars Original Cuts — All of Them - an article at the ‘Wired’ website.

What We Want And How To Make It - an article at the ‘Star Wars Visual Comparisons’ website.

Got GOUT? The 2006 Original Version DVD Bonus Feature Fiasco - an article at the ‘Saving Star Wars’ website.

From Interpositives to Separation Masters: How Film Preservation Works - an in-depth article at the ‘Saving Star Wars’ website.

The current status / ability to have an official release of the unaltered theatrical cuts of the Original Trilogy… - 2021 OT•com thread.

^ with evidence that George Lucas refused the option to have a duplicate negative of the unaltered original cuts made before work began on insertion of newly shot scenes and alterations for the 1997 Special Edition. Something that “could be easily done” according to Tom Christopher, the editor for all 3 of the 1997 Special Edition versions of the Original Trilogy.

4: “There are Harmy Despecialized Editions and TN1’s 4KXX fan versions - I have those and am happy with them!”

We know - we’re the same community that these quality projects originated from (and many more fan endeavours besides). 😃
 

We’re very happy with them too! Still, as amazing as these preservation projects are - and they are truly amazing… not everyone is aware of them. Nor is everyone computer-savvy enough to get a hold of them. Online fans do make a up hefty percentage of Star Wars fandom - but we are by no means in the majority… both older and younger fans, people not online much, and indeed people who are online - yet simply aren’t aware of the existence or availability of these fan preservations… would all benefit from having an official version to be able to simply buy.

An official high quality release - whether on the store shelf, available to order online, or even to buy and experience on the Disney+ streaming service, should be readily available and accessible to everyone.

5. “George signed a deal with Disney when he sold Lucasfilm - so Disney can never release the unaltered theatrical cuts!”

There is no evidence to support this oft-spouted fan theory, rumour, conjecture, or for some fans… wishful thinking.

There is evidence to support no such supposed ‘deal’ actually existing. In fact there is a blanket straight-out denial of this - from the President of Lucasfilm themselves:-
 

‘Kennedy confirmed there is no actual agreement to keep the trilogy in its current form but when probed further about whether or not Lucas’ final cut of the original trilogy would be altered over time Kennedy assured that is something that will not happen’
^ an - article at the ‘Heroic Hollywood’ website.

 

Also, from the ‘Steele Wars Podcast’ interview with Kathleen Kennedy, conducted in a media line event for ‘The Last Jedi’ at Celebration 2017:-
 

Interviewer: “A lot has been said about the pass over to Disney, but Star Wars is film of changes… it has evolved over time. Uh, is there like, a contractual or a handshake agreement that the films are locked in their current form?”.

Kathleen Kennedy: “No, there is no-one actually locking us into anything. In fact, the beauty of this relationship with The Walt Disney Company is they have been absolutely fantastic at standing back and pretty much letting us do what we want.”
 

^ the above interview with Kathleen Kennedy can also be found on the ‘Steele Wars’ YouTube channel (at 2 minutes 50 seconds).

 
 

There is also the following 2017 deleted tweet from Lucasfilm Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo, which clearly states that…
 

“What’s kept the original theatrical editions off home video is the same thing that’s always been doing that. It’s not a studio thing.”

 
and then…
 

“There’s one pretty noteworthy person who doesn’t want them released. Shouldn’t be too hard to research who that is.”

 
when quizzed “I thought he sold the company to Disney, lock, stock and barrel? Why does his opinion matter now?” Pablo states…
 

“I think people respect his wishes.”

 
A screenshot of the twitter conversation…
 

6: “The unaltered theatrical cuts are NOT George’s vision! You guys are so entitled - George doesn’t owe you anything!”

Wanting such a release of the unaltered classic cuts is not about the ‘theatrical cut vs the various special editions’ or which is ‘the best’, ‘preferred’, ‘canon’, or ‘definitive’, or George’s continuing vision(s) - we are currently on George’s fifth vision. It is simply about giving the fans the opportunity to own and view any & all of the differing versions of the Original Trilogy - whilst also affording landmark film history to be once again enjoyed and experienced by everyone.
 

Plus, the way many of us see it… an artist shouldn’t be able to change what the audience remembers. We don’t think an artist has the right to arbitrarily change the experience of the film from what people saw. Once it is released to the audience, it belongs with the audience. To interpret and to remember.

Given the unaltered classic cuts were the only version of the Star Wars Trilogy available for some twenty years, we believe there should be a high quality version of these cuts available on a modern digital format, for the countless number of fans who would very much like to own and experience such a product once again… as they remember it. And also share with new and younger fans who may not be familiar this version of the films.

Not forgetting that it is this unaltered version of the Original Trilogy which underpins all of the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
 

Many of us also believe there should be a high quality, modern digital version, of the 1997 Special Edition available too - as this is the incarnation of the Original Trilogy many fans saw on the big screen for the first time, and also has its own place in Star Wars history. Something they too should be able to remember and experience once again - and something which was never released on DVD, or in HD, for home release.

 

Some People Don’t Get It - Star Wars Changes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bS-qoPbrYQ - an 11 minute video from the HelloGreedo youtube channel.

7: “They are George’s films - and he can do with them what he wants!”

We disagree with this opinion - as does George Lucas himself…
 

 
^ George Lucas (in 2004): “Seriously, that’s why I’m a member of the Film Foundation (filmmakers for film preservation). A director should be able to change his films - but nobody else.”

At the time of above conversation George Lucas had already made changes to directors Irvin Kershner’s ‘Empire Strikes Back’, and Richard Marquand’s ‘Return Of The Jedi’ - and would also make go on to make further additional changes to both films.
 

Neither The Empire Strikes Back or Return Of The Jedi are available as their respective directors intended, or indeed made, on a modern and quality digital format.

 

As said previously (in Category No. 6)… The way we see it, an artist shouldn’t be able to change what the audience remembers. We don’t think an artist has the right to arbitrarily change the experience of the film from what people saw. Once it is released to the audience, it belongs with the audiences. To interpret and to remember.

Given the unaltered classic cuts were the only version of the Star Wars Trilogy available for some twenty years, we believe there should be a high quality version of these cuts available on a modern digital format, for the countless number of fans who would very much like to own and experience such a product once again, as they remember it. And also share with new and younger fans who may not be familiar this version of the films.

 

 

Also, all of the following quotes are from George Lucas, taken from his speech to the US Congress in 1988, on the subject of altering films…
 

“American works of art belong to the American public; they are part of our cultural history.”

…

“The public’s interest is ultimately dominant over all other interests.”

…

“It will soon be possible to create a new ‘original’ negative with whatever changes or alterations the copyright holder of the moment desires.”

…

“In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.”

…

“People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians.”

…

“Attention should be paid to the interest of those who are yet unborn, who should be able to see this generation as it saw itself, and the past generation as it saw itself.”

 
An article with the full speech by George Lucas, at Force Material: ‘George Lucas explains why you shouldn’t digitally alter films’
 

8: “I respect George - and he doesn’t want anyone to see these unaltered versions anymore - so you guys are wrong!”

We respect George too. After all, he is the visionary creator of the Star Wars universe.
 

However, when George says this…
 

^ from How the Grinch Stole Star Wars - an article on the ‘Save Star Wars’ website.

George Lucas: “…What ends up being important in my mind is what the DVD version is going to look like, because that’s what everybody is going to remember. The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movies that anyone will remember will be the DVD [of the Special Edition].”
 

We find that above statement from George to be very disconcerting - it is, in effect, an effort to wilfully suppress and eradicate landmark film history - as well as inadvertently denigrating audience’s memories and experiences from the unaltered version that existed for some twenty years. To say nothing of these being the original version of the three films upon which the entire Star Wars universe was built on.
 

And yet, in stark contrast to the above statement from George…
 

The Film Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1990 by director Martin Scorcese dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history - of which George Lucas is a board member.

The quotes below are taken from a video of George Lucas talking about the Film-Foundation - and the importance of preserving movies. Click on the Film-Foundation link above and then on the George Lucas image icon to watch the actual video:-

George Lucas: “The idea of film history, the idea of preserving films, which are so important to our heritage and culture, and which are part of what I think are a very significant art form, especially going into the future, I think is paramount. The reality that we face which is half the films before 1950 have been lost and we’ll never see them again… is a tragedy. And it saddens me every time I think about the fact that I’ve seen stills, I’ve heard stories about certain movies and I’ll never, ever be able to see them. Because they’re gone now. And I think preserving films - in terms of the legacy for the future - is probably the most important thing we can do.”

^ We completely agree with this - and so would like to see the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy to have an official, high quality release, on a modern digital format… so everyone can view and experience them once again.

9: “You guys all hate George Lucas!" & "You want to burn him to the ground and want to take everything away from him!”

No. Not at all. Just no. Regarding George… whilst many of us are somewhat disappointed and frustrated he wishes to not release a high quality format of the unaltered theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy - we appreciate that without his vision, character & determination there would be no Star Wars at all. So it is very much incorrect to say fans asking for such a release are a bunch of Lucas-haters. Nobody at all is wishing George any harm, ill-will, or “want to take everything away from him” - whatever that means.

Quite how the above, plus talking about others’ contributions to what makes Star Wars great, George making the various Special Editions, and fans also wanting a high quality official release of unaltered cuts… equates to… “You want to burn him (Lucas) to the ground and want to take everything away from him” is lost on us. Though such toxic hyperbole, hate-based projection, and untrue claims… seemingly occurs far more… when the contributions of people other than George are praised in the history of the OT.
 

There have been quite a few contradictory claims / re-writing of history / mis-remembering of facts on the history and development of Star Wars over the years from George… and chronicling the intriguing factual history of The Galaxy Far Far Away isn’t a criticism of the man himself - more a striving for a genuine, accurate, and authentic record on the evolution of Star Wars.

Attempting to highlight that intriguing and factual account of The Galaxy Far Far Away is not a ‘bashing Lucas’ exercise or unfounded criticism of the man himself - a philanthropist who has generously given much of his fortune away to charities, educational endeavours and good causes. The same determined genius and visionary who put both his own personal health and money at risk in bringing us these three classic films and the universe within…
 

To paraphrase Irvin Kershner, quoted whilst directing Empire Strikes Back… ‘fight for what you love - not because you hate’.

10: “The Original Trilogy was filmed in the 70’s & 80’s and are not even in HD - they look awful! The new Special Editions releases all look amazing and are in so much better quality - and in 4K!”

Sorry - the claim that because ‘the films were made in the 70’s and 80’s so are not even in HD and look awful!’ is simply not true.

The Original Trilogy was shot on 35mm film. 35mm film has a resolution of approximately 5.6K — equivalent to an image of about 5,600 × 3,620 pixels. The finite resolution of film will fluctuate based on the type of film and the film’s processing methods. More information on this can be found at the FilmFlix site - here (and many other trustworthy sources of information online).
 

After all, the various Special Edition releases (in 1997, 2004, 2011 and 2019) are all from, or based on, the original 35mm film negatives / prints used for the filming the Original Trilogy movies at the time.

 

This video on the Original Trilogy also both illuminates and gives answers to this common mistake in thinking films shot in 35mm from ‘long ago’ were ‘not even in HD’, or somehow look poor when compared to modern releases. It was released shortly before the 2019 Special Editions (aka the ‘Maclunkey’) version appeared on Disney+ - yet is still relevant to the topic:-
 

Star Wars 4K77 “That Wasn’t Filmed in HD!”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg6wNw_uRu4 - a 25 minute video from the RetroBlasting youtube channel.

 
 

This follow-up video, of sorts, is also well worth a discerning watch - in regards to the unaltered theatrical cuts - its unique place in Star Wars history, and also the love & reverence it has from countless fans of the classic Original Trilogy…
 

‘Star Wars: Going Home to Stay’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihf2pVjpzJI - a 15 minute video from the RetroBlasting youtube channel.

11: “Nobody wants to see the bad special effects of the 70’s and 80’s in the Original Trilogy!”

We see nothing wrong in attempting to preserve the original, award-winning and pioneering work of the many artisans, sound technicians, craftsmen (& craftswomen), and special effects artists… to do justice to their priceless contributions, which should remain available for all to see, experience, and be inspired by…

List of Academy Awards for The Original Trilogy & The Lost Art Of Star Wars

^ both these quality articles / sources of information are from the Star Wars Visual Comparisons website.

 

Tonally, many of the Special Edition effects inserted into the Original Trilogy are also noticeably different to the unaltered original films, in both look and feel.

Many of Special Edition inserts also look more ‘dated’ than many of the original effects and have themselves been replaced in later Special Edition releases…

^ from https://twitter.com/starwarsviscomp/status/950411778973995008

 

Or introducing visual effects errors into the Special Editions releases - this time for the 2004 SE DVD release…

…from Return Of The Jedi; with Vader’s lightsaber now being a different reddish-orange colour to what is seen moments before.

 

To say nothing of the 2011 Special Edition blu ray release somehow looking like this…

…is this somehow meant to be an improvement in image quality over the original unaltered theatrical cut? No. No, it isn’t.

 

Nor this bizarre blue colouring introduced for the 1997 Special Edition release…

 

More example of these errors, introductions of mistakes, and sub-standard quality control for the various Special Editions can be found in the insightful ‘Can’t Even Get the Special Edition Right’ article on the ‘Saving Star Wars’ website.

12: “Stop crying about the Special Edition alterations! It is only a few special effects that have changed - and not the story!”

Sorry, that is not true - at all. For example… since the 1997 Special Editions, through to the 2019 SE ‘Maclunkey’ releases…
 

 
^ ‘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.':-

Disney+ Should Offer the Star Wars Original Cuts—All of Them - article at Wired (scroll down to the ‘The Game Breaker’ section).
 

all credit to doubleofive - for both finding and highlighting that uncorrected oversight - in all four versions of the Special Edition films - and also for the article itself.

 

Needless to say there are many other changes to the story too - some are slight alterations, whereas others are quite profound in their impact on the story changes. Whilst ‘your mileage may vary’ depending on your point of view, these are still changes to the story…
 

 

 

the addition of the “Noooooooo!” line of dialogue for Vader in Return Of The Jedi…

13. “The cost of restoring the theatrical cuts is exorbitantly prohibitive - and George said it would cost millions of dollars!”

^ A screenshot from the 2004 ‘Lucas talks as ‘Star Wars’ trilogy returns’ article on the 2004SE DVDs at Today•com
 

Firstly, it is worth highlighting that George Lucas refused to have a duplicate scan made of the unaltered theatrical cut for the Original Trilogy before altering the original negatives for the 1997 Special Editions (a project paid for in its entirety by 20th Century Fox). Something that “could be easily done” according to the Lucasfilm employees working on the actual project…

^ An abridged screenshot (edited for length) from Lucasfilm department director Bill Kimberlin’s 2018 book - ‘Inside The Star Wars Empire’, from ‘The Distraction’ chapter, starting on Page 194.

 

Respected professionals in the film preservation industry, as of 2018, put the figure at US $100,000 or so to cover the cost of a professional restoration of the Original Trilogy films; ‘to 4K and do it right’.

 

^ A screenshot of From Interpositives to Separation Masters:How Film Preservation Works - at the ‘Save Star Wars’ website (in 2010); with an list of possible options and costs open to Lucasfilm.

 

^ A screenshot of Frequently Asked Questions: ‘4 - Restoring or presenting the original versions in high quality is very expensive isn’t it? Lucas does not have the money or desire to do so.’ - at the ‘Save Star Wars’ website (in 2010); with a couple of restoration and pricing options.

 

^ A screenshot of Saving Star Wars: The Special Edition Restoration Process and its Changing Physicality - at The Secret History of Star Wars book website (in 2009).

 

^ A screenshot from ‘Could Disney finally give us the remastered, unedited Star Wars we want?’ - article at the ARS Technica website (in 2017); with a price option of ‘under a million dollars’.

 

And finally… the cost of a preservation / restoration release by the fans…
 

This screenshot taken from The Star Wars Trilogy’s 4K77, 4K80 & 4K83 Projects in July 2019, details some of the outlay involved for their respective project at being ‘a little over $16,000’ (no labour costs or profits made - just fans working on the project outside their regular jobs in their spare time):-

 

Note: Even in 2006, the esteemed Robert Harris - the man who had hand-restored ‘Vertigo’, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, and ‘The Godfather’ - is on record saying he knows there are pristine 35mm elements of the Original Trilogy available for use, and offered his services to restore the film - Lucasfilm did not respond to his offer…

^ A screenshot of Saving Star Wars: The Special Edition Restoration Process and its Changing Physicality - at The Secret History of Star Wars book website (in 2009). A screenshot of Robert Harris quote, via The Digital Bits website, can be found here.

14: “You guys are still banging this drum? Hardly anyone wants the unaltered theatrical versions!”

Yes, we are still proudly banging the drum 😃. Admittedly, we having been doing this for a long while - yet we’re obviously not going anywhere. We get that the franchise has changed mightily since we started this, in ways we couldn’t have possibly imagined… but high quality, unaltered, theatrical versions from '77, '80, and '83 are still absent from our world.
 

Also, Lucasfilm is indeed on record as acknowledging the enormous demand for an official release of the unaltered classic cuts…
 

 
^ the above quotes from Lucasfilm’s announcement are somewhat illuminating on this matter - and with many more fans also wanting to see and experience them since Lucasfilm’s statement…
 

“the biggest question we’ve ever gotten from Star Wars fans is, ‘When are you going to release the originals?’”

the “overwhelming demand” for the unaltered theatrical version.

the "long awaited release of original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy.”

“over the years a truly countless number of fans have told us they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in the theatres.”

15: “You guys should accept the Special Editions are canon - the unaltered theatrical versions are not - and move on!”

This is not about ‘canon’ or ‘definitive’ versions… it is about having a choice, about the preservation of landmark movies, and being able to once again view and experience these much-loved Star Wars films.

The unaltered theatrical version could easily be released as part of the ‘Vintage Collection’ up on the Disney+ streaming service - and it would have no bearing on the Special Editions being the ‘official’ or ‘default’ version, or being George’s ‘vision’.

Disney+ even features the original 2003 ‘Clone Wars’ animated series - available in HD (a series de-canoned for the later 2008 animated ‘The Clone Wars’ film and series)… so why not also include the various previous cuts of the Original Trilogy on there too?

Even a physical media official release of the unaltered Original Trilogy could easily and clearly be labelled as ‘non-canon’, ‘Legends’ or ‘Essential Legends’ etc - like countless other official Star Wars content over time is now re-labelled, re-released, and re-sold.
 

For some of us, George’ evolution of the Special Editions was essentially “patching” the movies like you patch a video game. Such patches are supposed to be free, especially if they’re considered essential for the game to be “complete”. We certainly shouldn’t have been led to believe each of these were the completed versions - charged full price for each “incomplete” version - then some time later informed the previous patch was “incomplete” - that another full price patch was coming, and another, then another.
 

Yet this is not about the ‘theatrical cut vs the various special editions’ or which is ‘the best’, ‘preferred’, ‘canon’, or ‘definitive’, or George’s continuing vision(s). It is simply about giving the fans the opportunity to own and view any & all of the differing versions of the Original Trilogy - whilst also affording landmark film history to be once again enjoyed and experienced by everyone.

An official high quality release of the unaltered theatrical versions from '77, '80, and '83… is still absent from our world. Yet they can easily be a part of it once more - and we feel it is important to highlight they always could have been - despite some confusion, obfuscation, and disingenuous & debunked claims to the contrary… from both George and Lucasfilm over the years.

If you’d like to comment on the above information, please do so in the original thread linked to below - and NOT in here - thank you.

The 'Naysayer Guide’ by people who DON’T want an unaltered theatrical release of the Original Trilogy
 

#ReleaseTheOriginalTrilogy

I imagined Vader had a whole wardrobe of suits - probably organising them from light to dark colours - or Summer to Winter…

😉
 

^ The 12th Timelord doing a half decent Bowie impression? 😃

(I like Craig Davidson’s outlook & humour on his old show - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5zhExXiL8A)
 

Re the Manics, if you get a chance to see them live go check them out - they put on a great show, and some quality music too (when all this is over and things start to get back to a sense of ‘normality’).

^ Love that song - and also Clapton’s cover of it too. Will have to give the album a good listen to in a bit 😃

Marvin Gaye - ‘What’s Going On?’ (live in 1972):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPkM8F0sjSw
 

or the official 2019 video:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5TmORitlKk
 

^ Fake or not? I don’t care - it is great 😃
 

From https://imgur.com/gallery/hylcoTn
 

Manic Street Preachers’ ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next’ (Live):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQMj202B67A
 

or the stripped back version…

James Dean Bradfield (with Allen Toussaint and John Grant) - ‘If You Tolerate This’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wULJgK8is0
 

Haarspalter said:

Not really a ship, but THIS

Preferably not in a forest 😉

Letter of recommendation to the Galactic Empire,

please deploy tactical ground troop vehicles sutitable for the respective planetary enviroment.

Slow dewbacks for open wide desert areas?
Fast speeder bikes for tree trunk-infested forests?

Someone needs to lose his job.

Sincerely, a worried Scout Trooper

Brilliant 😃

May your dream come true, mate…

😉

‘Star Wars original cuts on Blu-ray: the evidence’:-

Rumours suggest that original cuts of Star Wars are heading to Blu-ray. But how likely is that? Ryan weighs up the possibilities…

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars-original-cuts-on-blu-ray-the-evidence - a 2014 article
 

a snippet…
 

"For many Star Wars fanatics, the special edition release of the Original Trilogy back in 1997 was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, it offered us the chance to see George Lucas’s space opera films in their natural habitat: on a huge cinema screen.

Then there’s the restoration to consider: Lucasfilm took the original Star Wars negatives from its archives and cleaned them up, removing years of dirt and scratches, and restoring the colours to their original balance. Thanks to the efforts of people like effects supervisor Dave Carson and his team, Darth Vader’s outfit was once again black and imposing, not an embarrassing shade of faded blue.

During this process, however, George Lucas decided to make a number of small yet significant alterations: the insertion of new effects shots, an entire song-and-dance sequence in Return Of The Jedi, and, most infamously, a change to Han’s fateful meeting with Greedo in A New Hope. Further alterations were made when the Original Trilogy made its way to DVD and then Blu-ray, which quickly led to a persistent question among Star Wars fans: when might we see a release of restored yet otherwise unmodified versions of the original films?

For George Lucas, there was one simple answer: never. Back in 2004, Lucas told The Today Show, “I’m not going to spend the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I’m sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it.”

Fans, it seemed, would have to make do with the bonus feature on the DVDs released in 2006: some decidedly threadbare original cuts taken from an old Laserdisc edition released in 1993. Otherwise, there are the various fan-made ‘de-specialised’ edits to be found on the internet. For the past eight years, the chances of seeing an official, high-quality, remastered edition of the Star Wars Original Trilogy have grown increasingly slim.

But over the past few days, rumours have begun to circulate that, with George Lucas now in retirement and Lucasfilm in the hands of Disney, the original theatrical cuts of Star Wars could be appearing on Blu-ray after all. It’s a story that has generated no small amount of excitement, but understandably, quite a bit of scepticism."
 

and…

"When George Lucas argued against an unaltered restoration of Star Wars in 2004, he said that he wasn’t willing to “spend the […] millions of dollars” on the process of making it. Two years later, Lucasfilm stated that the “negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions.”

Taken at face value, this might suggest that a HD theatrical cut of Star Wars would not only be commercially unviable, but also technically difficult. Yet according to an Ars Technica article published in May this year, such a restoration would not only be possible, but also relatively cheap to produce. Star Wars expert Michael Kaminski suggests that a new, 4K scan of the trilogy would “likely be under a million dollars” – hardly a huge sum of money for a Hollywood studio.

What’s more, it emerged in July that a company called Reliance Media Works had created a 4k 16-bit remaster of the original Star Wars trilogy. Reliance’s demo reel even shows off its work on Star Wars:

While we don’t yet know whether Reliance’s conversion was based on the original theatrical cuts or the Special Edition, it seems highly likely that some kind of high-resolution release is being prepared."
 

‘Untouched is impossible: the story of Star Wars in film’:-

Star Wars: A New Hope has been re-released, re-edited, and updated more times… - a 2010 article

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2010/05/star-wars (2 pages)
 

a snippet…
 

"Last week saw the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, and along with it came discussions about the best way to watch the film and what we can expect from future re-releases. Michael Kaminski wrote the exhaustively researched and illuminating book The Secret History of Star Wars, so he knows damn near everything there is to know about the film stock used to shoot the film. George Lucas famously said that the original film “doesn’t exist” anymore, but is that accurate?

How exactly does Star Wars exist now? What are the challenges and possibilities involved in re-releasing a perfected original cut? How do the bootlegs stack up? Let’s find out.
 

Many prints exist…

We asked Kaminksi about the master copy of the original Star Wars. What does it look like now? “The term ‘master copy’ is slightly vague, because there are various kinds of print masters of different generations,” he told Ars. The original negative is conformed to the 1997 Special Edition, meaning the physical copy has been cut and edited with CGI “improvements.” With sections of the film being too damaged to work with, parts of that print were taken from other sources. “You never throw away your original negative, so I must assume that any pieces or shots that were removed are in storage somewhere at Lucasfilm or Fox,” he explained.

Kaminski points out that a duplication of the original negative—commonly printed for the sake of protection—doesn’t seem to exist for Star Wars. Something better was created, though: separation masters. “These are special silver-based copies that do not fade, and in theory should be almost identical in quality to the original negative itself, so even if the negative was destroyed you still have a perfect copy (which is the point of making the separation master).” Duplicates from these prints were used to replace damaged sections of the negative during the restoration before the release of the Special Edition.

That’s not all, however. “There are also Interpositives and master prints. Interpositives (and Internegatives) are the color-corrected masters that theatrical prints are duplicated from, and were used in the past to make the home video telecines from 1985-1995.” Another common practice is keeping print masters, which are high-quality, fine-grain prints kept in the eventuality that no other higher-quality copies or masters are available.

What this tells us is that Lucas wasn’t lying—the original copy of Star Wars is, in fact, gone. What exists in its place is a composite film that has been restored and spliced together with Special Edition scenes and sections from other, later prints. There exist enough film copies and back-ups to re-create the film, however, so nothing is impossible in terms of a more classical high definition re-release."
 

and…

Is there hope for a definitive release of the original films?

Kaminski says that he’s fairly sure Lucas is done with large, sweeping changes, but we should expect a CGI Yoda in Episode 1 instead of the physical effect shot on the set. The inevitable Blu-ray copy of the movies will likely be safe from further meddling.

The thing he stresses is that a perfect, uncut version is possible with the film left from the edits, and there is money to be made there. “It’s certainly possible to do a new, high-quality transfer from original 35mm material. You could totally restore the original films from their original negatives for a few million dollars, and the 2004 release sold $100 million in a single day, so that pricetag is meaningless.”

We’re not asking for much, here. “Even films like Revenge of the Nerds have new transfers from 35mm prints. It costs nothing, and there are fine-grain masters and Interpositives that would only require mild clean-up to be presentable, even if the transfers were grainier and a bit damaged.”

Kaminski is not convinced that we’ll get a classic version of Star Wars on a high definition format, at least not for a while. “I’ve been trying to organize a letter writing campaign to Lucasfilm and get websites to promote the importance of having the original versions in high quality,” he said. “I really don’t have any need to pay money for another release of the films unless the originals are restored and available, and I don’t want to sound like a disgruntled fanboy. I just don’t think the 2004 master is something I would pay money for again; I would rather just watch the bootlegs of the original versions.”

What George Lucas does love is money, however, and the hunger and enthusiasm for the non-fussed-over releases is going to be impossible to ignore. “Which is a great—but callous—business practice on their part, because you get people to buy the same thing over and over again.”
 

Why is this important?

The story of Star Wars is the story of film, and of how we keep our past to share with the future. George Lucas does have the legal right to change and adjust his own work any way he’d like, but Star Wars existed in a very specific way for its original theatrical run. Those memories, and those scenes, have a very real value and meaning to fans. This isn’t just a science fiction film anymore—it’s an important piece of culture.

Star Wars is always going to be an ephemeral thing, changing and shifting as the film adapts to the technology of the time. As the film gets older, digital copies will become more important, but fans are always going to yearn for a version of the film that may exist mostly in their imaginations. Every time George Lucas or a fan takes another crack at the film, it’s a new interpretation of the past, and as the film ages and our viewing technology changes, it will continue to look different from how each of us remembers it."

A 2014/2017 article from ‘ARS Technica’, a sort-of update on the above subject, can be found here:-

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Articles-and-info-that-highlight-call-for-a-classic-version-release-of-the-Original-Trilogy/id/75597/page/1#1350469
 

An addendum to the above ‘Fan Edit / Preservation Forum Rules and FAQ’ - Rule 2:-

2. No profiting from any activities related to fan edits or preservation efforts. Those found selling their fan edits or preservation projects here or elsewhere will be banned… (see the post below or click here for more information as of June 1st, 2020)

June 1st, 2020

As the world of media ever evolves, so too does our ability to interact with that world. In the beginning days of film, access was only available through theaters or private screenings. Over time we’ve gained a more immediate access through the distribution of home video releases and now access-on-demand through the internet. As creatives, this has also allowed us greater opportunity to interact with media to the eventual advent of fanediting. One thing that we must remember is that even though our access and ability to manipulate media is increasing, that access and ability does not give us the right to reinterpret the established laws surrounding copyrights of intellectual properties (IP).

A recent trend in the world of digital creatives is to use subscription based revenue supports such as patreon. While this is a fantastic way for creatives to support the development and distribution of their own IPs, we stress that it cannot be used to support fanediting. Any engagement in the profiting off of another’s IP work without permission from the owner to do so is strictly prohibited and any faneditor who engages in such activity will be banned from participating in our fanediting communities.
 

To clarify…

In the past we have been clear that no faneditor may profit from fanediting. Under this new policy this now also includes subscription based models, monetization of content that editors do not hold the copyright for and pay-per-view/access models. If a faneditor profits in any way, they have violated this rule.

Profiting from fanediting is defined as any increase in currency that leads to a personal or collective financial gain.

Fanediting is defined as editing and presenting/sharing alternate versions of content that an editor does not hold the copyright for.
 

Simplified check list…

If you are profiting from fanediting…
If you are selling fanediting…
If you are monetizing fanediting…
If you are asking others to financially subscribe to support your fanediting…
…you have violated this rule.
 

Clearly stated…

If you don’t hold the copyright of the source material you may not profit from the content.

Again, any faneditor that is found violating these guidelines will be banned from our communities.

If you have any questions regarding these rules please contact a staff member privately.

– The Staff of Fanedit.org & OriginalTrilogy.com

An addendum to the above ‘Fan Edit / Preservation Forum Rules and FAQ’ - Rule 2:-

2. No profiting from any activities related to fan edits or preservation efforts. Those found selling their fan edits or preservation projects here or elsewhere will be banned…

June 1st, 2020

As the world of media ever evolves, so too does our ability to interact with that world. In the beginning days of film, access was only available through theaters or private screenings. Over time we’ve gained a more immediate access through the distribution of home video releases and now access-on-demand through the internet. As creatives, this has also allowed us greater opportunity to interact with media to the eventual advent of fanediting. One thing that we must remember is that even though our access and ability to manipulate media is increasing, that access and ability does not give us the right to reinterpret the established laws surrounding copyrights of intellectual properties (IP).

A recent trend in the world of digital creatives is to use subscription based revenue supports such as patreon. While this is a fantastic way for creatives to support the development and distribution of their own IPs, we stress that it cannot be used to support fanediting. Any engagement in the profiting off of another’s IP work without permission from the owner to do so is strictly prohibited and any faneditor who engages in such activity will be banned from participating in our fanediting communities.
 

To clarify…

In the past we have been clear that no faneditor may profit from fanediting. Under this new policy this now also includes subscription based models, monetization of content that editors do not hold the copyright for and pay-per-view/access models. If a faneditor profits in any way, they have violated this rule.

Profiting from fanediting is defined as any increase in currency that leads to a personal or collective financial gain.

Fanediting is defined as editing and presenting/sharing alternate versions of content that an editor does not hold the copyright for.
 

Simplified check list…

If you are profiting from fanediting…
If you are selling fanediting…
If you are monetizing fanediting…
If you are asking others to financially subscribe to support your fanediting…
…you have violated this rule.
 

Clearly stated…

If you don’t hold the copyright of the source material you may not profit from the content.

Again, any faneditor that is found violating these guidelines will be banned from our communities.

If you have any questions regarding these rules please contact a staff member privately.

– The Staff of Fanedit.org & OriginalTrilogy.com

Sometimes the content is right under our noses…

Proof of Lucas’ revisionism in Rinzler’s making-of book? - 2019 OT•com thread, by canofhumdingers

😃