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In 1977, the audience for the first time witnessed the spectacular cinematic experience that is Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope. At the time, with limited budget and restricted technology George Lucas created the epic saga. As the world made technological advancements, Lucas wanted to incorporate them in the movies and thus newer editions of the original Star Wars sequel trilogy emerged.
From enhanced special effects, additional stormtroopers to the much debated ‘Han shot first’ scene, the special editions brought forth many changes. The original Star Wars theatrical cut was replaced by the newer version on all public platforms. As much as fans of the franchise loved the special editions, the old cut had its own fan following.
As per The New York Times, after the release of 1997 special edition, George Lucas said,
“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 movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version.”
Does the original version still exist?
The answer is yes. But the access to it is a challenge. Since 1997, copies of the original version were replaced by the remastered edition that has revised scenes and superior special effects. Star Wars fans of the original trilogy have since been trying to preserve the first theatrical cut.
The British Film Institute (BFI) announced that they will be screening the 1977 cinematic version of Episode IV - A New Hope at the Film-on-Film Festival on June 12, 2025. In a statement they shared,
"Film on Film presents Star Wars exactly as experienced by audiences on its original release, screening from one of the precious handful of dye transfer IBTechnicolor prints produced for the first British release, preserved in the BFINational Archive.”
Over the years, several fans have tried to restore the original cut. As per New York Times, Team Negative One, one of the Star Wars fan groups have been working on restoring the original print in 4K for a decade. It is to be noted that these restorations are not official and is a fan project. Robert Williams, a Philadelphia based computer programmer who is part of the group said,
“Our goal was to find a way to make it look as good as the official releases.”
Disney+ is home to all the Star Wars projects. Despite fans requesting the original cut to be made part of the streaming service, Lucasfilm is yet to entertain the idea. It is almost too hard to find the original cut of the movie today.
What are the changes in the special edition of the Star Wars prequel trilogy?
The original sequel trilogy movies were re-released with augmented images and several new alterations. Here are a few of the changes that were done on the original cut of the epic saga.
1) Special Effects and additional CG – The backgrounds were updated to match the prequel trilogy. Matte paintings were replaced with digital versions.
2) Additional background characters - New aliens and more stormtroopers were added to make the Star Wars Universe appear bigger and mightier.
3) Altered dialogues and additional scenes – Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter had a short appearance in the original cut, however in the special edition a deleted scene with Luke Skywalker was added. This was one of the welcome changes as it gave a bit more depth to the character. That said, Jabba the Hutt’s appearance in the 1997 version of A New Hope as he corners Han Solo was out of place.
4) Character make-overs – Wampa in The Empire Strikes back is one of the more memorable alien creatures. In the reconstructed version, the alien creature got a sharper makeover. Similarly, the Sarlacc Pit from Return of the Jedi was originally a sand hole with terrifying teeth. However, in the remastered version, the alien has tentacles and appears even scarier.
5) Han Shot First – The most debated of all changes, ‘Han Shot First’ changed to ‘Greedo shot first and then Han shot for self-defense’. The bounty hunter Greedo, sent by Jabba the Hutt, and Han Solo meet at Mos Eisley. In the original cut, after a chat, Han shoots Greedo. But in the special edition, it was changed to make it look like Greedo shot first, and Han moves his head and shoots back.
As per Today.com, George Lucas in an interview with The Associated Press in 2004, said,
“The special edition, that’s the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it’s on VHS, if anybody wants it. ... I’m not going to spend the, we’re talking millions of dollars here, 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. But I want it to be the way I want it to be.”
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