4K Star Wars 1977 Original / 'Despecialized' - Battle of Yavin - Full Battle
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- Опубліковано 22 вер 2024
- Relive the iconic Battle of Yavin Death Star assault in its original 1977 brilliance, meticulously restored to 4K without CGI and 1997 'Special Edition' enhancements. The original Star Wars trilogy, as seen theatrically during their initial runs, is no longer publicly available. Since 1997, George Lucas has designated the Special Edition as the official release, a stance maintained even under Disney's ownership, with no plans for the despecialized versions to be released.
With the analysis of the Death Star plans, a weakness is found in the exhaust port. The Rebels send 30 X-wings and Y-wing in hopes of destroying it before it can destroy them.
Sourced from the despecialization project known as D+77
![REVISITED Battle of Yavin | A New Hope (1977) [Revisited, DeEd, Blu-ray, Puggo]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/m2iiQuGn-oM/mqdefault.jpg)
![REVISITED Battle of Yavin | A New Hope (1977) [Revisited, DeEd, Blu-ray, Puggo]](/img/tr.png)
Calling OG Star Wars veterans! If you were there for the original 1977 release... PLEASE share your tales of witnessing the original 1977 theater experience in this thread and how Star Wars first entered your life! Let's embark on a journey through this timeless universe together!
When this video was initially posted, it sparked a fascinating comment thread filled with firsthand accounts of experiencing Star Wars on the big screen in 1977. It was captivating to read about everyone's unique experiences- their age at the time, where they saw it, and the impact it had on them. Let's continue sharing and celebrating these cherished memories!
An amazing spectacle that i would never experience. First time I saw it when I was 6 on the original VHS release.
"Cutting across the axis to draw their fire" gives me goosebumps to this very day over 40 years later. The only thing I can compare it to is the Leia forest "chase" scene in kenobi...😮😮..... 😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅
I was terrible with names as a kid, I called a certain character Death Vander.
This has aged so much better than any of the 'improvements'!
Watched the movie in theathers for 3 times with my late father, the second and the third times using my own pocket money to buy the tickets. I was only 12 years old at that time and that was the first time I was exposed to science fiction movies. 🤭👍
"Estimated time to firing range: fifteen minutes." I never noticed, but this scene nearly takes place in real time.
Most of the elided time is probably the X-wings traveling to the Death Star, which would put the rest pretty much in real time.
Wow awesome
Except that certain graphic seemed to be always counting down from 15s
@@RennieAsh Yeah, I don't get what that's counting down to-next mile marker?
@@VideoMask93 probably just a reused scene in this edit , looks like it was meant for when there was actually only 15s to go, but they put it in every time they mentioned ETA to during range
The military style aspect builds the tension so well. People repeating commands and doing call-outs for each other and no quick cuts to speed up the action is great.
In newer star wars movies they are either saying bad jokes the whole time or trying to say an emotional speech in the middle of a battle.
You hit the nail on the head. This sequence seems absolutely amazing and never breaks your immersion. The story takes itself seriously which, in turn, makes the audience take it seriously.
That's actually a really good point that i didn't think about until just now. Star trek was the same way. Interesting.
Exactly this, it gives you a feeling you rarely get from modern movies.
The fact that they don’t constantly have music blaring during the whole fight is also great, I think. We don’t need constant noise or music to tell us when something important is going on, or to build tension. The dogfight, callouts, and deaths are enough to make us understand the importance of the battle. The music comes in when it’s most important, and that makes the last bit of the trench run way better than if it was always playing
It’s not just the combat tactics and style changed, even the characters have devolved from adult to child.
Only Boomers and Gen X know the thrill of seeing this in a darkened theater with no backstory; no expectations…and being totally blown away two hours later. We knew a world before Star Wars: we watched it happen in real time. Nothing would ever be the same. You can’t imagine the roar of the entire audience when Han flew in out of nowhere and saved Luke. People were ecstatic! Moments later, the Death Star was in bits and we screamed for joy like our team won the World Series. 1st standing ovation I ever saw in a movie theater. You had to have been there to truly understand.
So true. We are the generation who watched minutes of footage of Yoda without knowing it's him. Priceless.
Generation X here born in '74 and saw Star Wars for the first time in '82 on my parent's brand new $600 VCR. It changed my life forever and instantly became my favorite movie of all time!
star wars is the only redeemable thing you have to be proud of, your generation is dogshit in every other way. SAD!
I've seen nothing like it before or since.
@@atranfanatic same, XENNIAL born 81, my parents rented a VCR from grocery chain HEB and it was this, and Dune that got my little 3-4 year old heart into science fiction (along with TBS airing Robotech/Harlock/Voltron)
I was there, opening day, in 1977. It was The Stanley Theater, in Vancouver. 70mm Dolby. We stood in line for 5 hours. It was a mind blowing experience. When the credits faded, the music twinkled, we dropped down to see the planet...then the ships took over the screen. I went in an innocent 8 year old boy. I left with a heart full of magic and dreams.
I also saw it at the Stanley theater in Vancouver. I was seven at the time.
My family and I were the first people to see it in Jackson, Michigan. Nobody knew what it was, we only went to see it because it was our family movie night and nobody liked any of the other choices. I remember mentioning it to my friends the the next day and one of them said : "Star Wars ? What's that ? Farrah Fawcett Majors and Kate Jackson ( this was when the original "Charlies Angels" was big on TV ) in a brest to brest match ?
Yeah I know that feeling.....seeing this scene again brought me tears just now, i need to compose myself here......
THEN DISNEY HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep. I saw it on the first day also. Seven years old with my older sis and mom. I was in awe of the whole movie. I don't remember so much the audience being into it. I think it was because everyone else was in awe also. Nothing like it had been seen before. Now, when Empire came out three years later, the movie audience was stoked, because we had three years to get to know the characters and backgrounds at the time. When Vader revealed himself as Luke's father in the theater, you could hear a pin drop, followed by a loud disturbance of the force in the audience as everyone was going no way, and lamenting that it couldn't be true. Walking out, me and my best friend at the time were thrilled, excited, dumbfounded all at once. People waiting outside to get in were like, how was it. We were, it's the greatest movie ever. I still think it's the best sequel ever, and the best of all, and I do mean all the Star Wars movies.
40mm Dolby? I think you mean 70mm - 🤔
The “Get setup for your attack run” command is so underrated. The man is a leader of a rag tag last ditch effort. He’s a hardened veteran who has the most experience. He should be it, by military standards.
But he doesn’t comply with Luke’s request. He knows he done for, and the last useful thing he can do in his life is buy time for said last ditch effort. He’s a man of the mission and not of himself. A true leader, and a man who deserves to be followed into battle.
RIP Garvin Dreis.....I wonder if Darth Vader knew he shot down a former wingman from the Clone Wars....
@@PrometheusOfVideos His last acting role. He had to retire from acting after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drewe_Henley
Seriously, you can see the disappointment and disbelief on his face not that he's about to be killed, but that he's not taking everyone on the death star with him.
According to canon he was already an experienced pilot and could have gone to the Imperial Navy but chose not to
Its the same as "Pops", knew he was dead, so decided to make his last moments useful "IT CAME FROM BEHIND!"
"We're in position, I'm gonna cut across the axis and try and draw their fire."
*John Williams intensifies*
Yes. How the MUSIC DOMINATES and intensifies after that line is SIMPLY OVERWHELMING!!! It's magical!!!
1:23
Chills even after a 200th rewatch.
John williams deserved awards for his work with this film
@@Canadianvoice He did get the Oscar!
Yes!! It's incredible how the music swells exactly when it's supposed to and works in accordance with the dialogue and the sound design. This is perfection. Besides, the new Dune films, most cinema and shows just Don't note this at all, I just don't get it.
It's so cool to see tie-fighters actually fighting x-wings on equal terms. Nowadays, the tie fighters would get destroyed like they were nothing, but back then they were actually good pilots.
TIE fighters on paper are actually superior fighters. They're slightly faster and more maneuverable. Xwings only have shields which is 2nd chance at best. But if a good TIE pilot is on your tail then they won't help you for very long.
That what made the movie authentic, the Empire being a real threat. Not this Disney shit.
Tie fighters do have 2 giant targets on either side of them tho. But the empire would be more of a threat if not for the Tarkin doctrine
@@freddederman7270 From the sides, sure. Take a look at the massive footprint of an Xwing from the top down which is the most common angle of attack. The only thing bigger was a Y-wing.
The Tarkin Doctrine made plenty of sense. Everyone forgets how vast the Empire was. Even if you made ISD's from the Death Star materials it wouldn't have been enough to police the galaxy. Fall in line or get nuked is pretty convincing. If only a single nation had developed nukes in our world then they would be the ultimate power.
@@brainplay8060 yes but you would think the empire would at least try to change their strategies a bit considering the fighting tactics of the rebels. I’m not saying the tie was bad it was actually really good. And I’m not saying the tarkin doctrine was stupid. Just not the best for fighting the rebels
What's crazy is like twenty minutes before you were watching a sword and sandals fantasy film, and now we're in a gritty space age war film
Absolutely! George Lucas had this uncanny knack for transporting us to entirely different worlds within the same movie experience.
But when it comes to dialogue...... ehhh... haha. Still, anything he made is 100x better than Disney Era / Kathleen Kennedy Star Wars!
The dialogue in this scene was pretty damn good I think.
The way Luke takes command when Red Leader dies and the immediate acknowledgement from (the more experienced) Wedge.
"Right with you Boss"
Wouldn't say Wedge is more experienced. Somehow, Luke's "bush pilot in the Outer Rim territories" gets him the Five slot in Red Squadron. (That seems an important, maybe 2nd in command slot.) Luke is a more "lived" pilot, Wedge is a more... classically trained pilot.
@@Svensk7119you may be right I always assumed Wedge had more experience, the way he claimed it was impossible even for a computer, made it sound like he'd been around a bit
@@anon17472 I see that, a bit. From how they interact, though, I get my previous descriptions, lived and classic.
The best, to me, evidence for Wedge's experience is his frontal attack on the TIE-fighter.
@@Svensk7119Wedge is definitely more experienced: he was a TIE fighter pilot in the imperial navy before defecting to the rebels. And Biggs was an ace navy pilot before he, too, defected. But they both follow Luke all the same.
People instinctively recognize a natural leader.
@@hux2000 Luke hadn't shot down any TIE fighters, but he had been flying far longer.
He is his father's son.
It's difficult today for people to realize what impact this movie had on viewers back in 1977. There was VERY little pre-release hype and publicity of this film. Nobody really knew what to expect. I was 22 at the time, and when I came out of the theater, I was a changed person. I truly felt I had actually been "in a galaxy far far away" for the past 2 hours.
It's always interesting to hear stories from people such as yourself who were there in 1977...and you confirm what was mentioned In the Star Wars documentary, 'Empire of Dreams' where George Lucas thought it would either be a modest 'hit' like $20 million or in his words, 'Die a horrible death' he wasn't aiming to make a blockbuster or game changer. Even upon release the studio only opened it on like 37 - 40 screens initially? But eventually it took the U.S. then the world by storm!
awesome
@@PrometheusOfVideos I was six years old, and saw it at the ABC cinema in Leeds. My older sister said I was so transfixed I didn't blink throughout the entire film, and had to be dragged away after the credits had finished. It was an epochal moment in film making, and with Empire it would only get better!
SERIOUSLY!!!! Until 1977, even the previous year, Sci-Fi looked like Logan's Run. And that was a big-budget movie. Star Wars totally changed the meaning of SciFi universes. If someone wants to wrap their head around the change, I challenge them to watch Logan's Run (which I do enjoy, but it's NOT Star Wars).
It was only released in 40 theatres nationwide back in May 1977..
3:43 I always loved how Vader already knows what's happening and realizes the main battle is just a diversion.
Darth Vader was certainly a most formidable villain for how he could sense things through his mastery of the Force.
@mikebasil4832 well, he used to be a general in the clone wars. Of course his cunning mind understands many strategies in war as possible
@@mikebasil4832That’s how he remained the most popular villain of Star Wars. Even adding him as a small role can improve a movie (Rogue One) or game (Fallen Order).
Vader is likely using the force as an extension of Ne to instantly understand the true subtext of their attack. He knew instantly that they were attempting to execute on a weakness in the Death Star plans, given his history with them since Rouge One.
Intuition adepts can get there in seconds with only limited information, then act to seize initiative before others.
Vader is the Empire's MVP in every movie. I've heard him described as "the hero for the other side."
Admittedly some of the special effects do look a bit dated now, but for1977 this was revolutionary. Even the special effects artists themselves were wowed when they saw the completed film for the first time. That speaks volumes.
I respect your thought, but honestly just disagree. I think this looks infinitely better than computer generatedeffects today. It’s basically flawless. It looks 100% real. It may look dated, but it looks better.
@@anandupadhyaya1656 Where in my comment did I say CGI looks better thnan this?
@@thatcanadian6698 Seems implied when you say “dated”. I’m not sure what dated means otherwise.
@@anandupadhyaya1656 Try looking it up.
IMO the only thing that gives it away that its a 70s movie is the hairstyles and moustaches.
It was 1977, I was 12 years old. Me and my best friend sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start. The lights go down. "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." Blown back in our seats when the music suddenly thundered to life and the logo blazed. Two hours later, we were different kids. Our lives had changed. Our obsession with everything Star Wars began that day. So glad I experienced it at the beginning.
Remember when the Rebel blockade runner came on screen for the first time, and then the Star Destroyer which seemed infinitely long? 😮
I was 7 but I these memories are seared into my brain. I saw it another 11 times in the theater that summer. There was nothing else like it. I'm glad I was there.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
@@garymccammon6696 i loved how they joked about it in spaceballs LOL
"We brake for nobody"
Me, I was ten years, and this film changed ma Life
Also I'll never forget when the movie was over EVERYONE gave a standing ovation. Then we all sat and watched the credits until the very end. Listening to the awesome music and finding out if the crew was actually human. Goosebumps till this day. 45 years later
Not trying to diminish or anything (I think I have seen the first 6 movies 100+ times a piece), but the Marvel movies have done pretty well in tapping into that same energy with the next new form of cinematic story telling with its connected universe. Its the same type of revolution Star Wars did back then. Wish I could have seen this then also.
I remember that too I was 11 years old in May 1977 I'll never forget it
I was 9 years old sitting in the center of the theater with my big brother to my right hand side the day it came out on May 1977. When I saw the opening scene, the Star Destroyer that was bigger than life going across the screen, nothing was ever the same again. It changed me forever. Forever. I still feel it today, and I'm 53 years old now.
I remember my sister (about 17 at the time) coming home and telling my dad he needed to take me to see this movie. I was 7. I saw it in the theater 8 times. We moved over seas but acquired a copy on betamax (yeah I'm that old) and I guarantee you I've seen this movie over 200 times. At one point I knew every line. We lived in Saudi Arabia for 2 years, as you can imagine in 1977-1980 there wasn't much tv for us in Jeddah, SA. Came home Xmas of 1980 for a visit which was timely and I got to see empire in the theater as well. Back when movies were made with models and the effects weren't generated on a computer.
@@MobiusJack Yeah...that scene changed the world forever. It is still awesome and cannot be beat, even by modern movies. Still awesome..........
I genuinely tear up reading the comments of all those who were fortunate enough to watch this movie in theaters back in 1977 (I was born in 1990). You can tell that this was a world-changing experience.
Bro same. It was very impactful when I was a kid but imagine back then…
It was truly unforgettable (I was 9, 53 now.) At the time, my dad was replacing his Super 8mm home movie camera, and he gave me his old one the following Christmas when I turned 10. It had a frame-by-frame mode, and you could screw a "cable release" into the camera so you could trigger the taking of a frame without touching the camera). I learned how to do stop motion animation (of course, a child's version, using my friends' Star Wars toys) and how to use the pointy end of a drawing compass to scratch the emulsion off the film, frame by frame, to make laser beams. It wasn't just that the story was compelling. The technical genius of it (there were TV specials showing how it was done) made many children want to see if they could make a movie. It strikes me now that many of us did.
My stepdad was a kid at the time. He says he knew movies would never be the same after seeing this
@@arsenal-slr9552 Damned straight. It was of course not the first amazing movie ever made (my favorite movie ever came out the year I was born, "2001: a Space Odyssey", but your stepdad was right, Star Wars was a game changer for the kind of movie that it was, even as it itself was a callback to older and less memorable science fiction cliffhanger serials of the 1930s-1950s ("Flash Gordon", "Buck Rogers").
It truly was. Nothing like it ever before. Real models made by amazingly skilled people, not CGI stuff from a few trained chimps with a keyboard.
I was 4 years old when I went to see this with my oldest cousin. We waited in line for 8 hours. What people today will not realize is there was NOTHING like this on the screen ever before. No one had seen anything else like it. When the movie ended it was a standing ovation - people were literally jumping up and down and clapping - in fact, I remember us just turning around and going right back into the theater to view it again. We did that for the entire summer - every thursday morning at the first showing. And it was packed overtime. I miss those days, when going to the movies was special and a communal event. And this trench run still inspires modern movies -- Top Gun Maverick anyone?
And Disney isn't inspired at all, its like Teflon on those guys 😙
Yeah was just thinking how iconic this trench run was… where did they come up with it
@9:55 I never realised until today that you can actually see Darth Vader's eyes in his mask. Freezing the frame at that time also shows how gorgeous film grain is for capturing turquoise and reds.
same :)
Word me too 🤣
David Prowse 🙂
Fun fact: in the upcoming Extra-Special Edition, Hayden Christensen’s eyes will be digitally inserted over David Prowse’s. 😩😁
@@SnowyNightFlyer watch that actually happen...
1:27. How can anyone not love that shot of the X-Wings rolling into the attack to that trumpet fanfare. Just epic.
That specific shot is one of my favorites in all of movie history. And I teach film...
I had the lovely double LP soundtrack album, which I absolutely plowed by playing it so many times, and it was thrilling to try and remember the sequences as I listened to it multiple times every day.
I agree with you - but where has the bloody fanfare gone? It definitely used to be louder than this, you can barely hear it now.
@@richardanderson8696 drowned out by all the CGI overload
First time I saw it I heard "COOL" from other guys in the theater.
These despecialized versions saved Star Wars for me! I recommend any fan of the original Star Wars supporting the project. Unbelievably worth it.
What makes them different from the original theatrical releases, resolution size and audio quality?
@futuza Basically, they're the original theatrical releases but "remastered" and without all the changes.
@@futuzaover the years Lucasfilms changed scenes, CGI and i believed in one case removed a scene entirely
@@shasha6337 You're talking about the difference between the current version of the film and the despecialized version. I was asking about the despecialized version vs the original theatrical release. nofmcgoff3307 already answered my question, the answer was basically just that the theatrical release wasn't remastered (lower quality picture resolution, lower quality audio etc)
(The theatrical cut was made available on dvds a few years ago - but was never available on bluray in a higher quality format).
This is what's all about including the awesome incidental sounds like the turn of the knobs and flick of switches.
The Force is strong with this despecialized version. Seriously - this was excellent and a joy to watch. Thank you to whoever did this.
Aww thanks! Hey, I am 'Prometheus' after all...I try my best to bring 'Fire' to the people!
1997. Screening of the Special Edition. First guy on the trench run misses. Guy in the back of the theater:"You suck!"
Classic.
Haha, that's awesome! Did your whole theater burst out laughing?
I remember watching the '97 re-releases too. During that scene in Empire where Leia kisses Luke, the whole audience groaned in discomfort. Then, one of my friends yelled out 'INBREEDERS!!!!!!' and suddenly, the groans turned into laughter throughout the entire theater. Ah, good times!
During the release (special edition) of ESB when the first transport slips past the star destroyer off HOTH…
“The first transport is away.”
Three guys in the front row put their arms up like the rebels and say,”Yay.”
Everyone laughed.
@@Tigerman1138 When I saw Jedi in 97, the whole audience erupted in applause when that one Ewok got blown away by the AT-ST 😂 Epic!
@@PrometheusOfVideos I remember people groaning a little too.
Those were good times, so much fun during each screening.
This scene was the icing on the cake , mesmerized a whole generation of fans . If you thought the the film up until this point was ahead of its time, this scene was out of this world . The music, medal ceremony scene , the credits . This changed cinema forever
That's what SW detractors don't understand. This shit was a game changer, AND had an amazing universe built within a single film. To achieve that cohesive and deep universe while also changing the course of cinema forever via it's execution of that universe is why SW will always be one of the GOATs.
As far as fantasy/sci-fi goes, Star Wars and Star Trek are the closest we'll get to another Tolkien-esque creation. By that I mean, a fantasy world that utterly shifts the paradigm.
I've seen the space battles and special effects in sci films prior to Star Wars, and they really help you appreciate the work and intuition that went into the special effects for this movie. No one had ever seen anything like that. Realistic aerial dogfighting with spaceships that looked REAL. No shiny futuristic colorful flying saucers or rockets, but space "fighter jets" that sounded like real aircraft and looked dirty and worn.
What’s amazing is this was made some 31 years after the end of World War II. Some ace fighter pilots Still relatively young were Excitedly thrilled to see this An amazing moment
Absolutely. It was an out of body experience. Especially when Ben Kenobi started coaching him from the Netherworld; and he got all Zen to blow up the Death Star. That was a beautiful incorporation of all the movie's themes.
The film transported me. It was mesmerising. But even as a kid I found the medal scene cheesy, and turned out it was a portent of cheesy things to come (like Ewoks).
I was born in September of 1970 so I was six years old when Star Wars first came out. I am now 53 years old and I still remember that summer morning when my mom took me and my sister to stand in line through two showings just to get in to see this.
I am proud to say that I was part of the generation that grew up with this film. I remember the excitement that everybody had when this film was released and for almost an entire year, this film was still being shown in theaters. Something unheard of these days.
The visuals, the sounds and the excitement that this film brought to us was unlike anything that anyone had ever experienced. I was part of that audience that was in total awe from the very beginning when the star destroyer flew over to the very end.
I had the topps bubble gum cards, the underoos, the action figures, the ships, the laser guns, the shirts, the posters, the soundtrack, the novel. People that did not grow up when this film was released will never experience what we experienced in 1977. There was no movie at the time that had the advanced special effects, costumes or impact that this film had on the world. Then when you add John Williams score to this movie made it that much more epic.
This film had mostly no name actors and actresses but most of them went on to become huge successes and household names. When we all saw this film, it was an instant hit worldwide.
Imagine seeing a movie these days where the technology was so far advanced from what you’re used to seeing, theaters having lines going out the door for blocks, the theaters being packed for months on end, merchandising everywhere you went, fans going back for repeat viewings and everybody in the theater cheering to the top of their lungs at the end of the film and wanting more. That’s what it was like. But even those words does not describe or help you to feel what we felt and saw back in 1977. It was an experience that will never be repeated….and an experience I will never ever forget.
Don’t forget the board game!!!
The Lord of the rings trilogy... 😎
I had forgotten all about that, in January of ‘78 I took my gf on our first date to see it same theatre in Boston that I saw it in July
Losing the guns on the action figures always sucked. Chewbacca had the coolest gun and Ig-88 had two!
The closest thing to that recently was Avengers endgame and before that, LoTR.
"Use the force Luke" along with the music hits hard. The memories of my childhood coming back and the love of certain characters and their development like Obi-Wan through the different episodes, and how you grow to love those characters.. watching all this and hearing that gives me goosebumps and tears from childhood memories .
Makes me well up every time. So fn badass.
This is how I saw it back in '77 at a huge movie theater in Guatemala City. At 4:53 it made me feel I was really there in one of those X-wings. Unforgettable.
You ever get to ride the original Star Tours at a Disney park? That was an amazing experience as you get to experience the trench run
Now that you specifically point out that scene, and I rewatched it like 5 times, I can't help but notice the awkward transition during the 2nd white flash from the AA guns xD The shots aren't perfectly aligned, and you can see the low and high detail models switching.
@@UsernameGeri What's important is that you never noticed it before. : )
Lol -- I was in San Pedro Sula at the same time, that's where I saw it!
ANH has aged amazingly. And yes, that shot is one of the coolest POV shots of all time for cinema.
Shoutout to the unsung hero of this breathtaking scene - Marcia Lucas and her fantastic editing. Every cut is perfect for this tense action sequence. Neither too long nor too lingering.
I don’t know what all of this sudden new found love for Marcia Lucas is, but this is revisionist history. Not only was she not “unsung” (she won an Oscar for the editing of this film), but she was only one of three credited editors (Paul Hirsch and Richard Chew being the other two, who also took home Oscars). Marcia Lucas left the Star Wars editing work in November of 1976, before final editing was completed, to go work with Scorsese on “New York, New York”. And I say “credited editors”, because George Lucas also worked on the editing of the film, and it was he who was primarily responsible for the editing and pacing of this scene (Episode IV commentary;1:45:15, “The Making of Star Wars” Rinzler, 2007; pg 238). Marcia Lucas was a very talented “in demand” editor in the early-mid seventies, but much of the recent credit that has being assigned to her for Star Wars is inaccurate, and diminishes the work of others.
@@rorycobb8290 Yes, Hirsch and Chew were brought in as well. Marcia Lucas gets a ton of credit suddenly nowadays, but she was only one of a few of editors who recut the entire film. I think part of it is because people are trying to highlight the work of a female editor in the 70s, but the other people deserve equal credit. Apparently, it was pretty bad before the re-edits. In the original, there was not even a countdown to the rebel base being destroyed. They invented that later and put it back into the film to create a high stakes drama.
I think the prequels fell flat in many areas because George Lucas, at that point, was regarded as a god. No one wanted to question his creative instincts. But Lucas' was a bit out of touch with how to pace and edit a film. He took on way too much in the prequels and it shows. I'll never forget the clip of his crew watching The Phantom Menace and at the end, they're all just kind of stunned at how lame it is but people are tiptoeing around it.
@@logicaldude3611 I'm reading Hirsch's book right now. He came up with the countdown, recut the Luke in Obi Wan's house to make more sense. He also came up with Vader getting away in the end by repurposing already shot footage, (the shot of Vader and the two fighters leaving the Death Star is the same shot as Vader getting away with the TIE fighters taken out and the Vader spinning was an unused take from another shot) He also persuaded Lucas to lose the Jabba scene and the Biggs on Tattooine scene. The cut Lucas showed his friends was pretty much the final version we've all seen except none of the effects were done so nobody knew what to think about it but no one thought it was bad. I think some of his friends thought the story was a little trite and the performances a little stale.
It is a Master Class in Editing.
I don't think he was out of touch with pacing and such so much as he put too much attention on the new technology available for the prequels and thus didn't give the rest enough attention. That screening room viewing you talk about also suggests that they hadn't tracked their pacing and story progress well enough until that point, at which time it was too late to make major changes in that way (due to limited available material). At that point they did what they could.
Though I've generally enjoyed most of Episode I, if I'm being honest...it just suffered from some glaring flaws, but definitely felt like a Star Wars film to me.
My great aunt took me to see this movie. May God rest her soul. I was 7 years old. After the movie ended I was sitting in my seat completely in awe. When I finally got myself composed, I looked over to see what my great aunt thought about the movie only to find her slumped over in her seat snoring like hell. 😊
LOL! I tell my mom about Star Wars and she doesn't see what the fuss is about, she prefers good old fashioned Westerns, which we both watch.
Same! I was 7 and begged my dad to take me…he slept the whole movie.
That is hilarious! I remember my Grandpa took us to see ROTJ, which was a surprise because it didn't seem up his alley at all. He claimed to have liked it, but he may have just said that.
My brother took me. He was as excited as me. I was eight years old. And I couldn't believe my eyes what I just saw.
I was 5-years old when my parents took me to see this. I remember being scared of the sounds the lightsabers made.
Oh the magic of movies' past. Models, miniatures, and imagination. No CGI. Everything is tangible. There will never be anything like that again. I had a childhood full of wonders.
i seen the original on old vhs tape im millennial i have the S.E version from 2004 dvd lucky i dont have the blu ray it dont count
I was a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army on my first tour in Germany in 1977. The first Star Wars movie did not release to Military theaters till 1978, so I read the Book and then saw the Movie in German Theaters. It was called “Krieg Der Sterne” in German. I knew very little German, but the movie was stunning visually and needed little explanation as to the good versus evil nature of the movie. It was also interesting to watch the Imperial troops in German WWII style uniforms in a German theatre just 22 years after WWII ended. I will never forget the first time I saw this movie. “I have you Now, What???!!”.
It was released 1978 in Germany (33 years after WW2, btw). A 1-year-delay of the release of a movie was common at that time, because they had to do a German overdub. The German overdubs for Star Wars are very good, the voice of Darth Vader is even better than the iconic original voice. I was 13 when I saw the Star Wars 1978 in Germany.
22 years or 32 years?
@@martinsteen4316 Also because Film prints had to be made and posted to every single cinema at the time.
@F1Boomer
"Möge die Macht mit dir sein!"
9:56 Darth Vader has eyes! I was 7 years old when I saw Star Wars in the theater and probably have owned every iteration of the film on all formats ever made, but I've never seen such clarity before. Wow.
It's both amazing and pitiful that a group of talented individuals can release better 4K Star Wars than the actual official release from Disney...
(I've gotten feedback from a number of people that said the 4K from Disney is pretty bad where the 4K in the clips I've used has been way superior)
Same here. Never noticed it before.
I would comment the very same thing.
Noticed a few years back that they could be seen! But yeah, it's amazing just how clear you can see Prowse's face here.
yeah wtf i just noticed that
“It’ll be just like Beggers Canyon back home.”, he says as he rockets his X-Wing into the Death Star trench. Classic!!
Poor womp rats never knew what hit’em.
@@lewstone5430 Or Tarkin, for that matter.
It's a pity they left out the comeback by Wedge when Luke goes "I used to bullseye womp rats with my T-16 back home. They're not much bigger than 2 metres." The reply was "And did you have a thousand other, what did you call them, womp rats, shooting at you with blaster rifles? This will take a lot more than barnyard marksmanship, believe me." Used to have the novelisation. When Jabba was definitely human.
Beggers canyon was a rough place
Let's take a minute and recognize the legend that is Gold 5, chin strap not fastened, stabilize rear deflectors, stay on target!
Watching this and suddenly I'm 12 years old again. It's 1977. This film was like nothing I had experienced before. Thanks for showing this and letting me return to that time.
How was it in the theater?
@@b.r.holmes6365 Unbelievable. The THX soround soud was totally new. Tie fighters screamed from behind us before they appeared on screen. Most of the special effects were jaw dropping at that time. John Williams score really made the movie. It was stunning in 1977.
1977, I was six. My Mom worked at KFRC radio station in San Fran and she came home that day and said, “we’re going to see a premier of a movie called Star Wars tonight”. No advertisement was out, so heard nothing and knew nothing. The sound, the letters across the screen, the star destroyer shooting; my six year old self was, “Whoa…!!” Blown away! Movie was over and David Proast, dressed in the real Darth Vader outfit came out from the exit door right of the screen, walked up the aisle and I saw him throw a kid out of his chair and on the floor. I was sitting in the aisle seat and almost pissed myself as he walked by. Awesome!!!
Great story...I was also six yrs. old when Star Wars changed the world, I saw it in Minneapolis, and then I saw it 3 more times that year, Star Wars has been a running theme through my life and I can't imagine life without it...did you get Boba Fett in the mail after saving up enough proof of purchases?
Did KFC give you free chicken to at the movie. That would be so nice
@@tradtke101 No I did not get free KFC, did you? What city did that happen? and if that is a joke, I guess I don't get it?
I was 10 and lived in the marina district in sf . saw star wars down on chestnut street 10 times
Wow, what an amazing experience! Definitely jealous! I was born 3 years after ROTJ, but these films are nonetheless my favorites.
The first time I watched this in the theater back in '77 I was a grade school kid. I remember most the awful knot in my gut every time one of the rebel pilots died. The build-up of tension in this scene, reinforced by the masterful musical score, was almost unbearable for me to watch, but I just couldn't unglue my eyes from the scene unfolding before me. The theater was packed and the moment the Death Star exploded - everyone - and I mean EVERYONE in the theater jumped up from their seats and started cheering and applauding. I'd never experienced anything like that before in a movie - and nothing even close to it since then. One of the most cherished moments of my childhood.
There are few movies for me too that have done that. Alien did that for me. Star Trek First Contact. This movie. Everyone lost their mind during rhe FPS scene for the Doom movie with Karl Urban and Dwayne Johnson . I mean the movie was not great, but that music and the FPS scene. We lost our minds. An entire theatre yelling and cheering , attendants came in to see what the hell was going on .
@@firestuka8850 why was doom movie not great i thought it was good
@@davidjoelsson4929 Just for me, and I'm fine if others enjoy it more or less than I did.. for me, I didn't like the Doom movie as much because it was less about demons from hell and about mutations & chromosomes and was like An Alternate Universe Doom 3 , which isn't bad but wasn't very "helly". It Qasim almost a zombie infection take of hell's influence then am army of demons stamping out the humans on deimos and phobos labs. Reaper's sister screamed way too much for me.
The monsters weren't big enough. The pinky , the only one, was pretty small. The Doom roster was hardly used. It didn't have as much character as it could have. I give it a 6-7/10 cuz it was an ok movie, but it wasn't a pretty good *Doom* movie.
The final act of Star Wars is a master class on how to build tension and the setup and payoff. Movies up through the late 90's could deliver this type of story telling, but the pacing of movies these days just makes it impossible.
@@Indylimburg For a good modern example of this kind of tension buildup, climax, and payoff, Inception scores reasonably well in my opinion to deliver this kind of an effect. Truly masterpieces of cinema.
I think being limited by technology of the time made this scene even better. Rather than being just a flashy space battle, you feel the stress and panic if the rebels as you ride in the cockpit next to them
You can easily capture that with today’s technology. Rogue One has a little bit of it for example
@@evann5451 All the modern star wars films completely lack anything of the sort.. As well as acting skill in general. Technology nothing to do with it directly, It's just a lost art in a world of plastic acting straight from school and using modern graphical technology at their disposal as a bridge to make up for it lol
@@danimayb E - X - A - C - T - L - Y.
@@danimayb eh, rogue one actually felt like the battles had soul.
@@danimayb right, EXCEPT Rogue One
This brings back amazing memories! Saw the Original STAR WARS 12 times in 1977, at 8 years old.
I turned eight that year too.
I was 10 years old when this came out in 77 and it changed everything. I'd watched reruns of Star Trek and Space 1999 on TV when I could catch them (no TV guide I could read so it was always a crap shoot) and was really just getting into science fiction at the time. And then this. My neighbors down the street were going and asked me if my folks would let me go. Parents said yes so off we went. There wasn't a line yet at the only two screen cinema in town (I grew up in a fairly small town) because it had just come out so one coke and some popcorn later and it started up. That first scene with the Star Destroyer and the Tantive IV was just absolutely mind blowing. There had been NOTHING like this before and it stayed like that all the way through the film. Nobody wanted to leave for snacks or the bathroom and when it was over, that's where the line actually was.
I remember going home and begging my parents to let me see it again. We went like two weeks later and NOW there was a line. My Dad and I waited for probably 3 hours for a ticket (they would fill up the theater, show it, and then the next theater full of people would come in.) The line was out of the parking lot, past a burger place and out of the little shopping center the theater was in. Mom stayed in the car until Dad and I got closer to the front. What others are saying about the theater cheering when the Death Star blew up is absolutely true; it was the first time I'd ever seen anything like that too (but granted most of the stuff I'd seen up to then was kid movie stuff.) The movie stayed in town for like months and I was able to see it multiple more times before it left. That's the first time my parents really let me see a film more than once or twice.
The other kids in the neighborhood and I went NUTS over that movie afterwards. Cutting plastic tubing to tape to flashlights to make our own light sabers before the merch came out. No colored blades or anything. Had an absolute blast. You didn't really hear much after it was gone from the theaters, which did take a long time and it got re-released back a year or so later which was also unheard of. When I saw the trailer for EMPIRE it was like a damn bomb went off in the theater. Good times. =)
Actually, it was pretty common for big films to get rereleased. Just think "Gone With The Wind."
@dsolosan Not where I lived. Small town with a two screen theater. It was extremely rare to see a movie come through a second time.
@@frost2392 That would explain it. If you only have two screens in your area, it's hard to justify using one for a second-run film.
@@dsolosan At the time, a lot of people thought this movie was just a flash in the pan. The idea that it'd get rereleased, or that a sequel would be made, was a little far out. As kids we were hoping and praying for it, but we were just kids.
I raised this video back from the dead and got it restored! My DMCA Counter was successful after waiting 2 long weeks!
Enjoy the Battle of Yavin as it was originally meant to be seen back in 1977!!!!! (or as close as possible...it's a TL:DR story..)
not all heroes wear capes
You are doing the Lord's work.
Scrap the "special editions". This is the *real* Star Wars!
From a now old man who first watched this scene in '77, " THANK YOU so very much!" It gave me the feels. I'm not ashamed to say it. Again, thank you! Nicely done.
@@TheUnknownVideographer seriously? just type 'star wars D+77' trust me there's plenty of results...
It’s mind boggling that a small talented group of guys in the 70s are still a million times more imaginative and able to portray a story than anything Disney does today!
I mean, they 'homaged' alot from Dune.
@@KhevaKins Most sci-fi homages from something else. The difference is that Dune was written for the mind and Star Wars for the screen. Aren't we on the third screen-telling of the story now? Nobody is going to make the rest of the Dune stories until they get it right - which may have happened in 2021.
Innovation and Zeitgeist vs maximized corporate profit
Yep
It's because Star Wars movies of today are created by a committee rather than the creative vision of one man backed by a team of extremely talented artists.
It was 1977 and I was in America for my first time as Dad was teaching at University of Northern Illinois, so every day was an adventure for this wide eyed 8 year old Aussie.
The movie had been playing a few weeks when I finally persuaded Dad to take us, and remember the hair raising on my arms as I watched this scene. Here I am 47 years later and still my hair raises! Great to see the original pre-digitized version once more- oh the edits were great but nothing takes me back so much as this original version! Thanks for the memories, MTFBWY
Oh man you were around my Dad’s age as well at the time and also an Aussie!!!
I put it above in the comments how he saw it at the drive-in in his country town just out of Adelaide when it came out later in Australia that year, your experience seeing it in America just around it’s release is just as special and also amazing given you were living abroad!!! ❤
When me and my friends saw Star Wars in 77 we were 5 years old. We didnt want to be a Jedi. We wanted to be X-Wing pilots. All our dads/uncles loved the movie for the X-wings too since they were all in the military and wished they had them to fly.
Still wanna be an X-Wing Pilot to this day.
I was also 5, in 77 when this came out. This has been with us for our whole life. We are the original Star Wars generation.
Everytime we watched this on the original VHS, when the credits rolled we'd run around the house with our arms out stretched like x-wings and tie fighters, chasing and shooting each other to the music.
@@lamarravery4094 Gen X(wing)
Hell I was 5 in 1998 when I first saw this and being an X Wing pilot always won out over being a Jedi. Was impossible to play one on the playground compared to stick lightsabers though. Thank goodness for stuff like the Star Wars games like X Wing and TIE Fighter, and even Freespace.
I can’t believe how much better this is despecialized - it makes me want to cry
Watching Episodes VII-IX made me want to cry.
@@swampwiz ua-cam.com/video/iyvQ48V7LAQ/v-deo.html
@@swampwiz - I know what you mean.😬🤢😮💨
tears are flowing from me right now
@@swampwizThose films are fanfics by Disney. They are not canon. Those films happened in a different timeline.
I saw Rogue One in theater. When the Battle of Scariff started and the Rebels reported in, the part where Red Leader reported in was great, a lot of people in the theater were cheering seeing him again.
Rogue One is legit the only Disney SW movie that deserves a cheer like that.
In 1977, I was two months shy of my ninth birthday watching it at a theater in North Austin near Burnet and Hancock (I don't remember the name of the theater as it doesn't exist anymore).
Today lightsabers are ubiquitous. Kids grow up knowing what one is before ever seeing a SW movie. Back then no one knew about them. When Kenobi gives Luke his father's and he ignites it I think my head exploded. To this day, that scene sends chills down my spine when I watch it as it takes me right back to that day and I'm that giddy nine year old again.
The Americana was the name of the theater.
Been almost 30 years since I first watched this, and it STILL gets me to the edge of my seat.
Sadly, you never saw it in its original form....
During kid moment
Watching black n white TV
Some movies stay in memory
2024 0502
I had a bootleg version of this just after it came out in the theater... long before it was released on VHS. My dad 'knew the right people'. They gave me a perfect copy on tape. At the time I was around 10 years old. I watched it almost every day. It was such an inspiration to me. Thanks for the memories. This is the way it was meant to remain. Cheers.
Thanks for sharing the story! Glad I can help you relive some of those memories! It's always awesome to hear stories such as yours. Were you able to watch it in theaters in 1977?
@@PrometheusOfVideos Absolutely. I saw it twice in the theater. I would have gone more but my folks didn't like Sci-Fi, lol. It still remains of my all-time favorite movies.
Only rich kids and large high schools even had a video tape machine back then... I hope you put that silver spoon to good use
@@jony3775 even back around 1980ish vcrs especially those in schools were huge top loading machines with tv like dials on the front of them weighing at least 50 pounds, the TVs themselves were also very heavy and so the schools has to have a special large industrial strength tv stands on wheels to move the two units around on as they were far to heavy to carry, even pushing them around the hallways was a bit difficult from the size and weight....
Same with my family. We had it on BetaMax. Watched everyday after school.
I find it interesting that the original versions of these look more realistic than any of the rest of them. Sure did when I was a kid. They all look like video games now.
Models with firecrackers have to abide by physics. CGI does not, so realism is replaced by visually attractive. Many times CGI is pretty and boring.
I can appreciate the practical elements, but some of these effects have not aged well.
CGI! No Good!
But it's great story telling that's the true magic..
Saw this in 77' in the Midwest 2 weeks before it opened in the west coast. Changed my life! All my friends were envious when i got home and told them about it.
I had this on VHS as a kid. I must have watched this sequence in excess of 500 times over the last 35 years. There is simply nothing as thrilling in any movie since...kudos for the 4K cleanup.
I second that! No matter how many times I watch it, it still gives me goosebumps it's that good! I honestly couldn't tell you how many times I've watched this scene/whole movie. But I'm sure your 500 rewatch is probably a conservative estimate W M, no need to be modest. May the force be with you!
OK, but am I the only one that is going to point out the obvious here? Jedi ghosts are apparently watching Luke a LOT if not all the time, in order to chime in now and then on what he's doing. Luke is a healthy active young man, which means he probably wanks at least once a day, but how can he when he knows that there are old man ghosts watching him, possibly even whispering stuff to him when he's at it. No wonder he gets so pent up that he ends up making out with his sister.
Right there with you.
@@BoopSnoot That is so weird! Not what you said, but that I've been having similar thoughts lately. Though not in relation to Star Wars... more thinking about it in real life, if there is an afterlife, like are ghosts watching me wank? Sucks to be them, cause things are going to get weird.
@@Midnorme maybe that's ghost porn lol
I was there in the theater as a 7 year old boy in 1977 to witness the epic spectacle which was then only called "Star Wars". It was simply the greatest cinematic experience of my life. It expanded the boundaries of what a movie could be and brought hope, joy and excitement to a world that desperately needed it. It also fueled the imaginations of an entire generation of children like myself.
I saw this in Leicester Square, London in 1977. The whole school took a bus trip to see it. There had been nothing like Star Wars before. I can't explain how amazing it felt at the time.
Explain have you no need; amazing feeling too had I.
Me too.
Star Wars Veteran: My friends all told me I had to see this movie! In the summer of '77, my family visited family in Seattle, which is where we saw Star Wars for the first time. We waited in line to get in and were seated on the balcony at the theatre. When the Death Star blew, the whole house went up in a roar! Cheers and ovations!! I saw Star Wars no less than 14 times in the cinema, with most viewings at the Westgate Cinema in Beaverton, Oregon. It played there for over a year! Thank you for posting this. A breath of fresh air and a feast for the senses. Love the sound!
Yup. I don't think any movie since has had the staying power in theaters. Star Wars was in most theaters for a year or more, when most movies are gone in a month or two. Incredible.
Still blows me away to this day, after hundreds of viewings. It is the sound design that gets me every time. I can close my eyes and still be swept away
Right? the 'organic sound' library that was created...which won an academy award for sound mixing and rightfully so!
I've probably damaged several speakers from cranking the sound to this sequence.
The sound design is under-appreciated. There are many issues with the sequels and other Disney-era works, but one that never gets enough attention is the near-total destruction of the Star Wars soundscape all throughout.
Agreed the thundering sound effects are the icing on the cake. Modern Star Wars sounds so hollow and clean.
Even those ion cannons sound so sexy
As a 7 year old in '77 this has burned deep into my being; just watching this again gave me chills. Shout out to Marcia Lucas, without her editing skills this movie would not be what it is.
Editors don't get enough credit in filmmaking
You can give shout outs to many people. Without John Williams this film wouldn't be what it is.
May 1970 kid right here!
I was 6 in 77...right there with you
I was 8. I think it was perfect timing.
No other movie in this whole world moves me more than the original Star Wars Trilogy. This was my childhood, Luke was my hero, and he and I had some awesome adventures when I was a still a kid with imagination. May the force be with you, always!
Bruh im 21 and my fav characters from each era and i go on adventures all the time😂
Disgusting how Disney treated his character and our love for the original trilogy characters
It was an important cultural event for a generation of kids. SW taught us about sacrifice, ESB about friendship and loyalty, and ROTJ about redemption.
Always 1977
@@tomatodamashiBy having him sacrifice himself to the rebellion and teach the new Jedi the force? He was still a hero in the end, just as before.
Was back in 77 was 8 yrs old only time dad took me to the cinema, was so excited the curtains opened and seeing the first scene with the star destroyer just blew me away. Thankyou Mr Lucas....
I still believe that this sequence really put the audience 'in the cockpit' unlike any other I've seen. Absolute movie magic!!
Imagine if the 3D tech back then was as advanced as it is today,imagine how great the battle would’ve felt
@@paulmallon9033 It would have been rubbish. CGI gets vastly overused today to the point where you can't tell what the hell is going on. I much prefer models.
@@paulmallon9033 We saw what happened. It’s called the “special” editions and the prequels.
@@mintydog06 yea agreed. prime example: LOTR vs The hobbit. that feeling of being in middle earth is far superior with lord of the rings compared to the hobbit like not even close thats just focusing on that aspect of the films id say the hobbit as a whole is trash compared to LOTR ,but thats just my opinion
That "fixed-on-the-dash" camera position is iconic of Star Wars.
I was 18 and in the U.S.Navy at the time this came out in 1977 and I must of went to theaters a good dozen times to watch this over and over again this was truly one of the all time greatest movies back in the day for sure and is still just as great today on DVD!😉👍.
"... must have gone ...". It's mildly irritating to read babble.
@@kasegiyabu5030 Bibble. Babble. Babel. Boogity. Bombastically. Blasphlegmy. Oh, yes......I did spell everything exactly the way I wanted to. Mostly, just to provoke you and spellcheck.
Even 45 years later, still fantastic!
My dad went to see Star Wars when it first came out in theaters, and he said the theater exploded when Han Solo came flying out of the sky and saved Luke!!
This is true.
In every theatre in the country.
I think what George Lucas has forgotten, is that it was the original Star Wars, without the episode four title, that most people of that era fondly remember. It made him famous and rich, yet he decided to alter it and then made sure no one would ever see the original that made him and the other films so popular. That’s why we need this despecialised version.
It wasn't decided for no reason. It was because he wanted to order the saga in his own way, which is something we should respect since he made the whole story.
@@CrookedStepsHardHeadedBut George Lucas is actually not good at putting together a story.
His original edit of Ep IV was dawgshite.
You can cut the tension in this scene with a knife. I don't think any movie ever made me ride the end of my seat more than this. What an absolutely perfect scene.
I saw it as a 7 year old in the theater in 1977 and still remember how tense it felt.
the pacing is excellent. it's an all time iconic sequence
The power of a good film editor. I read that the rough cut of this film was abysmal, until Lucas' wife at the time herself a film editor, re-edited the entire Battle of Yavin sequence. Marcia Lucas went on to win the Academy Award for best film editing that year. An extremely well deserved award.
I was stunned as a kid, their willingness to just kill off good guys, one by one, by one... all that loss makes the final win so much bigger.
EDIT: The more I think about it, this scene plays like the Red Wedding, but in an (ostensibly) "kids" movie. Amazing. No one would have the guts to do this today. Heck, no one else had the guts to do it back then, either.
Also notice how the pilots are acting like trained professionals. As soon as Wedge said "look at the size of that thing" he's quickly reprimanded by his superior. When their wingmen get shot down no one is crying and throwing a hissy fit, they don't have time for that. When they shoot down an enemy fighter they don't celebrate and make stupid jokes. Rogue One did this pretty well too.
Compare this to something like the battle of Coruscant in ROTS, where everyone joking around and making stupid quips all the time, there is absolutely 0 tension.
I love that Luke tells Wedge to back off, knowing that if he stayed and provided cover for Luke, he likely would’ve been killed. That works well too because then during the Battle of Endor, Wedge gets his revenge for all his fallen comrades
Yes indeedy, Red group is actually Rogue Squadron that went into the Battle of Endor as Red group in honor of the fallen from this battle.
Yet he left Biggs behind
Never gets old. I was 13 1977 I saw Star Wars in the movie theater for the 1st. time. Thank You, never gets old. 👍💥
I'm glad this was the original version without the "enhanced" Death star explosion ring.
indeed.
I personally like the ring. It adds more force to how the explosion looks.
Haha Yes!!! I was so happily surprised to see no ring! Excellent authenticity :)
The fact that the best versions of the original trilogy are unavailable is ridiculous. Great work on this!
I have both versions of all three of the original and extended versions on DVD.
@IAMCAVE The original cuts on DVD were ripped from the laserdisc release and have inferior audio and video quality. The 4K77 cut is much, much better.
@@MrWhipple42 the ones I got are jes fine. 😉 but when $$ permits I’ll upgrade.
Beautiful job; let us never forget the brave fictional characters who marched into the jaws of doom and did not return. Outnumbered and frightened, they fought bravely against a spherical weapon of mass destruction, and an enormous army led by an asthmatic Sith Lord. Nothing will ever be as good as the original trilogy.
I dunno, that new Senator Jar Jar Binks series looks promising.
@@gm3896 I'd rather kill myself than have this be a real thing.
Let's not forget the original Dambusters movie on which this entire sequence is based, and the brave Lancaster bomber pilots who never returned home.
I think the original KOTOR game at least reached this level.
@@RenegadeShepTheSpacer Your sacrifice is a worthy one well worth of remembrance...
This was spectacular back in 1977 when I was a kid! A lot of effort was made on the design of the space craft down to the tiniest detail. George Lucas was way ahead of the times and had the foresight of securing the merchandising rights of his movie's characters/space crafts. He was like Walt Disney in the sense that he was a perfectionist in ensuring that all his creations have the best standout design in the industry during his time.
The Millennium Falcon coming out of the sun and taking out Darth Vader and his cronies to save Luke is one of the most exciting moments in film history. It might be the best moment in Star Wars history.
"I have you now." No, you don't thanks to Han Solo! What a scene, and sets the tone for the entire series.
Back in 1977, the whole theater exploded in cheers. What a scene. What a movie.
That was the moment I fell in love with Star Wars
@@jimsannerud6254 No one ever mentions that since Han was the pilot, Chewie would have had to be the gunner.
saw it in the theater in '77, when it was just called star wars. when the death star exploded, the whole audience cheered. thanks for the memories.
45 years and thousands of replays later, I still get the goosebumps! The FORCE is strong with this one!
I’ve seen everyone from the “old days” talking about their experiences. But this is what my dad showed me on his bootleg VHS that I replayed multiple times. Idk guys, this moment is just so important to me and it spans generations. Thank you to all of the dads that showed their sons this. It’s transcendent.
Fantastic! Saw this in the theatre when I was 16 and was completely dumbstruck. The opening scene where the Star Destroyer *flies over you* chasing the smaller ship set the stage. You could *hear* it like it was actually flying overhead! I’d never experienced anything like that before. It completely changed the way I thought movies ought to be presented. Nobody had ever done things with sound the way Star Wars did. It was truly an immersive experience!
You are exactly right. Thanks for putting in words what I could not.
When you watch this, you truly realise what the special editions robbed those of us of who remember seeing the original version from back then. Only in its unaltered form can you truly see why the movie was so special back then.
I don't begrudge Lucas changing the movie, but I never understood why he wouldn't make this version not available to us in the best possible quality. Only in this state can you truly appreciate what an awesome achievement it was to make this spectacle with the technology of the time.
In this scene, I think that the greatest sin he committed was that he replaced shots that were perfect to begin with. I can totally see why he would replace the flashes of light that stood in for 'rebel fighters taking off over the forest' with actual cgi ships.
But as a big fan, I had so many specific shots in this scene that were so iconic, and he just replaced them with very similar cgi versions that haven't aged all that well. I thought that was an even bigger sin than all the street comedy he added to the Mos Eisly scene.
Yes. The thing I most dislike about the specialized editions is that young people might think that the theatrical version looked radically different, that the only reason it looks good today is because of the added CGI. No, it DID look largely that way, in 1977, and, although I understand the artist's motivation for adding CGI later, it looked pretty much just as amazing when it came out as when they slightly (and unnecessarily) tweaked the special effects 20 years later.
@@AlanCanon2222 Ohh and then there is the Jabba cgi and never got right, had so many goes at it since
@@alancheatley4378 Yes. Jabba started life as a pile of foam rubber and some paint cans, and was given life by a team of Muppet-style operators. Many convincing CGI characters were created later, but in Return of the Jedi, you know Carrie Fisher isn't fake-reacting to a CGI disgusting Jabba tongue. Nah, "Jabba" was in the scene with the actor, in puppet form, and (based on my own limited technical experience in community theater and limited TV experience) I bet they spent HOURS in rehearsal and shooting just getting everything right. CGI does let us see things we could never see otherwise, and it has enormous value, of course. But the makers of the original Star Wars trilogy didn't do so badly without the benefit of CGI.
@@AlanCanon2222 there are a few sound effects and scene alterations too, got the original VHS special edition version of the trilogy, there are noticeable differences here and there but not big at all
There are definitely bits that were huge, necessary improvements though. Some of the shots where Luke shoots down Wedge's tail looked pretty bad in the theatrical release. Especially the thick black lines from the masking.
I’ll never forget, was 8 years old when I saw this in theatres. I had no idea what I was in for. My dad loved to tell me how he looked over at me and my mouth was wide open and I was just staring completely mesmerized.
I was 9 years old when I saw this at the theater in 77. It was magical and memorable to see it when it first came out
I was five years old when I saw this at the local drive-in theater. We were in the back of an old Ford or Chevy pickup truck on an old mattress my dad kept in the garage for watching movies at the drive-in.
I remember I kept looking up at the stars in the night sky looking for the Rebel X-Wing fighters while watching this scene.
Thank you for the awesome memories!
Thank you for the unaltered version and the 4k remaster. I wish Disney would release the original movies in 4k without any of the new special effects.
Welcome, thanks for the comment! and yeah I agree, Disney would make bank if they'd release the OT in their original form...
@@PrometheusOfVideos or at least a special edition that includes the originals in their original form.
yeah f george disney and everyone who has had a part to bury the work of the genius 1970s sfx filmmakers
@@merafirewing6591The Special Editions need to be extinct off the face of the Earth.
Fuck what George Lucas thinks.
It is all about the original theatrical trilogy.
THOSE are the ones that created the Star Wars legacy.
Not the shit-smelling Special Editions, and the even crappier Disney “MacKlunky” versions.
I still think when Luke switches off the computer is one of the greatest scenes in this movie.
When he says "Nothing, I'm alright"...I get the best feeling.
Same
Sometimes, we need to switch off the computer, take a leap of faith and listen to that still, small voice...God has given us brains and a mind, we need to use them more.
My favorite moment in all of Star Wars. "NOTHING, I'M ALRIGHT!"... damn straight.
@@iangunn49 It is a great moment. I feel like a part of it plays into one of the biggest themes of the movie. The mechanistic, faceless might of the Empire against the inspirational people and principles of the Rebellion. The Rebels are fighting the Empire on their own turf with the same kind of weapons, but what they really need is something... more.
It was the early 90s, and I was a Star Trek fan when was 8 or 9 years old. I was bored, never heard of star wars before, but saw my dad had a VHS copy on a shelf one day.... Bored out of my mind, I finally picked it up and looked at the case.... A drawing of a dude holding up what looked like a laser sword over his head, and a chick showing a leg from her white gown was enough for prepubescent me to pop in that tape... Hell, the opening scene was a space battle with a massive ship, then a black robot dude showed up thru the door... I was HOOKED
So it was Leia’s legs on the cover that drawn you in huh?
@@ONI1013. I deny nothing
I can vividly remember seeing this when it first came out in 1977. I was 9 years old. I was a sci-fi nut already. Star Trek, Space 1999, Battlestar Glactica....but this was the one that cemented my future love affair with the genre. I can still remember that ride home in the backseat of my parents Dodge Ramcharger just trying to process what I had just seen. For Christmas that year I got this giant book that had detailed drawings and cutaways of all the ships and equipment in the movie. It was like a technical manual. It was to this day the best gift I had ever received.
Still blows me away that this film was done with a $11m budget. Considering just the pre-production cost alone… this was an amazing feat.
George Lucas and Gary Kurtz!
Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $52 million today. Still low cost by today's standards.
@@blakemore99 For the end of the 1970ties standards that was an ok budget. Not top of the line, but still doable. The film does look like higher value though...
I still remember the day. Woke up at 6am to queue for three hours to watch the movie here in Singapore in 1977 on opening day. On days when I'm bored, I watch it again 😂
Star Wars was the first movie I saw in a theater, it was amazing, the spirit of that galactic space opera has been with me ever since.
The original models are so much better than the cheesy enhanced CGI added to the movie years later. Thank you much for this!
Saw this first time when i was 13, probably the best time to have seen it. Remember - all these effects were practical SFX, no CGI, all models and pyrotechnics!
When story, timing and music were king and special effects were truly special. I saw this when I was six, still brings me joy.
I remember seeing with my Dad as a kid, the seats were almost sold out, but the cashier said I could sit on my Dad's knee... I remember we looked at each other and agreed I was too old for that, so we got tickets for the next session and wandered round Liverpool for a couple of hours, my first time in a "bit city". Probably my oldest and most cherished memory.
"We're in position. I'm gonna cut across their axis and try to draw their fire". CUE JOHN WILLIAMS CRESCENDO STAR WARS THEME as the X wings fly into battle. It gave me the chills when I was seven years old and it still does today!
Thanks George for the best cinema in World History!
saw this with mom at a drive in in Manahawkin NJ ;) middle of nowhere far away from the city light pollution and under the stars that lit up the black as pitch night. the death star blowing up on the 60-foot curved screen against the backdrop of the night sky perfectly blending together was epic. no standing ovation but what seemed like a hundred cars blaring their horns and flashing headlights and cheers. quite unforgettable and inspiring
I was 7 years old in 1977 , when I went to see this wonderful movie at the movie theater, one of my best day of my life, I will never forget the special effects seen them for the first time, the sound effects , mind blowing movie, it changed my life
What gets me about this sequence is the overwhelming sense of *real physical space* - an *environment* that everyone is in. CG just can't replicate that. From the movement of the real physical cockpit each pilot is in, with actual moving light and shadow on them, to real cameras moving across the physical surface of the Death Star and ship models, to the real sets the actors move through, this feels like a real PLACE. That the characters are in an open space above this battle station, that the enemy is inside it. The sum total of all this practical effect work is an ENVIRONMENT with real weight and stakes, that draws the viewer in. When you collect the best craftspeople in the field and they work to the limit of what's possible, you get this, and there's no other way to get it.
I was thinking the same thing. The other thing that really helps it that I absolutely love is the way it treats space as 3d, where up and down are subjective and the orientation of the other ships is just a suggestion. Most space movies treat the planet's surface as down and orient everything according to it, but this movie just orients to the action and lets the planet be a backdrop.
@@Ruiluth What a great observation! I agree with you.
I was young but I remember when this was in theaters. I think I actually saw it the first time at a drive-in. It was mind-blowing for a 6 year old kid. In the periods between Ep 4-5 and 5-6 I remember we would speculate endlessly about where the story was headed (no internet to spoil anything).
I genuinely always liked how the countdown was "standby, in 5" *death star explodes*. If this was a more modern movie then it would have been dragged out and explode a millisecond from firing to make it more dramatic. Instead it gets straight to the point and really shows how much of a surprise it was to the empire
Dublin Ireland 🇮🇪☘️🙂 I was 17 with my best mate Martin. The first showing was full, only single screen cinemas back then. Waited outside for hours and finally got in to see this wonder of a Film. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your experience, and appreciate the 'thank you'!
There will never be a more mind-bogglingly incredible jump in movie-making quality for the rest of time. This movie changed everything to a degree nothing else ever will.
You're not kidding. Star Wars (1977) was a seismic change in how movies were to be made from then on. Truly historical in nature.
2001 was pretty monumental for 1968. Every sci-fi movie before it looked like child's play by comparison.
Closest thing we've had since is probably the original Matrix film in 1999.
Jurassic park
I honestly hope you're wrong. Of course, I can't foresee anything with this major an impact happening, but then again who could have predicted Star Wars before it came out? I truly hope something happens in the future that revolutionizes film as much as A New Hope did, because whatever it would be would give us something amazing.
For years I've longed to see the original death star explosion. Thank you.
Thanks for the thanks! Welcome and glad I could provide it
Tbh it looks like a rather cheap pyrotechnic effect (which it really is) and not at all believable or realistic for a massive detonation of a moon-sized superweapon. But the remastered version doesn't look quite appropriate either, though quite soulless.
@@axelhopfinger533 People back in 1977 seemed to have gotten their money's worth, so it can't have been too bad of an effect.
@@MrPoeGhost Guess it was fit for the purpose at the time. At least it had lots of glittery sparks to dazzle the already dazzled audience.
@@axelhopfinger533 Lucas got a lot of inspiration for the look of the spaceships in Star Wars from Space 1999, along with those explosions.
I got goosebumps watching this. I recognized many sequences. because I still have the 1995 VHS release of the movie. It brought tears to my eyes, as the quality of this video is better then it will ever be on my VHS copy. And provided this video and youtube stays on the internet, it will be around forever, unlike my VHS, which will one day self destruct, or degrade to the point of being unwatchable. For many people, this is as close to the 1977 edition of the movie as we can get. It's a pity we can't take this "de-specialized" version of the movie and send it to the Libary of Congress. THIS is the version that belongs to future generations. To show them what star wars was really like. Before the special editions and all the unessecary CGI changes.
But anyway, thank you for uploading this. It made me very happy. :3
I was there, many times that summer of 77. I remember it like it was yesterday. Times sure have changed! I'm 60 now and I have witnessed a great many things in my life, but this one is the top cinematic moment for me. It was a decade that saw the early beginnings of change in art, movies, music, literature and science. What a decade.
Same here 60 as well. 77 was peak year. It began in 75 with Jaws and just got better. I even saw Elvis in concert in 77 3 months before he died.
Watching Wedge, Han, and Luke take down the death star will never get old. "The force is strong with this one."