I love, and agree, with your conclusions. When I saw Star Wars for the first time, opening weekend in 1977 for my 10th birthday, it was a moment, an experience that like was said in Blade Runner, "Lost like tears in the rain". It was a great moment. I am glad I had it. But no matter what I try, I cannot recreate that moment.
As a kid I watched the OT, Original Trilogy, on VHS, and I still have that collection with me today. While there are changes to the OT in later versions that I agree and disagree with, one thing is certain: The first time experience will always be treasured.
I'm almost certain that the terms of the sale of LFL and Star Wars to Disney included a prohibition on EVER rereleasing the Original Trilogy in its pre-Special Edition versions, and possibly even that ONLY the most-recent SE versions can be released.
Harmy's Despecialized editions are a great way to experience the movies incredibly close to the way they were when first released. Highly recommend. It's the only way I've watched the films in over a decade.
I really enjoyed this! I knew there were previous versions of star wars but I didn't know just how many. Quite sad to see the original cut hasn't been preserved but hopefully we'll be able to see them one day :)
9:01 I just think we should either have the originals and each previous version still available for us to enjoy or have an options menu to switch these changes on and off or select which version of something you prefer
I took the same stance when Disney stated they were retconning the entire EU. I spent months collecting collecting 200 books to preserve the Star Wars that I knew and now get to steward over them.
Return of the Jedi came out the year I was born. I remember only three movies when we just called them “Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi.” Plus I’m from Portland, OR and Dark Horse Comics is based just outside the city in Milwaukie, OR. They had the exclusive Star Wars comic rights until the Disney buyout.
What a great video! I agree with all that's being said. ROTJ happens to be my favourite SW movie too, very closely followed by TESB. If I ever watch SW nowadays it's always the Harmy editions. Sure, one could argue that putting the "real" Palpatine in TESB was a good thing, but then they changed the whole dialogue of that scene. I hated that! And the line "Bring my shuttle!" was changed to the much lamer "Alert the Star Destroyer of my arrival.". So many unnecessary changes to the OT...Ok, I'm rambling now..
6:08 I actually like this change (think its easier on the eyes and it's consistent with later films also I think this change was made to make it look more modern I guess I don't know)
I have a legit VHS of Star Wars where - as you say - Han shoots, full stop. No "shoots first". Not sure when it was released but it has the art class painting-style cover where Luke is holding what looks like a glowing sword as opposed to a light saber. Anyway, you're right. How much can Elton John change Rocket Man on stage before it's no longer Rocket Man? There's surely a line somewhere...
After seeing the decapitated Palpatine at the end of your video, it looks like he revealed his identity as a Sith Lord to Anakin when he was in the wrong frame of mind.
Great video! It really sucks that the original theatrical cut was never officially preserved. I can empathize with Lucas for wanting to depict his grand vision of Star Wars, hence the continuous revisions. It can be hard to put the paint brush down when you're not completely satisfied. However, at some point you need to. All films are products of their time and will eventually age. Even the special editions have shots that look outdated by today's standards.
I have the original theatrical releases on DVD, as they came with the Limited Edition releases on a bonus disk some years ago. So if you want to watch 'the' originals, you might want to look those up.
You're not wrong. This whole debacle, which has been going on for decades now, could have been so easily avoided simply by making older "original" versions of these films available to consumers. Why they've beaten this drum so hard to ignore the constant pleas of fans, I'll never understand. If Disney released "theatrical" versions of the Star Wars trilogy tomorrow, they would make a shit-ton of money. As much as I wanted to, this is the reason I *didn't* go to a screening of the 40th anniversary release...because I knew that the film on offer wouldn't be the same film that saw theaters 40 years ago. It wouldn't be the same RotJ that captured our imaginations back in the '80s. It wouldn't be the one that served as the capstone for what was then, and is now, a legendary piece of cinema history. The fact that we have such incredible fan-projects as Harmy's edits and Project 4K77 is a testament to just how committed the fans are to the idea of preserving these historic films and making them available for new generations to appreciate. And yes, Lapti Nek and Yub Nub are the best!
It was Lucas, not Disney, that flat-out said he would never release the original cuts again. I would not be surprised if the terms of the contract for the sale of Lucasfilm explicitly forbid rereleasing the original trilogy and it's theatrical cut.
I'm in total agreement, Han shoots. There is no first. Dead men don't shoot back. The only change I welcome is the celebratory ending to ROTJ (1997, NOT any of the later changes, 2004 on), because I think the Ewok folk song deadens the sigh of relief, of that joyous victory. You'd need music to match. I wanted to see ROTJ in the theaters so bad, but knew it wouldn't have been the original theatrical release. I would've been REALLY surprised if it was. So I watched the original theatrical release at home. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself, I guess. :) Thanks for the video
The celebration scene at the end of ROTJ and the added Cloud City vistas are the only good changes in the Special Edition and they should have kept it at that. The horrible tacked on musical number in the ROTJ SE should never have existed and neither should the scene with Jabba in the first film (yes i still call A New Hope "the first film" or just "Star Wars" because that's what it is). The changes that keep being added are like "why?!" These changes don't need to exist, so for me the canonical versions of the original trilogy are the Harmy Despecialized versions because those are closer to the VHS versions, which are closest to the theatrical version. Too bad Disney doesn't re-release the original originals, but then again, like many have posited here, because George Lucas is weirdly controlling with his baby, It seems Disney is possibly contracted to only being able to re-release the continually altered versions.
@@apoplexiamusic I agree with pretty much everything you said except for the thing about the new celebratory music at the end ROTJ. The Special Edition should ONLY be an alternate take on the Star Wars trilogy. At least that's what I thought it was when it first came out. I think disney actually might be contractually bound to not release the originals. Side note: I pick up copies of the original trilogy on VHS whenever I can. :)
Artists going back to revise and update their previous work (and making the new versions definitive) is nothing new when it comes to art. Tolkien did it with the Hobbit, Kubrick did it with 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Joyce did it about 18 times with Ulysses. What Lucas has done with Star Wars is no different.
I still have my re-released VHS versions before Lucas started adding stuff. Sad to say their basically ripped copies from laserdisc versions but their probaby more original than some of the physical stuff floating around out there
I agree that the original versions should be available for people to see. They shouldn't just get rid of those things. But I will defend Hayden in Return of the Jedi!
I recognize those characters!! I have that Agen Kolar! They are the edition that came with the Episode III film. My mom doesn't remember them either. Yes, each has a lightsaber, item or action gesture. I have glued a green lightsaber with a hot wire because it had come apart (ironically as if it was turned off). If you don't want them, send them to me. I'd love a duplicate or having the missing Kit Fisto. or send them to a loving child that will be held together with their fate, not being able to let them go somewhere, someplace at some time. Obs: I got their names right even more than a decade later haha!
One of the few things [before the blu-ray that is] that bothers me, and I really like Hayden's Anakin. It does still makig annoying sense if you think it.
My conspiracy theory: The reason Star Wars sold for so little is that there's a clause in the sale that they can't release the original cuts until after Lucas is dead. Otherwise why wouldn't Disney -- a soulless, money-grubbing company -- have released an exorbitantly-expensive bluray version of the originals immediately? They would have sold a bazillion copies to fans that actually have disposable income now, for very little cost to themselves. (Like add a $5 artbook as the excuse to make it cost $300, or something.) I'd have bought one, certainly.
Yes, Lapti Nek is the better song... But the one from the movie, not the one that you play at the end. Way before he completely replaced it in the special edition, George was never happy with the song (which was a slice of pure space funk, by the way), and got it sung again by a different performer for the soundtrack release - so yeah... the changes never end...
Here's some points to understand. The prequels weren't made in the 80s they were made in the 90s and early 2000s. There's art of young Sebastián shaw as anakin Skywalker and young Alec guineas as obi Wan kenobi. There's also a picture of Luke and leias mom and it's not padme it's another woman called titled "The mother" because the prequels at the time weren't developed into the finals we are known to presently. If you look close enough young Sebastián shaw resembles Luke Skywalker identically. It fits, and the mother resembles Leia identically too. If the prequels were made first before the original trilogy, the original trilogy would've been made in the 90's and 2000s like the prequels. And then the sequel trilogy would've been made in the 2010s. But probably not under disney because Lucas would have never sold his company if the original trilogy was making money 19 yrs ago. When I was born. That's an alternate reality. The definitive star wars is the first star wars. The STAR WARS episode 1 the star killer. The first draft for the original trilogy. The lost script that never was.
I feel sorry for you as you weren't alivd to experience firstvtime around but then again i didn't see Stars wars a new hope until later as i was only 3 when it ame out and i didn't vecomd a fan until later,
As you mentioned, what you're touching on here is a much greater issue than just Star Wars. With everything being online, these days, and subject to being deleted or changed at the drop of a hat by corporations (or in authoritarian countries, by government) to fit with the latest agenda or narrative. It's truly becoming like the Ministry of Truth in 1984, with all the dangers inherent in that. Movies ARE historical artifacts in many ways and it's important to preserve them and all the newer releases along the way, so that you can trace changes and understand what led to them. The irony of the Star Wars films changes is that Lucas is otherwise a big proponent of film preservation, yet somehow it doesn't apply to his own films? It's weird. All this just underlines the importance of collecting and maintaining physical media, yourself, so that you are not reliant on corporations or government to give you a true view of history.
The real, original Star Wars is actually Kurosowa's The Hidden Fortress. Lucas' original script was practically a scene for scene copy. It's not like Hollywood hasn't done it before, with The Magnificent Seven (twice), Fistful of Dollars, Last Man Standing. The closest to the originals are the unenhanced versions, before Lucas "improved" things. Technically these versions include improved FX shots, but only of the original scenes. No Jabba! I personally agree about replacing Shaw with Christensen. If you're going to show young versions of the Jedi, why not all three? Why just Anakin? I've noticed two sets of reactions; those who haven't seen the prequels wonder who that guy is, and the prequel fans squee upon seeing Anakin again. I personally don't like the plot lines of the prequels, but maybe I'm too old. What I _do_ know is none of the models made from the prequels are as popular as the original trilogy (there are new kits of the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Millennium Falcon being made today) and I *_loathe_* Jar Jar Binks. There are also issues like editing the soundtrack; aside from the "improved" X-Wings, the music is more subdued in later versions. If you use your Google-fu wisely you'll find various resolutions of the unenhanced versions. I've obtained the 20Gb original Star Wars, and it's quite nice. I've purchased various forms of the movies before, so it's legal. 🙂
Christensen makes more sense as Force ghost as Anakin was always meant to look like what a pre-suited Vader looked like. Before the prequels, we didn't know what an unmutilated Vader looked like, so Shaw filled in the role. But after the prequels made Christensen that version, it just made narrative sense for him to fill in the role. Obi-Wan and Yoda don't need to look younger as they were never corrupted by the dark side and stuck in a metal cybernetic suit.
I saw the original trilogy when it first came out, and I was an enormous fan. As far as I am concerned, that original version is the only one that counts. I never want to set eyes on any of the others, lest they taint my memory of the films I loved so much when I was young.
It really annoys me that these reactors on UA-cam are always watching the massively altered versions of the Star Wars trilogy as their first time seeing it. Watching the versions pre-1997 is a very different experience in so many ways, and it is WAY better. When it was announced that "Return of the Jedi" was coming back to the theatres for the 40th Anniversary: unless it was the unaltered 1983 version, my first response to it was "Who fucking cares." I was not surprised that the version people saw in the theatres for the 40th Anniversary was the "Nooooooo" version. I really hope that one day, regardless of his personal opinion, I really hope that George Lucas will reconsider showing us the original 1977, 1980, and 1983 theatrical versions of the Star Wars trilogy.
There's an even bigger issue regarding the end of Episode VI (ROTJ) with the ghosts of Annakin, Kenobi and Yoda appearing to Luke on Endor. • Firstly, looking at this from a perspective of the internal logic of the original trilogy alone, what is Annakin even doing there? Kenobi and Yoda both disappear when they die, litterally having their physical bodies ascend. Kenobi even says in Episode IV (ANH) when fighting Vader (i.e. Annakin) on the Death Star right before he is killed that "if you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine", telling Vader AND US that this ability to transform one's mortal flesh into the force is something Annakin didn't even know about. • Secondly this notion is even canonized in Episode III (ROTS) where becoming a "force-ghost" is the result of an actual meditation technique that Qui-Gon Jinn, years after his death returns to teach Yoda and Kenobi. This technique seem to be somehing you need to use right before or at the moment of your death in order for it to work. So presumably, this is a technique that ONLY Qui-Gon, Yoda and Kenobi knows about. So there's no reason for Annakin to appear to Luke as a force-ghost at all. And since his body never even ascended but got cremated by Luke on Endor I'd say that this is even further substantiated. So even though I agree that having Hayden Christensen appear as Annakin doesn't make sense, so doesn't Sebastian Shaw appearing not make sense either. Luke should only see Yoda and Kenobi.
I always read it that in the pure context of 4-6 only Jedi can become Force Ghosts/ All Jedi become Force Ghosts ( as every Jedi we meet becomes one) so when Anakin is redeemed he becomes one. With the added knowledge of the prequels I believe the canon is that because Anakin was the chosen one and born of the cosmic force - he returns to it when he dies which is why he can do it. You could also Headcanon that after Obi Wan does his vanishing act Vader and Palpatine researched it to try and copy it since part of the draw to the Darkside is the hunt for eternal life.
@@SkyeBlacke But if we add the animated series into this discussion you even have ancient Sith being ghosts inside tombs so the theory of it having to do with being "good" doesn't make sense. Now, it is obviously possible that this meditation technique is a ancient one that both Sith and Jedi knew about but it got lost somehow and Qui-Gon re-discovered it. But no matter what, if you need to say things like "Vader and Palpatine researched it and learned about it" then you're entering into a quite irritating territory of compensation for a lack of satisfying story-telling, something we've seen alot of from fans of the prequels where you need additional media like games, books and TV-series in order to understand what the hell the story was about. The fact remains - it's an after-thought, a way of compensating for bad story-telling.
I am older than this presenter, born 1980, and I look at it like this: Regarding Anakin, as Obi-wan says in ROTJ, "he's more machine now than man", and we see that at the end of ROTS. Anakin was shown as being burnt to a crisp, with just his head and SOME of his torso still remaining. Remember, too, that he (Anakin) already lost a hand well before his battle with Obi-Wan (who proceeds to chop off Anakin's legs during said battle).The rest of him was a life support suit. It's still quite possible that he disappeared (a little slower than his Jedi counterparts, not only due to his being a Sith, but, also the said life support, which may have taken a moment or two to 'shut off') Perhaps only the suit and prosthetics were burned, enabling him to appear as a force ghost regardless of the actor playing him. Christianson is also a better fit because Anakin was only 45 when he died. Sebastian Shaw did great as an unmasked Vader, but he looked entirely too old. (The Obi-Wan show put an interesting wrinkle into the force ghost theory, too). Qui Gon didn't appear to Obi-Wan until that show, decades after Qui Gon died, so,I don't think there is enough information to discern how long the process takes but, the show implies that one doesn't need to be alive to gain the ability. As for the question of "what is the actual Star Wars' films, posed by the presenter....definitive, for me, would be the OT, then the 1997 releases running a close second. The other releases? Meh.
@@krisc7135 Both the bodies of Obi-Wan and Yoda were clearly shown to fade away when they died, while Annakin's weren't. All versions of these kinds of - "perhaps X, Y or Z happened" and "...maybe that's why they did this... which led to that" etc. - are all quite meaningless speculations that goes outside of what the story-teller chose to depict and thus can't be relied upon to explain anything really. The same goes for any additional information added on in other media formats like video games, books and TV-series. You shouldn't have to guess, speculate OR consume some other piece of work that was tacked on later to try and make up for a lack of clear story-telling. Star Wars is and has always been a quite simple heroic adventure with a fairly standard good vs evil foundation at its core. It's not some artsy Stanley Kubrick film where there's a whole slew of ambiguous symbolism sprinkled out throughout the story that we are supposed to still speculate about 30-40 years later. But the fact does remain - Sebastian Shaw appeared as the ghost of Annakin Skywalker before Luke on Endor in the last scene of ROTJ and thus this is canon. I think this was simply done for stylistic reasons without too much thought behind it to be honest. And the reason for later swapping out Shaw for Hayden Christensen is simply because Lucas wanted to tie both trilogies together in whatever superficial, visual way possible. This can be seen on the other end of the merging of these two trilogies as well, at the end of ROTS where you have that awful scene where Yoda, Obi-Wan and Bail Organa are deciding what should happen with the newly born twins Luke and Leia, all while Padme is dying in the next room, just to make sure Luke and Leia end up where they need to start in ANH. That scene is clumsy, stupid and paints Yoda, Obi-Wan and Organa out to be real as$holes. But there are other problems with ROTJ's story-telling as well and I personally think this has a lot to do with the absence of Gary Kurtz in that production. George Lucas isn't very good at handling these kinds of intricate, fine details of story-telling and tend to have a fairly surface leveled approach to the writing process. He has a hard time "killing his darlings" no matter how awkward they are, how many unneccessary question marks they create or how much of a pacing issue they cause for the overall story-telling. If he really loves a scene or an idea he simply can't let go of it even if it basically kills the pacing (i.e. Annakin being a very young, immaculately born child with a needlesly dragged out and especially ineffective slave plot line and the subsequent podrace scene). On the flip side of that Lucas simultaneously has a tendency to leave out important exposition that would otherwise explain such pesky details like character motivation and even corner stones of his entire world building. For instance, I remember an interview he did while being on a promotional tour for TPM back in 1999 where he was asked who the Nemoidians were and why they had set up a blockade of Naboo and his answer was "it's not important, they're just bad guys". He simply didn't see the relevance of the motivation of the Nemoidians for doing any of this when all he's really interested in is creating a conflict for our main characters to revolve around. It's all simply the backdrop he needs in order to paint a very specific picture and he doesn't see the much larger picture of how his galaxy actually works. People have claimed that the prequels are "too much politics" while I actually think there's really not enough politics. The parts of those films that deal with the politics of the galaxy are extremely boring precisely because they are ineffective and doesn't really explain much of how this world of his works, or why the political system is set up the way it is. Much of it doesn't make much sense and the reason is because it's just a backdrop for everything else. But everything else doesn't make sense if that backdrop doesn't. The very suspension of disbelief lies in the context and its many details and is absolutely crucial for the overall experience of the picture he's painting. That film spends enormous amounts of time with characters talking in a very boring tone about the main conflict while never really saying anything about it that is of any world building relevance to the story. With a more time efficient exposition dialogue between characters you could quite easily give the audience a guided tour of the galaxy's current state and expand the world building in a more relevant way, while at the same time kick up the pacing and avoid boring scenes with dreary and pointless speeches that doesn't go anywhere. If you're a bit clever you could even do so and simultaneously spend more time developing two of the most crucial characters of the entire saga - Annakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Annakin is precisely that kind of fish-out-of-water character that would make exposition fairly easy to setup in a believable and satisfying way. Just drop Qui-Gon from the story, make Annakin a bit older (16-19 years old, kinda like Luke in ANH) and he can even begin his romance with Padme in a more believable and satisfying way. This will definitely pay off later in Episode II and III in terms of his relationships with both Obi-Wan and Padme. Instead we got this weird film that wants to be a sort of prologue to the saga but cannot handle it due to poor world building and instead it all comes across as utterly pointless. Simply a waste of everyone's time. You could cut out that entire film and it wouldn't make much of a difference.
@@marcuslewitzki4610 Thank you, however, I stand by my theory. Yes, there is writer intent, however, there is also reader (watcher) analysis, which, for me, is guided by the experiences in my life and how those experiences shaped and reshaped my perceptions (more than once throughout my lifetime), just as much as writer context. My theory is simply how I see it at this stage in my life because of circumstances in my life. You think differently, that's great! I like that and I like that you were cordial, also. My theory was based on watching an elderly and sickly loved one die. How Lucas tells the story or where his weaknesses are, the pacing of the prequels, the believability of Padme and Anakin's relationship, Star Wars politics or the absence of a director played no part in shaping my assessment. The death that I witnessed, she stopped breathing first. Her heart stopped about 2 minutes later. That experience reshaped much of what I once perceived, of both fiction and non-fiction, including the Star Wars universe. RE: Sebastian Shaw: I still find Shaw's age a bit off, regardless of SW canonization. I always did, but, that never dampened my enjoyment.
When you realize what you knew all along... that you've never actually watched Star Wars and can't actually be a Star Wars fan... that only if you watched it in the theatre can you be a Star Wars fan... shit
12:12 Did you just call Lapti Nek "Lou Petey Neck"?
Its a regional dialect......
I love, and agree, with your conclusions.
When I saw Star Wars for the first time, opening weekend in 1977 for my 10th birthday, it was a moment, an experience that like was said in Blade Runner, "Lost like tears in the rain".
It was a great moment. I am glad I had it. But no matter what I try, I cannot recreate that moment.
Well, that's kind of just truth of life. You can never be 10 again. And no one will ever be 10 in 1977 again. No one will even be 10 in 2007.
As a kid I watched the OT, Original Trilogy, on VHS, and I still have that collection with me today.
While there are changes to the OT in later versions that I agree and disagree with, one thing is certain: The first time experience will always be treasured.
I'm almost certain that the terms of the sale of LFL and Star Wars to Disney included a prohibition on EVER rereleasing the Original Trilogy in its pre-Special Edition versions, and possibly even that ONLY the most-recent SE versions can be released.
Harmy's Despecialized editions are a great way to experience the movies incredibly close to the way they were when first released. Highly recommend. It's the only way I've watched the films in over a decade.
I really enjoyed this! I knew there were previous versions of star wars but I didn't know just how many. Quite sad to see the original cut hasn't been preserved but hopefully we'll be able to see them one day :)
9:01 I just think we should either have the originals and each previous version still available for us to enjoy or have an options menu to switch these changes on and off or select which version of something you prefer
I took the same stance when Disney stated they were retconning the entire EU. I spent months collecting collecting 200 books to preserve the Star Wars that I knew and now get to steward over them.
I read most of those books. I started with the Thrawn trilogy when I was in high school.
Return of the Jedi came out the year I was born. I remember only three movies when we just called them “Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi.” Plus I’m from Portland, OR and Dark Horse Comics is based just outside the city in Milwaukie, OR. They had the exclusive Star Wars comic rights until the Disney buyout.
What a great video! I agree with all that's being said. ROTJ happens to be my favourite SW movie too, very closely followed by TESB. If I ever watch SW nowadays it's always the Harmy editions. Sure, one could argue that putting the "real" Palpatine in TESB was a good thing, but then they changed the whole dialogue of that scene. I hated that! And the line "Bring my shuttle!" was changed to the much lamer "Alert the Star Destroyer of my arrival.". So many unnecessary changes to the OT...Ok, I'm rambling now..
6:08 I actually like this change (think its easier on the eyes and it's consistent with later films also I think this change was made to make it look more modern I guess I don't know)
I have a legit VHS of Star Wars where - as you say - Han shoots, full stop. No "shoots first". Not sure when it was released but it has the art class painting-style cover where Luke is holding what looks like a glowing sword as opposed to a light saber. Anyway, you're right. How much can Elton John change Rocket Man on stage before it's no longer Rocket Man? There's surely a line somewhere...
After seeing the decapitated Palpatine at the end of your video, it looks like he revealed his identity as a Sith Lord to Anakin when he was in the wrong frame of mind.
FINALLY SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS
Agreed
own physical media
6:47 YES! I knew I wasn't the only one.
Great video! It really sucks that the original theatrical cut was never officially preserved. I can empathize with Lucas for wanting to depict his grand vision of Star Wars, hence the continuous revisions. It can be hard to put the paint brush down when you're not completely satisfied. However, at some point you need to. All films are products of their time and will eventually age. Even the special editions have shots that look outdated by today's standards.
My favorite Star Wars movie is the cutscenes from the Nintendo Wii LEGO Star Wars
Also this is an underrated channel keep up the good work man!
The Definitive versions of the films are the Special Editions. That being the most current version.
Damn straight. Although the term 'special editions' should really be replaced with 'directors cut'
I have the original theatrical releases on DVD, as they came with the Limited Edition releases on a bonus disk some years ago. So if you want to watch 'the' originals, you might want to look those up.
You're not wrong. This whole debacle, which has been going on for decades now, could have been so easily avoided simply by making older "original" versions of these films available to consumers. Why they've beaten this drum so hard to ignore the constant pleas of fans, I'll never understand. If Disney released "theatrical" versions of the Star Wars trilogy tomorrow, they would make a shit-ton of money. As much as I wanted to, this is the reason I *didn't* go to a screening of the 40th anniversary release...because I knew that the film on offer wouldn't be the same film that saw theaters 40 years ago. It wouldn't be the same RotJ that captured our imaginations back in the '80s. It wouldn't be the one that served as the capstone for what was then, and is now, a legendary piece of cinema history.
The fact that we have such incredible fan-projects as Harmy's edits and Project 4K77 is a testament to just how committed the fans are to the idea of preserving these historic films and making them available for new generations to appreciate.
And yes, Lapti Nek and Yub Nub are the best!
It was Lucas, not Disney, that flat-out said he would never release the original cuts again. I would not be surprised if the terms of the contract for the sale of Lucasfilm explicitly forbid rereleasing the original trilogy and it's theatrical cut.
9:59 good luck finding those or the space on your device to watch them
I'm in total agreement, Han shoots. There is no first.
Dead men don't shoot back.
The only change I welcome is the celebratory ending to ROTJ
(1997, NOT any of the later changes, 2004 on), because I think the Ewok folk song deadens the sigh of relief, of that joyous victory.
You'd need music to match.
I wanted to see ROTJ in the theaters so bad, but knew it wouldn't have been the original theatrical release.
I would've been REALLY surprised if it was.
So I watched the original theatrical release at home.
If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself, I guess. :)
Thanks for the video
The thing is, Han ALWAYS shot first in self defense. Having him get a shot off first just visually reinforces that.
@@onemoreminute0543
Agreed. Even a lawyer would say Han was defending himself.
That, and this IS a Western, after all. :)
The celebration scene at the end of ROTJ and the added Cloud City vistas are the only good changes in the Special Edition and they should have kept it at that. The horrible tacked on musical number in the ROTJ SE should never have existed and neither should the scene with Jabba in the first film (yes i still call A New Hope "the first film" or just "Star Wars" because that's what it is).
The changes that keep being added are like "why?!" These changes don't need to exist, so for me the canonical versions of the original trilogy are the Harmy Despecialized versions because those are closer to the VHS versions, which are closest to the theatrical version.
Too bad Disney doesn't re-release the original originals, but then again, like many have posited here, because George Lucas is weirdly controlling with his baby, It seems Disney is possibly contracted to only being able to re-release the continually altered versions.
@@apoplexiamusic
I agree with pretty much everything you said except for the thing about the new celebratory music at the end ROTJ.
The Special Edition should ONLY be an alternate take on the Star Wars trilogy.
At least that's what I thought it was when it first came out.
I think disney actually might be contractually bound to not release the originals.
Side note: I pick up copies of the original trilogy on VHS whenever I can. :)
Artists going back to revise and update their previous work (and making the new versions definitive) is nothing new when it comes to art. Tolkien did it with the Hobbit, Kubrick did it with 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Joyce did it about 18 times with Ulysses. What Lucas has done with Star Wars is no different.
I still have my re-released VHS versions before Lucas started adding stuff. Sad to say their basically ripped copies from laserdisc versions but their probaby more original than some of the physical stuff floating around out there
I treasure my VHS tapes of the pre-SE OT. George Lucas even THREATENS you on the back. "This is the LAST release of these films as they are EVER."
The only constant is change.
I agree that the original versions should be available for people to see. They shouldn't just get rid of those things.
But I will defend Hayden in Return of the Jedi!
I recognize those characters!!
I have that Agen Kolar!
They are the edition that came with the Episode III film.
My mom doesn't remember them either.
Yes, each has a lightsaber, item or action gesture. I have glued a green lightsaber with a hot wire because it had come apart (ironically as if it was turned off).
If you don't want them, send them to me. I'd love a duplicate or having the missing Kit Fisto.
or send them to a loving child that will be held together with their fate, not being able to let them go somewhere, someplace at some time.
Obs: I got their names right even more than a decade later haha!
I’m confused why they’d use Hayden Christiansen when he was much older lol
One of the few things [before the blu-ray that is] that bothers me, and I really like Hayden's Anakin.
It does still makig annoying sense if you think it.
My conspiracy theory: The reason Star Wars sold for so little is that there's a clause in the sale that they can't release the original cuts until after Lucas is dead.
Otherwise why wouldn't Disney -- a soulless, money-grubbing company -- have released an exorbitantly-expensive bluray version of the originals immediately? They would have sold a bazillion copies to fans that actually have disposable income now, for very little cost to themselves. (Like add a $5 artbook as the excuse to make it cost $300, or something.) I'd have bought one, certainly.
I only watched the 40th anniversary twice in theaters 😞
Poor thing 😊
Yes, Lapti Nek is the better song... But the one from the movie, not the one that you play at the end.
Way before he completely replaced it in the special edition, George was never happy with the song (which was a slice of pure space funk, by the way), and got it sung again by a different performer for the soundtrack release - so yeah... the changes never end...
4k77/80/83 has the original versions
Here's some points to understand.
The prequels weren't made in the 80s they were made in the 90s and early 2000s. There's art of young Sebastián shaw as anakin Skywalker and young Alec guineas as obi Wan kenobi. There's also a picture of Luke and leias mom and it's not padme it's another woman called titled "The mother" because the prequels at the time weren't developed into the finals we are known to presently. If you look close enough young Sebastián shaw resembles Luke Skywalker identically. It fits, and the mother resembles Leia identically too. If the prequels were made first before the original trilogy, the original trilogy would've been made in the 90's and 2000s like the prequels. And then the sequel trilogy would've been made in the 2010s. But probably not under disney because Lucas would have never sold his company if the original trilogy was making money 19 yrs ago. When I was born. That's an alternate reality. The definitive star wars is the first star wars. The STAR WARS episode 1 the star killer. The first draft for the original trilogy. The lost script that never was.
Apparently that first script was made into a comic book a few years. Seems like an interesting read to see how different "The Star Wars" was.
I feel sorry for you as you weren't alivd to experience firstvtime around but then again i didn't see Stars wars a new hope until later as i was only 3 when it ame out and i didn't vecomd a fan until later,
As you mentioned, what you're touching on here is a much greater issue than just Star Wars. With everything being online, these days, and subject to being deleted or changed at the drop of a hat by corporations (or in authoritarian countries, by government) to fit with the latest agenda or narrative. It's truly becoming like the Ministry of Truth in 1984, with all the dangers inherent in that. Movies ARE historical artifacts in many ways and it's important to preserve them and all the newer releases along the way, so that you can trace changes and understand what led to them. The irony of the Star Wars films changes is that Lucas is otherwise a big proponent of film preservation, yet somehow it doesn't apply to his own films? It's weird.
All this just underlines the importance of collecting and maintaining physical media, yourself, so that you are not reliant on corporations or government to give you a true view of history.
Based Anakin take
The real, original Star Wars is actually Kurosowa's The Hidden Fortress. Lucas' original script was practically a scene for scene copy. It's not like Hollywood hasn't done it before, with The Magnificent Seven (twice), Fistful of Dollars, Last Man Standing.
The closest to the originals are the unenhanced versions, before Lucas "improved" things. Technically these versions include improved FX shots, but only of the original scenes. No Jabba!
I personally agree about replacing Shaw with Christensen. If you're going to show young versions of the Jedi, why not all three? Why just Anakin? I've noticed two sets of reactions; those who haven't seen the prequels wonder who that guy is, and the prequel fans squee upon seeing Anakin again. I personally don't like the plot lines of the prequels, but maybe I'm too old. What I _do_ know is none of the models made from the prequels are as popular as the original trilogy (there are new kits of the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Millennium Falcon being made today) and I *_loathe_* Jar Jar Binks.
There are also issues like editing the soundtrack; aside from the "improved" X-Wings, the music is more subdued in later versions.
If you use your Google-fu wisely you'll find various resolutions of the unenhanced versions. I've obtained the 20Gb original Star Wars, and it's quite nice. I've purchased various forms of the movies before, so it's legal. 🙂
I disagree imo the models are just as good or popular as the original, and as for the story goes its not the story its the execution.
Christensen makes more sense as Force ghost as Anakin was always meant to look like what a pre-suited Vader looked like.
Before the prequels, we didn't know what an unmutilated Vader looked like, so Shaw filled in the role. But after the prequels made Christensen that version, it just made narrative sense for him to fill in the role.
Obi-Wan and Yoda don't need to look younger as they were never corrupted by the dark side and stuck in a metal cybernetic suit.
I saw the original trilogy when it first came out, and I was an enormous fan. As far as I am concerned, that original version is the only one that counts. I never want to set eyes on any of the others, lest they taint my memory of the films I loved so much when I was young.
It really annoys me that these reactors on UA-cam are always watching the massively altered versions of the Star Wars trilogy as their first time seeing it.
Watching the versions pre-1997 is a very different experience in so many ways, and it is WAY better.
When it was announced that "Return of the Jedi" was coming back to the theatres for the 40th Anniversary: unless it was the unaltered 1983 version, my first response to it was "Who fucking cares."
I was not surprised that the version people saw in the theatres for the 40th Anniversary was the "Nooooooo" version.
I really hope that one day, regardless of his personal opinion, I really hope that George Lucas will reconsider showing us the original 1977, 1980, and 1983 theatrical versions of the Star Wars trilogy.
There's an even bigger issue regarding the end of Episode VI (ROTJ) with the ghosts of Annakin, Kenobi and Yoda appearing to Luke on Endor.
• Firstly, looking at this from a perspective of the internal logic of the original trilogy alone, what is Annakin even doing there? Kenobi and Yoda both disappear when they die, litterally having their physical bodies ascend. Kenobi even says in Episode IV (ANH) when fighting Vader (i.e. Annakin) on the Death Star right before he is killed that "if you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine", telling Vader AND US that this ability to transform one's mortal flesh into the force is something Annakin didn't even know about.
• Secondly this notion is even canonized in Episode III (ROTS) where becoming a "force-ghost" is the result of an actual meditation technique that Qui-Gon Jinn, years after his death returns to teach Yoda and Kenobi. This technique seem to be somehing you need to use right before or at the moment of your death in order for it to work. So presumably, this is a technique that ONLY Qui-Gon, Yoda and Kenobi knows about. So there's no reason for Annakin to appear to Luke as a force-ghost at all. And since his body never even ascended but got cremated by Luke on Endor I'd say that this is even further substantiated.
So even though I agree that having Hayden Christensen appear as Annakin doesn't make sense, so doesn't Sebastian Shaw appearing not make sense either. Luke should only see Yoda and Kenobi.
I always read it that in the pure context of 4-6 only Jedi can become Force Ghosts/ All Jedi become Force Ghosts ( as every Jedi we meet becomes one) so when Anakin is redeemed he becomes one.
With the added knowledge of the prequels I believe the canon is that because Anakin was the chosen one and born of the cosmic force - he returns to it when he dies which is why he can do it.
You could also Headcanon that after Obi Wan does his vanishing act Vader and Palpatine researched it to try and copy it since part of the draw to the Darkside is the hunt for eternal life.
@@SkyeBlacke But if we add the animated series into this discussion you even have ancient Sith being ghosts inside tombs so the theory of it having to do with being "good" doesn't make sense. Now, it is obviously possible that this meditation technique is a ancient one that both Sith and Jedi knew about but it got lost somehow and Qui-Gon re-discovered it.
But no matter what, if you need to say things like "Vader and Palpatine researched it and learned about it" then you're entering into a quite irritating territory of compensation for a lack of satisfying story-telling, something we've seen alot of from fans of the prequels where you need additional media like games, books and TV-series in order to understand what the hell the story was about. The fact remains - it's an after-thought, a way of compensating for bad story-telling.
I am older than this presenter, born 1980, and I look at it like this: Regarding Anakin, as Obi-wan says in ROTJ, "he's more machine now than man", and we see that at the end of ROTS. Anakin was shown as being burnt to a crisp, with just his head and SOME of his torso still remaining. Remember, too, that he (Anakin) already lost a hand well before his battle with Obi-Wan (who proceeds to chop off Anakin's legs during said battle).The rest of him was a life support suit. It's still quite possible that he disappeared (a little slower than his Jedi counterparts, not only due to his being a Sith, but, also the said life support, which may have taken a moment or two to 'shut off') Perhaps only the suit and prosthetics were burned, enabling him to appear as a force ghost regardless of the actor playing him. Christianson is also a better fit because Anakin was only 45 when he died. Sebastian Shaw did great as an unmasked Vader, but he looked entirely too old. (The Obi-Wan show put an interesting wrinkle into the force ghost theory, too). Qui Gon didn't appear to Obi-Wan until that show, decades after Qui Gon died, so,I don't think there is enough information to discern how long the process takes but, the show implies that one doesn't need to be alive to gain the ability. As for the question of "what is the actual Star Wars' films, posed by the presenter....definitive, for me, would be the OT, then the 1997 releases running a close second. The other releases? Meh.
@@krisc7135 Both the bodies of Obi-Wan and Yoda were clearly shown to fade away when they died, while Annakin's weren't. All versions of these kinds of - "perhaps X, Y or Z happened" and "...maybe that's why they did this... which led to that" etc. - are all quite meaningless speculations that goes outside of what the story-teller chose to depict and thus can't be relied upon to explain anything really. The same goes for any additional information added on in other media formats like video games, books and TV-series. You shouldn't have to guess, speculate OR consume some other piece of work that was tacked on later to try and make up for a lack of clear story-telling. Star Wars is and has always been a quite simple heroic adventure with a fairly standard good vs evil foundation at its core. It's not some artsy Stanley Kubrick film where there's a whole slew of ambiguous symbolism sprinkled out throughout the story that we are supposed to still speculate about 30-40 years later.
But the fact does remain - Sebastian Shaw appeared as the ghost of Annakin Skywalker before Luke on Endor in the last scene of ROTJ and thus this is canon. I think this was simply done for stylistic reasons without too much thought behind it to be honest. And the reason for later swapping out Shaw for Hayden Christensen is simply because Lucas wanted to tie both trilogies together in whatever superficial, visual way possible. This can be seen on the other end of the merging of these two trilogies as well, at the end of ROTS where you have that awful scene where Yoda, Obi-Wan and Bail Organa are deciding what should happen with the newly born twins Luke and Leia, all while Padme is dying in the next room, just to make sure Luke and Leia end up where they need to start in ANH. That scene is clumsy, stupid and paints Yoda, Obi-Wan and Organa out to be real as$holes.
But there are other problems with ROTJ's story-telling as well and I personally think this has a lot to do with the absence of Gary Kurtz in that production. George Lucas isn't very good at handling these kinds of intricate, fine details of story-telling and tend to have a fairly surface leveled approach to the writing process. He has a hard time "killing his darlings" no matter how awkward they are, how many unneccessary question marks they create or how much of a pacing issue they cause for the overall story-telling. If he really loves a scene or an idea he simply can't let go of it even if it basically kills the pacing (i.e. Annakin being a very young, immaculately born child with a needlesly dragged out and especially ineffective slave plot line and the subsequent podrace scene). On the flip side of that Lucas simultaneously has a tendency to leave out important exposition that would otherwise explain such pesky details like character motivation and even corner stones of his entire world building. For instance, I remember an interview he did while being on a promotional tour for TPM back in 1999 where he was asked who the Nemoidians were and why they had set up a blockade of Naboo and his answer was "it's not important, they're just bad guys". He simply didn't see the relevance of the motivation of the Nemoidians for doing any of this when all he's really interested in is creating a conflict for our main characters to revolve around. It's all simply the backdrop he needs in order to paint a very specific picture and he doesn't see the much larger picture of how his galaxy actually works.
People have claimed that the prequels are "too much politics" while I actually think there's really not enough politics. The parts of those films that deal with the politics of the galaxy are extremely boring precisely because they are ineffective and doesn't really explain much of how this world of his works, or why the political system is set up the way it is. Much of it doesn't make much sense and the reason is because it's just a backdrop for everything else. But everything else doesn't make sense if that backdrop doesn't. The very suspension of disbelief lies in the context and its many details and is absolutely crucial for the overall experience of the picture he's painting. That film spends enormous amounts of time with characters talking in a very boring tone about the main conflict while never really saying anything about it that is of any world building relevance to the story. With a more time efficient exposition dialogue between characters you could quite easily give the audience a guided tour of the galaxy's current state and expand the world building in a more relevant way, while at the same time kick up the pacing and avoid boring scenes with dreary and pointless speeches that doesn't go anywhere. If you're a bit clever you could even do so and simultaneously spend more time developing two of the most crucial characters of the entire saga - Annakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Annakin is precisely that kind of fish-out-of-water character that would make exposition fairly easy to setup in a believable and satisfying way. Just drop Qui-Gon from the story, make Annakin a bit older (16-19 years old, kinda like Luke in ANH) and he can even begin his romance with Padme in a more believable and satisfying way. This will definitely pay off later in Episode II and III in terms of his relationships with both Obi-Wan and Padme. Instead we got this weird film that wants to be a sort of prologue to the saga but cannot handle it due to poor world building and instead it all comes across as utterly pointless. Simply a waste of everyone's time. You could cut out that entire film and it wouldn't make much of a difference.
@@marcuslewitzki4610 Thank you, however, I stand by my theory. Yes, there is writer intent, however, there is also reader (watcher) analysis, which, for me, is guided by the experiences in my life and how those experiences shaped and reshaped my perceptions (more than once throughout my lifetime), just as much as writer context. My theory is simply how I see it at this stage in my life because of circumstances in my life. You think differently, that's great! I like that and I like that you were cordial, also. My theory was based on watching an elderly and sickly loved one die. How Lucas tells the story or where his weaknesses are, the pacing of the prequels, the believability of Padme and Anakin's relationship, Star Wars politics or the absence of a director played no part in shaping my assessment. The death that I witnessed, she stopped breathing first. Her heart stopped about 2 minutes later. That experience reshaped much of what I once perceived, of both fiction and non-fiction, including the Star Wars universe. RE: Sebastian Shaw: I still find Shaw's age a bit off, regardless of SW canonization. I always did, but, that never dampened my enjoyment.
When you realize what you knew all along... that you've never actually watched Star Wars and can't actually be a Star Wars fan... that only if you watched it in the theatre can you be a Star Wars fan...
shit