Yet Another Plea For The Star Wars Original Trilogy Theatrical Versions To Be Released On Home Video - SPECIAL EDITION

The first version of this editorial was published 2/25/17. On 5/28/17 I added some additional opinions. More changes were made on 5/23/18. Additional information was added 4/4/19. Content was added and changed on 7/25/19.

2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the first "Star Wars" movie being released in theaters, and the 20th anniversary of the "Star Wars Special Editions" theatrical releases. And once again, another rumor appeared online and was debunked about the theatrical versions of the original "Star Wars" trilogy possibly being released on DVD/Blu-ray/4K UHD/etc.

I grew up with the "Star Wars" VHS box set from 1995. My mom and I went to see the "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back" Special Editions in theaters (we missed "Return of the Jedi") but we already had the movies on VHS so we didn't buy the SEs on home video. Since I first watched the movies on VHS when I was five, I didn't notice many of the SE changes when I was 6. And even though I was 14 by the time the movies were released on DVD, I never watched them until five years later. So even though I have been a "Star Wars" fan for over 20 years, I only found out about the "Special Edition" controversies a few years ago.

When I finally bought the Original Trilogy on DVD, it included the "theatrical versions" as well as the 2004 DVD versions. However, they are poor quality widescreen-within-fullscreen transfers of the 1993 laserdiscs. So I own the versions of the movies I grew up with, but it's only best viewed on an analog 4x3 TV.
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There are many think-pieces on why the non-Special Editions of the "Star Wars" movies need to be released in DVD/Blu-ray/4K UHD. Now it is my turn to make my case.

I do not hate the "Special Editions". There are some good changes. There are some stupid changes. I do not fault George Lucas desiring to keep making changes to his movies to make them match his original vision. Many directors make multiple cuts of their movies. For example:

The 30th and 40th Anniversary sets of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" come with three cuts.

The 30th anniversary sets of "Blade Runner" had four cuts on DVD and five cuts on Blu-ray.

Oliver Stone has made four cuts of "Alexander" since 2004.

The "Avatar" Extended Collector's Edition contains three cuts.

With the 2017 release of the 3 hour-long TV version, "Superman: The Movie" now has three cuts on Blu-ray.

The 40th Anniversary Edition of "Apocalypse Now" introduced a third cut.

So the problem is not that Lucas kept changing his movies. The problem is that he wants to act like the original versions of his movies that many fans grew up with for two decades do not exist. It's like taking a test in math class. You can't just give the answer to the problems, you have to show your work on how you came to the solution.

I have read a couple of editorials about from "Star Wars" fans saying the pre-Special Edition versions are not as good as we remember and our nostalgia keeping us from remembering that. My argument is not about the quality of the "theatrical" cuts vs. Special Editions. I am a collector and completest. I want to choose which version of "Star Wars" I watch. I also think that the 1997 Special Editions should also be released on a non-VHS format.

It's not just the Original Trilogy; I also want to see "Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience" released as well. In "The Phantom Menace", I like having puppet Yoda on DVD and CGI Yoda on Blu-ray.

I would be okay if more changes were made to any Star Wars movie. I just want to own ALL of the versions without having to act like the current version is the only version.

Some obstacles that were standing in the way have since been overcome. 20th Century Fox was to own the first six movies until 2020 - except for "A New Hope" which they would own forever. Since the original writing of this editorial, Disney has purchased 20th Century Fox and own all Star Wars movies.

As of now, it seems like the biggest obstacle to be overcome will be that the film negatives of the original trilogy will have to be rebuilt because they were altered to make the Special Editions. Fans have put in work to attempt to preserve the original versions, such as Harmy's Despecialized Editions and Project 4K77. If fans can do it, Disney can do it. So I think that if George Lucas can change his mind, the other obstacles can be overcome. Until then, we are stuck with the Special Editions.

Even "Star Wars" Cheez-Its are Special Edition.