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.

My Pitch for a Yoda Origin Story Movie

Back in 2012, when Disney bought Lucasfilm and announced new "Star Wars" movies - not just a new trilogy of episodes but spinoff (now known as anthology) movies - fans immediately started clamoring for the "stand-alone" movies to focus on their favorite characters, like Boba Fett, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda. The latter character is the one fans are most hesitant about, but two-and-a-half years ago I came up with a perfect concept for a Yoda origins movie. In finally making my private ideas public, I am authorizing Lucasfilm to use this concept. All I ask in return is a "story-by" credit and we can negotiate compensation.

The movie will be a comedy focusing on Yoda's early life. He will be a young (whatever creature Yoda is), in his early 100s. He will be over six feet tall, portrayed by John Lithgow - who was the voice of Yoda in the NPR "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" radio dramas. (This way, Yoda will not need to be Muppet or CGI; he will be an actor in makeup and costume).

We only know of Yoda as a wise, backward speaking Jedi master. As a young "man" Yoda is immature and speaks normally. He is known around the Jedi Temple as a prankster, always orchestrating practical jokes. After one of his pranks goes terribly wrong, Yoda ends up in a coma with some brain damage. When he awakes, he has lost his sense of humor and speaks backwards. He takes his training much more seriously, becoming the greatest Jedi that ever lived. Since the comedic movie ends on a serious note, there will be a mid-credits montage of CGI Yoda in exile on Dagobah starting to go crazy and becoming the eccentric version of himself we first meet in "Empire".

It's just an idea that would need to be worked on by a great scriptwriter, but I feel it would make a great movie that would have a completely different tone from other "Star Wars" movies.

THEORY: Star Wars Episode VII Title Change

I have many theories about the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII". Out of all of them, the one I am about to propose here is the least likely.

On November 6, 2014, the official Star Wars Twitter account sent out this tweet:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has completed principal photography. #StarWarsVII #TheForceAwakens pic.twitter.com/mFTP9YbKNN

— Star Wars (@starwars) November 6, 2014

Fans were taken aback by the way the title of the movie was announced in a seemingly random tweet. The tweet was sent just 15 days after the first trailer for "Avengers: Age of Ultron" was leaked online before it was scheduled to air on ABC. Because of this, many people assumed that Disney/Lucasfilm had caught wind that the Star Wars VII title may be leaked online and so they took control of the situation by leaking it themselves. That is probably what really happened.

Then 22 days after that the teaser trailer was released. The trailer featured dialogue from Andy Serkis' character saying, "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it? The dark side...and the light," followed by the title "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

But what if Lucasfilm is pulling a "Revenge of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens" is a fake title? What if, next week at "Star Wars Celebration", JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy reveal the new trailer and teaser poster for Episode VII that feature a new title for the movie?

No official merchandise has been released with "The Force Awakens" on it. Sure, "The Journey to The Force Awakens" books and comic books have been announced, but they come out in September or later and could easily have the banner changed.

It's very unlikely that is what will happen, because unlike the "Revenge of the Jedi" situation, "The Force Awakens" being a fake title would be a deliberate deception. But if this does come to pass, I would not be surprised. I take that back. I would be surprised, that my crazy theory was actually true.

Answering Jedi Alliance's Top Five Questions

I started watching a Star Wars fan webshow called "Jedi Alliance" in December 2014. Each time there is a guest on the show, the two hosts (Ken and Maude) ask their guest the Top Five questions to find out more about the guest's fandom. There are actually six questions...

@brassyalien Fav movie is an add on to 'first time' - we thought we were subtle! Haha looking forward to reading yours!
— Jedi Alliance (@JediAllianceSK) January 20, 2015

...but they say that the second question is paired with the first. So there are five questions, from a certain point of view.

The questions (restated in my own words for clarity) are:
1a. When was the first time you watched "Star Wars"?
1b. What is your favorite "Star Wars" movie?
2. Which "Star Wars" character is your favorite?
3. Do you have a "Star Wars" quote you use in everyday conversation?
4. Which Force power would you want to have?
5. Would you go to the Dark Side?

The hosts also ask their fans to answer the questions as well. So here are my answers:

1a. When was the first time you watched "Star Wars"?
My mom¹ bought the Original Trilogy boxed set that had a limited release in 1995.

She bought them either in late 1995 or early 1996, so I would have been five when I first watched the Star Wars movies.² I do not specifically remember my first time watching the movies³, but I know I watched the movies many times before the Special Editions were released to theaters in 1997.

1b. What is your favorite "Star Wars" movie?
It depends on the era of my life. As a child, "Return of the Jedi" was my favorite and was the one I watched the most. Then "The Phantom Menace" came out when I was nine, and that became the movie I watched over and over. I completed my Star Wars on DVD collection in 2010. Over the last few years, as an adult, I now think that "A New Hope" is my favorite movie. As of this writing, I think I rank the movies like this:

"A New Hope"
"Return of the Jedi"
"The Phantom Menace"
"The Empire Strikes Back"
"Revenge of the Sith"
"Attack of the Clones"

For the most part my childhood opinions still factor in to how I rank the movies.

2. Which "Star Wars" character is your favorite?
I say this in all honesty with absolutely no irony: Jar Jar Binks.

I completely related to him as a child, and I relate to him even more now that I am an adult. Jar Jar is a sympathetic character. Instead, nearly everybody treats him the way the Gungans treat him, and they miss the point. He was banished by the Gungans because he is clumsy and annoying. You are supposed to feel sorry for him. I may be the only person on Team Jar Jar, but I am going to keep defending him the way AMC Movie News Editor-in-Chief John Campea defends the Ewoks.


3. Do you have a "Star Wars" quote you use in everyday conversation?
No, but I really should. Sometimes I say "okie-day" like Jar Jar, but that is not exclusively his. Lately when I mess up I catch myself merging "whoops" and "oops" into "woops" like 9-year-old Anakin says, and I hope that he is not the reason I subconsiously started doing that. As a Sweek⁴ I really need to find a Star Wars quote to start using everyday (even though it will probably annoy my family).

4. Which Force power would you want to have?
If you learn to master the Force, don't you have all of them? Aren't they a package deal? I just want to be a Jedi and have all the force powers...and a lightsaber.

5. Would you go to the Dark Side?

No. I have always wanted to be on the side of good. I have never been attracted by anything on the Dark Side. The Rebel Alliance has cookies too.

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Footnotes:
1. Mom is Star Wars. Dad is Star Trek.

2. The videos began with Leonard Maltin interviewing George Lucas about making the movies. As I five+ year old I would fast forward through the "boring old men" talking so I could watch the movies. Now that I am older I am more interested in those interviews, but we no longer have the VHSs. Fortunately the interviews are posted to Star Wars' YouTube channel, so I am able to watch them now that I can appreciate them.





3. I do have one specific memory from watching the movies with my mom; I don't know if it is from the very first time, but it may be. During the infamous Han vs. Greedo scene, Mom pointed out how Han was tapping his left-hand fingers on the wall to distract Greedo as he was pulling out his blaster under the table. Even as a five year old I understood that Han was getting the drop on Greedo, so that is why I don't accept Lucas' comments about why he changed the scene in future editions.

4. Portmanteau of Star Wars Geek, as used in the May 13, 2005 "Heart of the City" comic strip.