CT Which version of ANH is the true and only?

With all the endless versions of a ANH out there which is the one version that is the true and only, is it.....

1. The original version that hit the screens in 1977 and was never seen again.
2. The re-released 1978 version that is available on the two disc pack with the special edition.
3. The special edition or the Blu-ray version.

....or does it even matter anymore what version you watch?

I myself would love to see the 1977 version mistakes and all...but thats just a dream.

 

Well I was definitely way too young to have ever seen the original, as it was released many years before I was born, but I think it'd be really cool to see it and compare how different it is to the version I have, which is the re-release with the added scenes. I don't really think there is a "true" version of A New Hope, as they're all pretty much the same but with some extra things added here and there, but the original will always be the original.

 

The Blu-ray version, of course. That’s the logical answer -- and is the version that I watch.

 

Isn't the theatrical version on the DVD box set that was released a few years ago?

 

Yes, there is. The Limited Edition, but even that has a couple of small changes IIRC.

For me the original will always be the 1977 version that I saw in the movies. These days, I think the 'original' for someone is whatever version they personally saw first. After all, you never forget your first time.

 

Blu Ray. Definately. A New Hope is the worst, most boring, slow paced movie in the Saga by a long way, but at least the blu ray version is the least sucky of the 3!

 

AAHHHH I'm struggling to take that comment of your's in and make sense of it....goog grief lad have you not seen Episode One, or Two for that matter???

 

I've never seen the ORIGINAL movie from 1977, but I have seen the VHS release (prior to the 1997 Special Editions) and I love it! Definitely superior (in logic and content) to the 2004 Special Edition and the Blu-ray.

I only have one thing to say: Have you ever seen Episode II?

 

The special edition is crap. The Jabba scene is redundant and unnecessary. Really, Lucas is his own worst enemy when it comes to his films. He tinkers too much.

 

The only one-and-true answer: whatever you decide. The last version is THE one and only according to the maker, who gets to decide which version is his vision.

As for the fans: to each his or her own. There is no definitive answer.

And guess what: I've seen ALL versions.

 

It'll be the one that includes the conversation between Luke and Biggs on Tattooine. Even the little pat.

 

LOVE Episode 1! And while Episode 2 has its flaws I still think it's better than A New Hope. ANH is just too dated and slow paced and not actiony enough for me. Give me the Anakin "YIPEEEE" bit on a continuous loop for 2 hours over the Battle of Yavin ANY day! lol

Best bit of ANH? The TIE fighters vs the escaping Falcon. The rest does nothing for me. Especially that lightsaber fight...

(All of this is in my personal opinion, you must understand! I realize most people wont agree with my POV at aaaall! )

 

I don't understand this at all. ANH is like a Formula 1 race compared to AOTC. Nothing really happens until the Council send Obi-Wan after Jango. Whereas with ANH you learn what the entire film is about in the first ten minutes.

 

My thoughts exactly. The film serves more as a poor attempt at a mystery (and an even poorer attempt at a romance) for the first half of the film, then switches things around at the end with a few big action scenes.

Why poor? A mystery is supposed to EVENTUALLY reveal the mystery. Is it EVER revealed throughout Episode II where those clones came from? Why Syfo-Dyas would order a demand like that? You could argue that Sidious' hand was guiding the project, but it's never explicitly stated. Which would be okay if it were a minor detail, but the mystique of Syfo-Dyas, the creation of the clones and the existance of Kamino are ALL that happen in the first half of the film.

However, I do respect your opinion, Mccartney. I just strongly disagree with it.

 

Oh gosh, just go watch RLM.

 

I prefer and watch pre-Special Edition, which actually encompasses about two versions. Now that I have the Despecialized version of the movie (but not yet the other two) that's what I watch. Before I got the Despecialized Edition, I watched the theatrical version on the "Bonus Disc". Before that DVD came out, I watched the widescreen "One Last Time" THX VHS released in 1995. Before that, I watched what I recorded from The Disney Channel in 1990. Before that, I saw it in the theater in 1986, about ten times on HBO in 1983, and in the theater in 1980 the same time The Empire Strikes Back came out.
Seeing it in the theaters since 1997 was really to see it in a theater again, 2) out of curiosity for the changes, 3) to see it with a crowd and on the big screen at Celebration V. Oh, and 4) to listen to the commentary track on the DVD.
Pre-Special Edition is the movie I know that was ingrained into my brain years ago. It's the movie that plays in my head if I'm just daydreaming. No need to explain why I prefer pre-Special Edition.

I liked the mystery angle, but it is obvious a lot of stuff was abandoned by the time Episode III came around in response to criticism and in favor of more lightsaber action. It was too vague for average viewers who couldn't understand things like how Dooku's offer to Obi-Wan about joining him was echoing Vader's to Luke in TESB, and the Sifo Dyas thing just didn't work. The ten year gap was the biggest problem, and that along with changing Padme from a queen to a senator just looked indicative of poor story arc planning. A lot of people expressed approval of AOTC when it came out, simply because it got to the familiar stuff of STAR WARS history like the Clone Wars, stormtroopers, the Lars connection, and was seen largely as an improvement over TPM, but then there was suddenly more of a backlash as people saw it several times, I guess. It works as really good eye and ear candy, and I'm mostly driven by the interest that was built up by starwars.com and the internet before its release that made it seem like it had a lot of potential, and that has allowed me to overlook its problems more than I can overlook the problems of the other two prequels.

 

When Han and Chewie fly into give Luke a clear shot at the exhaust port has to be one of the best moments of the whole saga!

 

Han shot first? This is news to me.

What do you mean? The CGI in that film was impressive!

I loved that scene where Han met with Jabba.

 

Any and all, as the universality of the myth scales to anything just fine.

 

Despecialized
http://www.tested.com/art/movies/384046-star-wars-despecialized-edition-remastered/

 

The original, I guess. But I watch the Blu-Rays. The purist in me might value the unaltered films more but I would rather sit down and watch the movies in HD than on an old VHS tape. I really don't mind the changes for the most part. I like plenty of them. I guess ANH's got the Greedo controversy though.

 

There is no true and only version. There is only the version you prefer to watch. That's it.

You "know Lucas would like us to think otherwise"? How did you come to the conclusion that this is a fact?

 

The 2011 Blu-ray version is my favorite, and for the record I'm an older fan (I was a kid when ANH was released in '77).

The problem with the '77 version is that, while it was great for the time period, there are a lot of things that haven't held up effects-wise.

That being said, like a lot of fans, I don't like all the additions/changes. In the future, I envision a possible Purple-ray DVD (LOL) that will allow fans to pick and choose which changed scenes they want to see & which they want to remove. Here's my perfect version:

Changes I like:

Destruction of the DS & Alderaan - the "rings" looked great.

The expanded Mos Eisley - liked this, and it gave the city more of a "bustling metropolis" vibe/feel than it had previously.

The revised & improved X-wing formation/attack on the Death Star - excellent, and far superior to the original. IIRC, there were also other X-wing battle scenes that were revised/improved in the '97 SE, and these should be kept in as well.

The Falcon quickly leaving Docking Bay 94 - Much better looking than the original.

Ben & Vader's lightsaber battle on the DS. This will never look perfect, but IMHO this was improved in at least the 2004 DVD & the 2011 Blu-ray. Each improvement was better than the previous version, IMHO.

Jabba's meeting with Han on Tatooine (2004 DVD & 2011 Blu-ray, not the '97 SE): Liked this, and I felt it should always belong in the movie since Lucas originally intended to have this in the '77 film, but couldn't because of special effects limitations of the time. However, the '97 "Grimace" Jabba looked poor, so I'm glad this was improved for the 2004 version.

IIRC, there was a short exterior shot of Obi-wan's hut; this was either added or improved from the original '77 version; in any case, this should be kept in as well.

Changes that should be removed:

Luke's green lightsaber on the Falcon - not sure why this mistake occured, but I only think it can be seen in the 2004 & 2011 versions.

Greedo shooting first - this scene should have been kept as it was in '77, w/Han getting the drop on Greedo - it was perfect.

The additional edited/changed aliens in the cantina. Liked the Wolfman, etc. from the '77 version, and didn't like his being removed & replaced.

Changes I'm indifferent about:

The 2011 revised Krayt Dragon call, and the 2011 rocks concealing Artoo as he's trying to hide during that scene. I don't think either scene added or subtracted much from the film, but that's just me.

I may be missing some, but that's all I can remember right now..

 

I can't work out which version it is that I'm used to. It certainly wasn't the original theatrical version. It might be the laserdisc version? I watched the same 'version' of all three films.

The awful changes include Luke's lightsaber being green on the Falcon, those weird CGI animal things joining the Stormtroopers on Tatooine, then changing the end scene of RotJ to Hayden Christensen. I think this must be whatever version was released after 2005.

Can anyone tell me what the most common/popular version was in the early 2000s? And in what format is it easiest to obtain? That would be the version I watched.

Re: the despecialized editions; I was quite impressed with Harmy's ESB; there were some problems with RotJ (the speeders in the Jabba's Palace scene were quite messy); and while it was good to see Han shoot Greedo first (which I'd never seen before!) it was strange to not see Luke run into Biggs just prior to the Battle of Yavin. Then when Biggs dies it means nothing.