CT 1997 Special Edition nostalgia

I saw a thread in the prequel forums for prequel nostalgia. This brought to mind something that's full of nostalgia for me: the 1997 Special Editions. They remain my favorite versions to this day. I love how we get the galaxy-wide celebrations and new music, but still have Shaw as Anakin. I also love how the colors aren't dull but aren't tinted to death either and how the movies were marketed as "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi".

 

Yeah and how ANH Jabba looks so photo realistic

 

Can't go past this for the nostalgia factor:

 

17 years old already! It was great to see the amount of TV promo these got back in 97, it took me back to the days of their original release and of course they were fantastic to experience again in the cinema. I must have put on 2 stone just trying to collect the tazos that were in Walkers crisps

My only complaint was the flimsy cardboard packaging the subsequent video release came in, it was too easily damaged.

 

Yea the top of my vhs set is torn off

 

I'm pretty sure I have a load of TV interviews and reviews from 97 stashed away somewhere on an old VHS tape.

 

That trailer made me want to watch the trilogy right now

 

I was in 7th Grade when these came out and I remember being so excited to get to watch them in the theater the first time. Prior their release, I remember there was about 6 months of TV specials on FOX, and my parents even took me out of school early (it was towards the end of the year anyway) to let me see STAR WARS in the theater. Up until then I only had versions of the movies recorded from SiFi with Carrie Fisher presenting throughout (though I really wish I still had those tapes now).

 

The Star Wars Renaissance at its peak...And about 13 years without being able to see the OT in theaters again. It was worth enduring most of those questionable special scenes all in all.

That's when the countdown for the prequels really began for me.

 

In actual fact the special editions were a great way of getting the SW band wagon going again in time for the PT.

 

I remember the trembling of the speakers when the Star Destroyer first flew overhead. I must have seen it at least 4 times in the theater.

Eating Lays' Potato Chips so I could send away for the Spirt of Obi-Wan figure. The gastrointestinal trauma of too much Taco Bell for the premiums. My mom going to Wal-Mart when the put the new figures out, so she could get the latest ones.

There was hope then. Before the dark times. Before the Phantom Menace.

 

Yeah, seeing these movies on the big screen was a blast. Up until that point, I had only seen ROTJ in the theater as a kid. I went opening night for all three films. The crowds were *soo* into it.

Actually, ha ha, for the rerelease of ROTJ my friend and I smuggled liquor into the theater to play the "SW drinking game." That scene on Endor when Han turns to Luke and Leia and is like "Hey, it's me!" Yup, I still remember that being the moment when I laughed and realized: "Oops, I'm drunk."

Ahh, college…!

 

I have some nostalgic connection to the SE. I had seen the three films, but most importantly, the SE was my first time seeing them in the theater. My mom took us to see Star Wars, my aunt took us to see ESB, and my mom took us to see ROTJ. We caught SW and ROTJ on opening day. As a twelve year old, this was very exciting to me. And then I remember preordering them on VHS thru QVC during one of their Star Wars specials!

 

Great thread. The below is an edited re-post from the a thread I created years ago on this board; since that thread is locked due to age, I thought I'd re-post it here.

Re: the SW: SE's, I remember really looking forward to seeing these versions of the films in the theatre in the months prior to their release. I actually was surprised that Lucas was going to update the effects and re-release them theatrically. Though this has happened to a greater extent since then (i.e. older movies getting upgrades), at that time (late '96/early '97), this was unusual, and therefore something new and exciting.

When I saw the Special Edition of "SW: ANH" in the theatre in January 1997, I was blown away - not only was the print of the film the best and sharpest I had ever seen, but I really liked most of the updated special effects, especially the expanded Mos Eisley, the scene when Han ran into 50 troops instead of 10 on the DS, and the final DS battle, which put the previous DS battle (from the original film) to shame. It would have been enough just to see the original film in the theater again (since I hadn't seen it that way since the '79 re-release when I was in elementary school), but the enhanced effects were the icing on the cake. I've always thought that the theater is the best place to see these SW films, and this was definitely an incredible movie experience!

Seeing "Empire" in the theater in February 1997 was superb, almost as good as seeing ANH (though most fans prefer "Empire" over ANH, ANH is still my favorite). I liked how they didn't add/enhance too much to this film, since it was perfect when it was first released in 1980. The scenes they did add (including a more extended scene with the Wampa, and more extended Cloud City sequences) were so seamless that if you hadn't know they were there, they seemed like part of the original film.

Seeing ROTJ in March 1997 was great as well, though this is my least favorite SW film (even counting the prequels). However, I liked the whole Jabba the Hutt/Tattoine sequence (even the additional scenes), and didn't mind the added snout onto the Sarlaac. The DS space battle near the end of the film was mind-blowing to see on the big screen!

It was also cool to see SW getting attention again in the media (newspapers, TV, etc.) because of the Special Editions, after being out of the mainstream for many years.

From a collecting perspective, I enjoyed getting some of the Fast-food related toys associated with the films, the new Special Edition CD soundtracks which had all of music in the order it was in the films, & the Hasbro figures.

In a way, I actually enjoyed seeing these Special Editions in the theatre more than the prequels, since I'm of the generation that saw these films in the theatre when they were first released. So, the nostlgia aspect was very strong with these re-releases.

 

I remember being excited the movies were going to the theaters again, and hearing it from someone. I didn't know it would mean new scenes and replacement scenes. This is the beginning of people having deeply divided opinions about Star Wars, and the beginning of people expecting every movie to get new scenes or updated visual effects after a few years. I wish the Trilogy would have just been released as it was to show how good it looked in 1977, 1980, and 1983 and that it still held up compared to everything new.

 

I remember going to see something unmemorable at the cinema and the SE trailer coming on. The one where the X-wing flies out of the TV screen. I nearly fell out of my seat with excitement! Ah, heady days... I agree that it was a peak of SW fandom in a way, waiting for these editions to come out. Really very little to squabble about at that point.

 

I remember the ESB/ROTJ trailer that aired before ANH. The audience literally hollered and cheered when that was finished. Actually, I still consider that ESB/ROTJ trailer one of my favorites of all time. It's just so good! I dare you to watch it and not want to immediately watch the movies.


EDIT: Aw, heck. I might as well try and post it now:

 

Does anyone know the name of the voice in that trailer? He use to do lots of trailers. It's not Don LaFontaine, or Hal Douglas...I don't think.

 

Remember when GC Jabba looked even worse? Or before "who shot first" meant anything? Or how the krayt dragon still sounded like a dewback?

Ahh, good times...

 

Oh, I remember exactly what I went to see, simply because the SW SE trailer was advertised as preceding it. A heap of steaming cinematic waste by the name of Independence Day - extremely memorable for its utter lack of any merits on any level whatsoever.
Fortunately, the cinema I saw it at was also screening a new print of 2001: A Space Odyssey, so I got to see the original trailer for that alongside the SW one. My twelve bucks was spent on four minutes of worthwhile viewing instead of two.

 

Ha ha, you would've loved it!! I do remember one of the rules was "drink every time Yoda speaks backward" or something like that. So you can imagine, after that scene with him and Luke on Dagobah, you're pretty much toast.