CT 1997 Special Edition nostalgia

Yes, the sound in the theater where I saw the SE's was amazing; I believe it was Dolby Digital?! I also specifically remember the scene in the trash compactor; the sound of the water splashing was especially loud...

I also remember searching all over to buy the specific Frito potato chip bags w/the info. on the bag that gave instructions on what needed to be done in order to send away for the Spirit of Obi-wan figure....

 

I saw them all at the Odeon Leicester Square in London, as that was where they'd all premiered first time around (when I was still living hundreds of miles away in Liverpool). On the night I went to see RotJ, it turned out some of the cast were there, just hanging out in the bar after the movie. I met Jeremy Bulloch and Warwick Davis, and Jeremy signed the back of my ticket, which is now in a frame on my wall. Good times.

 

I saw the SE's in the same theater and same auditorium I saw ROTJ in when I was a little kid. Just surreal and awesome.

 

I wish Lucas had never fooled with his original masterpieces other than making them look sharper! I was a senior in high school when the rereleases came out - it was for me one of the biggest disappointments of my life! (I'm not exaggerating - although I did like how it showed many worlds celebrating at the end of ROTJ). I hope Disney/Lucasfilm will consider rereleasing the original versions on the big screen - that would make my life complete!

 

Yes, it's almost been 20 years (!!!) and the SE's have become nostalgic. I still have my movie tickets I might even have the Micro-Machines they gave away at ANH. Fond memories of seeing them with my late friend Jim. It was exciting time, with the prequels coming, following everything in Star Wars Insider, and seeing Star Wars Fever capture the world again. I finally got online (AOL of course) just to see Starwars.com and realized that I needed to upgrade! I still remember finally getting to see the Anatomy of a Dewback videos and how exciting that was.

Nostalgia triggers:

#1 song January 1997


Top TV Show January 1997


Getting online in '97


Special Edition trailer

 

Great post, EternalHero. I remember early '97 very well also. At the time, I lived in an area that had movie theaters w/large screens and stadium seating, so I could see these SE's the way they were meant to be seen..

I didn't have home Internet access until late 1998 (crappy dial-up), but do remember getting online at local libraries in early '97 so I could find out about the SE's, the then-new POTF2 figures, etc.

I got the above SE poster back in 1998, and it remains one of my favorite SW posters. Note the poster I have must have been produced earlier than the above one; mine shows the ROTJ SE with the incorrect release date of March 7th, 1997. In any case, it was cool to go to a theatre in March 1997 and have all three Star Wars films playing at the same time...

Side-note: Didn't see ER until the 200X's on DVD (never watched it on it's network TV broadcasts), and I ended up watching the whole series that way - great show. It's interesting that in an episode circa 1995/1996?!, Jake Lloyd (little Anakin Skywalker) made an appearance as a little kid whose mother couldn't take care of him. IIRC, Ewan McGregor (young Obi-wan) also had a cameo on the show, circa 1997/1998....

 

I was 18 in 1997 so I remember things well then too but I only feel nostalgia for the original versions from 77, 80, and 83. So I guess I'm in the wrong place but I'm wondering out of curiosity if any of you at least feel the same way I do about the added scene in Jabba's palace in ROTJ? I think if they had at least left that out I think the '97 editions would have been bearable for me. Any thoughts or should I have just stayed out of this thread? Sorry if so.... :/

 

Never liked the changed Jabba's Palace dance sequence in ROTJ with the new song, Boba Fett hitting on the dancers, the Yuzzum, etc. Terrible CGI work and a completely unecessary replacement.

That being said, I did like some of the ROTJ SE changes. At some point, I hope that they will come out with an advanced (hypothetical) "Purple-ray" DVD set that will allow us fans to pick & choose all of the changes/additions we want in the trilogy, so we can basically create our own preferred version of the films. My perfect ROTJ film would be as follows.

Include - Tatooine:

The extended Oola sequence (filmed with the same actress who played Oola in '83)
The new herd of Banthas in the dune sea.
The improved effects work on the figures walking on the surface of the Sail Barge as it flies out to the Sarlaac
The new Sarlaac snout.

The original '83 Sy Snootles/Droopy McCool/Max Rebo dance sequence/song

Discard - Tatooine:

The extended new SE Jabba's Palace dance sequence/song

Include - Moon of Endor/other planets:

The ending celebration song(s) on all the different planets; I liked this song better than the '83 Ewok song, and it made this final scene much more epic, i.e. the fall of the Empire was being felt all around the galaxy, not just the moon of Endor....

 

I like that idea where you can pick and choose - that would be sweet! And yeah if they followed your layout I would have been very happy with it! And I whole heartedly agree with what you said about the new ending of ROTJ - it is fantastic! Even though I always watch the original versions that are on the bonus DVDs after I finish ROTJ I always pop in the new version just to watch the celebration scene! :]

 

This is the best trailer ever. I feel like watching them right now.

I was 13 when the Special Editions were released and it couldn't have come at a better time in my fandom - I had been watching the THX tapes non-stop, collecting the POTF line, and playing Shadows of the Empire and Rogue Squadron on my N64 all the time. And then...BOOM! Star Wars! On the big screen! Went opening day and the place was just packed. Three separate lines. Sold out showing with fans. It was glorious. And of course I saw Empire and Jedi weeks later. My big regret is that I didn't see them more than once each or try and do a Trilogy day which was actually feasible once Jedi was released and A New Hope and Empire were still playing.

 

Experiencing the revised ROTJ ending for the first time will always be one of my favorite Star Wars memories. Jedi was always my favorite growing up, but I liked it even more after the SE.

 

Oh man...not to get too OT but I LOVED Shadows of the Empire, though I could never get past the Boba Fett stage (give me a break, I was in 6th grade when it came out). I never really played video games all that much until that one came out. Rogue Squadron was awesome as well. I had a lot of the POTF line as well...and I think my parents still have them in a bin at our house. I cannot wait to pass them down to my kids one day

 

Just looked - Rogue Squadron didn't come out until 1998, so I must have been confused. Heck, it was almost two decades ago and I'm getting old!

 

Meh -- it's all relative so no big deal! It's all nostalgia inducing nonetheless. Rogue Squadron definitely came out after SOTE but it is one of my favorite series, especially first title for the Gamecube. I really miss those types of games...I wish they would re-release SOTE with updated graphics on one of the next-gen consoles!

 

Upgraded versions of SOTE, Rogue Squadron, and Goldeneye would definitely persuade me to buy a Playstation or Xbox for sure.

 

Bumping this thread because I'm feelin' some Special Edition nostalgia once again; it's been 18 years since I saw ANH: SE in the theater in January 1997 ....I remember I got a "sneak peak" pass to see the ANH: SE in the mail (via the Star Wars Insider) about two weeks before the movie was released to the general public.

And, though I was mixed on some of the SE changes (liked some, didn't like others), that didn't change the fact that my favorite movies of all time were remastered, with high quality picture & sound, on the big screen...for the first time in years...and for the very first time back to back....

I can honestly say that, being a child of the OT (saw the original movies in the theater as a kid), that January - March of 1997 was probably my favorite time for SW fandom; seeing all three movies on the big screen, remastered, was truly amazing; IIRC, at one point all three movies were in the theaters at the same time, and I think I at least saw ANH & ESB back to back one day.....Also, as I mentioned earlier, the then-relatively new POTF2 figures/vehicles were great (including the mail-away offers for the Ghost Obi-wan & Cantina Band members), as well as the fast food promotions, all of the media attention (including numerous magazine & newspaper articles), etc. SW was in the mainstream spot-light once again, after a long hiatus...

Note that though I also truly enjoyed the hype that The Phantom Menace generated in Spring/Summer '99, I didn't like the PT nearly as much as the OT....

 

Yeah, i was 14 and it was cool to see ANH and TESB (I missed ROTJ) on the big screen. But now, the only version that I watch it is the theatrical (original) from 77, 80 and 83, I really don't like any changes in the movies.

 

Agreed - the only removal & also addition I don't like in the ROTJ: SE is the Jabba's musical number; I didn't like how the iconic Sy Snootles/Max Rebo/Droopy McCool scene was completely taken out & replaced by the sub-par Yuzzum/three alien dancers/Boba Fett hitting on dancers scene - awful.

And, yes, Shaw was still the force ghost at the end, as it should have been.

I did like all of the other ROTJ: SE change: I.e., the Sarlaac snout (Though I could take it or leave it), the Banthas in the desert, the improvement re: Jabba's henchmen walking on top of the sail barge, and of course the excellent celebration(s) at the end - not only was the music better, but these scenes made everything more "epic", at least IMHO...

 

I remember going to the theater on Sunday, the 2nd, to watch the matinee. It was weird sitting in a movie theater watching a movie that I've seen on television since I can recall. Even with all the changes that Lucas had made, it was strange. There was a pretty good crowd for a Sunday afternoon and one father had come there with his son, who was probably five, so that he could experience it for the first time and on the big screen to boot. The sound quality in that theater, though, left a lot to be desired. It didn't quite have the bass and oomph that the other one that showed TESB had. Case in point, I could feel the explosions and Lightsaber strikes in my chest while watching TESB. I didn't for ANH and ROTJ.

There was a bit of a buzz in my school, though probably not as big if it was TPM. But I had graduated by the time that film came out. Course, I remember a couple of teachers thinking it was just money gouging to pay for a movie that you can watch at home, despite the changes. They obviously didn't have the kind of nostalgia that comes with wanting to see certain films in theaters again. Much less for the first time. To me, I wanted to do this. I only got to see ROTJ in that format when it came out and then the re-release in 85. And just as I had paid to see TPM for a third time, a couple of years ago, I would have done it again for the other films had the 3D releases gone off as planned.

 

Re-posting the below from my reply in another recent thread on this board - it's more relevant here:

-Going along with the SE nostalgia, I would like to also see the Special Edition versions of the OT on Blu-ray. They were released to VHS back in the late '90's, but at that point I didn't have a VHS player anymore - so, the last time I saw these was in the theater, 18 years ago (January - March 1997).

I like that the SE versions of the films:

1) Don't have the Boba Fett voice-change in ESB...

2) Don't have the Hayden ghost in ROTJ...

-Also - not to get too OT, but I never knew ROTJ was re-released theatrically in 1985; I'm in the U.S., and don't remember that. I'm sure it happened, but it may have been a limited release. I do remember the ANH theatrical re-release in '79, however...

 

I remember when these hit theatres. I went to the opening night of all three. I went there while eating "brownies" and had a blast! The sound was amazing. I remember the films as a youngster, but those memories have faded. These gave me the chance to see them again. From a different view. The one scene that always stuck out to me was in ROTJ. When Fett was kicking it to those dancing girls. That was the best scene with Boba Fett to me. It showed such a different side to him and I was able to appreciate what he was doing.

 

One of the theaters I saw the OT SE's in had Dolby Digital Sound, which was truly incredible - I specifically remember the ANH garbage compactor scene - you could literally hear every drop of water in that sequence - much better than I ever remembered from previous viewings...

 

Blur, yeah the sound was amazing were I seen it. The tie fighters sounded really good were I was sitting.

 

hard to believe it's been 18 years.