CT 1997 Special Edition nostalgia

I remember catching each of the SEs as they hit theaters. I'd already seen the entire trilogy and fallen in love with it prior to then, but seeing it on the big screen, and with updated special effects no less, I was psyched.

I had such a blast catching those at the theaters; the 1997 SEs will always hold a special place in my heart. Hell, back when they first came out on VHS I started working with my uncle (I was in 7th grade, mind you) cleaning banks. He'd pay me $7 every week for helping him, and by God I saved that $7 a week until I could afford the SE trilogy box set. I still have it too!

 

I remember waiting and waiting for the price to drop below the then current $100 (if I remember correctly) because I was so enthused for the changes - from the 1st viewing I knew there was something missing as regards this "Biggs" guy - to me, that was probably my biggest incentive to get the SE's. Other than that, I can't really remember what the changes were supposed to be other than cleaning up a lot of shots/adding more background (Cloud City), etc.

 

I recently purchased the Five Star Collection DVDs on Ebay. They're unofficial, rare, and they were a bit pricey, but I really wanted them. I'm not sure if I've ever seen the 1997 versions before. I haven't had a chance to watch them in their entirety, but I skimmed through A New Hope. They're non-anamorphic, but they look better than the 2006 theatrical version bonus DVDs.

 

Isn't the 10th anniversary in roughly 4-5 months?

 

I believe that's right. If I recall I think A New Hope was released in January of 1997.

20th anniversary, actually.

 

I had the 97 SE on VHS and watched those films over and over. I loved the introductions to each movie where Lucas spoke about the various changes.

 

Seeing the SE's in theaters was my introduction to the saga. Say what you will about the changes Lucas made, but there's no better way to experience Star Wars for the first time than in a theater.

 

I didn't see the special editions back then (but my uncle owns the VHS collection) but my brother did and he remembered it (my brother is now missing sadly) with nostalgia. Every generation of Star Wars fans grew up with something Star Wars related, be it the original theatrical releases, the special editions, the prequels, or the clone wars.

Also, I thought the 2006 bonus releases were the original 1977-83 versions but I guess not. However, I saw the OT on VHS before it was ever released on DVD, so hopefully those are the theatrical versions. If not, then I hope the original versions are released. It may be possible, since Disney's campaign so far has been to please the OT fans (like myself) and recapture the spirit of the first three films.

 

Sorry the double post was an accident, I have to rely on data.

 

The 2006 bonus DVDs are indeed the original 1977-83 versions. The releases contained both the 2004 releases and the theatrical versions, although many people weren't happy with the quality of the bonus discs.

 

Oh, thank you, now I feel better! Still, I'm glad I saw Star Wars pre-dvd and sometimes envy older fans who saw the films back in the 70s and 80s.

 

So the OOT was released on DVD with the 2006 bonus disc? Where can I get one and is it not worth it due to quality? My VHS will still due fine if that's the case.

Any news on 20th anniversary of SE?

 

You can find used copies on EBay and Amazon, but they can be kind of pricey, and the quality is kind of rough. I would advise either waiting for something official or seeking out Harmy's Despecialized, which are, of course, free and the best available versions of the original unaltered trilogy.

 

Twenty years. Weird.

I was eleven coming on twelve. I remember it very well. Even though I had seen the films countless times before on VHS, this was the first time I was watching them on the big screen. I was so excited to see them; the feeling was the same as if I was watching a film I had never seen before. I remember the cinema being full to capacity. For the first time I wasn’t the only geek or nerd at school who was into SW. All of a sudden it was everyone. All were talking about it. Suddenly, I was “normal”. It was amazing. You had these “old” films that had already been around for years, yet they had the same level of buzz surrounding them as a new summer blockbuster.

 

I had already seen the films but as mention above its great to see on the big screen with your friends and fellow Star Wars fans. Wasn't the wait only a few months in between to?

 

ANH on January 31, ESB on February 21, ROTJ on March 14.

 

When the Special Edition came out in 1997, I was around 7 years old. I didn't see any of them in theaters, but I had some very vague memories of having watched once the original Star Wars from 1977 (A New Hope) on TV, 2 or 3 years before the SE came out, when I was perhaps 4 or 5 years old... So I don't quite remember that...

The only thing I remember from the SE is when I went to a MacDonald once with my parents, I had an AT-AT miniature toy inside my happy meal...

My real nostalgia period was when the DVD box of the OT from 2004 and ROTS in 2005 were both released during the same period and when I was introduced to Star Wars for the first time during my teenage years...

And regarding the trailer for the DVD box of the OT in 2004:



It somehow look quite similar to the SE trailer from 1997:

 

The trailer for the special edition is really really cool. The X-Wing coming out of the TV.

People must have gotten crazy when they saw it.

 

Yes, the OOT was released in limited quantities as bonus discs in the 2006 DVD release. However, the quality is extraordinarily bad. They are non-anamorphic, so if you try to watch them on your modern LED or LCD TV screen, they will not fill up the screen. Most of your TV screen will be empty black space, with just a small square in the middle playing the movie. Also, the colors are extremely faded, so it's hard to watch, it has motion smearing which causes people's faces to turn into blurs or double images at times, and the sound mix is actually not the original at all.

Although there were undoubtedly good people with the right intentions at Lucasfilm who were able to persuade George to release the OOT on those DVDs, many people believe that Lucas intentionally kept the quality in rough shape to deter people from watching them. The most logical explanation is that he did not want the higher resolution of the OOT films to embarrass and look better than the lower resolutions at which he shot Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Due to those movies being video'd and not filmed, they will always be stuck at low resolutions for the rest of time, whereas Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Phantom Menace, Force Awakens, and Rogue One will always be presentable in very high quality.

 

They are LaserDisc transfers, so it's inherently better than any VHS release.

 

I've heard this before, but this hasn't been my experience. It's widescreen, filling the sides of the television with just a little more black space on the top and bottom. Simply using the zoom feature fills in some of that space with no loss of picture but some loss of clarity. It doesn't matter which setting I use on my television, it's always widescreen. If I were to play the DVDs on my laptop, yes, they would be presented in that letterbox format.

 

The SE seemed like only yesterday, yet its 20 years now. That 20 years has gone a lot quicker than the first 20 years from its original release!

 

I love those SE posters to. Have had it as my desktop background for months.

 

How much the Special Edition versions differs from the 2004 DVD box set?