Saga Is the 1974 draft of Star wars better than the final script?

Draft of star wars, 1974
The empire is headed by the emperor (a normal politician). For thousands of years, the jedi bendu served the emperor as bodyguards. After the great rebellion, the jedi bendu were hunted down by the Knights of the sith, a rival sect who replaced them. Kane Starkiller, a jedi bendu, lives with his two sons, Annikin and Deak on the fourth moon of Utapau. A knight of the sith lands on the planet and manages to kill Deak. Kane and Annikin fly to Aquilae, the last system to resist the empire. Luke Skywalker, a jedi bendu, is a general on Aquilae. Meanwhile, on Alderaan (the capital), the emperor sends his enforcer Darth Vader to conquer Aquilae, bringing a battle star with him. The king of Aquilae is killed, and his daughter Leia must be protected. Prince valorum, a knight of the sith, arrives and helps Darth Vader to hunt Luke down. Luke and Annikin traverse the Aquilean desert to escort princess Leia to the Gordon space station. Luke goes to a cantina in Gordon and meets the urellian Han Solo, a green alien. Luke and Annikin meet Kane there and they make plans. Kane sacrifices himself to provide them with a power pack so they can get off world, since Kane is a cyborg. The crew try to get off world, but are intercepted by valorum before they escape. Leia develops feelings for Annikin. Imperial ships shoot the crews ship, and they are forced to eject in life pods, landing on the planet yavin. Annikin tries to find Leia, while the rest of the crew are greeted by Owen Lars of Bastine, who lives among the wookies on yavin. Owen Lars informs the crew of an imperial station on yavin. A wookie named chewbacca becomes a follower of Annikin. Annikin meets up with the rest and they find out Leia has been taken to the imperial space fortress/battle star near Aquilae, where she's being tortured by Darth Vader. The crew attacks the imperial station on yavin with help from the wookies. Annikin flies in a ship and lands in the space fortress, disguised. Annikin is captured and interrogated by Darth Vader and Valorum. Valorum frees Annikin, and Annikin runs to find Leia. Meanwhile, Luke and Solo have managed to get the wookies flying the ships from Yavin and attack the space fortress. The space fortress is blown up and Annikin marries Leia, becoming lord protector of Aquilae.

My question is: Do you think this 1974 draft is better or worse than the final product we got in 1977?

 

Much, much worse.

 

And yet....It makes you realize how much George Lucas never changed so much as just reality and other creatives around filtered him out.

 

FYI it's normal for films to go through multiple rewrites... unless you're Rian Johnson with TLJ.
Lucas wrote all the drafts of SW:ANH mostly by himself.

 

I haven't read the full original treatment, but I have read the graphic novel based on it. It's OK, but I prefer the version that was ultimately filmed. It pares down the narrative for a more accessible story, and improves the dialogue.

 

love it

 

Its an interesting what if alternate version (The Star Wars adaptation is an interesting read) but it's missing a lot of pizzazz and pop that makes Star Wars so great. Compare it to the final version of the film it's kind of a drag. Interesting to see that the general shape of the plot didn't change that much.

I do like how the 1st draft opens with an attack on an unsuspecting family by a dark-sider which is really intense, which then the opening of Force Awakens finally sorta did that. Only took like 40 years!

 

If the graphic novel is any indication, then no.

 

That draft read like something Roger Corman would have made, for about $200

 

"Gordon" space station! So much for originality. And "Aquilian" sounds a lot like "Aquilonian" from the Conan universe.
All in all, I think the final result is better.

 

ANH is better, but one thing I do like about the earlier versions is that they more accurately reflect GL's grand vision for the GFFA. The following movies helped in that regard, though. The Lucas Saga as a whole is every bit as grand and vibrant as he always wanted it to be, so... Yeah, ANH is better in the end.

 

during your rewatch keep your eyes open for Han Solo, a green alien

 

Would have loved it, if more elements of the Lost Cut had survived the film making process. Like the Anchorhead scenes and the longer passages of Obi Wan sneaking around the Death Star for example.

 

I enjoy how many discarded ideas make their way into the films later, especially TPM.