I'm looking to get the original trilogy on DVD, but I'd rather have them modified as little as possible... With that in mind, where do I go for something like that? I don't want the brand spanking new version with everything digitally altered, I want the originals ya know, all original and stuff.
Anyone have some help as to where to buy these?
Yours Truly,
THE Matt
They can be found but not at retail outlets. Do a google search or check Ebay.
Keep in mind these will be transfers from Laserdisc to DVD. There are *no* official DVD versions which are not the special editions. However there are companies in China and other countries that do this with good equipment so they are quite good. Professional looking cases, etc.
The only way you're going to get that is as a bootleg. I believe there are people who have made DVD transfers from the old trilogy Laserdiscs, which predate the "Special" Editions, and are completely unaltered. Han shoots first, non-shit Ewok music at end of ROTJ, etc. I have no idea how good the quality on something like that would be, though.Originally Posted by Matt Perkins
Check eBay. Or wait for Lucas to die.
Are the laserdiscs actually "the original" version? Lucas was messing with modifications from *very* early on. The "close the blast door" joke went away in the first re-release. They added the "Episode IV: A New Hope" subtitle in the first post-Empire release.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when Lucas is safely dead, and Criterion or someone comes out with a remastered edition of the *original* film.
the LD version from the THX box is more or less the same version that was on VHS for 15 years. It's slightly modified from the original theatrical release (as noted) but is what most people would consider "the original version"
Yeah, I don't need absolute original, just as close as I can get on DVD... And a link to where I might buy those. :D I'm useless for determing which version is which, so I always wonder if I'm buying the right thing on websites I've seen.
I hate that I am holding on to the VHS copies of these :(
Forget the "original" version, just go with the version you remember. I saw Star Wars in theaters 4 times, and the movie changed between viewings. I clearly remember Vader saying "prepare my personal fighter" or something similar in the first few screenings, which was cut in the next two.
H.
I remember Vader saying that, too.
What bugs me is I always remember a scene in Tron, after Flynn stops playing (throws away the ball) during the Jai-Alai game, you see a cut to a kid playing the game in Flynn's arcade and saying, "What the hell is wrong with this? Where's Flynn?"
No idea how that scene got in the version I saw in the theater, but never saw that scene since.
If it's not a LD transfer, it's not the original (such as you could get). The originals have never been committed to DVD for distribution, per Lucas' mandate. He hates that it's out on LD and VHS, really.
Fair enough, cuz we hate him.
I have the original versions on VHS (the widescreen THX remaster release), and watched them a while back to refresh my memory on them. Really, aside from Greedo shooting first and that stupid Jedi Rocks sequence, the only reason to prefer the old versions is nostalgia. Which, I suppose, is as good a reason as any, but it strikes me as silly. All the changes to Empire are improvements, and the Death Star battle upgrade alone justifies the existence of the SEs, IMO.
That said, bootleg DVDs of the originals are pretty easy to come by. I've seen some extremely nice sets with custom packaging and extras discs, even. Just keep an eye on eBay.
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