As you hopefully know by now, the new Star Wars DVDs are out this week, and for the first time ever, they include the original theatrical release versions of each movie. Unfortunately (and for reasons which might be complete lies), the theatrical versions are taken from laserdisc transfers instead of new film transfers, so they are non-anamorphic and not in Dolby Digital. But hey, it’s better than nothing, and likely the best we’ll ever get.
But this post isn’t about that. Have you ever wondered what is different between the original versions and the 1997 and 2004 editions? Well wonder no more, thanks to Star Wars (not A New Hope; see the changes for more information), The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. It is also notable that they even list the more controversial changes that Lucas has not previously admitted to, such as trimming shots of Imperial soldiers being hit by laser blasts, made to tone down the violence somewhat. Even I was surprised by the number of changes to each of the movies, and I could probably rattle off fifty changes to each movie just off the top of my head. Take a few minutes and check them out.
