Unaltered STAR WARS Trilogy

To Appear On DVD

By Rich Drees

     May 4, 2006- In an unexpected reversal of his previous statements on the subject, George Lucas has announced that the original theatrical versions of his classic Star Wars trilogy will be made available on DVD later this year. Previously, the director had stated that the 2004 “Special Edition” releases of Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return Of The Jedi (1983) – themselves tweaked versions of what appeared during their 1997 theatrical release – were the definitive versions of the film and the only versions that would be available in the future, essentially making the original versions seen in movie theatres lost films.

     "Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. in a press release posted at the official Star Wars film site.

     When Lucas re-released the films theatrically in 1997, they sported several changes which Lucas said were made to bring the films more in line with the prequel trilogy he was in the beginning stages of production on.

     However, many fans of the films were upset with the changes for a variety of reasons- digitally created visuals replaced visual effects originally created with models and animation, character moments were altered and scenes which offered repetitive plot information inserted. The original versions of the films routinely appeared on various internet website

     (For FilmBuffOnLine’s view on the Star Wars Special Editions click here.)

     With Lucas remaining adamant that the “Special Edition” versions of the films would be the only version to be available, fans protested, creating websites and circulating petitions. With the 2004 DVD release of the films, Lucas seemed to only solidify his position.

     However, the availability of the original versions of the films will last for a short time. The DVDs are scheduled to hit store shelves on September 12 and be for sale through the end of the year. Each film will be packaged in a 2-disc set with its “Special Edition” counterpart.