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Wow. It's been 25 years since the three Star Wars Special Edition theaters were first released to theaters, starting with the ANH: SE on 1/31/1997.
In mid-January '97, I unexpectedly got to see a special "Sneak Peek" of the ANH: SE, courtesy of the Star Wars Fan Club. I was elated to get these tickets in the mail, since I had no idea they were coming ahead of time. And, it was great to see the film theatrically two weeks before the official opening - with a lot of other SW fans. It was the first time I had seen the film in theaters since ANH was re-released in '79, when I was a kid. This time around, the picture looked amazing, and the sound was incredible. It was also nice to note all of the numerous changes/additions. Obviously, the "Greedo shot first" scene got some groans, but IMHO most of the rest of the additions/changes truly enhanced the movie, especially the very much needed enhancements during the Death Star battle.
However, while it was interesting to see a new scene with a young Harrison Ford/Han Solo interacting with Jabba the Hutt in a filmed (but never before released) scene, the "Grimace Jabba" effect(s) did not look that great. (However, the 2004 DVD release enhanced the Jabba effects - vastly improving this sequence).
I then re-watched the ANH: SE on it's official release day about two weeks later, and several times after that.
Later, I saw the ESB: SE (February) and the ROTJ: SE (March). In fact, IIRC I saw ANH, ESB, and ROTJ in theaters all on the same day in March - something I had always wanted to do since the OT days.
The ESB: SE was my favorite of the three. The additional Wampa scenes looked great, as well as the additional Cloud City "crowd" scenes, some added Cloud Cars, etc. Essentially, I found the ESB: SE to, overall, have the most subtle additions/enhancements - which worked well, since the film was pretty much perfect to begin with.
The ROTJ: SE was my least favorite of the three. I didn't just dislike one of the significant changes - I hated this, i.e. the added Jabba's Palace dance scenes. This resulted in the complete removal of a great scene - i.e. the Sy Snootles/Max Rebo/Droopy McCool song/dance number. However, I did like the additional Oola scene (using the same actress from the original 1983 film), the Banthas in the Tattoine desert as the Sail Barge sailed over them, etc.
Here's an interesting article on how the "second coming" of SW started with the new books & comics in 1991 (Heir to the Empire & Dark Empire, respectively), and continued with the POTF2 Kenner toys in 1995, etc. IMHO, these were all leading to the release of these SE films in early 1997 (and later the PT). As the article states, it's also telling that the ANH: SE was the most financially successful of any January-released film.
Going along with this, the theatrical success of the SE's was especially notable, since movie-goers were flocking to the theater to see these older films - despite the fact(s) that these had been available on VHS tape for years & had been released theatrically in the past. Obviously, everyone wanted to see these on the big screen again (or, for the first time):
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In mid-January '97, I unexpectedly got to see a special "Sneak Peek" of the ANH: SE, courtesy of the Star Wars Fan Club. I was elated to get these tickets in the mail, since I had no idea they were coming ahead of time. And, it was great to see the film theatrically two weeks before the official opening - with a lot of other SW fans. It was the first time I had seen the film in theaters since ANH was re-released in '79, when I was a kid. This time around, the picture looked amazing, and the sound was incredible. It was also nice to note all of the numerous changes/additions. Obviously, the "Greedo shot first" scene got some groans, but IMHO most of the rest of the additions/changes truly enhanced the movie, especially the very much needed enhancements during the Death Star battle.
However, while it was interesting to see a new scene with a young Harrison Ford/Han Solo interacting with Jabba the Hutt in a filmed (but never before released) scene, the "Grimace Jabba" effect(s) did not look that great. (However, the 2004 DVD release enhanced the Jabba effects - vastly improving this sequence).
I then re-watched the ANH: SE on it's official release day about two weeks later, and several times after that.
Later, I saw the ESB: SE (February) and the ROTJ: SE (March). In fact, IIRC I saw ANH, ESB, and ROTJ in theaters all on the same day in March - something I had always wanted to do since the OT days.
The ESB: SE was my favorite of the three. The additional Wampa scenes looked great, as well as the additional Cloud City "crowd" scenes, some added Cloud Cars, etc. Essentially, I found the ESB: SE to, overall, have the most subtle additions/enhancements - which worked well, since the film was pretty much perfect to begin with.
The ROTJ: SE was my least favorite of the three. I didn't just dislike one of the significant changes - I hated this, i.e. the added Jabba's Palace dance scenes. This resulted in the complete removal of a great scene - i.e. the Sy Snootles/Max Rebo/Droopy McCool song/dance number. However, I did like the additional Oola scene (using the same actress from the original 1983 film), the Banthas in the Tattoine desert as the Sail Barge sailed over them, etc.
Here's an interesting article on how the "second coming" of SW started with the new books & comics in 1991 (Heir to the Empire & Dark Empire, respectively), and continued with the POTF2 Kenner toys in 1995, etc. IMHO, these were all leading to the release of these SE films in early 1997 (and later the PT). As the article states, it's also telling that the ANH: SE was the most financially successful of any January-released film.
Going along with this, the theatrical success of the SE's was especially notable, since movie-goers were flocking to the theater to see these older films - despite the fact(s) that these had been available on VHS tape for years & had been released theatrically in the past. Obviously, everyone wanted to see these on the big screen again (or, for the first time):
STAR WARS’ Special Editions Cemented the Saga’s Timelessness
25 years ago, the Star Wars Special Editions roared back into theaters, starting a comeback for George Lucas' saga that hasn't ended. The post STAR WARS’ Special Editions Cemented the Saga’s Timelessness appeared first on Nerdist.
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