Is Lucas Releasing The Original Star Wars to DVD?

Both are true. George Lucas did indeed swear that he’d never release the original Star Wars trilogy to DVD. Many fans wanted to hold out for the original Star Wars trilogy, but when they heard Lucas guarantee it would never come to DVD, fans went and bought the special edition thinking it would be the only chance they’d have to own the trilogy that started it all.

So what happened?

Lucasfilm Ltd. claims that the reason the original unaltered trilogy is coming to DVD is “in response to overwhelming demand.” However, it’s also no secret that Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. have done everything possible to milk the franchise for every dime possible (even giving theater owners smaller takes than other movies for showing the more recent trilogy).

But it is also true that fans have been requesting and demanding the original unaltered trilogy on DVD. But Lucas new this before publicly stating he’d never do it.

So why is there such a cry for the unaltered version?

When Lucas “updated” the original trilogy, he went beyond digitally enhancing the movie. He actually altered scenes and meanings all together. For example, when Luke Skywalker battles Darth Vader, he chooses to jump to his supposed death versus giving into the dark side. In the original version, Luke is silent when he falls. This makes sense. As a budding Jedi who has made the choice to consciously jump, it makes no sense whatsoever for him to scream. Yet, in the altered version, Lucas has Luke screaming as he falls. The scene is completely ruined because the meaning of the conscious decision of Luke to jump (versus give into the dark side) is completely altered.

Another scene Lucas changed was when Hans Solo shoots Greedo first knowing that Greedo is going to kill him. Lucas massively altered this scene to have Greedo shoot first. Surprisingly, Lucas made Greedo miss (luckily he didn’t alter it to the point of killing Hans Solo – that would require major revisions throughout all three original movies).

It’s one thing to update the visual effects of a movie and add an important scene or two that couldn’t be properly completely during the time period the movie was created. It’s another thing to completely change scenes, which alters the mindset of the main characters and their realistic actions. Why Lucas made these fatal errors in judgment is anyone’s guess.

So the answers to the questions are true, true, and true. It’s true that Lucas swore he’d never release the unaltered version of the Star Wars trilogy to DVD. It’s true that he is now releasing them to DVD. And it’s true that fans have requested the original movies over disappointment at the way Lucas altered the original versions.

The original “unaltered” Star Wars trilogy will be available only for “a limited time” according to Lucasfilm Ltd. - September 12 to December 31, 2006. But no need to worry, because in a few years when they want to make more money from the franchise, it’s likely they’ll find another way to repackage it and release it again for another “limited time only.”

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