Now that the release of the newest installment in the Star Wars franchise is just around the corner, excitement and tension are rising amongst die hard fans and amateurs.

One of these die hard fans went so far as to create what he calls the Despecialized Edition, a custom edit of the original movies. This story is brought to you by our very own @Opium, former staff member at GBAtemp and now journalist at ABC.

Read on: Star Wars Despecialized Edition
Share it with your friends! Good work on the article Dan!

Another interesting read if you haven't stumbled upon it yet: Star Wars "Machete" watching order (whether you agree with him or not, the guy does make quite a few valid points).

 

[pwsincd]

you can get the original theatrical releases on the 6 disc box set from 2008 also.

 

[Jack_Sparrow]

Watched this the other night.

 

[Haymose]

Been watching these and guess what? Han shoots first.

 

[grossaffe]

Then Lucas went against his word and released the original theatrical versions on dvd (in the UK they were released in a tin box edition, which I own) - so, yes, despite some of the info in this thread to the contrary, there has been an official dvd release of the non-special editions.

I want to say that while this may kinda be the case, they were not released in anamorphic widescreen.

 

[astropancakes]

This is cool, but there's a strong rumor that Disney would be releasing Theatrical cuts of the original trilogy. They would also make more money by doing this, so I don't see why they wouldn't. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...-theatrical-cuts-will-be-re-released-20150920

 

[grossaffe]

This is cool, but there's a strong rumor that Disney would be releasing Theatrical cuts of the original trilogy. They would also make more money by doing this, so I don't see why they wouldn't. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...-theatrical-cuts-will-be-re-released-20150920

For the record, the Despecialized Edition was out years before Disney ever acquired Lucasfilm.

 

[richy]

This is cool, but there's a strong rumor that Disney would be releasing Theatrical cuts of the original trilogy. They would also make more money by doing this, so I don't see why they wouldn't. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...-theatrical-cuts-will-be-re-released-20150920

Reading that link, it looks like Fox holds the rights until 2020 and whilst you and I know everyone would benefit and they'd make a ton more cash I can't see them being released before then unless Disney decides to pay them a LOAD of money for the rights, at least, I dunno, seventeen thousand and they'd have to be really be desperate as well

 

[CathyRina]

Someone has made the prequel trilogy watchable too:
http://io9.com/include-these-anti-cheese-star-wars-prequels-while-you-1747781701

While I agree that these edits are better than the originals, the poor editing of the scenes quickly breaks the immersion.
What I recommend is The blackened Mantle. It's a movie out of all 3 prequels (mostly Revenge of the sith) with Japanese dub (so we don't understand a thing) and with subs with completely different dialogue and script. The editing is also really good and the pacing is really great. The creators sat for 3 years to create this almost 3 hour long prequel movie and it definitely payed off.

 

[Subtle Demise]

Reading that link, it looks like Fox holds the rights until 2020 and whilst you and I know everyone would benefit and they'd make a ton more cash I can't see them being released before then unless Disney decides to pay them a LOAD of money for the rights, at least, I dunno, seventeen thousand and they'd have to be really be desperate as well

More like 17 million, and probably with royalties.

 

[osaka35]

 

[tbb043]

In Star Wars, most of the annoying stuff is limited to changes/additions in the Mos Eisley section. Honestly, to me the worst part is after Jabba and Han have their little chat and Jabba's leaving, here comes Boba Fett, who has no business being in Star Wars, and he literally turns and looks right at the camera as if he's saying "Yeah, I'm in Star Wars now."

In Empire, the tinkering with the Emperor scene is kinda hamfisted, but mostly the movie's not too badly altered.

Jedi... obviously adding Hayden is a big dumb, but to me nothing is more annoying, out of the entire series, than how they changed the songs in Jabba's palace and at the end during the celebration in the Ewok village. I've watched the original version so much that changing the music just comes off as incongruous to what my brain is expecting that I can't deal.

 

[D34DL1N3R]

The Star Wars: Revisited fan-edits are far cooler than the "Despecialized" versions. Even if ANH is the only one released thus far, a huge amount of work has already been done with ESB. I consider ANH Revisited to be the definitive version of the movie.

https://swrevisited.wordpress.com/anhr-change-list/

 

[coveiro24]

Just watched, poor editing...

 

[marduk666]

Usefull Information:

The Despecialized editions are 720 AVCHD To be played on a bluray player or computer.
The Quality is supurb.
The 2008 "Original" versions were just the laserdisc transfers and of poor quality.
The Blu-Ray has terrible color.
Special Edition Changes are obvious and the CGI is now painfully Obsolete.
The Despecialized Editions are Nearly Flawless.
Despecialized has the Original Theatrical Soundtrack and has subs for almost every language you could speak.
The Blu-ray editions are an abomination.


THE DESPECIALIZED EDITIONS ARE DEFINATELY THE ONLY WAY TO WATCH THESE MOVIES!

I REPEAT...
THE DESPECIALIZED EDITIONS ARE DEFINATELY THE ONLY WAY TO WATCH THESE MOVIES!

Current Versions are

Star Wars 2.5
Empire Strikes Back 2.0
Return of the Jedi 2.0 Workprint
This is a recently updated workprint made with higher quality sources. But as a workprint it may have some flaws. but it is the recomended version to watch by the creator. (If you don't want to watch the workprint watch 1.0. It is what I watch and it is fantastic.

Praise Be to Harmy....The man who saved Star Wars..
Live Long and Prosper.

 

[duwen]

The 2008 "Original" versions were just the laserdisc transfers and of poor quality.

Spoken like someone who's never experienced laserdisk... moreover, they weren't just the laserdisks 'ported' to dvd - they were the same remasters, but to suggest they were poor quality because of this is unfair.
Laserdisk is superior to dvd in a number of ways; picture quality wise, they're at least comparable - and depending on whether the LD was CLV or CAV format picture quality was often better than dvd. Dvd audio doesn't even compare to LD audio - dvd audio is compressed, where as LD is uncompressed and still supported 5.1. Laserdisks biggest negative is how restrictive the format itself is - each of the Star Wars films would require 3-4 sides of a disk, meaning 2-3 interruptions to the viewing experience while the player changed sides or you physically had to change disk.

I do agree that for anyone who doesn't own a prior release of the original theatrical editions the despecialized versions are the best way to see the original trilogy... but I disagree that they're the only way - personally, I have no problem with the hi-quality rips I created of my 2008 dvd's; cropped to original theatrical ratio, upscaled to 720p using some decent HQ filters... admittedly they're not quite as nice looking as the despecialized editions, but they rival the quality of any dvd release of the original special edition trilogy, plus they're the legitimate original trilogy, not fucked about with by Lucas or any fans.

 

[Obveron]

I downloaded the despecialized edition almost 2 years ago.. curious why this is getting attention only now..

 

[grossaffe]

I downloaded the despecialized edition almost 2 years ago.. curious why this is getting attention only now..

It's gotten attention in the past. Current events clearly make it relevant again. Also, the project continues.

 

[CathyRina]

I downloaded the despecialized edition almost 2 years ago.. curious why this is getting attention only now..

I think the episode 7 hype made many fans marathon the series, me included. Some of wich prefer the original version, giving this edit an attention spike again.

 

[grossaffe]

Just watched IV and V today with some friends. Going back tomorrow for VI and then a trip to the theater for VII.

 

[Deleted User]

I've got limited edition DVDs that come with the originals as well as a Lego Star Wars 2 PC demo.