The Original Original Trilogy

After years of professing that the original theatrical versions of the first Star Wars trilogy would never be released on DVD, today Lucasfilm has finally succumb to fan pressure.

Back in 1992 we all thought we had purchased "the original, one last time." Today, packaged along with the 2004 digitally remastered "Special Editions," are the films I grew up with.

There's no reference to "A New Hope"; Han shoots first; both Mos Eisley and Cloud City are barely bustling; the Wampa's not scary; Sy Snootles sings "Lapti Nek" and the Ewoks "Yub Nub"; and good ol' Sebastian Shaw stands there at the end with Ben and Yoda.

Presented in non-anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 2.0, devotees are still not happy however. In a recent press release, Lynne Hale of Lucasfilm publicity, announced that "since [the theatrical editions] do not represent George's artistic vision, we could not put the extraordinary time and resources into this project as we did with the Special Editions," and "that we have no plans – now or in the future – to restore the earlier versions."

George is constantly tinkering with his universe, and it's speculated that definitive editions of the movies will be released on the new hi-def optical format, Blu-ray, in the near future. So do we really think this will be the last time the original versions are released, and are they really worth buying now?

With the 30th anniversary next year, the 4th Star Wars Celebration here in LA, the extension of Hasbro's contract through 2018, and two TV series on the horizon, the Star Wars universe is ever expanding!