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Star Wars: A New Hope VHS - 1990 Edition (runtime approx 2:01:00) - Patreon Version (Patreon)

Published:
2026-09-08 16:00:12
Imported:
2026-09
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Content

Hi Everyone!This one is a long time coming! Ever since we first watched Rogue One last year we've wanted to rewatch A New Hope, and we thought it would be fun to watch the original theatrical edition! Turns out that's a little harder than I first guessed haha, and long story short we now have 4 VCRs in various states of disrepair. It was totally worth the effort though! Not only was it fun seeing it as close to theatrical as we could, but there's also just something a bit magical about watching it on a big old glowing CRT with a VCR. Logistically I'm not exactly sure how it will line up for y'all to watch this with us, but I'm open to suggestions to help make it easier for you!Hope you'll join us!YouTube: https://youtu.be/1K9CWuz7YVM

Files

Star Wars: A New Hope VHS - 1990 Edition (runtime approx 2:01:00) - Patreon Version

Comments

Barry

I hope we can eventually get a remastered release of the original versions.

Jon Johns

So, I have the DVD trilogy that includes the original theatrical release. I've watched all three numerous times, and the altered newer versions, and my DVDs are pretty legit! I also have a copy of "4K77", and the other two fan made upgrades. There are also "Despecialized" versions! The story behind the fan upgrades are fantastic! I can't recall all the details, but, supposedly they found original 35mm reels in different countries and scanned each cell, frame by frame, then meticulously "fixed" every frame (removing scratches, fixing celluloid age, etc) then fixing the color grading, and upscaling it 4K. (Actually? I think scanned 35mm frames are around 8K by default, so, technically downgraded to 4K?) It's all incredibly interesting! And all because no one in power wants the original theatrical release restored? Well, supposedly, Disney is releasing the original soon in theaters? We'll see 🤷‍♂️. You, anyone, can buy the DVDs, I just saw them on amazon! They are from 1997, and have BOTH versions, George's version, and the OG theatrical release. The '77 version on the DVD is not restored, or upgraded, it's scratchy, and grainy, and very nostalgic.

Jay Davis

Hope y'all do the non-reLucasified version of Empire too. Has one of my favorite Vader lines in it that version that was replaced for no apparent reason. "Bring my shuttle."

Jon Johns

4K77 is fantastic!!

Jon Johns

I would pay real money to see Cassian and Han have a conversation.... 😭😭😭 Cass was so far ahead of Han, in regards to being a less selfish "rogue" petty criminal. Cass would have eyed Han through Luthens eyes, and really judged him unfairly, maybe.

Jon Johns

You know, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but the Family Guy trilogy, where Peter tells the story of each movie is fairly funny. And has George's blessing! I know the first one is called "Blue Harvest", after the secret code name they used for Star Wars to "hide" it from prying eyes. One is called something like, "Something Something Dark Side" or something like that. I think the three are streaming on Prime Video, but might be elsewhere in your neck of the woods.

Hans Engelen

Yes but the real original ones then. Here are the major distinct versions of the original trilogy in chronological order: Original Theatrical Releases Star Wars (1977) — later retitled A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Return of the Jedi (1983) 1981 Re-release Star Wars re-released theatrically; "Episode IV – A New Hope" subtitle added for the first time 1997 Special Editions (theatrical) All three films re-released with CGI additions, re-edited scenes, extended shots (e.g., Mos Eisley expanded, Jabba scene added to ANH, Greedo shoots first/simultaneously) 2004 DVD Release Further CGI revisions; most notably Hayden Christensen inserted as Anakin's Force ghost in ROTJ; "Yub Nub" replaced with new Ewok music 2011 Blu-ray Release Additional changes including Darth Vader's "Noooo!" added in ROTJ during the Emperor scene; further CGI tweaks across all three 2019 Disney+ / 4K Subtle further changes; some 2011 Blu-ray alterations partially reverted (e.g., the Ewok blink fix); available in 4K HDR Notable: The unaltered 1977–1983 theatrical cuts have never received an official HD release. The closest official version is the 2006 DVD bonus disc (a non-anamorphic NTSC transfer of the 1993 Laserdisc masters).

Thomas Yanez

Oh. Oh, my. Hold on, wait for me! *runs off to go digging through the archives*

James W.

YES. I really dislike what they did to Luke and Vader in Empire. Small changes that ruin whole scenes. The only thing I dug in Empire was the visual upgrade to Cloud City.

Guybrush Threepwood

Looking forward to next year when the original theatrical release will be rereleased in cinemas!

James W.

This made me happy. Ben Burtt is the sound designer for Star Wars and so many other things, he created the voice of R2, the Tie Fighter scream, light sabers, so many iconic sounds. He is like THE sound design guy. Did the vocalization for Wall-E an EVA too iirc. Not that you need a bunch of homework, but you had so many questions about behind the scenes stuff that I recommend doing some digging on YT to find the old BTS documentaries. Before LOTR I think Star Wars has the most extensive preservation of the making of the films. There were features on chat shows when I was kid, like this one called "Evening Magazine" which I think was just for the SF Bay, but since Lucasfilm was nearby they seemed to be able to get access for cool little features around the time ROTJ came out. There was an interactive CDROM that came out before the Prequels called "Star Wars: Behind the Magic" and it compiled a lot of the the making of materials for the original trilogy and had a teaser for TPM. Probably hard to find and might not work on a modern OS, but a cool way to deliver a Star Wars encyclopedia. There are also a lot of making of books. If they are still in print I recommend the "Art of Star Wars" books for the original trilogy. They release them for nearly every Star Wars project and chronicle the visual development of each. The Original Trilogy ones are my favorite but they just released a book that covers season 1 and 2 of Andor that is fantastic. It has concept art, costumes, set design, all of the things. Great book. I don't have access to Disney Plus anymore but there has to be a Star Wars or ILM documentary on there that delves into the OT.

spacious_recroom

I also have the 1993 "The Definitive Collection" original trilogy on LaserDisc . With the exception of a new THX audio mix, scratch and dirt removal, and color balance changes, it matched the original theatrical releases. 🤓😄

WastedPo

I'm still perplexed how/why Disney hasn't released remastered versions of the original cuts of the original movies. They'd sell like hotcakes on Bluray to all the old school geeks out there like me. My best guesses are (a) owning and distributing the true original cuts of the first trilogy was never in the contract that Disney signed. Maybe Lucas is so irrationally critical of those cuts that he didn't want to "risk" them ever having a clean release. (b) I have a horrible worry that the original prints of the original trilogy no longer exist anymore.

WastedPo

As much as I love that you're going TRUE "old school" and watching a VHS version, assuming you'll continue with this, maybe for "Empire" and "Return of the Jedi" you can hunt down the online versions of the "DeSpecialized" versions of those two. That way you get the best of all worlds: The best quality version of the original cuts of those films.

King_Panarisi

There is a Youtube channel called 'Luke Skywalker' that has 10 to 15 ish minute videos where you see a comparison of all changes made in all the original trillogy movies, would be a cool side reaction.

ButtercupsTrueLove

Because this will be an official Lucasfilm restoration, I do expect a Blu-ray and 4K release on disc at sometime in the future. The time and expense to do a proper restoration is not trifling so it would make sense to recoup some of the costs by banking on the popularity of the restoration.

Kenton Kruger

So I watched the first half of this reaction and tapped out. I used to love the original trilogy, went to see the first when it came out for my 6th birthday, so the original trilogy hit the perfect time for my childhood. Seems all the stuff that has followed has tarnished the whole thing enough for me not to really enjoy sitting though a whole viewing. Guess I'll check out the YouTube edit.

JaxDanger97

So awesome you guys did this; have not seen another reactor go to the trouble; I watch all three original theatricals every 5/4 (have them on the bonus discs of special edition DVDs from way back); to go to trouble to get a tape and working VCR is committed! And like most fans I'm with Chandra, nothing needed fixed!!

Michael

Thank you for making it difficult to sync up, I have to dig out my VCR and if you continue this to Jedi I’m Fucked I don’t have a VHS of it

ButtercupsTrueLove

My recollection of the original theatrical release that I saw in 1977 at the Coronet Theatre in San Francisco is that Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker were not credited as the voices of C-3PO and R2-D2 when the end titles rolled, and neither was James Earl Jones credited as the voice of Darth Vader. This was changed at some point, likely when "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" was released and when "Star Wars" came to home video on VHS. I'd be curious to know what Jordan and Chandra's VHS copy shows in the end credits.

David Patterson

The original original didn't have the "Episode IV" banner. and was in the theaters for over a year. Then, when "Empire" was announced, it was pulled and re-released as "A New Hope". I also the DVD set with the original versions, as mentioned elsewhere.

David Patterson

This and Empire are the only ones I can watch. I agree with you rest.

David Patterson

If you have never heard Patton Oswalt's "I will k*** George Lucas with a shovel", you need to check it out.

pawpaw72546

Time to humor an old man as he tells a story! I was 4 years old when SW was originally released. The perfect age to get obsessed with it. And while there were toys and trading cards and such, the idea of a home release was just not there in 1977/78. This was before VCRs! The piece of home media for Star Wars I *did* have as a kid was the Official Soundtrack Album. A double album release that contained the entire soundtrack, including all dialogue and sound effects. Listening to it with your eyes closed was the next best thing to watching it again in the theaters. Due to the fact I listened to the soundtrack so many times, by the time SW did make it to cable TV, or to home release, I was able to annoy my friends for **years** by speaking the movie dialogue, word for word, about 10-15 seconds in advance of the movie. Or let them know that our heroes nearly perished in trash compactor 3263827! Man, kids are jerks! :D Here's an image of that vinyl release. May the Force be with you! https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0916/22/vintage-vinyl-1977-story-star-wars_1_7f77f5fb6f3e2e60ff4c278579edf6d3.jpg

N.T. Stars

Aw man, we don't get the scene of Han and intrusively CGI'd Jabba the Hutt talking, where Han awkwardly walks on his tail, hurting him (which no one would ever do to a violent gangster they owe money to) and then calls him a human being? UNSUBSCRIBE! 😆

Simone's Coconut Squire

Same here. The VHS they have probably has some touch up work to it. There were definitely some effects in the theatrical release that didn’t hold up as well as others.

Jon Johns

Masking! And a few other little things. I watched a documentary about the making of 4K77 and they showed a lot of very minir things they "fixed" while transferring frame by frame the 35mm copy they had. 🤷‍♂️

Ari

I loved that you guys viewed this with a VCR and CRT television. So nostalgic! You're right, audiences were blown away by the visuals and the depth of the story back then. I was seven years old when it was released in the theaters and saw it with my family. No one had ever seen anything like it. It was a phenomenal experience.

Kenny Teeology

The novel for Star Wars actually came out a year before the movie, based on Lucas' screenplay. So, you could say that this movie was technically also based on a book. It was part of the promotion for the movie and they wanted to gauge what audience was out there for this type of story. The movie obviously did much better than how the original book run sold.

Jeff M

For anybody who's interested, I watched this along with 4k77 and it's basically a perfect sync. There were minor discrepancies around 22:00, 41:30, 1:17:00, 1:30:00, and 1:45:00, all less than a second. Their copy was fast in all instances.

pinkdino99

My VHS copy which somehow survived >1,000 plays had a warp on the bit where you go up to see the destroyer orbiting Tatooine. I'd gotten so used to it that the DVD/ special editions always throw me at that bit. You guys owe it to yourselves to watch Empire of Dreams, the Star Wars trilogy documentary. All your questions are answered and its a fascinating look at both the industry and how much Lucas changed it. Also the Light & Magic series does a deep dive into ILM, the FX studio that made every FX movie you love. Both are so worth your time. The skeleton in the Dune Sea is a krayt dragon. You get to see one in The Mandalorian. That is the noise that Obi Wan makes to scare the sandpeople. My fave part of the original is all the creatures in the Cantina and the lack of CGI rubbish in Mos Eisley (and the CGI stormtroopers riding the dewbacks… urgh !) We really did not need all of that added. And Hamill accidentally shouts "Carrie !" when he gets out his X-Wing. I so prefer this version. One thing that still makes no sense to me is how Luke is given command over his flight with experienced pilots Wedge and Biggs. Don't forget to rewind the video tape !

pinkdino99

"I know a few manoeuvres"... - "Oh my God... he's flying in a STRAIGHT LINE !"

pinkdino99

The subtlest change was prob most effective. When originally composing the snowspeeders vs walkers, they had to lower the transparency on the edges that all had thick black outlines because of the white snow background. So all the black inside the ships on the original were slightly translucent. That's a good thing the VFX took care of.

Hans Engelen

Most of this is things I picked up here and there over the years, can't attest to truth and source. But the originals (35mm film) were already starting to degrade or had degraded. More over the 1997 special editions were physically spliced into the original camera negatives. That is why the 2006 DVD theatrical version were done from the 1993 Laserdisc transfer. The 4K77 version is made (I believe) from surviving theatrical release prints (not the original negative). It sounds like Lucas is the main reason why the originals might never get an official restoration/release, he considers them incomplete (citing limitations in CGI/Effects at the time of creation) and he considers the special editions the definitive version of his 'vision'. Missing once more the point of the story. People want the originals because those are the ones they saw in theaters back then. They are fine owning both versions (hell probably even more than just 2 versions). But then this is the guy who thought it a good idea to release Episode 1 a whole nine months later in Europe than in the US. By the time it got into theaters back here in Europe the whole storyline had been discussed to death on platforms on and offline so that we all over here got spoiler after spoiler... Good job Lucas.

Mike Tinsley

The Family Guy one is awesome, but I think all the Robot Chicken Star Wars specials are top tier.

Brian

I had a similar experience syncing the full reaction along with Harmy's Despecialized version where 4-6 times I just had to do the quick pause-unpause with the reaction to get it back in sync. I think their VHS copy was probably playing a little fast due to videocassette players never being great at timekeeping so the analog motor could have been running the tape with minor speed drift.

MaplenutsReact

Let's just say that when I was buying the VHS on eBay I figured I may as well buy the whole trilogy...

MaplenutsReact

Just head on down to your local Blockbuster and rent one!

MaplenutsReact

I'll definitely try and find some of the documentaries!

MaplenutsReact

Just checked our VHS, and Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker were credited, but weirdly no James Earl Jones!

ButtercupsTrueLove

Thanks much for checking! Maybe my memory fails me about Tony Daniels and Kenny Baker being listed after all but I'm just glad I remembered *something* about what was missing in the end credits.

Jon Johns

Hey Jax! Do you watch on a CRT, or use a modern TV? I have a VHS, but only two tapes I'd ever watch... I've tried a "converter" to digitize my tapes, but they never work 😭. But, mainly, I'd like a CRT retro TV for gaming, since I have 4 old consoles that look terrible "upscaled" to my 55" 4K tv... I'm always curious what others use!

BENDER9000

Carrie Fisher was young. Only 19 when they filmed Star Wars.

Joe W

With respect, with something special like this, perhaps should have made it available via either patreon embedded video or Vimeo and given us the full thing. Because I have nothing to sync with.

Ryan Towell

I saw this in the theater in 77 as a kid. I still remember the first time everyone saw Vader for the very first time ever walk through the smoke in the beginning. He instantly became the ultimate movie villain. I remember he scared me when I saw this. So much so I dressed as him for Halloween after cause he was scary.. :)

james sweeney

Princess Leia (Lois) panics and yells, "We're gonna get pulverized out here!" Han Solo (Peter) calmly responds, "Look, we got four or five of the main characters on this ship. I think we'll be fine."