This may have already happened in the US, but here in the UK next week we get the limited edition DVD release of the original theatrical cuts of episodes 4,5 and 6 (you know- the good one's). This is very exciting as this is how I (and millions of others)remember them the first time round, before George went revisionist CGI happy and ruined-erm...updated them.
Proper band with proper music in Jabba's bar, proper Ewok music at the end of Jedi, did I mention no jarring use of CGI already?

If you havent seen them as god intended them to be, it is essential that you do so. Simple as that.

YESSS! About time.

Thats my girl! I knew this would put a smile on your face Harlan

I think this has happened but not for sure. I actually had seen this on its debut at the drive-in with the family back in 1977, who would have thought it would turn out so big. I've seen it and its predecessors many times in their original format but I also like the newer additions ... but to really enjoy the newer changes you have to first see it in its untouched original format ... you know what I mean.

How many versions of the same thing are going to come out. George done good with Star Wars and now he is making sure he can get paid every penny he can make from the fanatical supergeeks (like Cord and Harlan) .

I havent never seen the original originals, only the digitally remasted, CGI'd ones, may check these out since I havent seen the star wars films in a little while. But the original doesnt have that big monster hole in the ground thing in Empire Strikes Back, that was cool. Do the lightsabres look like torches (flashlights)?

Thanks for the heads up.

What did you think of the swordsmanship in the newer star wars films? I think they were loosely based on Samurai Bushido with added jedi style. Some bits were very Chinese Taichi long sword too.

Ah ayub, you simply werent there

in their original form, the movies look better- they have more character and better music. There are more henson creature shop creations, less CGI so the interaction between actor and 'thing' are much more real. They just work better as films- dont knock it till you tried it

the newer films fight style was ok. I particularly thought Darth Maul vs Qui Gon and Obi Wan was incredible, but the rest of it never quite matched that level (they killed him too soon IMO- he deserved a rematch).

None of the fights after had the 'emotional content' to get you involved. When Luke fights Vader it feels important, and the actors convey the life or death gravity of it very well. The later movies were more 'twirl sabre, look cool, force slap 20 droids.' Rinse, repeat.

Episode 3 was the best of them. Menace had young Anakin (the force may have been strong in him, but his acting skills were terrible). Attack of the clones was just too much talking to justify a very linear final set piece (padded it out badly), then Revenge of the Sith saved the 'second' franchise's a$$ by being good all the way through. The fact that critics were suprised shows how far the Star Wars rep had sunk with the prequels.

The old school star wars will never have the 'wow' factor they did when they came out. in today's world of CGI anything can be filmed, back then there simply was nothing like them in the movies. They made todays blockbusters possible.

While the recent films were somewhat entertaining they just didn't sit right with me. They didn't have the epic feel of the "original" films. While it was nice to see some things explained, not much of a reader here, i almost felt like the three newer films were only done as a means of explaining the original films and not in an effort to complete a series. One of the major bugs i have with the recent set is how everything looks more futuristic and technologically advanced than in the previous films which were supposed to take place much later. I understand the use of better technology to improve the "realism" but continuity should have some play here as well. While i would love to see the last three episodes done i would hope they would be done differently, less cartoonish. One thing i will not miss however is the little squares around all the ships and other special effects from the original trilogy.

I can fully see why he started with the trilogy he did though. If he had started from the beginning the series most likely would have died with the first movie.

I totally agree, the CGI's such as the stupid thing jumping around with the comical voice were too much. I hated that thing and have already wiped its name from my memory and hopefully soon I can wipe it all together as well.

You are also right, the first ones were epic on a grand scale that the newer ones will never touch. For the Empire Strikes Back I stood blocks down and around the corner. People were watching the movie which we arrived early enough for but there was no chance getting in as that was how many people there were lined up and for hours on end. Then to have people come out and say "Darth Vadar was Luke's father" drove you nuts but you wanted to see it none the less.

The Empire Strikes back was a movie though I had seen it I wanted to see it again immediately. I'd fantasize in my head being Luke Skywalker running through the marshes with Yoda on my back ... it was just that dang good. The cold planet and the battle that happened, my friend and I would play that in the snow on nights for hours. Like said earlier, there was nothing like it out there and for me was one of the true epic movies of all time and one of the first trilogies that I remember. You just had to be there ... and I was ... a kid ... and I ate it up.

The technological advancement of the newer movies though happened prior to the originals is just one of those things that you try to forget and explain away ... the same thing happened for Star Trek Enterprise and the orginal Star Trek series. Back then they had no idea what things were going to be like and it would have been absurd to make things look that poorly done now.

Its seems that with the later three they were trying to target a younger audience too, that ruined a lot of the star wars appeal for those who had seen the others long ago.

"Long ago"...summmer of '77...what a movie!