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Topic: When did Star Wars become "Episode IV"?

Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 08-25-2002 07:29 PM

Claude wrote:

quote:
As far as I could remember, the original "STAR WARS" opened in Honolulu on two screens on the original release day.

Claude,
I posted a list of all of the first day engagements of STAR WARS earlier in this thread. Honolulu is not on the list.

The film originally opened on May 25, a Wednesday. Some additional engagements were added on the 27th, a Friday. Unlike the May 25 opening, I do not have a complete list of the cities that began running the film on the 27th (I'm aware of about half of them). Perhaps those two Honolulu engagements you are recalling were among them.

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 08-26-2002 05:18 AM

Hi Michael,

It was so long ago, I just cannot remember any more. Since your printed list does not show that Honolulu was among the first to show "STAR WARS" when it opened, I guess I am wrong. Since Honolulu did not open the film in 70mm, I had decided to see it in San Francisco in 70mm on my way home from a national photography convention in Chicago.
While in Chicago, a color lab that had ties with 20th Century Fox and Deluxe Color, invited everyone at the convention to a complementary midnight showing of "STAR WARS" in the grand ballroom at the Hyat Regency O'Hare in Rosemont. The ballroom was packed by 11:30 and the show started on time. A huge portable 'scope' screen , two 35mm projectors and a mono sound system was specially set up in the room. I must amit, the presentation was not bad at all. Because I have not yet caught up with my jet leg, I fell asleep after the first hour. I was not too concerned about missing most of the 2nd part because I was planning to see it in 70mm in San Francisco. Well the day finally came when I was nicely settled in my seat at the Coronet for the 70mm show. Once again because of going to bed late everynight in Chicago, I fell asleep after the first hour again. It was not until a month later that I had an opportunity to see the entire film at the Cinerama Theatre in Honoluly after making sure I was well rested. Even if it was in 35mm and mono like the show in Chicago, I still enjoyed it. I did however get two more opportunities to see the film at the Cinerama and finally in 70mm six track Dolby.

-Claude

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 08-28-2002 03:37 AM

Darryl Spicer wrote:

quote:
There was a three week re-release of star wars in the summer of 1982. That was the last time that prints were struck for the film prior to the special editions.

VARIETY reported that the '82 re-issue prints would be exisiting, rather than new prints.

In the 1985 press release announcing the STAR WARS Triple Feature that would be screened one time (March 28, 1985) in nine North American cities preceeding a RETURN OF THE JEDI re-release, it stated that *new* prints would be struck for STAR WARS, compared with EMPIRE and JEDI being culled from extant prints.

Never mind that I find it hard to believe that anyone would strike NINE expensive 70mm prints for ONE showing! But this is the film industry and stranger things have happened.

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 11-01-2002 02:24 PM

This "When did the EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE tag get added" question was recently asked (and answered) on the official Star Wars Web site.
here

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 02-15-2003 01:37 PM

quote:
As far as I could remember, the original "STAR WARS" opened in Honolulu on two screens on the original release day.

quote:
I posted a list of all of the first day engagements of STAR WARS earlier in this thread. Honolulu is not on the list. The film originally opened on May 25, a Wednesday. Some additional engagements were added on the 27th, a Friday. Unlike the May 25 opening, I do not have a complete list of the cities that began running the film on the 27th (I'm aware of about half of them). Perhaps those two Honolulu engagements you are recalling were among them.

quote:
It was so long ago, I just cannot remember any more. Since your printed list does not show that Honolulu was among the first to show "STAR WARS" when it opened, I guess I am wrong.

I checked into this recently and, Claude, you remembered correctly that Star Wars opened in Honolulu on two screens (the Cinerama and the Kapiolani). However, the engagement opened on June 8, 1977 (the third week of the film's release).

I don't have any details on when the Kapiolani run ended or when the Cinerama switched to a 70mm presentation. By December, though, the Cinerama was the only engagement and was running the movie in 70mm, hyping it heavily in the local newspaper advertising (as it should be!).

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 02-15-2003 03:11 PM

quote:
VARIETY reported that the '82 re-issue prints would be exisiting, rather than new prints.

I ran a copy of all three prints of Star Wars, Empire and Jedi back in 1993 for a THX promotion. I remember seeing 82 re-issue marked on the heads of the Star Wars print. I do not remember it being scribed in to the leader. That is what I based my figuring on 82 being the last time prints were struck for it. I do know that when Jedi was re-released in 85 I ran a used print. All splices were cemented at the heads and tails. So maybe there were some newly struck prints in 82 for Star Wars just not all of them.

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Aaron Haney
Master Film Handler

Posts: 265
From: Cupertino, CA, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 02-15-2003 03:33 PM

I used to have a very old bootleg VHS copy of the original Star Wars that did not have the "Episode IV" title at the beginning. I wish I had kept it.

One other interesting note about this particular bootleg copy is that the scene in which R2D2 was hacking into the death star computer to get information about the tractor beam had the C3PO voice-over dialogue which did not appear again until the "Special Edition" in 1997. I recall there may have been a few other minor difference in sound, but there were no "missing scenes" or anything big like that. Like I said, I really wish I had kept this copy. [Frown]

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 02-15-2003 04:06 PM

Michael,

For your information and others, both the Cinerama and the Kapiolani were stand alone large screen theatres. The Kapiolani was originallly built and operated by Japan's Toho Studio and was one of possibly three theatres they operated in the United States. I know another one was located in Los Angeles and was known as the Toho La Brea and there might have also been a Toho theatre in New York City. The Honolu Toho was a very attractive house with all Japanese projection and sound equipment. The projectors were 35/70 machines with mag heads however the many films I saw in this theatre were all in mono and never in mag stereo or 70mm. When Toho pulled out, the theatre was leased by Consolidated and renamed the Kapiolani. When Consolidated took over, all of the Japanese equipment was replaced with American hardware. Even the beautiful auditorium was redecorated with drapes from the old Royal Theatre in Waikiki that just recently closed at that time. The Kapiolani was equipped for both 35mm and 70mm and I saw several large format films there including "DUNE". Today, half of the building is operated by Papa Johns Pizza and the other half is a Blockbuster video rental store

Consolidated's (Pacific) Cinerama was originally a neighborhood theatre and was known as the Pawaa and located on the corner of King Street and Kalakaua Avenue. The Pawaaa was shut down for several months and reopened as a three strip Cinerama theatre with "THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM" in 1962. After the theatre ran out of three strip Cinerama films to play, it became a 70mm single strp Cinerama theatre and was one of Honolulu's premiere road show theatres. At this time the side louvered strip screen used for three strip projection was replaced with a curved solid screen. With the demise of the triple and single screen Cinerama pictures, the theatre became a standard first run theatre playing films in both 70mm and 35mm. By the way All three of the original "STAR WARS" pictures played in this house in 70mm as well as "HELLO DOLLY" and many others. One of the last movie the Cinerama played was the revival of "LAWRENCE OF ARABIA" in 70mm. Today, the Cinerama is a auto parts store but a part of the theatre is now at the Cinerama Dome theatre in Los Angeles when the original three strip projection equipment from Honolulu was refurbished and put into use there.

-Claude

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 02-16-2003 04:50 PM

I originally wrote:

quote:
VARIETY reported that the '82 re-issue prints would be exisiting, rather than new prints.

Darryl replied:

quote:
I ran a copy of all three prints of Star Wars, Empire and Jedi back in 1993 for a THX promotion. I remember seeing 82 re-issue marked on the heads of the Star Wars print. I do not remember it being scribed in to the leader. That is what I based my figuring on 82 being the last time prints were struck for it. I do know that when Jedi was re-released in 85 I ran a used print. All splices were cemented at the heads and tails. So maybe there were some newly struck prints in 82 for Star Wars just not all of them.

I may have been unclear with my original comment. The reference to the '82 re-release prints being reused from a previous release was referring to the 70mm prints (not all of the prints), of which Variety mentioned four would be put into circulation for that '82 re-release (the one that included the first trailer for what was then known as Revenge Of The Jedi)

Was this 1993 triple feature screening 70mm or 35mm?

Aaron wrote:

quote:
I used to have a very old bootleg VHS copy of the original Star Wars that did not have the "Episode IV" title at the beginning. I wish I had kept it.
One other interesting note about this particular bootleg copy is that the scene in which R2D2 was hacking into the death star computer to get information about the tractor beam had the C3PO voice-over dialogue which did not appear again until the "Special Edition" in 1997. I recall there may have been a few other minor difference in sound, but there were no "missing scenes" or anything big like that. Like I said, I really wish I had kept this copy.

Sounds like you have a copy of the film with the mono mix, which happens to include a number of dialogue bits and sound effects not present in the stereo mix.

The extra C-3PO line ("blah blah blah... A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave") has actually floated in and out of various versions, reappearing for (I think) the first time on a 1984 VHS (and perhaps Beta and laserdisc) version (when Fox was reissuing selected titles in the so-called "Hi-Fi" format). It also appeared on the 1989 laserdisc (first domestic widescreen version), but was absent from the 1993 "Definitive(?!) Collection" laserdisc set. It then reappeared, as you mentioned, on the souped up '97 Special Editions.

If you get a chance, check your bootleg to see if the extra Stormtrooper line "Close the blast doors" (which precedes "Open the blast doors") is present. Or what about Luke saying "Blast it, Wedge. Where are you?" as opposed to "Blast it, Biggs. Where are you?" during the climactic Death Star battle.

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Aaron Haney
Master Film Handler

Posts: 265
From: Cupertino, CA, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 02-17-2003 03:26 AM

Michael, I am reasonably sure both the differences you mention were present on the bootleg. I am almost positive about the stormtrooper's line, but less certain about Luke's line. Unfortunately, it can never be verified, because the bootleg tape was long ago recorded over.

Also, until I read your post, I had no idea there were "official" releases of the movie on home video that contained those sound differences. Makes me feel a lot better about not having the bootleg anymore. [Smile]

[ 02-17-2003, 03:46 PM: Message edited by: Aaron Haney ]

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 02-17-2003 09:33 AM

I seem to remember - though I am not sure - that when Star Wars was first shown here, some minor details were missing. In the scene where Luke returns home to find the farm destroyed and his folks killed, I think the camera move to the right was stopped earlier and didn`t show the scorched skeletons. Other than that detail, which seems to have been originally altered for the age classification, and was restored for the rerelease, I don`t remember any "lost" scenes such as are described in various forums on the internet.
I wonder if there has ever been an official comment on those lost scenes which were allegedly in the very first version.
I hope, most probably in vain, that the DVD edition will have both the original and the Special Edition scenes. Somebody wrote about the new scenes "it looks like somebody has taken an old painting and drawn Mickey Mouses with a bright pencil on it".

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Aaron Haney
Master Film Handler

Posts: 265
From: Cupertino, CA, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 02-17-2003 04:01 PM

quote:
I hope, most probably in vain, that the DVD edition will have both the original and the Special Edition scenes.

Lucas recently angered fans by publicly stating there would be no DVDs of the original versions of the trilogy:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa68.html#nowars
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=14393

Of course, people have suspected this for a long time, but it was the first official confirmation of his intentions. There is an online petition to change his mind, for whatever good that might do:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/838350200

[ 02-17-2003, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Aaron Haney ]

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Chris Markiewicz
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 209
From: Glenaviegh, County Tipperary, Ireland
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 02-17-2003 05:56 PM

Claude,
I also saw DUNE at the Kapiolani, as well as LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. I also remember seeing CHUSHINGURA there on a school field trip-that was a LONG field trip. It must have still been the Toho at that time...

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-17-2003 06:17 PM

quote:
Lucas recently angered fans by publicly stating there would be no DVDs of the original versions of the trilogy

Doesn't everyone realize how Lucas works by now? He'll release the "improved" version of the movies first, then about two years later he'll release the "classic" versions so the fans will buy them all over again.

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 02-17-2003 08:24 PM

It would be great if the original scenes were there too. It is not uncommon, for instance in music, to play the original versions of pieces that were later revised by the composer and it is historically very interesting. Star Wars is practically a historic movie. Lucas should realise that it would not contradict his view that the special edition was a necessary improvement at all.
For instance, I find the unused takes of the opening theme on the special edition soundtrack very interesting.
If there are indeed any "lost scenes" which were only in the first prints they should be on the DVD too.

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