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The original ''Star Wars'' trilogy was a Lucasfilm production released theatrically by [[20th Century Fox]] between 1977 and 1983, and was subsequently released on home media during the 1980s and 1990s. The films were distributed by [[CBS/Fox Video]] on several formats, such as [[VHS]], [[Betamax]], and LaserDisc.<ref name=Goldberg/> In 1997, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of ''Star Wars'', Lucas re-released new cuts of the trilogy to theaters, naming them the "Special Editions". The purpose of this release was to change the films to meet Lucas' ideal vision that he could not achieve during their original productions. A number of changes to the original releases included additions of enhanced digital effects, previously unreleased scenes, altered dialogue, unreleased and newly recorded music by [[John Williams]], updated sound-effects by [[THX]] and [[Skywalker Sound]], and entirely new CGI sequences from [[Industrial Light & Magic]].<ref name=Miller/>
Reactions to the "Special Edition" versions remain controversial, with some commentators praising the picture and sound restoration, but criticising unnecessary additions such as computer-generated characters, creatures, and vehicles as well as alterations to the essential story;<ref name=Gordon/> most notably a short scene involving the bounty hunter [[Han shot first|Greedo shooting at Han Solo]] from the first film drew significant ire.<ref name="NYTimes2024"/><ref name=Hutchinson/> Further changes to the series were added to the [[DVD]] release in 2004 to establish continuity with the [[Star Wars prequel trilogy|prequel trilogy]] and to the Blu-ray releases from 2011. The final release of the theatrical cuts was in 2006, when unrestored masters used for the 1993 "Definitive Collection" trilogy on LaserDisc were added as a DVD bonus feature to a limited run – some fans pejoratively termed this release "George's Original Unaltered Trilogy" (GOUT).<ref name=Smith/>
Despite a high demand and many online fan petitions, Lucasfilm has refused to release the theatrical versions of ''Star Wars'' in HD quality. In 2010, Lucas stated that bringing the original cuts to Blu-ray would be a "very, very expensive" process;<ref name=Brew/> {{As of|2024|lc=y}}, the films are still only widely available in their altered versions.<ref name="Hutchinson, Lee"/>
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Although widely praised, some have remarked that Harmy's Despecialized Editions are still technically reconstructions using digital effects and upscaling of low quality sources,<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Harmáček, Petr (Director)|date=2021-03-11|title=Introducing the Despecialized Edition and Its Sources|type=Motion Picture|language=en|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDz8VMMJU6I&t=767s|access-date=2023-07-25|___location=Czech Republic|publisher=Harmáček, Petr|archive-date=2023-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725204203/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDz8VMMJU6I&t=767s|url-status=live}}</ref> rather than truly unaltered preservations. This led to subsequent efforts to improve on it, such as the ''Silver Screen Edition''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Info-Improving-Silver-Screen-Edition-colors-on-the-cheap/id/49565|title=Info: Improving Silver Screen Edition colors on the cheap|author=Dreamaster|date=2016-04-22|website=Original Trilogy.com|access-date=2023-07-25|archive-date=2023-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725204204/https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Info-Improving-Silver-Screen-Edition-colors-on-the-cheap/id/49565|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''Skywalker Edition.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/4K77-Released/id/60815/page/17#1241141|title=**4K77** - Released - Original Trilogy|author=Collipso|date=2018-09-18|website=Original Trilogy.com|access-date=2023-07-25|archive-date=2023-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725204203/https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/4K77-Released/id/60815/page/17#1241141|url-status=live}}</ref>
One of these efforts, ''Project 4K77,'' is a fan project to scan and restore original 35mm prints of ''Star Wars'' from 1977.<ref name="NYTimes2024"/> The project name refers to the [[4K resolution]] used and the film's release year of 1977.<ref name="NYTimes2024"/> In 2016, a few 35mm prints were located and donated to a group of fans called "Team Negative 1" (TN1), who scanned these prints at 4K resolution. TN1 released the film online in May 2018, first in the form of a 4K UHD file and then a [[1080p]] downscale. According to the ''Project 4K77'' website, 97% of the restored video came from a single print that was dubbed in Spanish, with the remainder from an alternate print and some frames upscaled from the official Lucasfilm Blu-ray.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Project 4K77 {{!}} The Star Wars Trilogy|url=https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k77/|access-date=2020-10-04|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028162528/https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k77/|url-status=live}}</ref>
TN1 followed ''4K77'' with ''Project 4K83'', based on an original 35mm print of ''Return of the Jedi'' (released in 1983) that was discovered and scanned in 4K.<ref name="NYTimes2024"/> According to their website, this print required little cleanup, and the restoration was released in October 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Project 4K83 {{!}} The Star Wars Trilogy|url=https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k83/|access-date=2020-10-04|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028162547/https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k83/|url-status=live}}</ref> TN1 released a subsequent improved V2.0 of this restoration in 2023, which contains more "theatrically accurate" colors due to a technical error when encoding the original release.
''Project 4K80'', a restoration of ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980),<ref name="NYTimes2024"/> was begun by TN1 in 2020, reporting that although they have multiple prints, some were faded and they required substantially more cleanup, with a projected two-year time frame to complete.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Project 4K80 {{!}} The Star Wars Trilogy|url=https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k80/|access-date=2020-10-04|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001055812/https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k80/|url-status=live}}</ref> This is because unlike 4K77 and 4K83, which were either primarily or entirely sourced from a single print, none of the prints available for 4K80 were complete. Each of the six sources used also had their own unique color timing, meaning additional re-grading was needed to match each source's colors to one another.
TN1 has since discovered a complete print of ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), in substantially better condition than the sources used up to that point. They have announced intentions to eventually use this as the basis of a V2.0 with more theatrically accurate colors, similar to 4K83's V2.0, and have also announced intentions to do the same for 4K77 using since acquired prints.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} When discussing TN1's projects, Harmy expressed that he considered them "vastly superior" restorations to the Despecialized Editions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/4K77-Released/id/60815/page/7#1211042|title=**4K77** - Released - Original Trilogy|last=Harmáček|first=Petr|date=2018-08-26|website=Original Trilogy.com|access-date=2023-07-25|quote=I have previously already recommended the SSE over DeEdv2.7 and this one is vastly superior to the SSE, so I’d definitely recommend this as the go to version, at least for now|archive-date=2023-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725204205/https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/4K77-Released/id/60815/page/7#1211042|url-status=live}}</ref>
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<ref name=Wired>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/02/star-wars-fandom-editors/|title=Star Wars – The Fandom Editors|last=Barry|first=Nathan|date=February 12, 2013|journal=[[Wired (website)|Wired]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031163755/http://www.wired.com/2013/02/star-wars-fandom-editors/|archive-date=October 31, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="NYTimes2024"/>{{cite news |last=Deb |first=Sopan |date=May 3, 2024 |title=How Rebel 'Star Wars' Fans Saved the Original Movies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/arts/star-wars-films-george-lucas.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503190135/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/arts/star-wars-films-george-lucas.html |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |url-status=live |quote=George Lucas wants them to fade into oblivion. But some fans spent more than a decade digitally restoring the original “Star Wars” trilogy, preserving the movies as they were shown in theaters.}}</ref>
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