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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=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|2023|lc=y}}, the films are still only widely available in their altered versions.<ref name="Hutchinson, Lee"/>
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