Was the original trilogy . . .

**Lowly Bantha Cleaner** · 09-19-2011

Was the original trilogy, minus the special edition changes, ever readily available for purchase?

I guess I heard that they were for a long period of time and I wondered why I never bothered buying them considering I do own the DVD trilogy special edition.

**Mr. JabbaJohnL** · 09-19-2011

Well, it was obviously available on VHS pre-1997. But as for DVD, yes. It was packaged when the films were sold individually on DVD for the first time in 2006 (two years after their initial release, which was only a three-pack with another bonus disc). Each film had two discs - one was identical to the 2004 release, and one was a disc of a port of the 1993 Laserdisc versions in non-anamorphic widescreen (the ANH removed the Episode IV: A New Hope title). These two-packs were repackaged into a six-pack trilogy set a few years later, sold alongside a similar prequel trilogy six-pack combining the two-disc DVD releases for those films.

So yes, they were available without the 1997/2004 changes . . . but only ever sold packaged with the updated editions.

**sith_killer_99** · 09-19-2011

^ What he said.

I bought them as well as the 2004 release, and more recently the blu-rays.

I believe I am up to about 5 individually purchased copies of the films now, maybe more, I forget how many copies we owned on VHS when I was a youngster.

Let's see, "Original" VHS, Special Edition VHS, DVD 2004, DVD 2006, Blu-Ray 2011...yep 5.

That's just the OT though.

Let's see, PT....

Episode I VHS (it was released first on VHS and took years to get on DVD). In 1998 I had vowed never to buy another VHS movie again...ever. Lucas made me break that promise by delaying the DVD release of EP1.

Then there was:

EP1 DVD
EP2 DVD
EP3 DVD

and now the blu-rays, so I managed to get by fairly unscathed for the PT...though I am still a little bitter over the long wait for EP1 on DVD.