Star Wars-The "Despecialized" Edition: A Frankenstein Project Like Never Before

In honour of the newest Star Wars movie, I’d like to make a shameful confession: I never got into the original Star Wars films. I tried, I watched the VHS tapes in high school, but I found them boring. Even ignoring the whole “special editions” issue, I’d found that, being born in 1990, the shock and awe of the films had taken its course once I’d sat down and watched them. Add in that the fandom is obnoxious, and they aren’t for me. Which is weird, since anyone who knows me knows that I was a dedicated Star Wars fan for a few years.

I bring this up because there’s one element that I do agree with fans on: the rereleases, and how they’ve ruined the franchise through their frequent edits and changes. It’s completely disrespectful to what made the movies special in the first place, as Star Wars may have been George Lucas’s brainchild, but it wasn’t only him that made the franchise. So many talented thespians, writers, directors, sound editors, special effects directors, lighting editors and other individuals lent their talents, and by changing these movies their voices are silenced. It doesn’t help that George Lucas claims the original negatives are “destroyed”, or that Disney, who now own the franchise, refuse to release the uncut originals on Blu-Ray.

However, what if I were to tell you that someone is trying to do that? Enter Petr Harmy, brainchild behind the ironically-titled “Despecialized Edition” of the original Star Wars films.

Hmm… (Courtesy of Petr Harmy himself.)

One of the biggest complaints I have with the Star Wars fanbase is its collective hive-mindedness. Even outside their frequent condescension towards the prequels and its fans, something I’ve already addressed, they frequently claim that the originals are some godsend from heaven and anyone who disagrees is wrong. It’s annoying because not only do I not agree, but it doesn’t compel me to care. Even when they claim “film integrity”, which I agree with, there’s never indication that it’s anything other than Gen X elitism (since, y’know, the original trilogy caught on with the Gen X crowd first.) As a Gen Y’er, this reeks of dickery.

Which is one of the reasons Petr Harmy’s project speaks to me. A Czech-born 90’s kid, Harmy didn’t grow up with the original films either. He was late to the game, perhaps even later than I was, and doesn’t have long-seeped ties to the franchise. He remembers watching the movies as a kid, but they weren’t the original releases. They were the Czech-subtitled, VHS remasters, making him, like me, someone who “lacks the authentic experience”. I instantly sympathize.

Outside of that, though, Harmy’s taken on a task that I feel is ambitious: remastering the original Star Wars movies in HD, except without edits. That’s right, he’s trying to make the authentic experience accessible to the public. That means no added scenes, no unnecessary redesigns, no added lines, no ugly CGI and, of course, the reinstitution of “Han shot first”. And while, admittedly, this idea isn’t new, Harmy’s taking a different approach. Unlike other fan-edits, Harmy’s using collaboration.

The collaboration is, like I said in the title, a literal Frankenstein’s monster of fan-edits and home releases since the 80’s. In addition, Harmy’s been forced to get creative and reconstruct certain details, like the shadows of sand-speeders, from scratch. The attention to detail is beyond impressive, and gives me hope in an end-result that’ll satisfy fans. I can only imagine how long this must’ve taken.

What’s also impressive is, like I said, the collaborative effort. Harmy’s mainly using official re-releases and his own artistic talents, but whenever he has to rely on someone else, it’s always been through requests and donations. I’ll forever gaff at how nerdy the Star Wars fandom is, but that doesn’t mean I don’t admire their commitment. Because it isn’t easy, and it’s not being done for self-gratification. Harmy states that he wants his younger brother to experience Star Wars as it was “originally intended”, and he’s doing this for him. I admire that, since so many past fan-edits were done, I find, out of arrogance or frustration with George Lucas.

Do I support this? Isn’t the answer obvious? As much as I never cared for the original films, it saddens me that George Lucas was unable to let go after Star Wars became loved by the public. You look at his IMDb page past the first Star Wars film, and you won’t see much that isn’t more Star Wars. He’s had producing credits on the Indiana Jones movies and the infamously-awful Howard the Duck, but between 1977 and 1999 Lucas only ever cared about Star Wars; in fact, his first directing job post Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope was Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace, a measly 22 years after the film that made him famous. You think about that.

Which makes me somewhat concerned for this film too. Unlike when Star Wars was under Lucas’s control, Disney isn’t as receptive to fan-projects and rights distribution. They’re incredibly protective of their IPs (they kept renewing the rights to Steamboat Willie so that they wouldn’t lose Mickey Mouse,) and now that they have Star Wars…well, this could be the same. Harmy might end up facing legal battles over this fan-edit should it go public, and while I dread the possibility of this happening, and I hope it doesn’t, it could end up being forcibly scrapped.

Still, I’ll remain optimistic. Like I said, I never experienced the original films in their original format, and, while not the biggest fan, there’s a chance that part of my disdain was teenage angst. If Harmy’s work thus far is indication, this could end up being awesome. I only hope it is.

May the force be with you!