Close the blast doors?

[Clutch]

I thought one of the 'revisions' Lucas added was the phrase "CLOSE THE BLAST DOORS!" So that "OPEN THE BLAST DOORS! OPEN THE BLAST DOORS!" would make more sense. :facepalm

Anyway, I listened to The Story of Star Wars for the first time since the 70's and I was surprised to hear the first line in there!

Was this line missing from the original theatrical release or am I losing my mind? :wacko

 

[Clutch]

Well heck. Shoulda googled first.

The 2006 DVD reissue contains a "bonus disc" which features the unaltered, pre-special edition film, with the original opening crawl (without the "Episode IV: A New Hope" subtitle) and the 1993 LaserDisc sound mix without C-3PO's "tractor beam description" and Stormtrooper "close the blast doors" lines. This is the first and only time that this version will be available on video in regular DVD.

 

[Solo4114]

Might've been in one of the soundmixes. There were a couple of them. Mono, stereo, etc., I think. Some lines appeared in some versions but not in others, and some VERSIONS of lines appeared in some but not in others.

 

[CessnaDriver]

Well I definitely grew up with close the blast doors and then open the blast doors in 77.
I remember the audience laughing.

 

[Treadwell]

It was in the mono mix.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Well I definitely grew up with close the blast doors and then open the blast doors in 77.
I remember the audience laughing.

Yeah, it sorta feels incomplete without it - as well as the tractor beam description in the control room.

 

[division 6]

The first few times I saw it it also has a lot more dialog with Leia on the Tantive IV.

The film was edited and changed several times in the 25 viewings I had.:cry

 

[Too Much Garlic]

I haven't seen any other version of that except the current version. You remember what was said?

 

[DL 44 Blaster]

...along the same lines the old Empire Strikes Back "LP" album that was a staple of my youth has the line Luke says to R2 on Dagobah: "You were lucky to get out of there". In the theatrical release and subsequent VHS releases the line was: "You're lucky you don't taste very good". And now it's back to: "You were lucky to get out of there".

It always made me chuckle. I kinda figured back then that there must have been a few different tracks that sound was taken from.

 

[robn1]

Threepio's tractor beam lines, and the blast doors line were both missing from the LD, and also on the DVD bonus disc. They were present in every version I've seen prior to the LD.

 

[Timmythekid]

Tractor beam discussion was, blast door line wasn't. Blast doors has been missing since the mono-mix of SW, finally making a re-appearance in the SE.

 

[AJK001]

Tractor beam was not on the earliest VHS releases, but it was on a VHS set of the OT. But, I do remember the Close the Blast Doors from all versions I've seen. Of course, I have not seen them all.

 

[Clutch]

I thought it made perfect sense not to have the close the blast doors line. Like they were being tracked by unseen security people who were trying to help, but really hindering the stormtroopers who were chasing Han and Chewie.

 

[AJK001]

I always got the impression they were trying to trap them and they were able to get through before the doors closed.

 

[Treadwell]

The line did not appear (in America, anyway) in any TV or home video release until the Special Edition. The mono mix was not used for any of those releases.

The first TV and video releases used the 2-channel Dolby stereo mix, (which has neither the tractor beam nor the blast door lines) and in 1985 a new mix was done that utilized elements of the three original mixes, so the tractor beam line reappeared. This was done again in 1993 for the Definitive laserdisc, and that line went away again. But "close the blast doors" was left out each time, until 1997.

 

[3jack]

I always got the impression they were trying to trap them and they were able to get through before the doors closed.

Exactly what I've always thought