For most “Star Wars” fans, the recent DVD release of the blockbuster hit “The Force Awakens” was a cause for celebration.
But to some hard-core fans of the Force, the biggest “Star Wars” release this year is version 2.5 of “Return of the Jedi: Despecialized Edition.” It is the latest in one obsessed young Czech’s six-year stab at undoing every change director George Lucas has made to the original trilogy since the release of his “Special Editions” in 1997.
” ‘The Force Awakens’ is a blast, but for me the Despecialized Editions are more exciting,” said Jonathan Mangis, a 43-year-old Oregon resident who has read more than 60 “Star Wars” tie-in books. “It’s the answer to all of the fans’ disgruntlement.”
Perhaps no pop-culture franchise has inspired as much passion over the years as Mr. Lucas’s “Star Wars,” whose seven live-action movies have grossed $6.6 billion at the box office. Many fans cite the original trilogy as hugely influential and re-watch it annually, if not more often.
They brought the same passion to their disdain for Mr. Lucas’s prequel trilogy released between 1999 and 2005, as well as changes he made to the originals in the theatrical “Special Editions” and DVD releases.
The creator of the “Despecialized Editions,” a 27-year-old Prague resident known online as “Harmy,” is trying to restore the movies to their original condition while also making them look good on a modern TV. Since 2010, he has been removing computer-generated effects, tweaking lightsaber colors, and making it clear once again that Han shot first.
He has spent thousands of hours, he said, in cafes and his home office altering the movies frame by frame to re-create the versions seen in theatres in 1977, 1980 and 1983.
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