Ever since the 1997 Special Edition re-release of the original Star Wars, which showcased numerous changes and additions that George Lucas made to the movies, there has been constant discussion over whether or not most of those changes should have taken place. However, I’m not going to debate over Greedo and Han Solo today, instead, I’m going to inform you of something most fans are likely unaware of.
It’s been known for quite some time that Lucas made minor changes to the audio mix of Star Wars after it premiered, so I decided to do some more searching.
While writing a recent article about George Lucas forgetting his movie was premiering, something jumped out at me that I hadn’t heard before. In episode 2 of the Disney Plus series Light & Magic, Lucas himself claims, “We were mixing up until the day it was released.”
I thought that had to be an exaggeration, so I did some research and found an old newspaper interview from 1977 with Mark Hamill. The interview was printed in numerous newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel on June 17, 1977.
Hamill was asked about George Lucas and he responded by, in part, telling a story about the day Star Wars premiered. He is quoted as saying, “Believe it or not, the night the picture opened he (Lucas) called, ‘Hey, do you want to come down and loop?’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? It’s playing. There are lines around the block.”
Hamill, referring to the long lines already forming by those who wanted to see the movie, refers to “looping,” which is the practice of an actor adding dialogue to scenes in post-production. This happens fairly often in movies, though usually not after the film premieres. Normally, these are lines that add clarity to a scene and are quickly spoken when the actor is in a shot where you can’t actually see that they aren’t speaking (because the scene can’t be re-shot).
Continuing his story, Hamill explains, “He said the print being shown was the 70 millimeter stereo mix and now, for the monaural mix for general release, he wanted me to add a few things. Can you believe that? The day it opened!”
Unfortunately, Hamill doesn’t say in the interview whether or not he eventually did add dialogue. However, we know what some of the changes are that Lucas made in post-production involving Luke Skywalker as well as some other added dialogue, involving other characters, after it premiered.
As is already well known, Lucas extracted audio from Peter Cushing’s character, Grand Moff Tarkin, saying, “You may fire when ready,” in order to help create a new subplot about the Death Star threatening to blow up the rebel base, because that entire idea was not a part of the script and was only thought of during post-production.
Perhaps Lucas wanted Hamill to add dialogue related to the threat of the Death Star about to destroy his friends. However, we do know that Hamill did add dialogue, we just aren’t sure if it was added after the movie premiered or in post-production.
For instance, in the scene early on where Luke and C-3PO take off on a landspeeder looking for R2-D2, the editors – which included George Lucas’ then-wife Marcia – cut out the entire close-up sequence where you can see and hear the pair talking. That scene was cut in favor of one faraway shot, but they needed audio. They added dialogue by getting Hamill saying, “Look it, there’s a droid on the scanner dead ahead. Might be our little R2 unit. Hit the accelerator.”
The mono mix, released in most theaters due to the then lack of stereo sound, has slightly different special effects audio. An example of actual dialogue that didn’t exist in the premiere is C-3PO explaining how the Death Star’s tractor beam can be disabled.
Anthony Daniels recorded the dialogue after the movie premiered. However, he was in London and once took to his website to tell a now deleted story about how there were serious time constraints in order for his dialogue to appear in the mono mix. So, he had to record into a tape, which was then handed to someone who quickly hopped on a plane to the States and later handed it to Lucas’ crew. They added the dialogue just in time.
So, in the movie, shortly after the characters have snuck into the Death Star, they discuss their next move and Obi-Wan Kenobi says that he will deactivate one of the reactors. Audiences who saw the film within the first couple weeks of its release never received the simple explanation from C-3PO that you can hear while the Death Star map is being shown, where he says, “The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave.”
In the DVD commentary, Ben Burtt explains that not only was the C-3PO line added, but some stormtrooper lines as well.
Most of them are very subtle changes, such as in the scene on Tatooine when stormtroopers are knocking on doors looking for the droids. C-3PO and R2-D2 are behind one of those doors and one says, “The door’s locked.” This was added after the premiere. More specifically, it was changed, because in the original the stormtrooper says, “It’s secure.”
In addition, it’s been revealed that Aunt Beru’s lines were ultimately dubbed by another unknown actress three different times, including post-premiere. Beru is played by Shelagh Fraser whose British accent was apparently deemed too heavy, which is surprising considering many actors in the film have them.
Lucas has stated that his work is never really finished, and such a philosophy has clearly contributed to his obsession with constantly editing Star Wars, including the very day it premiered.
And, to answer Mark Hamill’s rhetorical question: Yes, I can believe it.
