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Our friend @TamerlaneBlog sent me down a rabbit hole of toy movie viewers and I discovered what must be the tightest edit of Star Wars ever. George Lucas would surely want us to watch it this way.
In point of fact, the first "home video" release of Star Wars was on Super 8 film. It wasn't perfect, mind. It was silent, in black and white, and only about minutes long. You can watch a digitized version of it on YouTube.
By the time Empire Strikes Back came out, the experience was much better. It was in color, with sound, and on two reels with a glorious 33 minute run time, not including intermission. You can watch it here:
There is a whole genre of super-short home versions of feature films that were sold on Super 8. Quite a few have been put on YouTube and there's a handy playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYLvD7kyo9V-Zy-cJZXSBglyEoL4IjLJA
So forget that Ultimate Director's Cut of Bladerunner or whatever. Who has time for that!? Just kick back and enjoy the 18 minute edits of Logan's Run or Alien before getting on with your busy life.
