Return of the Jedi, Laserdisc, CBS/Fox video, 1986
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The first issue of Return of the Jedi on Laserdisc in the US came in 1986, concurrently with the release of the film on VHS and Beta.
By now, Laserdiscs featured digital soundtracks (PCM stereo) but were still predominantly fullscreen. The opening crawl is squeezed, but the image switches to pan-and-scan for the opening shot of the Star Destroyer. The end credits switch back to squeezing again after Richard Marquand's credit. The film runs over two hours, so had to be split across three sides. The sidebreaks are announced with closing and opening Laservision logos, which break the flow of the film. I prefer that the end of the sides just cut to black, without calling attention to themselves. Side four has the standard Laserdisc turtle. |
Assorted screenshots:
Laservision logo
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CBS/Fox Video logo
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Fox fanfare
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Title card (Squeezed)
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Opening crawl (Cropped)
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Star Destroyer
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Jabba subtitles
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Obi Wan
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End of side 1
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Side 2
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Transfer stunt
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Shuttle landing
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End of side 2
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Side 3
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Emperor's slug
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Duel
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End credits
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FBI warning
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End of side 3
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Side 4 Laserdisc turtle
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