For its time, the release date for "Star Wars" was unique in that it was the same on LV as it was on VHS, Beta, and the CED videodisc format. LV releases of big titles at this time seemed to always lag far behind those of tape and CED disc.

"Star Wars" on LV originally was a single-disc Extended Play CLV-format title with CX-analog Stereo sound. The transfer was a pan-and-scan version of the 2.35:1-WideScreen image.

The major drawback to this otherwise decent LV release was the fact that the film is time-compressed to 118-minutes to fit on one disc. A sad practice that happened to far too many early disc releases. It is interesting to note that the first Japanese CBS/Fox Video LV release of "Star Wars" was done on two-discs maintaining the film's proper running time. Another Japanese disc format, VHD, also released the film as a two-disc set and avoided time-compressing the film. American disc owners weren't so lucky, as both the LV and CED versions of "Star Wars" released in October 1982 suffered from time-compression.

The 1982 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago was the first public display for the LV release of "Star Wars." Discs seen there were 3-sided 2-disc sets that must have kept the films correct running time. The original announcement for "Star Wars" on LV called for a $49.98 release, rather than the $34.98 price that was later seen. One assumes that this fifty-dollar "Star Wars" might have been a two-disc set.

Also of note to collectors, the red studio identification mark on lower center of the front jacket cover is not what is found on copies released. This same situation is found in catalog pictures for "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "On Golden Pond." To date, no copies have been examined on the 20th Century-Fox Video label on LV that feature a red studio logo on the front jacket. All have the standard white logo found on other Fox discs.