The first time I saw RotJ, I wondered about one of Han's lines just before
the rebels took off to attack Death Star II. He said something like, "I
get the feeling I'm never going to see her again," referring to the Falcon.
Since Lando and the Falcon escaped unharmed from the explosion of the Death
Star, I felt that line was somehow out of place.
Now a friend who's seen an unreleased version of RotJ tells me that in that
version, the Falcon was consumed at the last moment as it was escaping from
the exploding Death Star, presumably killing Lando and co-pilot. This
seems like a much more dramatic (though perhaps less mass-appealing)
ending. My friend says that there are other differences from the released
version, as well.
When I get to see this for myself I'll report any other differences I see.
Does anyone know if either of the other Star Wars movies had unreleased
versions, and what the differences were?
-- Roger