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The first Star Wars release with an episode number was "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980, so it's entirely possible that you're remembering that one, since it doubtless would have engendered a similar response from the audience. Episode IV was re-released the next year with "Episode IV: A New Hope" added to the intro crawl.

As for it being an urban myth, it must be a pretty pernicious one, since George Lucas repeated it as fact in the audio commentary for the 2004 DVD release. Not to mention that every single source I've seen backs it up as fact. The best writeup on the topic I've seen is this one, which cites numerous 1980 articles reporting on the imminent retitling that was to occur to the next year: http://www.starwarz.com/tbone/the-missing-episode/

Actually, have a look at some of the early drafts of the script, you can see how heavily based on the Hidden Fortress it was. Sure, after it had been kicking around in his brain for 3 years, it became a very different story, but just as clearly it owes a lot to Kurosawa. The fight between Vader and Obi Wan, with Stormtroopers gathered around, is straight out of Hidden Fortress for example, as are the characters of C-3PO and R2-D2. Leia is princess of Alderaan, which is destroyed, making her the last surviving leader of her "clan," just like in HF.

"Darth" also means "Dark".

In what language? Not Dutch, according to Babelfish, in which "dark" is "donker," and "darth" doesn't translate back to anything.

Even the Wiki article on Darth Vader doesn't make this claim, and reiterates what I said about the early drafts. Darth Vader was originally just "a tall, grim-looking general."

karma bonus once again omitted.

Hate to burst your bubble, but that's utter crap. It's Lucas Revisionism at its worst. The original Star Wars was a stand alone movie. Period. It didn't even have the "Episode IV" subtitle in the original theatrical release. The plot wasn't one sixth of a story, but a near-direct reuse of the plot from "The Hidden Fortress".

This is actually not entirely accurate.

You can read the vast majority of early drafts of the Star Wars (and its earlier incarnation, the subtly-titled "Adventures of Starkiller,") at the Jedi Bendu site.

Lucas really did have the basic outline for the story we see in Episodes I-VI created before the original Star Wars film.

The early drafts don't support your theory. The original relationships between Annikin (as then spelled) and General Skywalker wandered all over the place from version to version.

If Lucas had been uncreatively imitating the New Gods storyline, one would expect his initial draft to be more like it, not less. These versions read more like The Foundation with Action Added.

In particular, "The Force" sounds a lot less like the Source in the original phrasing: "The force of others."

"ILM was then housed in an old warehouse in an industrial area of Van Nuys (on or near Kester St, as I recall). By coincidence, Van Nuys was where I grew up, so I knew the area well."
-- Alan Dean Foster, Some interview

"In fact, Apogee was none other than the original shop set up for Industrial Light and Magic in Van Nuys, California, by George Lucas in 1975."
-- Some site on model building

"At this point, John Dykstra got a call from Glen Larson. Glen had contacted either George Lucas or Gary Kurtz to find out if he and Universal could lease the ILM Van Nuys facility we had used to create the VFX for Star Wars, in order to shoot Battlestar Galactica."
-- Some site with an ad that wants to install an IE plug-in

"Lucas hired effects expert John Dykstra to head a new production facility, located in old warehouses in Van Nuys, California. After completing Star Wars he relocated ILM to the Bay Area."
-- Some .edu site about the history of CG

That's just a few picks from the first page of Google results, too.

Typical line from the early drafts: "LUKE STARKILLER slashes through the IMPERIAL BAD-GUY with his LAZER-SWORD. IMPERIAL BAD-GUY SCREAMS TO A VIOLENT DEATH."

Well, you get the idea. But if you do read them, you'll discover why the prequels are so awful. This is George Lucas's true talent right here folks, and after seeing it, you understand why he doesn't do anything else these days.

On a side note, Lucas can cram all that CGI right up his ass. A lot of the best special effects in the original trilogy were the simplest. Remember how everyone was wowed by Vader's force-telekinesis at the end of Empire? Yeah, a couple of guys throwing boxes at Mark Hamill, but cool on screen nonetheless.

I think a lot of filmmakers are forgetting one of the principles of SFX: If the audience notices them, then they've failed to do their job. For instance, in the original Star Wars SE, it's pretty obvious that Jabba the Hutt is a poorly rendered CGI blob. I notice this right off the bat, and it destroys the illusion. On the other hand, if I watch RotJ, released in the dark ages of the 1980s, Jabba's merely a "primitive" puppet, but damnit he seems real.

Lucas originally created a universe that all of felt we could visit, if we had a light-speed ship and maybe a time machine. The prequels feel more like an example of why LSD and children's breakfast cereal don't mix.

I think you mean its re-release in 1981.

I'm not sure that making a concious effort to find a new Kurosawa inspiration would "save Star Wars," but I think it is at least a partial explanation for why Episode IV (the only one of the original trilogy actually written and directed by Lucas) was so much better than I and II.

Okay, fine, I'll be editor for the day. (5 seconds of googling later...) Make your own Star Destroyer.

Huh? If it's the Intergalactic Banking Clan you're referring to, you're a bit off the mark. When the banking clan joined the Seperatists, there were already thousands of Systems breaking away from the Republic. If you read the original screenplays and scripts of A New Hope, you'll see that this is an idea that Lucas had from day 1. A galactic democracy falls under the lobbying and corruption of the most financially powerful cartels in the galaxy. The banking clan provides funding, the Techno Union provides the military technology, the Commerce Guild and Trade Federation use their monopolies (and vast personal armies) to starve out systems that don't "play ball". So yes, bankers were involved, but no more or less than they are in our "real life" wars.

It's not Lego(R), but check out this Death Star that some guy made.

Be sure to check out the Star Wars: Second Strike site. They put together a radio drama using a cast from all over the world. MP3s are available for download.

This is a dialogue by Luke "Starkiller" on page 30 of the old George Lucas Jan 28, 1975 script for Star Wars.

Luke Starkiller

"As the Republic spread throughout the galaxy, emcompassing over a million worlds, the GREAT SENATE grew to such overwhelming proportions that it no longer responded to the needs of it's citizens. After a series of assassinations and elaborately rigged elections, the Great Senate became secretly controlled by the Power and Transport guilds. When the Jedi discovered the conspiracy and attempted to purge the Senate, they were denounced as traitors. Several Jedi allowed themselves to be tried and executed, but most of them fled into the Outland systems and tried to tell people of the conspiracy. But the elders chose to remain behind, and the great Senate diverted them by creating civil disorder. The Senate secretly instigated race wars, and aided anti-government terrorists. They slowed down the system of justice, which caused the crime rate to rise to the point where a totally controlled and oppresive police state was welcomed by the systems. The Empire was born. The systems were exploited by a new economic policy which raised the cost of power and transport to unbelievable heights........................During one of his lessons a young PADAWAN-JEDI, a boy named Darklighter,(Anakin??) came to know the evil half of the force, and fell victim to the spell of the dreaded Bogan(Sith??). He ran away from his instructor and taught the evil ways of the Bogan force to a clan of Sith Pirates, who then spread untold misery throughout the systems. They became the personal bodyguards of the Emperor. ( Mandalorian red guards???) The Jedi were hunted down by these deadly Sith Knights. With every Jedi death, contact with Ashla grows weaker........."

Looks pretty clear about what he intended to happen in Episodes 2 and 3. This is located at Starwarz.com