Tried on 2 dvd players and a computer. didn't work on any. tried another dvd on 2 of them, those worked

Sure it's the disc and not the player?

The vhs's are the 1997 versions. The original special editions

The worst part is the dvd's i got are 2 disc versions that contain the original theatricla versions of the films. Don't think they've ever been released since

The vhs player is attached toa dvd player. a 2 in 1 machine

I'm surprised you still have the means to play either. The only physical mediums I still have hardware for are CDs and vinyl records.

So, my dvd copy of Star wars doesn't work any more. But my vhs copy still does