I second the recommendation for Adywan's 1980 ESB restoration.  It's far superior to OCPMovie's "Classic Editions."

What are the major differences between Adywan's Empire reconstruction and Harmy's Partly Despecialized Edition of Empire?

msycamore said:

I don't want to sound like an asshole, cause what Adywan did was really superbly done, but to say that he managed to restore the entire original film is to make some people dissapointed when they finally see it, it's a very well made reconstruction. Most of the subtle SE changes are still there, but as a stubborn purist I still highly recommend it.

This is true.  Pretty much anything that was recomposited (as in, not completely replaced by a new CG shot) has been left in.  Also, the "fix" to Han's shirt in the "I love you" sequence has been left in (the only thing that actually bothered me about Ady's restoration).

But for all intents and purposes, it feels like you're watching a high-quality version of the 1980 cut.

Also, Dark_Jedi's GOUT is fantastic, though V1 and V2 (currently available) went a bit far with the cleanup.  V3 is on the way soon, though, and it looks to be the definiteve GOUT restoration.

Some great info in this thread for those of us new to preservations. Would love to check out the g-force/Dark Jedi GOUT of A New Hope. Are these versions the same thing, or are there differences between them? Can someone PM me the links? 

Dark_Jedi used G-Force's AviSynth script to make his versions.

I'd suggest waiting for DJ to release V3 of his set, but I'm not sure how much longer that's going to be.

Ok, I will wait for V3. I'm mostly interested in A New Hope. Is that version available yet or will you be releasing them all at the same time? I only ask because I notice you talking about having to render a new Jedi video but no mention if the other two are being re-rendered as well. Thanks.

Cool. I look forward to seeing them. Thanks for doing all of this for everyone. 

I'm kind of new here and still reading through forums playing catch up. In reading this thread I'm left wondering... What is wrong with the GOUT version of ESB that make's Ady's reconstruction so essential? Seems like people are happy with the ANH and soon to be released ROTJ GOUT, but not the ESB one.

jackspank said:

I'm kind of new here and still reading through forums playing catch up. In reading this thread I'm left wondering... What is wrong with the GOUT version of ESB that make's Ady's reconstruction so essential? Seems like people are happy with the ANH and soon to be released ROTJ GOUT, but not the ESB one.

 

I don't think that there's anything wrong with Dark Jedi's ESB GOUT (especially the upcoming V3), but Adywan's reconstruction is very good and high quality. Adywan used an AVCHD source and combined it with GOUT footage, creating a very high quality reconstruction. Adywan only did ESB and not the other ones, so that is why the Dark Jedi GOUT is recommended instead.