none said:

Video Collector wrote: Could you check and see if the Treadwell's version has Luke felling a speeder bike with his lightsaber, and the A-Wing crash through the Star Destroyer bridge present? I believe they were both missing from my version.

TWC289_ROTJB has both.

 

TWC328 (missing 2-3 minutes at the beginning and end) clocks in at ~2:02:38 - ROTJ_TP clocks in at ~2:01:51

First impressions of the TWC328 are very good. The image is much improved over my beta copy.

The section on Endor where Luke returns after the speeder chase is choppy, with several jumps and snippets of dialogue missing. Same with the following scene where Leia first encounters Wicket. (These sections were missing entirely from my copy. )

Quick rundown of the camcorded Episode II bootlegs I have:

Gold edition

Menu:

Standard PAL resolution DVD, VOBs dated 13.05.2002

Factory pressed DVD

Camcording.  The image is dark, but resolves more information in bright areas than the other two. Also crops off more of the image than the other two.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Superbit edition

Menu (Motion menu):

Standard PAL resolution DVD, VOBs dated 24.05.2002

Factory pressed DVD

Camcording. The image is bright and detailed. Retains most of the image area. Image is blown out in highlights.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CD-Master edition

Menu:

Half resolution (352x240) NTSC DVD, VOBs dated 24.06.2002

Camcording. Appears to be the same source as the "Superbit" edition, but before the aspect ratio and perspective shift were corrected.

This came on a DVD-R and was encoded in the lowest DVD resolution allowed. Also the only NTSC version in this group.

Screenshots to follow.

Please note: All screenshots have been resized to fit the forum better.

(The Superbit edition is the only one to begin with the 20th C.F. logo and Lucasfilm logo. The other ones cut this out)

None of these bootlegs have the complete end credits.

Superbit:

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

CD-Master edition:

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

CD-Master edition:

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

CD-Master edition:

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

CD-Master edition:

In these shots, you can clearly see the adjustments made to the Superbit version to correct the perspective distortion from the camcording.

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

CD-Master edition:

The reel-change markers are identical on all sources. Their elliptical shape shows these are from anamorphic prints.

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

CD-Master edition:

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

CD-Master edition:

Here's a bigger comparison to better judge the image of the bootlegs.

I've blown up the size of the half-rez CD-Master edition for easier comparison, the other two are untouched apart from cropping of the black bars.

Gold edition:

Superbit edition:

DC-Master edition:

none said:

SKot wrote: I've been following this thread with great interest.

cheeky basterd.  Thanks for the memories.  Do you remember much about the IRC trolling?  Was it SW based fans doing the distribution or the hardcore movie traders, guessing the later.  Remember seeing AotC on an irc channel found off of the vcdquality irc, my first dip into that arena.  But wouldn't be surprised if some of the more well known SW websites had copies of TPM for their moderators and crew.  How bad was the podrace splice?

It was hardcore movie traders.  I had to lie low for a while and listen in to get the feel of what they were up to and how they worked.  I knew I was likely to be looked down on for only being there for one movie, and for having nothing really to offer in trade.  But occasionally I found someone who would talk to me about it.

The podrace splice was pretty choppy, quite a few frames missing.  I remember well that it happened right during the sequence where Anakin goes up the "ramp" and makes the jump.  He hits the ramp, cut to him in the air, cut to him landing on the ground.

I think the telecine came along fairly late in the game in the trading circles, by which time TPM was (relatively) old news and the VHS/laserdisc was probably already on its way, hence its lack of exposure and low distribution.  Nobody cared except for the most obsessive fanatics looking for the best possible reference copy...and I guess I fell into that category.

The Aluminum Falcon said:

Wow Skot! A telecine copy would be fantastic. I didn't know anything existed like that for Episode I. It would definitely be "one of the best sources ever." Hopefully, you can find it along with your copy of the Z version. The history in the bootlegging of TPM is really fascinating and seems to be growing more and more intriguing...

It is potentially a very great source; however, one thing to keep in mind is that although the quality of that telecine in full screen in 1999 seemed pretty amazing, I was probably running on a 17" monitor with a 1024x768 screen resolution.  What looked decent then probably looks tiny and terrible now.  My copy of the original camcordered SDCC showing of the Biggs cut scenes now looks positively microscopic.

If one could somehow track down the actual source of the TPM telecine, though...what if a higher-resolution original copy is out there?  Or perhaps they didn't care anymore either once the DVD came out...

--SKot

I know the ZZZZZ edition still exists!

I think Ripplin was making a joke about how boring the movie is.

I'd help you, but I'm not sure, sorry!

none said:

Ripplin wrote: I know the ZZZZZ edition still exists!

Would it happen to be titled "Star Wars Galore"?!

link343 wrote: I would love to get my hands on it!

Of course you would, but I think he's making a joke.

Yes, about TPM, not SWG. ;)

Thought this snippet was interesting.

The NFO for "The.New.Guy.SVCD.TS-Centropy", released in early May 2002, contained the following note:

PS. Want Episode 2 in this quality? Dont count on us to bring it to you. the unwanted media attention the current releases has drawn has made us more than a little reluctant to put a release out. Having said that, we are sure someone else will come to the rescue, for all you Star Wars fans out there.

The first TS was released by FTF on 9 May 2002. Despite the quote above, Centropy did eventually release an SVCD TS on 22 May - initially it was  named "Something.We.Had.Laying.Around.SVCD.TS-Centropy".