This is a question I pondered when I downloaded Harmy’s Respecialized 97 Edition of Star Wars. As most of us know, the 1997 Special Edition version of Star Wars in particular used a certain IB Tech print owned by a collector, the same one used in Legacy and (I think) the same one Harmy used to grade the DE, and subsequently his '97 RE. However, the real colors in the '97 version are not the same as the '77 original for whatever dumb reason. Team Blu’s upscale of the SE actually presents the film with this altered color palette.
My question for discussion is one of intent vs. result. Should the original color grading of the '97 SE be preserved or should the originally intended color grading be prioritized for purity’s sake?
We as a community tend to like things preserved as they existed originally, even if these things were revisionist by nature, but color grading is a such a tricky subject that I feel like this could go either way, and I definitely want to hear people’s thoughts on the matter.
she/her
mwah
I think the 77 version should be preserved with the 77 color timing (if it’s actually possible because every print had slightly different colours, just like every projection appeared slightly differently) and the 97 version should preserve the 97 colours (again, if it’s possible).
I was just looking at the various 97SE versions that I have (to compare to the newly on usenet althor LD rips), including TB and Gkar. The Team Blu release is pretty similar to the others, but it does look to be adjusted throughout.
Anyway, I’m not sure what the dogmatic answer to your question should be. But I think they’re worth preserving when the color looks good. Aside from all of the 1997 SW films, the Raiders DVD and WOWOW color timing come to mind. None of these are timed accurately compared to their respective original releases, but they all look pretty damn good and very natural. I’ve finally managed to snag Adywan’s 97 ESB reconstruction, with color meant to match the 1997 version, and it looks really great.
“Original colours” just cannot be determined, even directly from the film stock used in cameras on the sets (if they even exist) as the medium is time-variant, let alone from any kind of copies.
真実
As most know, the Mos Eisley scenes in the 97 version have a pink tint to them on the home video and broadcast versions. But haven’t some people here said that pink tint did not appear in the theatrical prints, that it only occurred with the video transfers?
So doesn’t that make it even more tricky? Which color timed version do the 97 upscales preserve?
Take back the trilogy. Execute Order '77