logo Sign In

seventiesfilmnut

User Group
Members
Join date
4-Jun-2004
Last activity
31-Mar-2009
Posts
177

Post History

Post
#232343
Topic
1977 70mm Soundtrack Strikes Back (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/232343/action/topic#232343
Time
Hi!

I think your Nakamchi MR1 deck would probably just have the edge in the sound quality stakes - they really did make the world's best cassette decks. Best to capture it first, then adjust the speed using software. Of course it will be best to clean the heads first, and also to adjust the head asimuth while playing the tapes to get the best treble quality. It varies alot from deck to deck and this is th eonly sure-fire way of getting the best possible transfer.

You can't get much better than those Apogee converters either - I'm envious!!!

Cheers,

- John
Post
#232254
Topic
STAR WARS: EP IV 2004 <strong>REVISITED</strong> ADYWAN *<em>1080p HD VERSION NOW IN PRODUCTION</em>
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/232254/action/topic#232254
Time
This project looks amazing - the best yet? Can't wait to see how this pans out - love the 'trailer'.

It's been said before here but I'll say it again - if only Lucasfilm knew of the sheer talent from many of those here for fixing (and spotting them in the first place!) errors, re-editing and so on they'd realise they really need to get their act together as far as DVD releases of the Star Wars saga are concerned. makes me wonder what could be achieved with a decent print of the origianl trilogy and the combined efforts of all those here ;-) (I know dream on!!!).

As far as fixing things is concerned, have a few things you might like to take a look at. In one of the scenes of R2 in the X-wing you can clearly see a shadow of someone (cameraman?) moving. It's only a second or two but I'm amazed it's gone unnoticed for so long. Also the guns on the full-size X-wing can clearly be seen bending as the ship mock-up is rocked by off-stage hands. Can this be fixed to you think?

Can't wait to see the end results of this version.

Cheers

- John
Post
#229480
Topic
first viewing of the 2006 OOT dvds
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/229480/action/topic#229480
Time
GREAT post here with picture quality comparisons between the different releases. Shows the horrible smearing effects of the digital "noise reduction" filters used on the 1993/1995 LD versions: http://www.millenniumfalcon.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=6948

Interestingly I've always preferred the 1989 LD release, complete with 1985 sound mix. I've recently transferred this version to three DVD-R's (one side per disc to max out quality from a Pioneer CLD-2950 to Panasonic stand-alone DVD recorder) and transferred the 16-bit soundtrack directly onto my PC, to preserve it in all it's non-remastered glory! There may be more dust and nics in this print, but there's absolutely NO mucking about with the picture digitally and for sharpness it far surpasses the 1993/95 versions. In fact it's more or less how I remember seeing it in the theatre originally. This is my 'reference' version, and I'd LOVE to see someone do a transfer from an XO laserdisc player for this... any takers? I'd be willing to give up my LDs for this...

Perhaps someone could work on this version? I'd do it myself if my PC was powerful enough and I had the software.

- John
Post
#229478
Topic
first viewing of the 2006 OOT dvds
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/229478/action/topic#229478
Time
I assume he meant he's never seen such a great looking NON-ANAMORPHIC transfer of a movie.... honestly Lucasfilm's handling of this release just defies belief!!! Lies and mis-information at every turn! How can a 13 year old transfer with de-interlacing artifacts and losuey digital noise-reduction muck on the screen possibly be considered an awsome transfer? Unbelievable! Well at the end of the day once the reviews are out Lucasfilm is going to come in for some VERY bad press I think, and rightly so.

I'm going to hire this out to check it out myself, but I've had it with giving Lucas any more of my hard-earned.
Post
#228226
Topic
first viewing of the 2006 OOT dvds
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/228226/action/topic#228226
Time
Agreed Lucas has just lost ALL respect from me both as a film-maker, and a person. He's become the real-life Citizen Kane....

BUT there is a way to get what we want, without paying AGAIN for it, or getting shafted when he gets hard up and decides to release them on Blu-Ray or HD-DVD afterall - just HIRE them out!!! (then do what you WANT with them ;-) )

That's exactly what I intend on doing. I get to see the original films from the LD master, rather then the LDs, AND Lucas gets no more of my hard earned (unless he releases these properly further down the line). I urge others to do the same thing. Rent, but don't buy. Have also added my opinions to the UK Amazon website.

Cheers!
Post
#225668
Topic
Fox France confirms the French OOT release &gt;NOT&lt; to be anamorphic
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/225668/action/topic#225668
Time
If this is true then we've finally won - how cool would that be?

I've written to Bill Hunt at the digital bits to see if they've heard anything official yet... it looks good though :-)

Zombie84: I appreciate your sentiments, but even if it IS from the laserdisc masters, they will still look pretty good being D1 digital masters (confirmed on another site) - certainly alot better than the LDs.

IFFFF this is true I would imagine Lucasfilm have done a new transfer however.... we shall see.....
Post
#224009
Topic
Help: looking for... Anyone got the 1983 ITV airing of Star Wars?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/224009/action/topic#224009
Time
I **THINK** it was the mono soundtrack, though doubtless I'll be corrected here ;-

It's just nostalgia frankly - would love to have this just to bring back those memories of 1983. We must have been one of the last people on the planet to get a VCR, so it was a huge big deal when Star Wars was on for the first time. These days it's too easy to watch a film, hence I think some people tak them for granted - there's no anticipation anymore. But that's a subject for another thread I guess...

If it is the first 1983 airing you've got I'd be willing to pay you for any postage costs etc etc.

Cheers,

- John
Post
#224003
Topic
Help: looking for... Anyone got the 1983 ITV airing of Star Wars?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/224003/action/topic#224003
Time

Hi!!

Just wondering if anyone out there has a reasonable quality copy of the original ITV airing if Star Wars? Think it was in '83? After a DVD-r transfer if possible, or I can transfer it to this medium if someone would be good enough to lend me their tape. Would preferebly like it with the adverts intact but any copies welcomed.

Please e-mail (taking out gaps) p l a y m i s t y f o r m e @tiscali.co.uk

Thanks!

  • John
Post
#211034
Topic
Make your voices heard! (again) - re the 2006 GOUT DVD being in letterbox format
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211034/action/topic#211034
Time
Just faxed this to Mr Jim Ward. For what it's worth:

Dear Mr Ward,

I am writing to voice my concern over the recent announcement that the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars trilogy – billed as mere ‘bonus material’ to accompany the Special Editions – will not be in anamorphic widescreen.

I find this simply stunning especially since film fans have been waiting for the threatrical editions for quite some time now, not to mentions those in ‘the biz’ as well! I find it even more stunning that we have to purchase the Special Edition along with it… again! I am afraid people have just gotten VERY tired of all these cynical marketing ploys. How many versions of Star Wars are there to be before Mr Lucas is satisfied?!? Surely it has gone beyond a joke now. At the VERY least the theatrical editions should be marketed separately from the Special Editions – let the public decide which version they wish to watch. I am sure everyone would appreciate this and Mr Lucas would undoubtedly be pleasantly surprised by the returns generated by such a move… There is really NO excuse to be treated like this after years of loyalty and the huge sums of money people have ploughed into Lucasfilm. One does not bite the hand that feeds them as the old saying goes.

As you are no doubt aware the 1977/1980/1983 versions of the trilogy are extremely important parts of film history, and should receive proper preservation just like any other loved classic, not some half-assed lazy transfer from a 1993 laserdisc master which is riddled with digital noise reduction artefacts and so forth. Mr Lucas may personally wish that they didn’t exist, but when they were released onto the world in 1977 they became special to the hearts and minds of the people who saw it then, and merely wish to experience that same thrill once again on DVD. Surely high quality releases of BOTH can exist side by side like Mr Spielberg did recently with E.T. What galls me is the fact that on the Empire of Dreams documentary which accompanied the first release of the Star Wars SE on DVD, the original version film clips are all in anamorphic, as are the original trailers from 77/80/83!!!

I will not be buying this new set unless Lucasfilm decide to give this a proper film transfer from cleaned elements and anamorphically enhanced for modern 16x9 television screens or projectors.

Thank you for your time.
Post
#210966
Topic
The Official 2006 Discs Will Be No Better Than What We Have!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/210966/action/topic#210966
Time
"I'm about ready to quit Star Wars fandom."

I hear ya - I think I've had enough as well. How difficult is it to get the films you remember seeing and fell in love with released on DVD with quality befitting the name Star Wars and THX. Lucas really has shown his true colours 97 onwards and I think has pretty much lost most of his respect not just from the fans but those in the biz as well. Enough is enough.

Roll on the X0 project - that's were my money will be going from now on as they actaully care about this release.
Post
#210937
Topic
New DVDs NOT 16x9
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/210937/action/topic#210937
Time
It is bonkers - totally mad! And if you follow the journey from mid 90's onwards it's all down to Lucas himself - the guy has lost the plot..... When the 1997 Special Editions came out he said he was happy that the trilogy now met his 'creative vision'... why then tinker with them again in 2004 for the DVDs? And now it will be changed again for the 3D releases. You can't keep going back and re-jigging films like this it's crazy - film historians must be cursing his name right now. It will backfire though - I doubt these sets will sell well. Most already have the 2004 versions by now, and the hardcore fans won't buy this for the Original Trilogy as it's no more than an LD master transfer.
Post
#210928
Topic
New DVDs NOT 16x9
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/210928/action/topic#210928
Time
More from the Bits.... (edited down slightly)

"...The news is absolutely true by the way. We've confirmed it specifically with reps of both Lucasfilm and Fox. It is no rumor.

What you will, in fact, be getting on the second disc in each of these new 2-disc sets (unless something changes dramatically and soon) are transfers of the original films that were done for the 1993 "definitive collection" laserdisc box set release. (By way of confirmation, Lucasfilm's Jim Ward had this to say about the transfers in the recent USA Today story: "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006.") Great. Thanks. Swell.

So the transfers, and the technology used to produce them, are MORE than a decade old. Of course, they're going to be digitally cleaned up a bit, and even a non-anamorphic transfer is going to look better in digital video on DVD than the same transfer would when presented on an analog laserdisc. Colors are going to bleed less, detail will be a little sharper. There's also apparently an additional bit of tweaking being done, because Episode IV will feature the original 1977 version of the opening crawl (sans the "Episode IV" text) which has NEVER been released on home video before, save for in excerpted form in the 2004 Empire of Dreams DVD documentary (which, we feel strangely compelled to point out, WAS ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN). In any case, the bottom line is that the transfers we're getting on DVD are old and they're non-anamorphic. The video resolution and quality is going to pale in comparison to the look of most other widescreen films on DVD.

It's been reported previously that when Lucas went back to the original negatives of the Star Wars films in the mid 1990s, they were found to be in bad shape. Such bad shape, in fact, that had they not been restored immediately, the films could have been lost forever. So restoration is exactly what Lucas had done. Except that when he was creating the new 1997 Special Edition versions of the films... he cut the original negatives. So the original negatives of the theatrical versions no longer exist. Okay, we knew that. But what's the big deal? What about the original interpositive prints? What about high-quality release prints? Why can't Lucasfilm just use either of those elements to do a new transfer for DVD?

Well... at the same time as he was preparing the 1997 versions, Lucas apparently went on a little tear and recalled every release print of the theatrical versions that he could get his hands on, and he had them all destroyed. Which means that when Lucas said back in 1997 that the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars films no longer existed, he was serious. He apparently tried hard to make sure of it.

Nonetheless (and thankfully), we know for a FACT that beautiful dye transfer prints of the original versions of the films still exist in private hands, and that additional copies are preserved in a number of film archives around the world. What's more, Lucas would have been foolhardy if he didn't keep the original interpositives carefully stored in a climate-controlled vault for preservation's sake. Come on... of course he did. No one is THAT stupid that they'd just trash all the original elements of the films that made them rich beyond the dreams of avarice. In any case, neither the man himself nor senior Lucasfilm executives are willing to admit to that they exist, because as Lucas has said many times in the past, "They no longer exist."

So what are we left with? Either the films truly don't exist anymore, so it simply isn't possible to give them to you in state of the art quality (unlikely in the extreme, despite public and private statements to the contrary)... or Lucasfilm DOES have copies of the original versions in their vaults, and they're just unwilling (or too damn cheap) to spend the money to give them to you in state of the art quality... yet.

If the former is true, there can be no future anamorphic release of the original versions on DVD, and there can be no high-def release on the new Blu-ray Disc or HD-DVD formats. Laserdisc is as good as it will ever get for those original theatrical cuts. If, on the other hand, the latter is true (and we believe it is)... Lucasfilm's greed is truly boundless."

Reckon that's a pretty ballsey thing for the Bits to write, and hopefully other respected film-ralated sites will follow suit. Luca$ has just sunk to new levels of suck-dom with this.... tried to destroy all copies of the original trilogy?!? WTF?!?!? It just gets worse and worse doesn't it.... Also seems like they ARE 'reconstructing' the title crawl to slip into the LD masters footage from '93 which also sucks. Original Theatrical Versions my ass..... screw this release unless something changes....

I just hope we AT LEAST get the 'clean' LD transfers i.e. before they used all those AWFUL digital noise reduction processes which resulted in image smear, shimmering and so forth. Actually this could explain why no anamorphic transfer as it would just show up these faults in greater detail. Wonder where the documentaries on the Empire of Dreams got their anamorphic original trilogy clips from......? No money was spared there to give them to us in high quality, so why not this release?!?

George? You've finally lost this fan...
Post
#210718
Topic
New DVDs NOT 16x9
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/210718/action/topic#210718
Time
Yes a large proportion, and not only that, by the sounds of it sites like The Digital Bits and DVD File etc etc etc will be complaining about this extremely vocally I should think, so the general public will be aware theyare buying a substandard product.... AGAIN if true...... You don't treat valuable pieces of film history like this.

If this is true we'll ALL just have to club together, buy good quality 35mm versions and get those transferred somehow - hahaha! ;-) (I AM joking by the way!!!)

oh and Eros just to clear things up, whilst being a HUGE Star Wars fan, I am also a fan of great cinema in general, and film preservation. Obviosuly Star Wars is a VERY important film for many, especially those that grew up with the originals way back when... They need to be preserved as well as possible for future generations to enjoy in the best quality possible for each medium. With the resourses and money at Lucasfilms disposal this is entirely possible... in fact the more I think about it the more I just cannot see that this release will not be anamorphic.
Post
#210712
Topic
New DVDs NOT 16x9
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/210712/action/topic#210712
Time
Cool nice one Dean :-)

Anyway with a bit of luck this will turn out to not be true anyway - from what I have read it does appear that 35mm versions of the original films were chemically washed recently, and I fail to see how they'd then drop the ball after all this effort with a bog standard non anamorphic release, when all the original trilogy film clips on that EOD DVD are anamorphic... makes no sense at all unless the films weren't washed at all and we are getting a D2 master port? But THEN they'd have to computer generate the original titles sans the 'The Hope' Episode IV bit.....

We need to wait and see I guess unless anyone else knows anything more concrete?