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Star Wars: Classic Edition by Ocpmovie (Released)

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 (Edited)

From the editor that brought you Deleted Magic …

Star Wars: Classic Edition.

It’s the original version of Star Wars, not the way it was, but the way you remember it.

My source was the 2004 DVD, and the original TR47 (Cowclops) transfer.

I wanted to create an Original Trilogy Star Wars disc that would look as good as the 2004 DVD, and have a new sound mix taken from the 93 laserdisc mix, with elements of the mono mix mixed in.

In short, my own ideal version of the original Star Wars - the only version I need. I think some of you might agree with that.

The disc is presented in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, with Dolby Digital sound.

The 2004 DVD image has been slightly color corrected to be brighter overall.

All Special Edition elements have been removed, even Biggs. If you want to see Biggs or Jabba, you’d best pop in our supplemental disc - I think it’s called Deleted Magic. =)

The opening crawl does not say “A New Hope” - it is a reconstruction done earlier for Deleted Magic. The opening shot has been restored to its former pre-2004 glory by Shadowman, also from Deleted Magic.

There are a couple of VERY MINOR fixes from the 2004 DVD that I have let stay in. Only a very sharp-eyed viewer will notice them.

Original Trilogy shots have been edited in from the old TR47 (Cowclops) transfer, from the 1993 Definitive Collection laserdisc.

In normal cases, the shot has simply been dropped in in the appropriate place, and is not jarring.

In other cases, Special Edition material has been literally painted out of the frame, combining the laserdisc image and the 2004 DVD image in the same frame. This results in a sharper image overall. Rontos and CGI Dewbacks were removed in Mos Eisley, Luke’s Binary Sunset was restored to its original shape, and wipes/dissolves were carefully created so that 1977 elements could wipe to 2004 ones. Using a tiny dissolve to add some extra footage of Han talking, the Greedo scene was restored to its original timing.

The 1993 laserdisc mix is the source of the soundtrack, apart from several lines of dialogue which have been taken instead from the 1977 mono mix … a 1985 (?) PAL TV airing of the film in the UK was used for these. The sound is quite clear but has a slight tape hiss on it which you’ll notice if listening closely. In some cases, the lines used are so quick that you won’t be able to notice that tape hiss at all.

From mono mix:

  • All Beru lines
  • Stormtrooper: “It’s secure, move on to the next one.”
  • C3PO: “The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations …”
  • Stormtrooper: “Close the blast doors!”
  • Luke: “Blast it, Wedge, where are you?”

The mono mix was considered definitive at the time, so I thought it was appropriate to include the most notable changes from it, the final mix ever done back in 1977.

I had to do a new sound mix specifically for this version, because for whatever reason, the frame count is not exactly the same as in TR47’s - it should be, as the timing is the same, but it isn’t. Something about the 2004 DVD versus the 1993 laserdisc - I had to make some really minor trims and extensions in the sound (2 frames here, 2 frames there) to keep it in sync throughout.

These JPEG screenshots are slightly compressed, doesn’t quite do this nice transfer justice. I have one very minor regret about this transfer - I had to edit it in Final Cut Pro as 16:9 miniDV … if you know miniDV, you know that the color encoding in that otherwise lossless format is slightly poor, resulting in a blockiness around pure reds and pure blues. This can’t be seen on a TV screen usually, only on a computer. You can see this on the Binary Sunset screenshot at bottom.

Opening logos are from Empire of Dreams.

Menus and opening animations were created especially for this disc by me - I’ve used them to lead into a slightly altered version of some of the the menus from the official DVDs, which I thought was appropriate for this disc considering.

The disc opens with a montage of characters against Stars, covered by a big Star Wars logo which recedes into the distance and says “Classic Edition.”

The edit is now done. I am encoding the edit to M2V for DVD use now - the next step is to burn a test disc and see how my edits look on a TV. I have to fiddle with the menus a bit, and then - done.

This was done for my own personal amusement. It should be done this week-ish and start floating around in the usual way.

Enjoy, folks.

My email remains: *****.

http://orangecow.org/starwars/swcegrab5.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/swcegrab6.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/swcegrab7.jpg
http://orangecow.org/starwars/swcegrab8.jpg

Ocpmovie Star Wars DVD release list:

1 - Deleted Magic
2 - Return of the Ewok and Other Little Films
3 - Special Edition Hype
4 - Star Wars Classic Edition

If anyone does a custom cover for this, I would recommend using Poster D - the Carnival type poster. It’s my favorite. Wish I had a good scan of it actually. It should continue off from the Style D poster to look like the back is wrapped in brown paper, a la Fight Club.

Cheers.

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" I had to do a new sound mix specifically for this version, because for whatever reason, the frame count is not exactly the same as in TR47's - it should be, as the timing is the same, but it isn't."

The DVDs have new scenes and a remastered score. There's no telling how many minor changes and tweaks were made for the DVDs.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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I'm gonna be getting one awesome package from you sometime soon...

I used to be very active on this forum. I’m not really anymore. Sometimes, people still want to get in touch with me about something, and that is great! If that describes you, please email me at [my username]ATgmailDOTcom.

Hi everybody. You’re all awesome. Keep up the good work.

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Were you talking to ocp, or me?

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Alex was talking to me. =) I owe him all three new OCPDVDs, and his Special Edition Hype VHS back!
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Yeah, I'm almost done with his VHS too, hence the confusion.

What's the "Special Edition Hype" thingie?

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Looks like I'm all out of goodies on VHS, unless someone wants to encode my REALLY beat up tapes of the OT in widescreen that I taped off the Sci Fi Channel, with bumpers by Billy Dee Williams.

Anyway: OCPDVD3: Special Edition Hype

I used to be very active on this forum. I’m not really anymore. Sometimes, people still want to get in touch with me about something, and that is great! If that describes you, please email me at [my username]ATgmailDOTcom.

Hi everybody. You’re all awesome. Keep up the good work.

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LOL...duh, and I even posted in that thread.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Man, everything Garrett touches turns to gold.
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Wow wow wow. I think you took the correct approach- painting in elements from the original LD transfers. Do these elements stand out, though? I wonder if using a PAL LD as your original source plate would work better, since the resolution is probably a lot closer to the new 2004 transfer. But excellent work. I look forward to snagging this from the spleen when it's available.

Cheers!
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All of his projects rule.
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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A million thanks once again to Russ Dawson ... my main man has just given me, for the umpteenth time, a million obscure DVDs that have come in very handy. =)

He's had me look at the Gkar, the Moth3r, the Molly, the Isomix, the EditDroid2, and the old Dr. Gonzo with commentary. The final cut will contain a couple of shots from the Gkar, which is an amazing-quality transfer of the 1997 Special Edition, done in Germany. Sadly it runs a little faster than the proper cut ... 25 fps I'm sure ... the quality is nearly as good as the official DVD but without the color correction they did. Given the choice though, I would and did use the 2004 DVD, as the transfer there is unusually sharp and the color correction does bring out detail that you wouldn't otherwise see. Still, wonderful to see.

I am planning to include the isolated score on this disc, and possibly a commentary by the cast which I would edit together myself.

After I posted those screenshots, I decided to have another go at restoring the opening crawl, so that should look better in the final ... I also restored the "Look sir, Droids!" shot using 2004 elements so that screen grab is very much obsolete now. =)
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OCPMovie, 2 questions.

Did you correct the screwed up channels in the 2004 score, and why didn't you wait to use Cowclops 2.0?

I think the serious problem is going to be that the original TR47 had color artifacting from it's capture to DVD conversion. This will no doubt be enhanced by the use of MiniDV.

That being said; you rock! Should we expect Eps 5 & 6?

Dr. M

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So, a couple days back I burnt the first test disc of the Classic Edition ... TD1. Some of the menus were temporary, and this was mainly to check whether the movie looked or sounded okay.

Surprisingly, it sounded great ... the "hissy" sound of the monomix was completely lost in the conversion to AC3 (which involved a bit of lowpass processing), so the entire soundtrack sounds as it should.

As far as the look of it went, all the laserdisc shots looked great and didn't stand out, but I wasn't happy with the black levels. On the entire movie. I didn't like how dark and overcontrasty the transfer on the 2004 DVD was, so I'd brightened it up a bit in my transfer, but sadly the black levels got too high. (Anyone who's made their own fan DVD knows that the conversion to M2V for DVD brings the black levels waaaay up to grey unless they're "true black").

This supposedly minor problem required me to painstakingly color correct the entire film from scratch, which took a while. I took the opportunity to fix a couple of FX shots further and add some artificial sharpening to the laserdisc shots to make them appear to blend with the DVD shots better.

The fixes I did look surprisingly good. "Yes, I'll bet you have" in the Greedo scene, "Look sir, Droids!", painting out the Rontos ... all my most difficult shots looked completely effortless and as they should.

I'm pleased with it, and I'm re-rendering part 4 now.

I've redone the opening crawl, which looks perfect. In this new render, I had some problems with the frame rate of Shadowman's opening shot, so I have to figure that out and reencode pt. 1. I also have to edit together a commentary track and do some new menus and things.

Then, ready to go. I'll be burning TD2 very soon.


>>Did you correct the screwed up channels in the 2004 score, and why didn't you wait to use Cowclops 2.0?

Yes, because I didn't use the 2004 mix at all. Only the 1993 stereo and 1977 mono mixes are used.

I asked TR47 for Cowclops 2.0, but he's not sending it out yet. I decided that considering what I'm doing, it wouldn't make all that much difference really! The laserdisc shots tend to pass quickly.

>> That being said; you rock!

Thanks. =)

>> Should we expect Eps 5 & 6?

Nope!

Do I still rock?
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Yes, because I didn't use the 2004 mix at all. Only the 1993 stereo and 1977 mono mixes are used.

Cool, 2004 video with older (non-sucky) audio. I'm loving that.

I asked TR47 for Cowclops 2.0, but he's not sending it out yet. I decided that considering what I'm doing, it wouldn't make all that much difference really! The laserdisc shots tend to pass quickly.


Those bloody bastards <g> Actually though, I am pretty surprised that they wouldn't let you have a menu-less raw version just for your project, it's not like you'd be releasing theirs before it was done.

Nope! Do I still rock?


I'm thinking about it.
Ok yeah, you still rock.
But I'd like to see eps 5 & 6 if you get ambitious.

Dr. M

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this looks amazing but i have a couple of questions:

"It's the original version of Star Wars, not the way it was, but the way you remember it."

i don't really understand this bit.

also how many audio tracks are on it? does it include the commentary?, the isolated score?

i don't really understand how you have created this from the 2004 editions and painted them out but i'll take your word for it! it sounds very interesting and i would love to know the full specs of this - it sounds almost too good to be true.
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If you ever saw Deleted Magic, you'd know OCPMovie is not lying about what he can pull off.

Dr. M

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Wow.

This looks fantastic.

I can't wait for your release; this must look fabulous with the 2004 DVD detail. It must have been quite a bit of work to restore the original elements. I have to say I'm completely blown away.

My eyes will be itching to see this on my TV... O_O

Thanks,
Birdie
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Yep can't wait.
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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I say it's "not as it was, but as you remember it" because this version is not based on any one version of the film that has ever existed before. However, I find that a lot of people remember the movie as being in stereo, with the original crawl and with the lines from the mono mix, etc ... so I've blended a few versions together to make the perfect version of Star Wars. I thought that there were too many versions of the film out there, so just know that this really is the only version of ANH you need.

=)

I burnt the second test version of the disc today. It looks gorgeous. The laserdisc elements don't stand out much anymore, and in some cases you'd be hard-pressed to tell they're there. It just looks and feels like Star Wars. The print retains the very colorful look of the 2004 DVD, perhaps too colorful, but I don't mind that at all. It's brighter than the 04 DVD, but still a bit darker than what you might be used to from the laserdiscs. If so, turn up your TV set. The print looks excellent, and the brightness is I think as it should be. There is the isolated score, and the fanmade THX Intro.

The most exciting thing is the commentary, which is all new, edited together from interviews, and is definitely the best ANH commentary yet assembled.

Here is the list of participants:

George Lucas
Anthony Daniels - C3PO
David Prowse - Darth Vader
Peter Mayhew - Chewbacca
Kenny Baker - R2D2
Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker
Carrie Fisher - Princess Leia
Harrison Ford - Han Solo
Garrick Hagon - Biggs Darklighter
Ken Ralston - ILM
Dennis Muren - ILM
Ralph McQuarrie - Production Paintings
Charles Lippincott - Former VP, Lucasfilm
James Earl Jones - Voice of Darth Vader
John Williams - Composer
Irvin Kerschner - Director, The Empire Strikes Back
Frank Oz - Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back
Jeremy Bulloch - Boba Fett, The Empire Strikes Back
Matthew Carter - Bib Fortuna, Return of the Jedi

Subtitles pop up to identify the speaker.

Menus are based on the 2004 DVD, but I've made some fixes to make them match this version ... removing references to "Jabba the Hutt" and all that.

I still noticed a couple problems with some of the shots, so I have to reencode the film and burn a new version, but it is otherwise done, and amazing.

I also burned the final version of Special Edition Hype, so that is available!
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That commentary track sounds amazing........

4 - 5 - 3 - 1 - 6 - 2

Discuss…

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but it is otherwise done


As in ready to go? Or should we be waiting for a final release notice?

...no we're not impatient.

Dr. M

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Patientce my friend.
"A Jedi can feel the force flow through him".
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Looks like the final version of the disc will be version 4. It will be done later today.

I've completed version 3, and although it's nearly perfect, there's a few shots in there which I still wasn't quite happy with. It takes a lot of skill to combine laserdisc and DVD elements in the same shot, and go back and forth from one to the other with a dissolve in the same shot, and not have it be noticeable. A lot of times, it's worked surprisingly easily. Other times, you notice the change no matter what you do. I think the hardest shot was Han saying "Yes, I'll bet you have." The laserdisc version of that shot is a bit longer, so you're going from laserdisc to a DVD shot which has REALLY bizarre color correction and generally looks poor in a way that is hard to duplicate. Anyway, it's noticeable as it's a shot people don't expect to have any fixes on it. It took a lot of tries, and I still haven't seen if I got it right yet!

Anyway, for the technically minded, here's the list of fixes:

I seem to have forgotten to include my layer of extra Han face elements on "Yes, I'll bet you have" so the D3 cut of it looked a bit odd. I've fixed (hopefully) some color correction on three composite shots in Mos Eisley (which was making the fixes too obvious - removal of Dewbacks and Rontos and things), removed a bit of sharpening on a dissolve off of Garindan (that covers the loss of the Jabba scene), and removed a repeated frame on the "trooper dead end" shot (repeating a more static frame of Chewie instead, as the repeated frame was too obvious - I'd have just cut the frame, but the sound mix is already complete and I don't want it to go out of sync).

Yes, I know you have only the vaguest idea what I'm talking about. =)


This does mean I have to render half the movie AGAIN, for just a couple of really minor fixes. Sigh.

I might do some minor fixes on the commentary, but who knows.



Aaaaaanyway, it's essentially done, order it folks. I'll make the official announcement when D4 is pressed and ready.
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Ok ok, I am trying to learn patience.
OCP: sounds like you need more time with this, I wouldn't be opposed to you delaying release if you thing there are stuff "not quite perfect" that you'd like to fix.

Btw, will you be printing art right onto the disc again?

Dr. M