I myself actually have no current plans to tackle Empire and Jedi anymore. I definitely looked into it, but at the moment, the only footage that has leaked is mostly boring "how we made the effects" type footage rather than true deleted material, and my attempts at Deleted Magic Strikes Back proved uninspiring. I was going to hire actors and record audio for the true deleted scenes in a radio drama fashion, but could never find the right people. So now I am waiting for more decent deleted footage to turn up.
Now Andy, let me reply to your post and questions.
>>"Deleted Magic is so interesting because it is like having that pair of eyes that you've been used to looking through your whole life suddenly start wandering to the sides and seeing things outside the original more rigid frame of reference."
That's a great quote, very apt. I thank you for it.
>>"I was amazed at how much humour there was in this."
Glad you noticed. I was always trying to sneak humor in, point out how silly things must have looked onset, when things fell over. Couldn't help it.
>>seeing footage of Alec Guiness relaxing or talking off-scene while his character's dialogue and theme music plays (as in the rescue from the sandpeople scene and his death scene) seems like such a nice tribute to him
Again, glad you noticed. =) I love Sir Alec's performance and in every interview you hear cast members talking about how much it meant to them that he was there as a mentor figure onset. (Even Garrick Hagon, who had no scenes with Sir Alec, spends a lot of his time talking about him, in The Unauthorized Star Wars Story [and the Classic Editoin commentary]). Since the Biggs scenes were done, I thought I'd break the rhythm a little and do a few little tributes to Sir Alec, and other cast members. There's at least one for Chewbacca as well.
I have not altered the audio for the Cantina scene. It appears as it did on the Behind the Magic CD-ROM. I suppose it would be quiet when no one is talking, resulting in gaps of silence. Yes. The Cantina scene features the original dialogue and production sound. The extras would have been instructed to keep quiet. The repeated background noise you hear is "walla" (sound effects) intended to cover the silence. The sound was edited together by Lucasfilm in 1998 or so, and represents a rough "scratch track" rather than polished, finished sound. Hence the gaps. It's filmmaking.
- Which OT preservation set(s?) was used for the pre-SE original scenes that were not replaced by rough cut material?
The old TR47 by Cowclops. Also used in Classic Edition, appearing in higher quality there.
- How many hours did you spend working on this DVD?
Too many. Mostly on weekends, when I was sick or bored.
- I've always toyed with the idea of making my own edit of the OT, with the most alterations (naturally) being in Star Wars. Are you opposed to allowing your work to be borrowed from? I just doubt there are better copies of Biggs' scenes in circulation, and your audio track for the Treadwell scene is great.
I feel that the scenes that were deleted were deleted for a reason, and couldn't/shouldn't really be integrated into the actual film, because they are of different quality and are often very silly. That's why I created a different style for Deleted Magic, when they give the impression of being integrated into the film but really you're watching something different, and more eccentric.
That said, you can use what you want, with full credit. The complete Jabba scene appears on Return of the Ewok.
- Does a complete black and white audio-less copy of the fabled lost cut actually still exist?
I am not sure if Mr. Reynolds viewed the COMPLETE film, but he certainly viewed a lot of it. So yes, it is most likely that a complete black and white copy of the Lost Cut exists, probably without any audio, as they weren't able to find the audio in 1998ish when they made Behind the Magic. All the Lost Cut material exists as raw unedited footage in the Lucas archives, in color and with sound, on 35mm film. It has been fairly well stored all these years, and could be restored in color if Lucas wanted, but it would be a big project. Check out the Anatomy of a Dewback Pt. 2 DVD ROM extra on the Deleted Magic disc for a glimpse into those vaults.
All the best ...