Do you ever find yourself wanting to watch STAR WARS but can’t decide on what version to watch? Why not watch all of them! Here is the STAR WARS you know and love but every other shot comes from a randomized source! Laserdisc, SDTV, Bluray, 35mm, 8mm, this has it all!
This is a fun little project of mine that is part of a larger project that I’ll be showing off soon. 4 Versions of Star Wars, broken down shot by shot in a spreadsheet that contains the in and out for each shot and how the different cuts relate to each other. From that database, a script is created that mixes and matches various different sources and different cuts of the film into one nauseating but watchable cut. A single viewing of Star Wars that spans 40 years of authorised and unauthorised home video releases.
The project is created through formulas which create an avisyth script which then creates this. Right now I have a sample but the full length film will be available very soon. A note that the script interacts with files that have simply been downloaded and demuxed from mp4 to mkv, no other alterations have been made, the scrpt mixes SE and GOUT sources without breaking a sweat.
SAMPLES: Battle of Yavin https://streamable.com/soh09
Luke Meets Obi-wan https://streamable.com/4ucal
What is the purpose of this?
First it is to test out this new database, having the source change at every cut allows me to check for misplaced frame counts, one of which is in the sample linked above. Any help identifying misaligned cuts is most appreciated.
Second, as a proof of concept to what I believe will be an important tool for Star Wars restorations, having all these sources catalogued precisely will allow for custom star wars versions to be created with simple expressions. Stay tuned for a separate thread on that.
Third, it’s very interesting to see STAR WARS in this way, with the color changing constantly, image artefacts switching from dust and grain to disc rot, video noise, DVNR smearing, over sharpening, aliasing. It’s a fascinating look at how star wars has looked over 40 years and how it could look when taking into account all of these differences. Every time I watch I find myself enjoying the look of various different colors. I don’t think there is a single film out there that has had so many different looks.
Sources used:
4K77 non-DNR v1.0
4K77 DNR v1.0
4K77 Grindhouse
Silver Screen Editon v1.6
Derann Super 8mm (Althor1138)
Despecialized v2.7
1995 THX Faces LD (Spanish) (Althor1138)
Japanese Special Collections edition LD (Althor1138)
1997 SE LD (Althor1138)
Special Edition Team Blu BD
GOUT (Return of the GOUT Upscale)
HDTV (Schorman)
Retail Bluray
Database sources are the Shotlist here started by none and none’s AARRSSTW which had the frame counts in a spreadsheet which came from negative1.
Full version on the Spleen.