I’m trying to figure out a few things with all the various releases of Star Wars in HD and I could use some help. I’m continuing to do my research but I could use a quick nudge in the right direction regarding what are the best versions currently available.
Original Trilogy
1997 - Special Edition Trilogy
It seems like there are projects currently underway to get these scanned from 35mm in HD but nothing as of now.
Harmy made a 720p “Respecialized Edition” for ANH that’s the 1997 SE, and Adywan made a 1080p(?) for the 1997 SE of ESB back when he was starting work on ESB:R. To my knowledge there’s no HD 1997 SE preservation for ROTJ.
2004 - DVD Trilogy Changes
Schorman’s HDTV Preservation seems best for HD versions of these. Am I wrong here?
This is correct.
Prequels
Theatrical Releases
These have never been released. It seems like there are several projects currently in the works for Episode I and Schorman did a restoration of Episode III but we have nothing for Episode II?
Correct, mostly because there’s no real good source for the theatrical Episode II beyond a cam recording of the 35mm version, which can’t exactly be replicated yet due to some visual changes that only exist on 35mm film. I do believe there’s a 35mm print on the docket to be scanned, but there was one for TPM too that turned out to be…well…toxic due to mold, so we won’t know for sure how the AOTC print will turn out. (Unless I’m mistaken and no one here actually purchased the print, I can’t remember at the moment.)
I do believe a theatrical DLP AOTC can be approximated using the cinema DTS and Schorman’s HDTV, assuming the garage extension was actually a DVD addition and not a DLP addition, and that there were no other audio changes from 35mm to DLP and the reported visual changes to the DVD were already present in the DLP version (which I think they may have been). But in the absence of a bootleg of the DLP version, we can’t know for sure.
JEDIT: I tried this using Schorman’s HDTV and the Centropy AOTC - turns out where the “to be angry…” exchange was added, the tail of one shot and the head of another shot were shortened, and there’s no good way to cut around that without also shortening the audio that I can come up with. So looks like we will actually need a 35mm scan or (somehow) a 2002-era DCP (is that even a thing?) to restore theatrical AOTC “properly.” Not that anyone really cares that much about the bastard stepchild of the franchise whose changes amount to all of fifteen seconds (not counting alternate shots whose length is the same), but still.
DVD Releases
Schorman’s HDTV Preservation seems best for HD versions of these. Am I wrong here?
Correct.