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Harmy's RETURN OF THE JEDI Despecialized Edition HD - V3.1 — Page 137

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Perhaps something could be set up where multiple users chip in to cover the cost. Like when Harmy needed some help with the licence renewal of some video editing software.

The NJVC Custom Bluray Set of Harmy’s Despecialized Editions is available on Mega.

Go to this thread

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 (Edited)

“Reels one and four are EastmanColor, Reels two, three, four and seven are LPP Low Fade. Reel six is FujiColor and is showing the first stages of vinegar syndrome, but the other six reels seem to be okay. All pictures are captured frames from the actual print with no touch up. The two EastmanColor reels have turned warm, but there is still some color. All pictures are captured frames from the actual print with no touch up or color correction, so check them carefully to judge the condition of the film.”

Well, don’t spend too much on it. There have been other prints scanned already (one of which was used in Despecialized 2.5). I’m not 100% sure this would be useful. The fading of the non LPP reels doesn’t seem too extreme yet (if those images are really untouched), but given that unfaded prints have been scanned, I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble. If you want it for your own personal collection, keep in mind that three of the reels will fade to red. And one of them is going to eventually be destroyed completely and should not be kept with the others.

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Ah, OK. Nevermind.

If the “Despecializers” won’t have a use for it, then disregard.

The NJVC Custom Bluray Set of Harmy’s Despecialized Editions is available on Mega.

Go to this thread

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Better prints have been preserved. MUCH better prints.

What’s the internal temperature of a TaunTaun? Luke warm.

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Yep. In fact, IIRC Jedi is the only one of the OT for which the community already has scans of every frame (4K77 still has some missing frames filled in with 97SE and Blu-Ray frames), and it’s in significantly better condition than the SW and ESB prints that have been scanned (though the new ESB print Poita has acquired is in fantastic condition as well).

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ChainsawAsh said:

Yep. In fact, IIRC Jedi is the only one of the OT for which the community already has scans of every frame (4K77 still has some missing frames filled in with 97SE and Blu-Ray frames), and it’s in significantly better condition than the SW and ESB prints that have been scanned (though the new ESB print Poita has acquired is in fantastic condition as well).

i believe the print that TN1 will use for 4k83 is in excellent conditions, for example.

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So 4k83 is here.
Which edition wins the all round, one-copy-only, best ROTJ at the moment?
Harmy 2.5 or 4k83?

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odok76 said:

So 4k83 is here.
Which edition wins the all round, one-copy-only, best ROTJ at the moment?
Harmy 2.5 or 4k83?

Personal preference, really. Despecialized contains virtually zero GOUT. It’s basically all blu-ray and 35mm.

4K83 is extremely clean. I’ve seen commercial blu-rays and TV airings of movies with more scratches or dirt. The image is a little softer, and there are clearly limitations that are inherent to the reel-by-reel grading method. I think once someone does a shot-by-shot version of 4K83 (and as a personal preference, removes the reel change markers), it will be pretty damn hard to beat that. I think some shots look better in 4K83, because they’re purely from the original source. For instance, the early shot of 3PO and R2 at the door.

Two fantastic options.

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towne32 said:

odok76 said:

So 4k83 is here.
Which edition wins the all round, one-copy-only, best ROTJ at the moment?
Harmy 2.5 or 4k83?

Personal preference, really. Despecialized contains virtually zero GOUT. It’s basically all blu-ray and 35mm.

4K83 is extremely clean. I’ve seen commercial blu-rays and TV airings of movies with more scratches or dirt. The image is a little softer, and there are clearly limitations that are inherent to the reel-by-reel grading method. I think once someone does a shot-by-shot version of 4K83 (and as a personal preference, removes the reel change markers), it will be pretty damn hard to beat that. I think some shots look better in 4K83, because they’re purely from the original source. For instance, the early shot of 3PO and R2 at the door.

Two fantastic options.

The 35mm footage in Despecialized is shaky (I believe the technical term is gate weave) during the dance scene and some of the sail barge scenes. Is this present in 4K83?

The Person in Question

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4K83 is a bit more stable, but there’s still gate weave (though it was stabilized to sprocket holes, so the gate weave is inherent in the print itself). It’s less noticeable because it’s throughout rather than sandwiched between rock-stable BR footage.

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odok76 said:

So 4k83 is here.
Which edition wins the all round, one-copy-only, best ROTJ at the moment?
Harmy 2.5 or 4k83?

Keep in mind these are two projects aiming for two different things: Harmy has produced a stunning production, and it’s a miracle it is what it is, given how it was made. 4K83, on the other hand, and in my personal opinion, succeeds so completely at being a 4K restoration of the film you would have (and I wish I could have, were I old enough) seen in theatres. I have nothing but admiration and respect for Harmy’s DE, but for me, it’s no competition, 4K83 is THE WAY I will watch Jedi from now on.

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Was there gate weave in the 35mm used for SW and ESB? I don’t remember there being any if there was.

The Person in Question

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Not too obviously, but I think ROTJ is worse because the 35mm material only became available to Harmy when he was pretty much done with ROTJ 2.0 (I think that was the case, at least). Maybe he would’ve stabilized it further if he’d had access to it sooner.

Then again, I was wrong earlier when I said 4K83 is only sprocket-hole-stabilized - ohteedee said that while he was working on it, the gate weave was so excessive when just sprocket-stabilized that he had to stabilize it even further, prompting some to complain since that gate weave is part of the print and possibly should have been left in for the initial “master” release. But apparently it was so bad that he couldn’t leave it sprocket-stabilized without it being extremely distracting.

So it’s possible that ROTJ is just that difficult to work with as far as gate weave goes, all the way back to the negative.

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moviefreakedmind said:

Was there gate weave in the 35mm used for SW and ESB? I don’t remember there being any if there was.

He can correct me if I’m wrong, but much of what Harmy used for SW (and I think this is largely true for ESB) was from 35mm sources for lots of composite shots, but not large raw chunks of the film. Sources for the full films became more available and of higher quality as time went on. Harmy did blu-ray/35mm composites for Jedi as well, but he also had shots and scenes that were purely 35mm that time around. So the hybrid nature of that one was more obvious between shots, while the earlier projects had more hybridization ‘seams’ within shots, if that makes sense.

For SW 2.7, the film sources were surely stabilized so some degree by TN1. And I stabilized and otherwise tinkered things to try to get them to fit in with the blu-ray, as needed.

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oojason said:

Bluto’s comprehensive and quality ’Guide to Downloading Projects from Usenet’ thread, in the How-To’s and Technical Discussions section of the site, may also be of interest for those members looking to acquire Harmy’s Despecialized Editions - or TN1’s 4K OT Preservation Projects.

solkap’s ’NJVC Custom Blu-ray Set of Harmy’s Despecialized Editions now available on Mega’ thread - with helpful and concise step-by-step guide - is a great option on how to acquire this particular Set.

I thought the above is also worth mentioning in here to help people find another method of obtaining projects on here.

Those are truly superb guides Bluto and solkap! Well done and thank you both 😃
 

Tighten Up and then turn it all the way up to 11!

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Could we have checksums (MD5) for the MKV file please? Like the first 2 movies that have them in their first post.

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I believe this is the MD5 checksum for ROTJ v2.5 MKV:

BB61CFE99632010CDD13BA8F5CEFD35A

Bluto