Anyway, what’s so special about the 70mm ESB? Didn’t ANH also have picture and sound differences between the 35mm and 70mm versions?
Sound, yes, picture, no. ESB is the only one to have visual/editing differences between 70mm and 35mm, which was just down to a few VFX shots in the final scene being unfinished when the 70mm prints were struck IIRC.
I seem to recall reading there were also slightly different scene transitions between the two. Some of the audio changes were carried over to the SE. ‘It’ll keep you warm until I get the shelter up’ ‘You were lucky to get out of there’ etc.
In theater audio recordings of 70mm ESB screenings have proven the “SE carryover” dialogue differences wrong (and proven the final scene differences correct). Here’s a thread about it.
Fantastic to finally be able to hear how close it really was to the regular 35mm Dolby Stereo in terms of content, whining snowspeeder, shelter built, the same “the first transport is away”, you’re lucky you don’t taste very good, I know where luke is etc. are all in the 70mm as well. Even the few extra lines and alternates heard here and there in the '97SE that many have claimed to be 70mm dialogue are not present.
Haven’t listened to it from beginning to end yet, but the quality of the recording wasn’t bad at all. What a damn fine job you did capturing this piece of SW-history and sharing it with us 30 years later! Simply amazing!