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70mm print of the pre-SE Star Wars film on Saturday in Academy Theater in CA! — Page 3

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digitalfreaknyc said:

So…

A little birdie told me the 70mm print is from 1984 so it shouldn’t have the fade…but it is definitely the original film.

So I’m guessing that means no original crawl tho? And would the mix be the same as a 1977 70mm print, or a more refined mix closer to the mono?

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emanswfan said:

digitalfreaknyc said:

So…

A little birdie told me the 70mm print is from 1984 so it shouldn’t have the fade…but it is definitely the original film.

So I’m guessing that means no original crawl tho? And would the mix be the same as a 1977 70mm print, or a more refined mix closer to the mono?

That I wouldn’t know. You’d have to ask someone a bit more knowledgeable. But I just can’t believe they’re doing this…

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emanswfan said:

digitalfreaknyc said:

So…

A little birdie told me the 70mm print is from 1984 so it shouldn’t have the fade…but it is definitely the original film.

So I’m guessing that means no original crawl tho? And would the mix be the same as a 1977 70mm print, or a more refined mix closer to the mono?

I’d be surprised if it was anything other than a duplicate of the same 70mm blowup master from 1977, so it should have the same sound mix and the 1977 crawl.

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ChainsawAsh said:

emanswfan said:

digitalfreaknyc said:

So…

A little birdie told me the 70mm print is from 1984 so it shouldn’t have the fade…but it is definitely the original film.

So I’m guessing that means no original crawl tho? And would the mix be the same as a 1977 70mm print, or a more refined mix closer to the mono?

I’d be surprised if it was anything other than a duplicate of the same 70mm blowup master from 1977, so it should have the same sound mix and the 1977 crawl.

Would they have kept the ‘77 crawl if the print was made after ‘81?

I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

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Holy bejeezus. I just stumbled across this news elsewhere and it’s very ironic since I was researching the academy museum opening anyways this very week.

There were a select few 70mm SE prints I thought with the standard dts discs. Pretty sure there were a few at least for Europe. 70mm prints ran right up to Titanic and one Tomorrow Never Dies blowup print with a handful of random ones done before the big IMAX revival and new 15 perf prints being made leading to down eventually making 70mm prints such as he aforementioned superhero titles and things like The Master etc

If I had known sooner I would have just driven to the airport and flown out. There’s no telling what the shape of the print is-or if the show will be very good as there are so few locations for 70mm now. The last time I even heard of a showing of 70mm SW was the collector who showed mastering engineer Steve Hoffman and some friends his own 77 print which had completely red shifted. So it would have to be a later print to be showable and even 80’s blowups can go pink so there’s no telling what they have.
The academy has an archive they loan from for arthouses and museums but it is very tight lipped and you rarely hear about it outside of promo brochures etc listing them. Since the LoC doesn’t even have an original print on file this is big news and to me the first and most hopeful sign that Disney will or can release the OOT.
It doesn’t get more official than this AND almost all announcements, restorations or reissues start with a few arthouse/festival/industry shows like this.
Showing a worn 70 print means:
They have a blowup of rogue one and wanted one to match that
It is the only version they have in their archive
the 4k is not done and thus there is no version they have to show otherwise of the original version other than the best print they could obtain

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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Let me just say it here, if the OOT ever does happen we have got to finally have an OT con
But of course set up exactly like the Yavin throne room where we all then go nuts.

Just saying…a little wishful thinking goes as long way…

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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StarkillerAG said:

captainsolo said:

the LoC doesn’t even have an original print on file

They actually have 2 original prints, according to the LOC website. One of the prints is “preservation material,” the other is a “reference print.”

Right. They have the original copyright deposits, but the National Film Registry doesn’t have the archival print it requested.

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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StarkillerAG said:

captainsolo said:

the LoC doesn’t even have an original print on file

They actually have 2 original prints, according to the LOC website. One of the prints is “preservation material,” the other is a “reference print.”

Right. They have the original copyright deposits, but the National Film Registry doesn’t have the archival print it requested.

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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Did anyone make it?

If they showed Star Wars first, it would’ve ended a couple hours ago.

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Fang Zei said:

Did anyone make it?

If they showed Star Wars first, it would’ve ended a couple hours ago.

They showed it second…so that it makes sense

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 (Edited)

Just got out. Program began with Rogue One introduced by John Knoll. Super neat, but that’s not why you’re here.

John Dykstra introduced a 70mm print struck for the UK but never screened (I heard someone say it was ‘81, but the date was never formally stated). It was never screened because the first time it was projected, the print tore, and thus there was about two seconds of pretty major damage right as the Death Star blows up, but otherwise, the print was immaculate. Minimal damage and virtually no fading. “A New Hope” was on the crawl, but otherwise, it’s the original film.

Apparently, after some convincing, Lucas himself signed off on the Academy showing this version of the film. That’s huge, because he has firmly not allowed the original version to be publicly screened since before 1997. What does that mean for future releases? Who can say, but this screening is something that seemed impossible just one week ago.

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Interesting that they still felt the need to have George sign off on it. And even more interesting that he finally did as even major events and industry have been ordered to now show original prints or sent SE prints only or dcps of the Blu-ray masters.

Maybe we should all write in but instead of doing our usual release the OOT petition simply say thank you for finally letting it out there.

Thanks for the in-depth report. This explains quite a bit and why there would suddenly be a preserved 70mm blowup print available without fading. I do believe at least one 80’s reissue featured some 70 prints so that would likely be be last time any were shown to the public. If this has been indeed been properly vaulted since 1981 then I’ll bet immaculate doesn’t even begin to describe its quality.

Heck if it was WB then they would just roadshow that one print nationwide and make a fortune. That’s how they originally wanted to do Blade Runner and just make some prints off the 70mm workprint that showed at the Nuart in 1991.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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Nice news. Shame that we can’t rely on it to signal a home release though, I’ve known other films that have screenings at festivals etc but never see the light of day anywhere else.

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This is still a major turning point, what it means for the future remains to be seen. Hopefully there will be more screenings of this print.

And thanks for the field report, DavidMDaut! 😃

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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George “needing” to sign off on it is an interesting little detail in this story, but even if they actually needed his permission (debatable, the Academy might’ve simply asked him first out of respect, given their long relationship), the big takeaway here is that he still said yes.

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George’s answer might just have been “Heck, I don’t care. I don’t have a say in this anymore anyway.”, which wouldn’t sound as good, so they made this a “He said yes.”

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That would knock some holes in the theory there’s a never release the OOT clause in the Disney deal though?

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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Since it’s just a theory, there’s not much fact to knock holes into.

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I would think that if there had been that clause there would have also have been the use his ideas for the sequel trilogy clause.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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 (Edited)

How do we even know John Dykstra wasn’t joking when he said George “gave permission”?

Anyway, this screening by the Academy can only be another good sign as far as I’m concerned, but like Mocata said, I’m not getting my hopes up.

I wonder why the film tear in the 70mm print happened to … happen during the death star explosion. Maybe that was a reel changeover…

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 (Edited)

DavidMDaut said:

Just got out. Program began with Rogue One introduced by John Knoll. Super neat, but that’s not why you’re here.

What a lucky man. I’m so jealous. It must have been incredible.

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 (Edited)

I was there as well. My understanding (unless I totally misunderstood what Dykstra said) was that this print was a 70mm UK print struck in the early 90s for one off special screenings, such as charity events. It was damaged the first time it was run with a decent 2’ / 2 second tear during the explosion of the Death Star (which is in the MIDDLE of the final reel). It was immediately pulled from circulation and left gathering dust, never to be run again for 25 or so years. Dykstra made it sound like the Academy projectionist is the one that actually repaired the damage which allowed it to be shown again (which might also explain why it was a last minute announce/addition to the programming).

As for the print itself… Holy Jeebus! I can’t imagine it looked any better opening day of any of the 70mm re-releases. It was gorgeous and other than that 2 seconds of damage (which, BTW, didn’t require any frames to be lost to repair and didn’t affect the sound), the print was pretty immaculate. Dykstra did say there was considerable effort of the part of many to get Lucas’s approval, so I sadly wouldn’t hold out much hope that this print suddenly finds its way into more and more screenings. I think it could be seen again, but my gut tells me (to quote Indy) only on special occasions. The bigger news to me though is just the knowledge that this exists in the first place and therefore it IS possible should that occasion ever happen.