A shot by shot regrade destroys the color relationships between shots, and thus cannot really be seen as an accurate representation of what was seen in theatres in 1977.
If the shots in the reference print differ from each other, but individual LUTs accurately match each shot from the target (4k77, the BD, whatever) to each shot from the reference, then surely the color relationships should be preserved? By “color relationships between shots”, I assume that you mean the inconsistencies in color that occur from shot to shot.
I mean a shot by shot regrade, that aims to improve consistency without the use of a reference. Additionally, if an accurate reference was available, a target like 4K77 would not need a shot by shot regrade, because the accurate relationships between shots are already preserved. Color matching a a number of representative shots of the target to the reference would be enough to get the entire target to closely match the reference.