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What is your main way of watching the Original Trilogy? — Page 4

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4K77 and 4K83, NO DNR!, for both STAR WARS and RETURN OF THE JEDI. Since 4K80 is incomplete regarding THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, last I checked was around October last year, I figure on watching one of the random THX Laserdisc captures many different people have done.
Only own the retail 4K Disney/Lucasfilm 2019 releases, more for the bonus features, and none prior. Was going to get all the officially released iterations on DVD and BD but I can hold off for awhile. (2004, 2006, and 2011, I think?) Movie-Censorship has helped immensely. No clue regarding the 1997 Special Editions since as I’ve stated or about to, want the originals as first released in cinemas and all official iterations.

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I’m not really picky but I usually go for Revisited or Despecialized/4K77-83 depending on how I’m feeling.

Might check out the Alan Dean Foster novelization of SW77 eventually though.

“Get over violence, madness and death? What else is there?”

Also known as Mr. Liquid Jungle.

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Upon thinking about it, I’ll wind up watching the 2004 set until I can burn myself a DeD, Revisited, or 4K77 because of the nostalgia factor I have for the set. (it was the very first version of Star Wars that I ever saw due to my being 30 years late for the original theater experience.)

I’m not really that much of a movie purist. I really should’ve thought my name out a bit more.

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I used to just watch the GOUT versions until I figured out how to see what Harmy was making. Which means I haven’t had to suffer through the SE changes since 2006. What a relief. I’d probably check out other versions that came straight from existing prints but I just don’t have the hardware or know-how, but that’s okay.

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Mocata said:

I used to just watch the GOUT versions until I figured out how to see what Harmy was making. Which means I haven’t had to suffer through the SE changes since 2006. What a relief. I’d probably check out other versions that came straight from existing prints but I just don’t have the hardware or know-how, but that’s okay.

Not being very tech-savy myself I too was a bit intimidated by how complex it seemed to download the 4K scans, but it really just boils down to downloading a free program, copy-pasting a code from a list and waiting for the films to download to your PC. The only hardware requirements boils down to how much storage space you have.

As great as Harmy’s work is I have to say that the 4K versions have become my ultimate go to versions. They really look fantastic. And the fully cleaned up version of ESB should be done some time this year.

Star Wars is Surrealism, not Science Fiction (essay)
Original Trilogy Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Amazon link to my novel; Dawn of the Karabu.

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My versions are 4K77 without DNR, ESB Renegade Grindhouse and 4K83

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As for me, I mostly use the JSC Laserdisc whenever I watch the OT.

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Like many people it is Harmy’s Despecialized that we watch.

The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

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At this point there’s no need. I have an encyclopedic memory of all three movies, you could just name a frame number and I could draw it by hand.

Reading R + L ≠ J theories

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Not sure if helpful but here’s mine:

ANH - 4K77 DNR v1.0 (I know it’s outdated, but I like the color grading, I like the film grain, the crackles that make it look it’s from a projection print, the superb 4K image quality. It’s perfect. It IS Star Wars. I think personally, TN1 SSE is a good runner up. I know the colors, as it had it explained to me are not accurate and the scan of is of adequate quality, but that’s somewhat why I like it. It looks like an amateur film print you’d find in a storage locker and then project it with friends, like a lost artifact from long ago. It also reminds me of a version of SW that exists in another timeline, where something was not lovingly restored, let’s say it bombed at the box office and Fox just transferred a dupe they had lying around. SSE is what that release would look like imo, but 4K77 to me, it’s the purist way to see that film.

ESB - This is a tough one. The BETA 1 of 4K80 looks astonishing, but I gotta hand it to D+80. The color grading is quite nice. Has some footage of TN1 Renegade Dreamaster spliced in, great audio options. It’s my go to version for now. 4K80 is seemingly going to be my definitive version. I’m not a fan of DE 2.0. It has a few color grading errors. See example here: https://i.imgur.com/mkOQzcf.png

ROTJ - 4K83 for authenticity, but I have to hand it to OTD83. It looks stunning, I’m just a purist when it comes to the OT. So 4K83 feels more true to me, but the mix of 35MM shots and 4k UHD footage adds an excellent mix and fixes some of the VFX errors the 1983 version had.

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I don’t have 4k at my place, so it’s Harmy’s despecialized editions for me! I also have a soft spot for Puggo Grande’s 16mm preservations if for no other reason than to see a close approximation of what the trilogy looked like in a theatre. Plus, I like researching film prints and seeing what the colors actually looked like on film (or might have due to deterioration of the print).

I have altered Lucas’ visions. Pray I don’t alter them any further.

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Eyepainter, if you enjoy seeing and learning about prints. You should definitely track down 4K77, 4K83, and (soon) 4K80. You don’t have to have 4K equipment. There are 1080p versions of all of them.

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4K77 and 4K83!

Despecialized or the Special Edition blu-ray for Empire.

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canofhumdingers said:

Eyepainter, if you enjoy seeing and learning about prints. You should definitely track down 4K77, 4K83, and (soon) 4K80. You don’t have to have 4K equipment. There are 1080p versions of all of them.

I was able to find 4K77 on archive.org but can’t find the 1080p version of 4K83. All the torrent sites (I prefer not to use usenet) have the 2160 version)

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In about two more days my home theater will be completed and I’ll be watching Star Wars on an 11 foot wide CinemaScope screen. It’s been a project two years in the making and a lifetime in dreaming. I’m quite floored to be so close!

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canofhumdingers said:

In about two more days my home theater will be completed and I’ll be watching Star Wars on an 11 foot wide CinemaScope screen. It’s been a project two years in the making and a lifetime in dreaming. I’m quite floored to be so close!

That looks amazing! The whole thing.

Which Star Wars are you going to watch first, and also which version? Enjoy!

The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

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Thanks! We’ve been doing the final equipment install and calibration over the last two days. In that process we’ve had to put some things up on the screen to verify aspect ratios and things are set correctly. Among other non Star Wars films I’ve viewed a few minutes of 4K77, 4K83, and Rogue One. It’s an 11 foot wide cinemascope screen with a native 4K projector. They all look amazing!

Hoping to watch 4K77 in its entirety really soon. And maybe 4K77 2.0 pretty soon from the sound of things. 4K80 will be a top priority as soon as it’s available and 4K83 will follow that naturally.

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I’d like to watch Despecialized. I’ve heard high praise.

But for now I just watch on D+. Haven’t owned the DVDs in years.

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Harmy’s Despecialized, though I’ve recently been interested in trying out the 4Kxx versions. I’ve got a 75’’ 4K TV now so I’m trying to transition everything to 4K where I can.

I just don’t know if I’ll like the “rougher” look of them, so we’ll see what happens. I look forward to when Harmy or someone else releases a more “clean” 4K edit that is based on the official 4K Blu Rays.

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I like the oohteedee way of doing it. Which pretty much takes the 4K Disney versions and uses 35mm prints to remove the offensive CGI crap. It’s not theatrical accurate. Though I prefer having digitally composited ships that are slightly out of place than the theatrical optically composited version that has matte lines and makes the ships look like cardboard cutouts.

Though in Empire, I do prefer the Vader’s “Prepare for my arrival” line better than the original. Though that could just be because I’ve been watching the special editions for the past 20 years as the last time I’d seen the theatrical versions before oohteedee’s versions was back in the 80’s when they did that big TV broadcast.

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Used to be the 2006 DVDs, but now it’s the despecialized versions.

All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph!

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Harmy’s Despecialized Editions for me too.

The 2006 GOUT sits proudly on my DVD shelf. More for what they represent than the actual low quality of the content.

I’m looking forward to seeing the completed 4K80, to go alongside their '77 and '83 releases. Someone posted that a “5th Beta” for 4K80 was recently released?, so it appears a finished release could be soon (ish).
 

Adywan’s Revisited Edits will be my choice for any “Special Edition” cuts of the Original Trilogy.