I know that most of this site loves the “real” original trilogy but I am one of those who grew up on the 97 special edition. I read that there were some projects ongoing to digitalize this trilogy in high quality. What is a current status of those? i have some amateurish DVD made from the run of SE in TV but the quality is not great. is there any way to get full SE trilogy in high quality nowdays?
Thanks in advance for any info 😃
I think we’re meant to search out projects on here for ourselves, rather than creating threads just to ask where they are? There would be 1000s of threads on here like this if not?
The 1997 Special Edition preservation projects can be found in the Star Wars Preservation forum.
There is a “Project Index” thread pinned at the top of that forum, and there is a section in it just for 1997 Special Edition projects. There are projects available in HD, some ‘Work In Progress’ in 4K/35mm sourced, and other SE projects in there too.
This 1997 SE : The changes to the OT films & general 1997 Special Edition discussion thread has a massive amount of information on the 1997 Special Editions. Including the bizarre fact that the 1997 Special Edition never got an official release on DVD, blu ray, or on UHD blu ray. Just low quality releases on formats such as VHS, Laserdisc and VCD.
The “Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com”, “About”, “Help”, and “How do I do this on the OriginalTrilogy.com?” threads pinned on this website have more information on how to acquire many of the projects that are listed on here, and also for other helpful topics.
I hope you find a good 1997 Special Edition preservation project in high quality for you to enjoy.
Edit: Star Wars: A New Hope (1997 Special Edition) - 35mm Calibrated Scan [Donations Needed!] looks very promising.
If they can get enough donations.