Does the 2K scan of Star wars from 1997 still exist?

What I would give to buy those files from Lucasfilm… I do own the trilogy on Video CD. While it is very low quality and in pan & scan format, I still appreciate owning a legit digital copy of the Special Editions. Of course, since then, we got a few very nice DVB recordings (TB, GKAR, REIVAX) and even a capture direct from DigiBeta (Flunk). I should also not forget The Aluminum Falcon’s 4K scans of the trilogy, which captures the theatrical experience at home, and beautifully at that.

I really can’t complain about all the ways to watch these versions. But the ones that feels the most like an official release to me are the “Five Star Collection” Bootleg DVDs. Very similar to the GOUT in that it is a Laserdisc master smashed on a DVD disc in 4:3 aspect ratio, letterboxed to preserve the film’s aspect ratio (Non-anamorphic). The only real difference is that the GOUT is a direct copy of the Laserdisc master, while these bootlegs have an extra step in between (The Laserdisc itself). I am very glad to own those bootlegs, and they stand proudly in my living room.

I think there is no real chance we will ever get an official release of the 1997 Special Editions again. George probably views them as just as depricated as the original versions. But still, I am very thankful there are so many possibilities to watch them.

That guy with no name said:

In 1997, as part of the restoration, the newly assembled negative was scanned and digitally restored in 2k. does this mean that there is currently a 2k file of the original film(s) sitting in lucasfilm archive?

There is no 2K scan of the special edition trilogy, the restoration was all analog and physical, Digitizing the entire film in 1996 would have been PROHIBITED due to the high cost and limited storage capacity of hard drives, the only thing that was scanned were the scenes that were going to be “enhanced” with CGI like the entrance to Mos Eisley until its exit, (Which was what George always wanted since 1977), or the stay on Bespin, and for some recompositions using original negative pieces, That George Lucas had saved for all these years and that LucasFilm surely has in a Disney vault, if today each piece were digitized in 4K or 6K and those scenes were recomposed, they would look better than ever, and scenes that even in 1997 were never recomposed would look very modernized, it is worth dreaming that one day they will make a recomposed edition…

Anakin94 said:

YAREL_RGP said:
There is no 2K scan of the special edition trilogy, the restoration was all analog and physical,

And how the 2004 SE was made?
AFAIK it’s based on the 1997 SE 2k scan.

No, the only things that got scanned in for ‘97 were anything getting vfx added to them or if they were existing vfx shots that were getting recomposited.

The entirety of the OT films weren’t scanned in until it came time for the dvd release. Lucasfilm had the camera negatives scanned in at 2k at a post house and then did their color correction (such as it was) and ILM made whatever additional changes George wanted.

This was then sent off to Lowry who restored the movie in 1920:1080 HD and full RGB.

They were meant for DVD. Why Lucas thought they were good enough for Blu-Ray, I really have no explanation. Not to mention further changes. And fixes.

Just to think even the 2020 UHD only happened because of the 3D release that was cancelled and those scans.

We had the same HD master on DVD, HDTV, and Blu-Ray for what 15 or 16 years.

That guy with no name said:

JadedSkywalker said:

They were meant for DVD. Why Lucas thought they were good enough for Blu-Ray, I really have no explanation. Not to mention further changes. And fixes.

Just to think even the 2020 UHD only happened because of the 3D release that was cancelled and those scans.

We had the same HD master on DVD, HDTV, and Blu-Ray for what 15 or 16 years.

John Lowry literally said that when the Blu-Rays would come out, Lucas would most likely come back for a better restoration… That never happened.

Given that the blu-ray came out in 2011 and the Reliance master (for 3D) was completed the following year, I’m thinking the Reliance master was supposed to be on the blu-ray, but got delayed (hence implementing the changes meant for the 3D release on the old master).

Anakin94 said:

YAREL_RGP said:
There is no 2K scan of the special edition trilogy, the restoration was all analog and physical,

And how the 2004 SE was made?
AFAIK it’s based on the 1997 SE 2k scan.

In 2004 the only thing that was digitized from 1997 were the SE scenes plus the redone wipes, everything else is from the original camera negative, perhaps in some trailers from 2003 when the trilogy was announced on DVD you could see scenes with the 1997 colorimetry since the digital restoration of the negatives was still in process and they had to show something now, this is the reason why the DVD menus and cover images have very different colors than the HD Master.
https://blog.sporv.com/the-strange-case-of-star-wars-rai-tre-broadcast/ and http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Star-Wars-2004-DVD-Interactive-Menus-vs-Movie/id/15265