Do we really think George cares? He did in fact release the OUT on disc, just lazily and cheaply. And he has approved screenings of OUT prints. I think it’s more he never wanted to spend the millions to restore them, given they’re not his preferred version. If someone else spends the money, which Disney appears to be, I doubt he’d care so long as his preferred versions also remain available.
Very much this. 👍
With just one exception (emboldened for emphasis above)…
…it would only have cost George the price of making a duplicate negative - which he refused to do - prior to splicing the original negatives to make the 1997 Special Editions; as per Lucasfilm employees’ statements directly involved with the process at the time. Also, George’s claim of it ‘costing millions’ is, like many of his other claims over the years, disingenuous to say the least.
Even afterwards, such a restoration of the original cuts could have cost somewhere in the region of $100,000 - as of ~2018…
From the Some of George Lucas’ gaslighting & divisive comments made to/about fans over time… thread:-
| 15. “I’m not going to spend the, we’re talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that…” - George Lucas’ incorrect and disingenuous claim. |
|---|
^ A screenshot from the 2004 ‘Lucas talks as ‘Star Wars’ trilogy returns’ article on the 2004SE DVDs at Today•com
Firstly, it is worth highlighting that George Lucas refused to have a duplicate scan made of the unaltered theatrical cut for the Original Trilogy before altering the original negatives for the 1997 Special Editions (a project paid for in its entirety by 20th Century Fox). Something that “could be easily done” according to the Lucasfilm employees working on the actual project…
^ An abridged screenshot (edited for length) from Lucasfilm department director Bill Kimberlin’s 2018 book - ‘Inside The Star Wars Empire’, from ‘The Distraction’ chapter, starting on Page 194.
Respected professionals in the film preservation industry, as of 2018, put the figure at US $100,000 or so to cover the cost of a professional restoration of the Original Trilogy films; ‘to 4K and do it right’.
^ A screenshot of From Interpositives to Separation Masters: How Film Preservation Works - at the ‘Save Star Wars’ website (in 2010); with an list of possible options and costs open to Lucasfilm.
^ A screenshot of Frequently Asked Questions: ‘4 - Restoring or presenting the original versions in high quality is very expensive isn’t it? Lucas does not have the money or desire to do so.’ - at the ‘Save Star Wars’ website (in 2010); with a couple of restoration and pricing options.
^ A screenshot of Saving Star Wars: The Special Edition Restoration Process and its Changing Physicality - at The Secret History of Star Wars book website (in 2009).
^ A screenshot from ‘Could Disney finally give us the remastered, unedited Star Wars we want?’ - article at the ARS Technica website (in 2017); with a price option of ‘under a million dollars’.
And finally… the cost of a preservation / restoration release by the fans…
This screenshot taken from The Star Wars Trilogy’s 4K77, 4K80 & 4K83 Projects in July 2019, details some of the outlay involved for their respective project at being ‘a little over $16,000’ (no labour costs or profits made - just fans working on the project outside their regular jobs in their spare time):-
Note: Even in 2006, the esteemed Robert Harris - the man who had hand-restored ‘Vertigo’, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, and ‘The Godfather’ - is on record saying he knows there are pristine 35mm elements of the Original Trilogy available for use, and offered his services to restore the film - Lucasfilm did not respond to his offer…
^ A screenshot of Saving Star Wars: The Special Edition Restoration Process and its Changing Physicality - at The Secret History of Star Wars book website (in 2009). A screenshot of Robert Harris quote, via The Digital Bits website, can be found here.
Obviously, the work undertaken for the ALI OOT Restoration… given the levels of quality and scope (the new 6K scan in 2022, the attention to detail, the processes undertaken, and assembly of various sources etc) involved… may well likely cost significantly more.