In the list of this forum or even the star wars trilogy forum, there seems to be hunreds of ways to watch them. Probably most people lean towards 4k76,80 and 83, but mainly I’d like to know why and if there’s anyone that prefers other versions also why. And also the title lol.
Personally I’d like to see an updated version that has more color, but how could I not love the 35mm scans.
For me personally for a happy medium mix of both Theatrical and Special I lean towards Hal9000’s Custom Special Edition’s, They are A very good mix of the 1997 Special Edition with the right amount of bad stuff removed, Example; Only Han Shoots, No CGI Jabba and no Jedi Rocks in Return of the Jedi, he also has added mutiple audio tracks so you have the option of new Boba or old Boba. More details can be found on his post/thread here:
If you want the original versions, there are two flavours available. There are the film sourced versions, and also the versions that use the Blu rays as the primary sources.
If you like the modern Blu ray look, I’d recommend the D+ series by oohteedee, which use the 4K UHD Blu rays along with bits of the 4K77-83 projects to patch out the special edition changes. They don’t patch out every change like Despecialized, but are of higher quality than the older SW and ESB versions by Harmy.
If you like the film look, you have a lot of options as there are various versions of the 4K projects, both with and without DNR. These would be my recommendations.
4K77 - v1.0 No-DNR / DNR
4K80 - v1.0 No-DNR / irishogrady v3.0 DNR
4K83 - v1.4 / v1.6
I love me some Despecialized Editions by Harmy - a beautiful modern looking reconstruction of the theatrical cuts for the OT.
and nightstalkerpoet (NSP) has done some quality projects with improving and upscaling the 2006 official GOUT DVD release.
There are also some lovely preservation projects from laserdisc and home video tape releases - for that old-skool feel & vibe.
For me, adywan’s Original Trilogy Revisited is a must-watch for anyone interested in an enhanced Special Edition type project.
The following categories also have many discussions on ‘Watching Star Wars’ - members’ preferences?, which is best?, which type of preservations suit? which fan edits? etc - as well as other members’ thoughts, likes, and recommendations…
‘2️⃣ Ⓑ • Watching the Original Trilogy for the first time - and introducing the next generation’, in the ‘Fandom’ section of… An Index & Help Thread for Original Trilogy Discussion.
‘5️⃣ • Home Video Releases & Formats for the Original Trilogy’ section of… An Index & Help Thread for Original Trilogy Discussion
‘3️⃣ • Which Editions…?’ section of… An Index & Help Thread for Theatrical Cuts vs. Subsequent Releases
'8️⃣ • Watching Star Wars’ section of… An Index & Help Thread for General Star Wars Discussion
‘🔢 • The ‘Which Is Best?’ Star Wars Preservation Project discussion threads…’ section of… An Index & Help Thread for Star Wars Preservation Projects
‘🔢 • What Are The ‘Best’ Star Wars Fan Edits? (subjective discourse on which Fan Edits are highly rated / liked / suit viewers…)’ section of… An Index & Help Thread for Star Wars Fan Edits
Always good to read members’ differing opinions on which they personally prefer (especially over the years on here)… 👍
A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…
Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
‘How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com - includes info on how to ask for a fan project and how to search for projects and threads on OT•com.
We’re a community here - not ‘a download site’ - so join in with the discussions: do NOT lazily make ‘link request’ posts / new threads asking for projects.
Am I the only one that feels overwhelmed with the choices and end up not watching any version? 😄
I guess the proper way to do it is to watch all the options instead…
Am I the only one that feels overwhelmed with the choices and end up not watching any version? 😄
I guess the proper way to do it is to watch all the options instead…
I’ve chosen the very patient option: Wait for the 50th anniversary 4k restoration, coming out a year from now. 😉
Am I the only one that feels overwhelmed with the choices and end up not watching any version? 😄
I guess the proper way to do it is to watch all the options instead…I’ve chosen the very patient option: Wait for the 50th anniversary 4k restoration, coming out a year from now. 😉
Ha! I hope you are right, altough i dont think so.
Merengue said:
Ha! I hope you are right, altough i dont think so.
The cinema screenings of the theatrical cut for the 50th anniversary are confirmed for Feb 19 2027. Home releases are a different matter, but are unlikely to not happen.
Merengue said:
Ha! I hope you are right, altough i dont think so.The cinema screenings of the theatrical cut for the 50th anniversary are confirmed for Feb 19 2027. Home releases are a different matter, but are unlikely to not happen.
Imo, it would be weird if they do a full on remaster of the original trilogy just to show it for a couple of weeks in theaters. If they released it on physical, they would sell out instantly
Merengue said:
Ha! I hope you are right, altough i dont think so.The cinema screenings of the theatrical cut for the 50th anniversary are confirmed for Feb 19 2027. Home releases are a different matter, but are unlikely to not happen.
Confirmed, this is the best way to watch it. If I remember right, they are only releasing Star Wars for the 50th, though. No ESB or ROTJ.
Merengue said:
Ha! I hope you are right, altough i dont think so.The cinema screenings of the theatrical cut for the 50th anniversary are confirmed for Feb 19 2027. Home releases are a different matter, but are unlikely to not happen.
Confirmed, this is the best way to watch it. If I remember right, they are only releasing Star Wars for the 50th, though. No ESB or ROTJ.
Right, only SW is confirmed, but I suspect that ESB and ROTJ will follow quite quickly. We won’t have to wait until 2030 and 2033.
I enjoy Harmy’s Despecialized Edtion of the trilogy and after that, i watch the first Special Edition.
Due to the awful Home Video/DTV colors of ANH, i prefer Harmy’s Respecialized Edition.
For ESB and ROTJ the DTV versions of the SE are decent and i like them.
So that is my personal best way to watch.
I like the Special Edition from 1997 because of nostalgia.
Most recently I’m a fan of the grindhouse scans, as well as the TV broadcasts from the 80s. Those commercials get me every time.
I must also say I spent the weekend watching Bobson’s fan edit of ESB with the extra scenes (as well of ROTS). these are awesome!
Unfortunately officially it’s still laserdisc. For the 1981 cut of Star Wars, And the second theatrical cut of Empire from 1980, and Return of the Jedi 1983. And for the 1997 cuts of Star Wars trilogy, and the Phantom Menace.
Similarly for THX 1138 and American Graffiti.
It’s sort of a bad joke, what Lucas has done.
He kept laserdisc alive decades beyond its viability. And not just him but the other studio people keeping original audio mixes off blu-ray and 4K releases.
So one can never retire the older formats.
Harmy Despecialized all the way. Looks great, a true labor of love. I’ve never been interested in the 4k77 ones, just based on the screenshots and clips I’ve seen.
Harmy’s Despecialized for me. Although I’m looking forward to watching many of the other awesome looking preservations on here.
I’d say 4K77, 4K80 and 4K83 for now (unless Disney releases the og trilogy on 4K)
I’m a fan of oohteedee’s - though many others come close (eg 4k77/80/83).
nice
In the list of this forum or even the star wars trilogy forum, there seems to be hunreds of ways to watch them. Probably most people lean towards 4k76,80 and 83, but mainly I’d like to know why and if there’s anyone that prefers other versions also why. And also the title lol.
Personally I’d like to see an updated version that has more color, but how could I not love the 35mm scans.
The 4K77/80/83 scans are popular because they’re the closest you can get to what actually played in theaters, grain and all. There’s something about watching them the way audiences originally did that no remaster can replicate.
That said the Harmy Despecialized editions have a dedicated following for people who want the original cuts but with a cleaner more polished look. And for color specifically the 4K83 scan tends to have warmer more saturated tones than the earlier ones which might be closer to what you’re after.
What puts you off the 35mm grain or is it more the color timing that feels off to you?
The 4K77/80/83 scans are popular because they’re the closest you can get to what actually played in theaters, grain and all. There’s something about watching them the way audiences originally did that no remaster can replicate.
No, they’re popular because until next year, they’re the highest quality way to watch the original theatrical cuts.
Most people would prefer a high-res scan of the original negatives, not the theatrical prints which are a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy (at least)
There’s a reason why studios always scan the negatives for HD/4K re-masters, it just looks far better. Theatrical prints don’t have 4K worth of detail, it’s several generations away from the negatives.
They’d only scan a theatrical print if all the other film was lost.
90%+ of people will stop watching 4K77 once these are released officially.
Some people do prefer the grainy print look, but most don’t.
I love that 4K77 etc. are available. They allow me to approximate experiencing a Star Wars that I did firsthand.
But when I want to watch the OT, I will usually watch a VHS preservation. The 1992 VHS versions were the first ones that I saw, having rented them from the local home video rental shop. The 1995 Faces versions were the first ones that I owned.
Seeing the fine detail brought out in 4K77 has been a revelation, but for me, on a pre-thematic emotional level, Star Wars should always have a bit of snow and color bleeding.
A fiftieth anniversary screening will be satisfying, for sure, but it would never compare to my seeing Star Wars for the first time while laying on the floor in front of a 20" TV in my childhood home.
The 4K77/80/83 scans are popular because they’re the closest you can get to what actually played in theaters, grain and all. There’s something about watching them the way audiences originally did that no remaster can replicate.
No, they’re popular because until next year, they’re the highest quality way to watch the original theatrical cuts.
Most people would prefer a high-res scan of the original negatives, not the theatrical prints which are a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy (at least)
There’s a reason why studios always scan the negatives for HD/4K re-masters, it just looks far better. Theatrical prints don’t have 4K worth of detail, it’s several generations away from the negatives.
They’d only scan a theatrical print if all the other film was lost.
90%+ of people will stop watching 4K77 once these are released officially.
Some people do prefer the grainy print look, but most don’t.
It’s worth noting that we have no idea when the ALI restorations will actually be available outside of their limited theatrical run. It could be another year or two before they put out some collector’s steelbook. Until then, I’d argue that 4K77 etc. will still have a place for people, because they’re accessible.
The fan restorations will still have their place for people wanting a version as close to the original theater experience as possible. I followed those threads; people got really anal-retentive about certain details.
The ALI versions won’t have the cue marks for reel changes, for example.
A fiftieth anniversary screening will be satisfying, for sure, but it would never compare to my seeing Star Wars for the first time while laying on the floor in front of a 20" TV in my childhood home.
I have fuzzy warm feelings of nostalgia over the bad pan and scan VHS or the tv airings.
It’s not something I want to see now when I see the movie, or I can cue up a VHS from 1982 for Star Wars.
I think people think similar things about the GOUT DVD. The Quality is good enough it’s meant to look bad, like George Lucas said. It always looked bad.
Not true if from an answer print or show print on 35mm or any of the first run theatrical 70mm showings.
A restoration should have negative grain but not the generations of grain a 35mm release print would. The old way of making prints interpositive/internegative. This restoration will be a digital file on a DCP most likely.
I wish they’d make 35mm prints and 70mm.