I watched it on a 76" LCD projector using component connections. Whilst the quality is not up to a modern anamorphic presentation, I have to agree with others here that it wasn't ass bad as I was expecting at all. I own the 'Faces' laserdiscs, and also a number of fan rips from these, and again I have to say this release blows them away, not really surprising when you consider it's one step closer to the mastertape than any LD transfer could hope to be. It shouls also be noted that Lucasfilm have at least tried their best to give the LD transfer it's best chance to shine by giving it the full dual-layer DVD-9 treatment which automatically puts it a few steps ahead of most fan preservations.
True, there is ALOT of film grain, but I don't mind this - it recreates the authentic feeling of seeing it back at the flicks when they first came out. More disturbing is the DNR created grain which brings down the picture quality in some scenes - most notably the Tatooine segments of the film. Overall though I was surprised at the detail levels, and the black and white levels were spot on unlike the 2004 editions.... The colours are a bit washed out in some scenes, but this is due to the film print used. I'd still have the colours in this print though than the horrible artificial mess of the 2004 DVDs. The Bonus Edition DVDs look organic and real in comparision.
It was such a relief to see the ORIGINAL again on a big screen - I'd not realised how much I'd gotten used to bracing myself for the annoying CGI distractions, and poor music editing of the Special Editions. It was like having an old friend back again.
I did notice some obvious haloing effects in several scenes which detracted from the presentation a little - computer read outs make this especially visible. I'm wondering if these are present in the NTSC version of the DVDs or whether they're part of the D1 master? I'd be grateful if someone could let me know as if not I may order the other two as NTSC discs. I also prefer having the sound run at the original speed rather than the 4% PAL speed up. Having said that the soundtrack was glorius, and possessed of a perfect balance between dialogue, music and sound FX - again unlike the Special Editions. Bass had real punch as well. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the soundtrack is actually the 1993 mix, so it can't strictly speaking be called the 'Original Theatrical Edition'!!! Still overall I reckon it's the best mix of the soundtrack available, give or take a few missed lines.
Overall then, I'd give picture quality a 6 out of 10, and sound 8. Much better than I expected, though it's still a crime that we are not getting anamorphic transfers. BUT I reckon it's th ebest we'll have them for the forseeable future until the price of film scanners goes down enough to warrant a full fan-funded transfer ;o)
Cheers,
- John