Originally posted by: Zion
Though to me it looks like those images have a very low tonal range. Whites and blacks are crushed and there isn't much midrage. For example, in the image with the Stormtroopers, the brightness of the sky and sand in the middle of the frame is overblown, and yet the leather pouches on the trooper's shoulder are completely dark. Does that mean the image of the canyon is darker than what was actually seen the the theater that day? Maybe, maybe not.
Though to me it looks like those images have a very low tonal range. Whites and blacks are crushed and there isn't much midrage. For example, in the image with the Stormtroopers, the brightness of the sky and sand in the middle of the frame is overblown, and yet the leather pouches on the trooper's shoulder are completely dark. Does that mean the image of the canyon is darker than what was actually seen the the theater that day? Maybe, maybe not.
No, it's due to the fact that these pictures were taken off of a projection of the film. Anyone whose shot a film with a video camera (I've done a couple of personal 16mm transfers) will recognize this problem. It's just due to an imbalance of light from the projector bulb. The intensity of the light is hotter in the middle sections than around the edges. That's also not to mention the possibility of bad exposure and 30 year old color film.