I can certainly agree that IV is way too dark. VHS and Laserdisc transfers always come off as a bit brighter, but its usually dependent on your viewing setup. However, this should not be drastically affecting the orginal film elements unless there has been artificial brightening. The 2004 dvd was restored by Lowry Digital, and then color corrected and re-color timed. This led to the implementation of computerized color tones that did not even exist back in 1977 onto elements from 1977. Thus everything looks too colorful and is lush in color, all adding to the darkness effect. The naturally dark lit scenes such as the cantina now have harsh red tones that make the background almost unrecognizeable. Upon first watching the 04 dvd, I thought to myself: When did Wuher start decorating the cantina like The Godfather?