Zombie, I was reading your article on the history of the SE and I have a question (or two):

I've always assumed that when Lowry said they were working at 1080 resolution that they were actually talking about what we all think of when we hear the words "1080p" and "HD," in other words a 16:9 image with a resolution of 1920:1080. Not all movies have a 16:9 aspect ratio. A couple hundred of those 1,080 lines have to be sacrificed in order to fit a scope film such as Star Wars. I'm assuming then that when Lowry said they were working at HD res on Star Wars, what they really meant was 1920:817 for the actual 2.35:1 image itself. Would this be correct?

Also, AOTC and ROTS were shot with 16:9 1080p cameras and cropped to 2.35:1, making the resolution 1920:817, right? But were the effects also rendered at such a low resolution (in theatrical exhibition terms) or were they done at 2K? If they were done at 2K, then I really wouldn't be surprised if Lucas redoes the '04 restoration. Remember, Gone with the Wind and Wizard of Oz were also restored at 1080 that very same year and for the very same purpose, only to be redone at a much higher resolution just a few years later.