I really think you're on to something here, zombie84. Last night I flipped through the GOUT dvd approximately recreating your settings on my tv (didn't use VLC because I was tired of looking at the computer screen, lol). Jacked up the saturation around 10 notches and shifted away from red around 5, and it became similar to what you posted, except that I didn't go as far because the lobster skin tones were getting really ugly in places. But it was rather startling and exciting to see the dull GOUT image start to resemble a crude version of those Technicolor screenshots. Very, very interesting.

I've always hated the look of the 2004 transfer, but it's interesting to know that the blue Death Star isn't quite as wrong as it instinctively seems. One of the problems is that the colour is often wildly inconsistent, far exceeding any variation seen in the original version . . . and now, I think I understand why that is. I'd have to go back and look at the '04 again to be sure, but as I recall the Death Star colouring is pretty much the exact same hue in every shot. It's entirely possible, even probable, that one of their aims in its timing was to get the overall look of the set to be the same everywhere--but in so doing, all the rest of the colours shift by different amounts along with it, which is why is changes so much according to the camera angle. Of course, this doesn't come close to explaining a lot of the other image problems, but I think it's a significant part of the problem. Too much digital manipulation overcompensating for perceived 'flaws' in the cinematography that were never really problems to begin with.

I think a good way to go might be to try to recreate the original colours from the GOUT as a reference, and then once that's settled upon, correct the '04 footage to resemble it as closely as possible, so that the higher resolution image can be used for most of the movie. More work, but in the end it might be worth it . . .