I found a Verbatim DVD+R DL RW laying around that I'd forgotten I had, so I fired up Toast 9 and decided to give double layer burning a shot to see how well it would work. Naturally, I chose SW v3 to test. Toast seems to have no provision for setting a layer change point, so I have no idea exactly where it ended up, but my new dvd player is far better at seamlessly changing layers than my old one, so there was no interruption at all. Since the burn went so well, I figured I might as well watch the whole thing.
Being the first time I've actually watched the movie in well over a year, I was really excited, both to see how well G-force's script improved the image and just to see the movie for its own sake. I was not disappointed on either account. Star Wars is that rare movie that's nearly perfect in every way, and this is the best I've seen it look so far without using the 2004 version as a source. The elimination of most of the instability in the image is the biggest improvement, but there are many others as well.
Sure, I was occasionally distracted by what aliasing and smear are still present; sure the available resolution isn't very high; and sure I noticed a few places in the recreated 70mm track where I could have done a bit better with the audio editing . . . but on the whole, this was the best damn two hours I've spent in ages. SW is still my favourite movie ever, and this presentation certainly does not disappoint. Within the limits of the source material, it's very nearly as good as it could ever be, and almost everything about it just seems so right. Really looking forward to seeing ESB and RotJ, too.
Now that I know I can burn and play double layer discs reliably (setting it as a dvd-rom probably helped), I'm going to order some to make permanent copies, for myself and possibly for friends/family if they're interested. Although it seems likely that other people's dvd players might not be as good at layer changes, so maybe I'll have to see about setting that with a different program first, to ensure them an uninterrupted movie experience. (On the other hand, I might just wait for Harmy's de-SE'd single layer versions and send them those instead; haven't decided. 'Normal' people won't be interested in having multiple copies of the movies, like we are.)
This was the first time I've actually heard the 5.1 while watching the movie, and from a slightly narcissistic perspective I was really thrilled with it. lol But beyond that, I was blown away by what a great job they did mixing the 70mm version back in '77, and how its superb dynamic range and overall vibe leaves the SE mixes in the dust (particularly that wretched 2004 mess). I'm just glad I could help to get that back.
So let's give big props to everyone who worked on this set, and keep the love for the real Star Wars going. :)