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Topps Widevision Cards for Star Wars

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 (Edited)

dug up my widevision cards

for star wars.. someone mentioned

it in a thread for reference material..

 

however, some of them have a strange

tint to them... others aren't bad...

 

take it for what you will..

 

i think i'm missing 8 or 9 of them..

later

-1

[no GOUT in CED?-> GOUT CED]

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Two things:

1. Check out the shot of 3P0 with the skeleton. This shows the dirty look of that footage, yes?

2. Note the appearance of the Blockade Runner/Pirate Ship's prototype in that final card. Also, decapitated stormtrooper.

ROTJ Storyboard Reconstruction Project

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These are interesting - they are not from a video transfer, they're from film, but they have color oddities all their own - compounded by the color inaccuracies introduced by the card printing process. Not sure if this is accurate to the 1977 color timing anyway...

This is more evidence to suggest that Lucasfilm may have good-condition materials for the original version of the film. Maybe not master materials, but fine-grain/early-generation materials. Would a positive that looked this good in 1994 be faded and unusable now? Is this the same as the source print for the non-SE clips in Empire of Dreams?

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Some of these have an excessive amount of grain that would not be on the original camera negative.  Wonder if they used the same internegative as the 70mm film cels.

Wonder how much color is left in the altered o-neg if it was unearthed again today and checked to see.

We all know the opticals were replaced by either duplicate pieces or were recomped digitally because the cri stock was shit and no longer useable.

And other portions of the live action had to be replaced in sections too damaged.  At least according to kurtz.

It is true Lucas saved most of the film pieces that makeup the final composite shots, but if the original effects are truly lost because of the unstable unusable filmstock what we really have is a recreation and not a restoration situation. 

Whether or not you use an old school optical printer or new computer one is still being done again its not the theatrical effects.  They are forever lost or are on 3rd generation film prints that are faded.  Unless you could use the technicolor print for star wars and we have been stold that cannot be a source.

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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When all else fails, use Separation Masters - a backup of the negative made before copying which consists of the three colours that make up a full colour picture separated onto three strips of black & white film. Pollyanna & Spartacus were restored by recombining the seps because the negatives were faded beyond use.

It's not perfect, because this adds more grain, misalignment can cause rainbowed edges, and it's expensive, but like I said, when all else fails.