Harmy said:

Maybe some flaw in the transferring process then? Because I will not believe for a second that the original color timing could have been this pink.

I'm not so sure.

Caveat: I'm usually pretty skeptical when people say they can remember the colours on a film they saw decades ago. Having said that, I did see Empire more than once in the theatre on its original release, and my sense is that there was more pink than what you see in most modern presentations of this film. I'm not saying it was to the extent it it is in these images (and they look pretty damn pink), but I suspect these aren't that far off. Though I almost want them to be off, because I don't like Empire looking this way, even if it is closer to the theatric presentation. But sad to say, these shots do ring true with me to what I saw.

Again, you're free to greet this with skepticism, I know I would. Im not saying my memory is dispositive, or presenting it as evidence, just that this fits what I remember (albeit in a non-specific way) seeing in the theatre more than contemporary Empire releases do.