AntcuFaalb said:

kk650: ESB came after they stopped making IB Technicolor prints and before Kodak started making LPP prints. Basically, all ESB prints are on shitty likely-to-fade film stocks.

So we have IB Technicolor for SW and LPP for RotJ. ESB was made in the transition period with no stable fade-free options available.

Ah I see, thanks for the explanation!

There's definately something about ESB because all the prints i've seen on ebay have also gone reddish/pink, while the colours of ROTJ and especially the technicolor Star Wars prints have fared much better:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-2-x-35mm-Film-Cells-Vintage-Star-Wars-Empire-Strikes-Back-1980-C3PO-/121710751764?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c5686b014&nma=true&si=06F%252F9Mi%252BcLpUJm2rItrF9QGoN2Q%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Makes me wonder if George Lucas himself didn't remember what ESB looked like theatrically and had to improvise a new colour scheme on the fly for the lowry master. It would explain why ESB has always felt like the odd one out of the OT blu-rays, at least to me.