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Harmy's STAR WARS Despecialized Edition HD - V2.7 - MKV (Released) — Page 143

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corellian77 said:

Harmy said:

...

 

If you go down that line of reasoning, isn't it like saying, "Well, Star Wars went from film, to laserdisc, then was ported over to DVD, and along the way a number of visual artifacts (DVNR, jaggies, etc.) were introduced, but hey, all that preserves the history of what this movie went through, so it stays?"

Does Mike Verta have any comment on this particular issue?  What's his sources reveal regarding the mark?

 

Yes, but that is the history of the film as it went from format to format. This is the history of the film as it was initially seen in theaters - with the burn mark.

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Yeah, that's not logical at all whatsoever, because this is something all prints had in common because it was on the negative - the original original, not because it was an artefact added in some copying process, like transfer to LD or DVD.

It's a bit weird that it wasn't present on some of the 80s video releases but for example in the GOUT, there are artefacts that suggest that it was simply removed by the DVDR process.

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I guess the issue really comes down to the reason for restoring Star Wars to its theatrical form in the first place: is it to make it look as good as it was intended to look to audiences in '77, or is it to mimic the theatre-viewing experience as much as possible?  I always felt it was the former, but if it is the latter, then I guess the burn mark (along with any other visual element introduced to the negatives after the film was completed)  would stay.

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

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Harmy said:

The thing is, even though it may have happened by accident, that accident is a part of the history of the film, since this particular damage was most likely on the original negative, so it's not that easy. It's like 99,9% of dirt in Puggo Grande is specific to that print but these burnmarks are something that all the prints had in common.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I definitely will restore them, I'm just trying to explain why I'm even considering it.

Yeah, I get your point and I dont envy the responsibility of making the choice.  You're essentially trying to answer "What is authoritative?" and... there is no answer.  You're just going to have to pick one and run with it, and some people won't like your choice.

I don't think it fits, overall, with the rest of your project--and I agree it's absolutely a good fit for Puggo.  But everyone has a slightly different idea of what your project is trying to be and ultimately your idea of what it should be should rule the day.

Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles)

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For me, it's simple.  These marks were not captured on film, and thus do not truly represent part of the finished product that the crew worked so hard to achieve.

“In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.” - George Lucas

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Isn't the mark for like one frame, anyway?

 

I agree with CatBus, though, that it falls under a "What type of project is this" question. If it is a full fledged restoration, then it should come out. If it is an original theatrical restoration, then it should stay.

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Cobra Kai said:

For me, it's simple.  These marks were not captured on film, and thus do not truly represent part of the finished product that the crew worked so hard to achieve.

Well sure, but someone also went in with a black marker on a few shots too, to correct some things.  Now I agree with you, but there were changes even after the film was put "in the can" so to speak.  Some, like the black marker stuff, was intentional.  This was not.  I agree only intentional changes to the "in the can" print should be restored, but people never really saw the "in the can" print either.

I think part of the problem is that I wish I could have seen it! ;)

Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles)

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Mackey256 said:

I don't know if lurker votes count but I vote for no burn mark.

I'm a fellow lurker, and also oppose the burn mark (for the justifications already given by other members).

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I stand by the decision to include the Humdinger Glitch in the Despecialized Edtion of The Star Wars.  It makes a crucial link between the manipulation of our past and future memories and is there fore and forever a betterment of The Star Warses's.

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topdawg193 said:

Mackey256 said:

I don't know if lurker votes count but I vote for no burn mark.

I'm a fellow lurker, and also oppose the burn mark (for the justifications already given by other members).

Then I guess we don't count as our votes cancel each other out.

“You know, when you think about it, the Ewoks probably just crap over the sides of their tree-huts.”

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How's this for framing the burn mark choice?

I think everyone agrees that if Star Wars were ever subjected to a proper studio restoration, the burn marks would not be in it.  I think the LACK of a proper studio restoration of these films is a burning issue for everyone here, and the primary reason this project exists in the first place.  And some of us want Harmy's project to be a substitute for that nonexistent proper studio restoration.  But the simple fact is it isn't a studio restoration--it's its own project with its own priorities.

Damn it, I just argued against my preference.  I gotta stop doing that.

Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles)

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 (Edited)

If this were a democracy, I would vote for the burn marks remaining in the film.  I'm just glad someone with the skills is willing to work so hard to preserve one of history's most important films.  On a less philanthropic note, I cannot wait until it is finished so I turn this on and step back into 1977!

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none said:

I stand by the decision to include the Humdinger Glitch in the Despecialized Edtion of The Star Wars.  It makes a crucial link between the manipulation of our past and future memories and is there fore and forever a betterment of The Star Warses's.

LOL. Well, that's actually a nice example. I'm restoring the 1977 version of STAR WARS (which is determined by the crawl), so the humdinger glitch shouldn't be there, now, if they made a new 4K scan of the SE and I (for some sadistic reasons) decided to use it to restore the 2004 DVD version of STAR WARS in 4K, would I be restoring the humdinger glitch? Only hells yeah!

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Hi !

I'm another lurker. I vote against the burn mark too.

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none said:

The Star Warses's.

Sorry, just had to quote this. That is how I am going to refer to the OT from now on! :D

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This is apparently becoming quite a heated debate.  I stepped outside and saw people picketing in the streets.

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

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Yeah, it's kind of funny that we're having this heated debate about something that covers about 2% of two frames :-)

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Cobra Kai said:

For me, it's simple.  These marks were not captured on film, and thus do not truly represent part of the finished product that the crew worked so hard to achieve.

Amen to that!

 

From my point of view these marks also destroys a bit the "HD feeling" of this project... ;-)

 

 

He’s no good to me dead

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corellian77 said:

This is apparently becoming quite a heated debate.  I stepped outside and saw people picketing in the streets.

 

Ha!

“In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.” - George Lucas

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Harmy,

Not to nitpick but in your newest work print, I noticed an area where the star field appears to be missing.  See the rectangles space below.  This area seems fairly filled with stars in the GOUT.  

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 (Edited)

Who put a ....

 

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

 

in my soup? hehehehe..... :-p

He’s no good to me dead

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Everyone else made the arguments I was going to make.

Right now I'm against the burn marks. If you want to put them in an alternate version, that's fine, but they're just too distracting when the rest of the film is free of any dirt, dust, scratches, etc.; and as others have said, if George Lucas still had his marbles and LFL did a true restoration of the '77 version, with the original color timing and everything, the burn marks would not be there.

As with your earlier idea to add little bits of dirt and stuff, I believe that a "theatrical experience" version should be an alternate version.

Oh, and that thing in the TIE explosion is not a rip in the film - notice that it goes behind the explosion. My theory is that it's some kind of wire related to the explosion apparatus.

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Harmy said:

Yeah, it's kind of funny that we're having this heated debate about something that covers about 2% of two frames :-)

In the "No" camp's defense, though, it is very visible.  I think, for me, I was looking at this project as the unofficial 'official' release of Star Wars... the pristine version of the film which, while not commercially available, met commercial blu-ray standards.  As such, I didn't expect there to be incidental artifacts left in.  If such a thing were present on a commercial blu-ray, I'd be pretty surprised it made it past quality control, and no way would I assume it was intentionally left in.

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

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OK, I grant the part about the wire in the TIE explosion, but I'm still on the fence about the burn mark.

 

I am for the burn mark because of the inherent problems with managing the negative and matrices during the making of an IB print. I have a number of IB prints (16mm) which have marks on the negatives of an otherwise pristine print. Dirt and dust are certainly not part of a "theatrical experience" - at least not in my theater. When I screen a print, I am sure that everything is clean - print, projector, the works. However, I cannot, just as a projectionist then could not, fix a problem on either the matrices used to strike the IB print, or the negatives themselves. That is why I am for the burn mark. I realize that it seems very "non-HD," but sometimes accidents happen in the lab or during processing that hinder the work that was the "original intent." While we're on that topic, wasn't Lucas' original plan for the Special Edition to fix things that hindered his original intent?

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 (Edited)

Mackey256 said:

topdawg193 said:

Mackey256 said:

I don't know if lurker votes count but I vote for no burn mark.

I'm a fellow lurker, and also oppose the burn mark (for the justifications already given by other members).

Then I guess we don't count as our votes cancel each other out.


No, it's okay - I subscribe to the Millean notion of some people counting for more than one vote on the grounds of intelligence. So by my reckoning, there's still at least one lurker vote in play! ;)

worov said:

Hi !

I'm another lurker. I vote against the burn mark too.


^ Make that two. Lurkers of the forum unite!