Help: looking for... Best quality non-SE Preservation or Fan Edit - for someone who's never seen the Original Trilogy?

Hey guys, newbie here.

So I occasionally meet new friends or start new relationships only to hear “I’ve never seen the Star Wars movies, but I’d like to…”

So the thought that goes through my mind (as a long-time purist) is: NOT the Special Edition… let’s have them watch it as I did back in the day, but with the modern “improvements” in resolution and surround-sound.

However, I used to own the VHS pre-Special Editions, and I know what the quality is like, and sorry to say, I don’t have a soft spot for grainy videotapes. Despite all the changes, I do love the quality of the new Blu-Rays…

So I guess what I’m asking is: are there any preservation projects or fan edits that are merely the highest-quality remasterings, but with all the Special Edition animated scenes cut out, to how the films were in 1981 or so? I wouldn’t mind the occasional jarring drop of quality if it meant no Young Anakin at the end of ROTJ, that sort of thing.

I don’t mind the anamorphic picture, surround-sound mixes and color edits that they’ve done, and the clear fixes in editing, continuity errors, re-compositing… it’s just the ADDED content that… well… that argument is left better for another subforum.

I’ve viewed Adywan’s, and artistically I like what he did, but it’s too much extra stuff still.

Looking through the wiki, the “de-specialed” editions sound interesting, such as “Return of the Jedi: Partially Despecialed Edition HD” and such.

Can anyone make any recommendations about things that are out now, and also projects to keep an eye on? I’d hope there’s people hard at work at “de-specialing” the BluRays and HD broadcasts…

My preferred quality would be 1080p, with Dolby Digital or DTS surround. However, if that doesn’t exist, I can do DVD in a pinch, I just don’t prefer it anymore. I’d likely be playing through an HTPC box or media streamer, but I can also burn to DVD or maybe even Blu-Ray if necessary.

Okay, sounds good to me! :)

^This .

It look's like dark_jedi's edit is one I should keep an eye on too, although it's not ready yet.

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Star-Wars-Original-Trilogy-Theatrical-Editions-Info-ALL-versions-SEE-FIRST-POST-FOR-INFO-AND-AVAILABILITY/topic/10550/

Are there any other projects I should probably follow? Also, is anyone working from the Blu-Rays yet?

(thanks mods for moving this to the appropriate forum)

If you wait a few months Harmy will have a greatly improved SW that's likely to become my favorite.

Got a link to his WIP thread?

Thanks!

So far, Harmy's restoration is the best bet. It may not be perfect fidelity but it's close enough and is mostly in HD.

I had a cousin who never saw Star Wars before and so I used Harmy's restorations to do a marathon. I am so grateful for Harmy's hard work.