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I just attended a screening of The Empire Strikes Back SE at my local theater

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It was the 2011 master, but It was still fun to see it again on the big screen for the 4oth anniversary.

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Not to get too far off topic, bur what was it like going to an indoor theater with under current circumstances?

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Where were you in '77?

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SilverWook said:

Not to get too far off topic, bur what was it like going to an indoor theater with under current circumstances?

I’ve been going a lot since they reopened and from what I understand they are doing decent business all things considered, but nowhere near the crowd levels pre-COVID when current movies were being released. They do heavily encourage social distancing, but 90% of the time there is little to no one to distance from. Most of the movies I’ve been going to see have had 2 to 3 other people in the auditorium at max. Tickets are only $2 also, so I’ve been seeing a whole bunch of stuff. Jurassic Park, Grease, The Wizard of Oz, Indiana Jones Trilogy, E.T., Back To The Future, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Empire Strikes Back, Footloose, and several other good ones coming.

Of the 2 theaters closest to me, this one has the more classy old timey vibe with the red curtains and velvet trimming in the auditoriums and stuff, where as the other one was just recently remodeled and is ultra modern and sleek looking. Also, the other theater just re-closed, but they had less enticing prices and an underwhelming selection of films by comparison.

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Looks like someones being having fun.

But damn, $2 a ticket!!

May 25, 1977

The day that changed the world

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Why would they show the 2011 edit and not the 2020 4K version, or better yet a 1997 print or the original?
In the middle of Covid i don’t think i would even go to the theater to see the original Empire Strikes Back on 35mm. It would be risky to the point of insanity to be packed into a theater with so many people. Masks or no masks, distancing or not.

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JadedSkywalker said:

Why would they show the 2011 edit and not the 2020 4K version, or better yet a 1997 print or the original?
In the middle of Covid i don’t think i would even go to the theater to see the original Empire Strikes Back on 35mm. It would be risky to the point of insanity to be packed into a theater with so many people. Masks or no masks, distancing or not.

Did you read what the person who started this thread said? There are barely any people in movie theaters right now, so social distancing isn’t really a big concern.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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Most of this same slate is what has turned up at drive ins here in the US. Theaters here keep getting shut down state by state but when locations or drive ins are open it seems to be a handful of DCPs showing mainstream titles.

I haven’t seen Indy or SW included though. Mostly it’s Jaws, Jurassic Park, John Hughes titles, BTTF aka mostly Universal.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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I just caught this last week (we all knew they just had a wide expansion, right? 2000+ theaters) and I was stunned at how great it looked.

I presumed this was the new 4k master because it did not have the minty color timing of the blue rays, but looking up screen caps of the UHDs, they don’t at all look like what I saw in the theater. Much too murky and still had some of that “minty” look.

Thing is it really can’t be anything else, and I’ve noticed other movies that had rather obnoxious color timing on video or screencaps looked much more natural in the theater, I wonder why that is.

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Barfolomew said:

I just caught this last week (we all knew they just had a wide expansion, right? 2000+ theaters) and I was stunned at how great it looked.

I presumed this was the new 4k master because it did not have the minty color timing of the blue rays, but looking up screen caps of the UHDs, they don’t at all look like what I saw in the theater. Much too murky and still had some of that “minty” look.

Thing is it really can’t be anything else, and I’ve noticed other movies that had rather obnoxious color timing on video or screencaps looked much more natural in the theater, I wonder why that is.

Yes, but were you watching at home on a calibrated display or just the out-of-the-box settings, etc, etc??

As far as I know, the version of Empire playing in theaters right now is still the 2004/2011 version off of that master (which, it’s worth mentioning, was only mastered by Lowry at 1920x1080 back in 2004, which isn’t even full 2k scope res).

I can’t speak for Empire, but I actually saw the 2011 bd of ANH projected in an actual movie theater several years ago and it looked surprisingly good shot out of a ridiculously expensive digital cinema projector. That might explain why Empire looked different from what you were used to.

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I saw ESB and ROTJ recently in cinemas, 2011 master, still a good watch. ROTJ looked like garbage during the early Endor scenes.

Star Wars comming up soon, out of order due to covid cancelling its earlier screening.

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I went to the theater for the marathon of all 7 main saga movies when The Force Awakens was released, and again for all 9 with The Rise of Skywalker. It was an absolute blast!

The biggest thing you get from watching them with a crowd is the audience reaction. You forget how funny some of the moments are. I just can’t help but enjoy them more in that atmosphere.

I very much enjoy escaping into Star Wars alone at home at times, but if theaters don’t make it through this current pandemic, the loss would be immeasurable in my opinion.

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I miss going to the movies. I had planned to see several movies this year but most, if not all, have been rescheduled for next year. I’m also curious about the next Star Wars adventure we get to see on the big screen (that’s worth seeing). The last time I saw the OT at the movies is when George released the Special Editions back in ‘97. I’d like to see the 4K versions as long as I’m not cringing over the changes that were made to the original cut, hah. But then again, I was okay with the SE since I didn’t become aware of Star Wars until ROTJ came out on VHS and I didn’t get to see the OT at the theatre until the SE anniversary.

Recommended Fan Saga Playlist:

Episode I - The Phantom Menace (Jeremy M West Anti-Cheese edit)
Episode II - Attack of the Clones (Jeremy M West Anti-Cheese edit)
Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Jeremy M West Anti-Cheese edit)
Episode III.III - The Coaxium Heist (Dig_modification Solo edit)
Episode III.IV - Obi-Wan Kenobi (The Kai Patterson cut)
Episode III.V - Rise of the Rebellion (Dig_modification Rogue One edit)
Episode IV - A New Hope (Buzz Lightyear sc38 edit)
Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Adywan Revisited edit)
Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (Harmy’s Despecialized edit)
Episode VI.I - A Vergence in the Force (Smudger9 Mando edit)
Episode VI.II - Search for the Jedi (Smudger9 Mando edit)
Episode VI.III - A New Way (Smudger9 The Book of Boba Fett edit)
Episode VI.IV - Return to Mandalore (Smudger9 Mando edit)
Episode VII - Heir to the Force (Wakeupkeo Anti-TLJ edit)

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Some Box Office Mojo site information on the 2020 re-release of Empire Strikes Back:

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl172327681

^ Pretty impressive it made $3m worldwide during a global pandemic with many refusing to go the cinema, or the cinemas being closed. Even if it is for a 9 year old version of a film celebrating it’s 40th anniversary 😉

The FE Renegades thread; from the people who post ‘go kill yourself’, ‘fuck you’, ‘let’s throw abuse’, and more at OT staff & members. Four years on and still throwing accusations, slurs and abuse at the OT & anyone outside their Salacious Crumb filled clique. + FE Discord “to vent” more at the OT. Wook’s take.

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Also worth noting the complete absence of competition. If this was a regular year it could be debated if it would have made that much. Nevertheless, that is heartwarming news.

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

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They were showing it in theaters in my area for most of the month of October (and it wasn’t a drive-in, but that’s a great idea!).

Hardly anyone was there. They were selling plastic lightsabers at the door, but I passed on that. I also didn’t order anything to eat, ate beforehand to minimize contact.

I didn’t show up on opening night but eventually worked up the courage to visit. I watched the whole thing while wearing a Boba Fett helmet (got creative with the PPE). Because of the breath fog around the edges of the transparent plastic of the visor viewing area (also, be careful on steps), it had a certain gauzy quality which was kind of attractive, and it blurred out much of the SE issues. Of course I knew there was the new Wampa there (and "alert my star destroyer to prepare for my arrival, and of course the sound of Jango Fett’s voice and engine from Attack of the Clones were unmistakable), and some of those snow drifts when Luke escapes looked way too blue. Otherwise I quite enjoyed it.

But I’d still rather see the original version once more on the big screen… with my own eyes. *

ESB is probably the best experience because it is the “film” least marred by in-your-face changes.

The theater I saw it in played clips from the Force Awakens and that awful “Last Jedi” before it, which only made the experience of what “real” Star Wars is like that much better, even if it was the 2019 (or 2011, I really couldn’t tell with the mask on… it could have been 2004 for all I knew).

Disney Star Wars soured me even wanting to think about Star Wars for quite some time and I hadn’t been to theaters to see anything with the title in about three years, I’m not going to lie. And nobody needs to try to refute or debate me on these points, I’m just sharing my feelings, #NoRetweets. 😉 Nothing beats the originals, even in this modified format. It was a refreshing experience after so much negativity towards the franchise and being away from this form of entertainment for awhile. Of course not everyone is so lucky, so I count myself blessed.

*Actually to be quite honest I have never seen the original version of ESB on the big screen. Only on VHS/cable, and the first time I saw it in theaters was the '97 Special Edition, and now this.

<i>TCBOO</i>

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Yes, I would love to watch ROTJ on the big screen again, but I am against pretty much all of the changes that have been made to that (my favorite) over the years, with the exception of the cleaned up Rancor. It would be painful to experience that again I think, when I could just watch a perfect version of it at home. If there was no pandemic on, I could probably have been convinced by a group of friends to go see it for $5, even if it was a goofed up version though to keep it 100%. But I haven’t seen anything about any other showings of the classic trilogy in my area…

I skipped 3D release of Episode I. If II and III came back to theaters, I might give them a go, as they haven’t changed much over the years in comparison.

Now if it was a real film, a 35mm or (even better) a 70mm high quality print? That would be a real treat. I wouldn’t travel out of state to see it though, unless I happened to already be there for something else.

<i>TCBOO</i>

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I’ve never seen the original theatrical versions of STAR WARS (1977) or THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK on the big screen - only the SE Trilogy, in 1997. But, I did get to see RETURN OF THE JEDI in late 1983.

I wouldn’t pay to see these films again unless they were the original theatrical versions.