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Not sure if this idea has been discussed at length, but '4K81'?

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I’m making this post to ask if TN1 is considering now, or will consider in the future, making a Project 4K81 of sorts. I don’t believe it would take long considering the '81 crawl has already been scanned (if I recall correctly) due to the '77 crawl being sourced from another print. Obviously this would mean the '81 crawl was spliced into the Technicolor print.

Additionally, the '81 crawl would just make a lot more sense to have as an option because the Project 4K trilogy is just that, a trilogy, and I prefer to watch the trilogy together. And I agree with the opinion that the '77 crawl only makes sense when watching the film standalone, regardless of it being a change. I wholeheartedly believe it’s quite a different argument from the other ‘consistency’ changes within the film. It was the only change made before the Special Editions other than minor adjustments early in the theatrical run to my knowledge.

Thanks

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That’s great to hear! When 4K80 enters its 1.0 release and we get something like this for ANH, I don’t think I’ll ever have to think about Disney releasing anything from the OUT anymore. Would still be nice though… 😃

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I have another question if you don’t mind. What print did the frames in the above picture come from? I ask this because I was browsing around and found a post by you for a certain Technicolor grindhouse version stating that its opening crawl was from a Spanish LPP. This would mean the Tech print did indeed have the '81 crawl spliced in? If this is the case, would anyone happen to have a version of the Technicolor grindhouse without the LPP replacing the first bit of the Tech print? As long as it’s been colour corrected properly for fade and with any additional stuff on the edges cut off I would appreciate that being put up for the community some time if that’s not an issue and can be done easily 😃 I know I’d appreciate it but only bother with that if others think it’s a good idea as well as to not waste anyone’s time. I don’t want to seem as if I want something made just for me.

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The IB Tech does have the 81 crawl attached and it has great color, but the stars are pretty much invisible:

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Believing it was important to be able to see the stars, we’ve never used this version.

We have actually scanned 8 more 35mm prints of Star Wars (and 3 x 16mm) since that IB Tech was scanned, and all of them have the original '77 crawl. It took us 10 years to find a partial reel on 35mm (which has just the '81 Crawl and Flyover, spliced onto some of Reel 6 - the rest of the print had such bad vinegar syndrome that it had to be trashed). Anyway, we had this new version of the '81 crawl scanned on an LG Scanstation at 5K. It’s faded, but the star field really pops.

One idea is to align and merge the two scans, so that the Luminosity and Star Field from the new scan can be used with the Color from the other one.

Just a few months ago, I also picked up a 16mm print that also has the '81 Crawl:

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Interestingly, this is also almost devoid of stars, so perhaps that’s how the '81 Crawl was.

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The idea to merge the scans would be the best route in my personal opinion, but then again I’m no professional, just a fan of Star Wars and interested in media preservation. Your team’s work is so inspiring and I can’t thank you enough. Would love to see 4K80 finished when it’s ready and also for 4K77 and 4K83 v2 (and I hope this 4K81 of sorts can be released with 4K77 v2)! Thanks again, Williarob

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Did not mean for that to be posted at 11:38, lmao (THX reference…as you know)

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Replying again to thank you all for your work on 4K83 v2 and to say that I am hyped for 4K80’s impending release, as well as the v2 of 4K77 that I hope will have the '81 crawl as a download option. However, I will wait patiently if it takes longer, because you’re doing a very difficult thing for fans to accomplish, that LFL should have done last millennium. In all seriousness though, it’s the right thing to do. May the force be with you, and best of luck (there’s no such thing as luck, though, as Kenobi once said).

-Another Enthusiast

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Agreed, great work! I’ve been busy lately and so I’m later to reply than usual, but if I may ask, Williarob, did you align and merge the two scans, as you have mentioned previously, before you restored the segment? Or did you only use the faded scan as a source? And if the latter is correct, I assume you based the color grade on the other scan during the process.

Edit: By “color grade” I meant color correction, but I am not an expert in the film restoration field, so I may have used the wrong term to represent what I meant. It may be insignificant but I wanted to clarify anyway.

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Initially I tried merging the two scans, but the faded scan was just so much nicer - much sharper with less noise and more detail. So in the end, I just used the new scan, cleaning it of dirt and dust and restoring the color by using the other, unfaded scan as my guide.

TheStarWarsTrilogy.com.
The007Dossier.com.
Donations always welcome: Paypal | Bitcoin: bc1qzr9ejyfpzm9ea2dglfegxzt59tys3uwmj26ytj