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STAR TOURS (1987) Restoration and Saving of the Original Movie Attraction (Released) — Page 4

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The last three months were quite a thrill regarding Star Tours original footage.

Beyond all expectations, the film made a surprising appearence during Star Wars Celebration, Anaheim (2022) with D23 a celebration of the 35 Years of Star Tours Adventures. This event was very well handled, full of interesting interviews, making of and behind the scenes of the the original (now lost) attraction.

If you’re curious to see more and want to learn about Star Tours creation, you’ll find a replay of the full event here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij9EUs4QRzc

Now regarding Star Tours original footage, the 70mm film was presented full length in a quality never seen before in its original screen format. However, even if the footage was sharp quality, this was not a new restoration. This is literally the original film as it was playing during the attraction which explains some dust and film artefacts can be spotted from time to time on the screen and these elements were already visible during the ride. Also, the main issue I have with the presentation is the livestream banners remained present throughout the duration of the sequence. It breaks quite a lot the immersion. It blocks the view of a lower part of the footage, which is quite unfortunate as it’s the first time that we have complete information on each side of the screen in such quality. In simple words, it is not a simple 16:9 zoom like the Trench Run clip that surfaced on YouTube a few years ago for the closing on the DisneyLand Paris Star Tours Ride.

The “Star Wars Celebration with D23” Star Tours footage is now the best visual element that we have from the original 1987 film to this date. It is not perfect but it’s quite close to be perfect and was quite unexpected to see the film projected during a Star Wars event… after all these years, and the audience and fans like all of us were so excited to see that piece of Star Wars history again.

Three versions are now available online since few months:

The 1080p Version presented during the 35 Years event:
Video Title: “35 Years of Star Tours Adventures With D23 - Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022”
Video Link : https://youtu.be/ij9EUs4QRzc?t=2198

  • With the bottom of the footage hidden by livestream banners

The 4K Upscale & Widescreen (16:9) Version 35 Years of Star Tours:
Video Title: “STAR TOURS 1987 | 70mm Ride Film”
Video Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK7zy82LtYU

  • A cropped 16:9 version of the footage with the bottom hidden by livestream banners
  • Also featuring inserts of droids, and x-wing pilots screens for a more immersive view

The 1080p CinemaScope Version of Star Tours:
Video Title: “Star Tours (1987) - Original Simulator Film”
Video Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meXu9mAaDBQ

  • Livestream banners are hidden under the bottom of the screen
  • A flickering effect can be noticed on the screen

As a final word about all of this, I still deeply hope we’ll be able to have a better footage without livestream banners, with the full visible image.
As I said it’s close to be perfect but it’s truely a major step in the preservation of the original ride film.