STAR WARS THEATRICAL EDITION HD

Since 1997, people have wanted STAR WARS re-released in it’s original format. Everyone here can agree that the 1997 Jabba the Hutt looked atrocious, right? Well, you’re not the only ones who think so. That’s why I am proposing to create an original copy of STAR WARS, completely unaltered except for color correction, in HD! I can do this by taking the 2011 Blu-ray copy and then adding parts of the original cut and putting them into the Blu-ray at parts where the 2011 editions differ with the original cut. That way we can all enjoy STAR WARS as it was in HD, without downloading a 21GB file!

CatBus said:

If it helps, there are already at least two projects that do exactly that or something very similar: Despecialized and D+77/D+80/OTD83. The main project files are large, since they try to keep their encoding quality similar to an actual Blu-ray disc (~20GB+ seems about right for this). But there are also official AVCHD versions for burning to DVD9s, which are necessarily under 9GB, and even DVD5 downscales for those who don’t need HD. I also know that there are a ton of unofficial re-encodes of Despecialized that sacrifice a little visual quality for a lot of space savings, often putting the whole trilogy at under 10GB. If you’re looking for torrents, you’re actually more likely to run across one of these unofficial re-encodes than the official version, since there seems to be a similar bias in favor of small file sizes in that community.

What are the best audio versions for the Prequels and Original Trilogy?

CatBus said:

Edomex Sound said:

What are the best audio versions for the Prequels and Original Trilogy?

Audio is typically restored as a different project, and then included with restorations that are designed to sync to it. The only difference is scan-based projects which will usually include optical audio directly from the film print.

“Best audio” could be its own thread, and there are tons of opinions. First of all, some people swear by the optical audio because it sounds more like what you’d have heard in the theater back in the day.

However, Laserdisc-based preservations provide more of a clean, high-end home-video sound. Laserdisc-based audio is available for the original stereo mixes and 1993 revised “THX” mixes, and the 1985 home video mix for Star Wars. The mono audio is typically from either broadcast recordings or film scans. There will likely soon be at least one original six-channel mix available from a print scan too.

But what I feel stands above the rest is hairy_hen’s six-channel reconstructions, which are based on the matrixed stereo mixes, and a ton of TLC.

Which mix is “best” is a matter of taste and priorities, but I feel I can safely say:

• For Star Wars, people gravitate to the six-channel or mono mixes. The 1977 stereo is so close to the six-channel as to be a “why bother?” option – you may as well downmix the six-channel. The 1985 stereo mix has no dynamic range to speak of, but is a valid mix if you’re trying to reproduce that home video feel. And the 1993 stereo mix is generally great quality, but includes divisive additions.
• For Empire, the six-channel is much-loved. The 1980 stereo mix is solid, and as with Star Wars, the 1993 stereo mix is generally great quality with one small error. The 1980 mono mix is more of a novelty but it includes alternate dialogue, so it’s fun.
• For Jedi, again I recommend the six-channel. The 1983 and 1993 stereo mixes are both very good, 93 with better quality and no divisive changes or errors. The mono mix is definitely a novelty with missing foley effects.

Hope that helps. Generally speaking, the most recent preservations will have the most recent versions of the six-channel audio. The others have not changed much in years, as the best-of-breed Laserdiscs were found and ripped years ago.

Be careful mix-and-matching audio. There are two frame standards currently in use (GOUT and theatrical), but they’re close enough that you might not notice slight sync differences until years later.

I have no opinions on prequel audio.

To clarify, the six-channel is from what source?
I understand that the Laserdisc are the stereo mixes.

SW 70mm mix is a recreation/ upmix the original mag track hasn’t as of yet been preserved.

the 70mm of SW is probably the last real holy grail that hasn’t been scanned/ audio captured.

CatBus said:

So, “matrixed stereo” is a stereo mix encoded in a special fashion where, if you pass it through a proper Dolby ProLogic decoder, you can get four-channel audio. The Laserdisc audio can be decoded in this way to get true multichannel. The six-channel reconstructions are based on this four-channel decode of Laserdisc audio, and for the past several releases has used a proper professional-grade decoder for that work. We also have in-theater recordings of the six-channel mix, which aren’t an audio source per se, but allow us to know which slight variations of sound effects happened, and when. The LFE is a bit of a best-guess, using some SE when it aligns with theatrical effects.

This work is all based on the theory that the six-channel and stereo mixes were based on the same four-track master audio, which has at this point been proven enough through various audio discoveries to be considered fact. There’s a lot of archaeology in this as well…

Keep in mind that, at the time, only the Star Wars six-channel mix even attempts to match any unique 70mm six-channel content. That may change, but right now Empire and Jedi are more like “tasteful and respectful upmixes” than 70mm mixes – although they may end up being extremely similar to their respective 70mm mixes, due to the shared lineage of the four-channel master.

ProLogic decoding can’t get you literally back to the discrete six-channels on a 70mm print. For one thing, there’s still a bit of channel bleedover that would not be present on a 70mm print, the other is of course the missing two LFE channels*. But these things were done with love. It’s not at all like those Blu-ray mono-to-5.1 upmixes which kill the soul of the original audio. It can be done well, and in this case, it’s been done in an exemplary fashion.

* The original 70mm six-channel audio was 4.2, not 5.1. It was L, C, R, and a single surround, plus two LFE channels. So a four-channel ProLogic decode gives you everything except the LFE. Since 5.1 is far more compatible with modern playback systems, that’s how it’s encoded for these preservations.

What I have noticed about the Laserdisc audio in many films is that the sound is very in-depth and robust.

Which Original Trilogy preservation do you recommend?

The problem with most new 35/16mm copies are that you have to pay to watch them. This one will be available freely to anybody who can access Youtube. It also will not take as long, because there’s no hassle of scanning the original prints. This copy will also cost nothing to create. You can get 5 minute scenes on YouTube for free and then just replace the changed shots with an original print. I’m almost finished with the scene on the Tantive IV.

PS. HD=720p

youtube’s compression is pretty terible for preserving quality especially at 720p

JRSSCPRKFAN said:

The problem with most new 35/16mm copies are that you have to pay to watch them. This one will be available freely to anybody who can access Youtube. It also will not take as long, because there’s no hassle of scanning the original prints. This copy will also cost nothing to create. You can get 5 minute scenes on YouTube for free and then just replace the changed shots with an original print. I’m almost finished with the scene on the Tantive IV.

PS. HD=720p

HD also = 1080 or even 2K

I don’t see how you can upload it to Youtube, it would get copyright strike right away.

CatBus said:

I have no opinions on prequel audio.

I haven’t compared them yet really.
I can just say for now that a very brief comparison near the start of AOTC made the Cinema DTS seem to have a bit fuller spatial surround pan when the ship was landing at the start and it is also known in general that it does have a couple dialogue changes (one quick phrase replacement from Padme and the post-Tusken scene is different length between 35mm and home) and maybe felt a bit more impressive (although it does have lossy compression). The home versions probably all got some form of near-field remixing.

MonkeyLizard10 said:

HD also = 1080 or even 2K

I don’t see how you can upload it to Youtube, it would get copyright strike right away.

My idea is to make a playlist with all the scenes. Somebody did that with Jurassic Park a few years ago, and it still hasn’t been deleted, so I guess it’s legal. In a playlist, the scenes start playing automatically. There will be some minor interruptions (Adds, loading the next video.), but you willl be able to watch it for free, without grain or burn.

Plus, as an added bonus, here’s the Jurassic Park they put on youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJmqgRicoDU&list=PLab2BAq3q3ukbYOuNmRC9a87NFyRnLjhD&index=1

JRSSCPRKFAN said:

The problem with most new 35/16mm copies are that you have to pay to watch them. This one will be available freely to anybody who can access Youtube. It also will not take as long, because there’s no hassle of scanning the original prints. This copy will also cost nothing to create. You can get 5 minute scenes on YouTube for free and then just replace the changed shots with an original print. I’m almost finished with the scene on the Tantive IV.

PS. HD=720p

what do you mean by you have to pay to watch 35/16mm copies, i’m assuming you mean a scan of the print not an actual print if not, watching on youtube is a VERY different experience then watching a film print

is there any progress made with this