Star Wars Prelogy | 4K Filmized Remaster

Hello there !

Following the Harry Potter saga, Titanic and Scooby-Doo duology, I’m starting a new 4K Filmized Remaster of the entire Star Wars Prelogy. I’m using the untouched remastered bluray image as a source and I’m upscaling it to 4K, using my best Topaz Video AI settings. Then, I’m applying a film stock grain and I’m also using 35mm film stills available on this forum to match color grading of the final image with the 35mm version. Here are few screenshots of what I’m working on. Stay tuned

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

4k SDR

4k Filmized Remaster

More screenshots

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Further screenshots of the remastering process and zoomed in comparison for Episode I :

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

Official 4K SDR

4K Filmized Remaster

I’m curious why you would upscale the Blu-Rays instead of simply using the existing 4K transfer that’s already on disc. Seems like you’re just making more work for yourself that way.

Funcha said:

I’m curious why you would upscale the Blu-Rays instead of simply using the existing 4K transfer that’s already on disc. Seems like you’re just making more work for yourself that way.

The answer is simple : the final original masters for Episode I - II - III will always be 1080p. And everything released from that point that is and considered “superior” to the 1080p versions will always be an upscale. Even the officially released 4K masters. I would have avoided a step for my 4K Filmized Remaster by using the 4K masters, for sure, but I think Disney did a pretty bad job with their upscaling method (on Episode I, at least).

Here is a quick and bad example of their process : wide shots almost always looks over-sharpened on the official 4K master, while my 4K Filmized Remaster off the 1080p master looks much more natural. See the screenshot below :

4K Ultra HD image

4K Filmized Remaster (off 1080p source)

4K Ultra HD image

4K Filmized Remaster (off 1080p source)

Curious what your Topaz settings were for this one? Looks quite good from the stills. The increase in detail is maybe on the subtler side, but I don’t see many artifacts.

Still need to download your Titanic upscale. Looking forward to seeing how that looks.

rwzmjl said:

Curious what your Topaz settings were for this one? Looks quite good from the stills. The increase in detail is maybe on the subtler side, but I don’t see many artifacts.

Still need to download your Titanic upscale. Looking forward to seeing how that looks.

Episode I is almost finished and Episode II is on the way. Will add more screenshots of the final render soon.

A very commendable project! Your upscale definitely looks more natural with the edges of the distant objects, even if the detail is not increased that much except what the added grain “brings out”. I would be interested to get the links to these please when ready!

About AOTC, are you planning to use HDTV restoration instead of Blu ray since it has noticeably more detail than the Blu ray?

Screenshots of the upcoming Episode II 4K Filmized Remaster.

Screenshots of the upcoming Episode III 4K Filmized Remaster.

Here is the shot from HDTV- source. Even in the jpg- format the shot has more detail, for example on Padme’s hair on her forehead and on Anakin’s sideburns:

Here it’s the same with details on Anakin. HDTV source’s grain leaves more detail to the picture. Also the teal tint was introduced on the Blu ray version and was not present in the movie originally and should not be found in BTS and promotional footage:

Schorman has done us all a big favour by meticulously preserving the HDTV version (DVD- version in HD). You can read about it here: https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/schormans-HDTV-Star-Wars-Saga-Preservation-Released/id/16702/page/1. I would strongly suggest that for the AOTC you should use the HDTV restoration of that film instead of the Blu ray.

These look fantastic!

Hi, I’m back on board, working on a new and easier solution to provide you the 4K Filmized Remasters, file by file as requested. When everything is ready and available, I’ll get back to each one of you, including DMs received while I was on holiday. Thanks for your patience and take care.

Hi, I’m back on board, working on a new and easier solution to provide you the 4K Filmized Remasters, file by file as requested. When everything is ready and available, I’ll get back to each one of you, including DMs received while I was on holiday. Thanks for your patience and take care.

More screenshots from Episode II and Episode III 4K Filmized Remasters. At this moment, both are ready to release but I’m still unhappy with results on Episode I, even if larger shots looks clearly better than the official 4K image. It is giving me hard work to bring back a natural look to the heavily DNR’d and compressed 1080p master. Anyway, stay tuned.

EPISODE II

EPISODE III

Beautiful!! Eagerly awaiting your finished products 😃