Timstuff said:
TheForce.net user Chreff allegedly has connections at Lucasfilm, and he's explained why the 2004 DVDs looked so bad, and how the Blu-Ray version will have fixed all the problems that the 2004 transfer had, and he also makes the claim that this is Lucas's "final" version of Star Wars. I kind of doubt that since there's still the 3D release looming ahead, and if Lucas is given enough time I suspect he'll think up new things to tweak, but overall Chreff's post sounds encouraging, not just for the Blu-Ray release but for the digital preservation of Star Wars in general. He even mentions Adywan. ;)
Chreff said:
I know how this process works because I have experience in digital editing and also follow SW quite closely, obviously. I also know people in the business who are involved and I know the restoration on the SW saga was still being done long after the DVD release. People like to call GL names but he's continued to put a lot of cash into this project for years (as he should since this is where everything started). The blu-ray is essentially the final version of SW.
The lightsabers will be fixed, especially the green one in ANH. That black smudge on the Emperor in ROTJ? Gone. Those boxes around TIE fighters in ANH? Bye bye! The magically appearing TIE's in the ROTJ space battle? I don't know about that one honestly. It's won't be like that Adywan Revisited stuff though. I'm as anxious to see it as anyone to see it all on my 55" plasma!
http://boards.theforce.net/the_star_wars_saga/b10456/30885339/p12
I really want to believe in him, but I just can't due to what we've seen so far.
It doesn't matter how good these Blus will supposedly look if they are not the original theatrical versions. Erase those garbage mattes and disappearing ships and missing lightsaber rotoscopes, etc., sure, but don't change entire scenes or add effects that weren't there to begin with.
So i watched the trailer, and vader's saber is still pink, phantom menace is now looks darker and less pink in tone, episode II and III shots looked like garbage.
“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.
Erase garbage mates by correcting the colour levels (they were never visible in cinemas), sure. Erase the out of nowhere appearing ships, no way, they were always there and they should stay because that's what was achieved in 1983 and for optical compositing, it is very close to perfection, tweaking it in a computer makes it much less valuable because computer compositing is soooo easy that 8-year-olds can do it on their toy computers.
Not trying to be an SE supporter (I grew up with the OOT too!) but here's the deal for me:
If it's true the trailer for the blu-ray is indeed just old stuff with the exception of Episode 1, thrown together before the transfers are finished, then I will still hold some optimism.
Ok, so there is no OOT. It's buried by GL. Fine. I hate that thought, but it's the choice he has made.
If they fix the colour problems, sabers, mattes, and sound for the OT SE blu-ray, then it certainly holds interest to me. I didn't mind the 1997 SE that much, I hated the Greedo change, Jabba CGI and most of the other unncessary changes, but it did improve in other areas. The 2004 SE was a joke I think we can all agree, and to me went backwards. If they can fix that, I'll happilly take it, and in mean time enjoy the true OOT restorations made from SW fans from all over. Furthermore, hopefully this new material will aid in our restorations significantly in giving us what we want OOT wise.
That's my hope anyway.
I don't remember Vader's saber being pink in empire in the theater, Is it possible that was a defect of the telecine in 1997 ?
“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.
A lot of action over here. Here's my thoughts. If the BR has any sort of fixed colors, I will be pleasantly surprised, but evidence from the past (Lucas using the LD masters) shows that if they already have something that is good enough, why bother doing anything else to it? People will buy it anyway. (Side note: I told my wife it looks like the OT BRs will just be the DVDs in HD; she said "Why would anyone buy them then?")
If they do fix the colors and/or correct the thousand mistakes they left in / created when they did the SE, I will be the first in line to buy the entire set. I sincerely doubt this will happen. If they didn't have time to fix the shots they were going to use in the trailer, why would they have time to re-color time the entire trilogy? (I'm a firm believer in that trailers for restorations should use restored footage, even if you only restored that particular footage used in the trailer).
Ady brings up a good point that someone else brought up as a joke earlier. Will the original footage be part of the "Deleted Scenes" section of the BR? Would they do that? If they have the guts to rescan the original parts they scanned to put the SE on top of, then I would be a lot more likely to buy the set.
Chreff said:Of all of the BS this guy said, the highlighted part upset me the most. Lucas, in his infinite wisdom was so busy fixing Jabba that they didn't have time to DO THE FIRST STEP IN ANY RESTORATION. Ady knew that in order to make a Special Edition, you take the original you have, make it look good, THEN composite new things into it. Sadly, it wasn't just Jabba, they recomposited a lot of new stuff for the DVD (see my Complete Comparison in my List of Lists). But if you recomposite on top of a broken base, it only makes your new work seem worse. A LOT of work actually went into the DVD, above and beyond the 97SE even, but you can't tell because they didn't do the "restoration" part right!
The problem is that because they attempted to meet a DVD release deadline they completed the composites but never finished the color, sound and other little things that would normally be done on a full restoration. That's why things that weren't even in the original release in '77 (like the big blue halo around the Death Star explosion in ANH) are seen on the 2004 DVD. The digital transfer is almost too good.
Star Wars Revisited Wordpress
Star Wars Visual Comparisons WordPress
Now, concerning the trailer, if they were going to fix this stuff for the final product, wouldn't it make sense to fix the few shots they used in the trailer?
This took me less than 5 minutes and I only sligthly tweaked the contrast and brightness:
^ That.
doubleofive said:
(Side note: I told my wife it looks like the OT BRs will just be the DVDs in HD; she said "Why would anyone buy them then?")
I told my wife the exact same thing. She said "too many acronyms, didn't listen."
;-)
What's a BR?
Edit: you probably meant BD.
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Blu-Ray?Moth3r said:
What's a BR?
Edit: you probably meant BD.
Star Wars Revisited Wordpress
Star Wars Visual Comparisons WordPress
A Lucas butt kisser takes a dig at Adywan, while defending Luca$h.
Say it ain't so. LOL.
“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.
It's normally abbreviated BD, as in Blu-ray Disc, hence my confusion.
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DAMN, could they at least put some effort into the cover art? The last good-looking set was the '01 VHS. Hell I finally got my childhood "Faces" set for $20 last month, I should be set on buying Star Wars videos for the year.
Does anyone have an HD screencap of that Emperor shot?
Moth3r said:
What's a BR?
It's Blade Runner!
But umm, yeah, it's BD.
And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.
So wait let me get this straight. The best case scenario is that the Blu-Ray release of the OT is slightly better than the 04 SE and this will better enable fan edit restorations. Wow Lucasfilm, thank you, here is my money.
Fuck that noise. Do not want.
I was going to say that I'm so sure that the Blu-Ray release of the OT will be the 04 transfers only in HD (excluding audio mix differences) that if this wasn't the case I'd personally refund the purchase price of the set to the first person to prove otherwise.
But that may be the beer in me talking. Besides that might instigate people to go buy the set that wouldn't normally in the hope of a freebie and they may be disappoint.
"Well here's a big bag of rock salt" - Patton Oswalt
The only discs I would like to buy are Episode I and the other 3 full of extras. Let's hope some store over here opens a package and sells them separately.
adywan said:
you know what, something just occurred to me. What if a lot of the deleted scenes on the Blu-Ray set for the OT are the scenes/shots taken out by the SE? Because after all these are deleted scenes now, right?. But would they be in HD or SD even if they did something like that?
This idea occured to me once I've heard they would put all the deleted scenes on the BD. But I bet if they did do something like that, they would just use the GOUT transfer anyway :-(
Moth3r said:
What's a BR?
Edit: you probably meant BD.
Nevermind.
Harmy said:
Erase garbage mates by correcting the colour levels (they were never visible in cinemas), sure. Erase the out of nowhere appearing ships, no way, they were always there and they should stay because that's what was achieved in 1983 and for optical compositing, it is very close to perfection, tweaking it in a computer makes it much less valuable because computer compositing is soooo easy that 8-year-olds can do it on their toy computers.
Yes, exactly. I could accept minimal corrections, such as the minor tweaks to Raiders during its restoration (although there's still slightly too much red in those Indy DVDs), if they absolutely have to make some changes.
I don't mind a few model or optical errors and mistakes here and there; it's part of the effect from the time; I don't expect perfection. They did incredible work on the originals.
Why release the OT as a separate box set if the originals are not going to be there? It is a box set that appeals to no one. All you get is just the 04 DVDs upgraded to BD for twice the money. It is just an overpriced counterfeit product that is passed off as the real version.
Well, I'm looking forward to having ROTS on Blu-Ray.....
True story!!!
generalfrevious said:
Why release the OT as a separate box set if the originals are not going to be there? It is a box set that appeals to no one. All you get is just the 04 DVDs upgraded to BD for twice the money. It is just an overpriced counterfeit product that is passed off as the real version.
I assure you that there are many people out there who don't care for the prequels but don't mind the SEs. Like my uncle, who said he liked the originals better, when the SE came out,, but now has the 2004 DVD set and is ok with it, to him they're just movies and the changes don't bother him but he doesn't like the prequels and isn't the type to watch supplements, so he'd definitely buy the separate OT set, if he cared about HD, which he doesn't...