The Phantom Menace: The Theatrical Version (cancelled project)

There have been a lot of theatrical recreations of The Phantom Menace out there. However none satisfy me as a true theatrical version. So my goal is to recreate the film as closely as possible. As many people know, every version of The Phantom Menace released on home video has some flaws. The VHS, Laserdisc and DVD versions all come from the same master. Due to the limitations of the technology at the time, they all have a strange pink tint and the entire picture is cropped by 8 percent. The Blu-ray and 4K releases are closer to how the film looked originally and are uncropped but have severe DNR. I decided to combine all these versions together. The main source for my project is the Laserdisc release as it’s the highest quality official release of the original version of the film. However, as stated before, it is slightly cropped and the color grading is off. I decided to upscale this version using AI. To get theatrical color timing, I used a 35mm print by Team Negative One and color corrected shot by shot to match. I also used this version to recreate the missing image detail on the edges. When I am done with this project, please PM me for a link.

Sounds great! Now I assume when you say theatrical, you will be using the original puppet of Yoda?

Yes. It will have puppet Yoda.

That’s awesome. Curious what kind of footage are you using for that… To my knowledge there’s been no HD version of the puppet Yoda from Episode I

I will be using Schorman’s HDTV version of the film for that scene.

Excellent. Obviously… This is going to be awesome. As I am an avid Star Wars fan I can’t wait. I imagine you probably don’t have an idea but if you do how long do you think this would take you to do; just curious…

I don’t know yet.

Of course… I eagerly anticipate this one, sir! Thank you for taking the time and effort to recapture what I saw in the theaters in 1999

The HDTV version is the DVD version in 1080p so I’m using that source.

So how’s progress going?

I decided to change my workflow as the first version was taking too long. My new technique is to use the Czech 35mm print and use the laserdisc and HDTV for audio and subtitles. These sources will also be used to recreate the opening crawl. This will take much less time.

Most of the picture is going to be taken from the 35mm print. The only time I will use other sources is for the subtitles and even then I will use rotoscoping so that all of the original image is preserved. The audio is laserdisc sourced as the HDTV version is of the extended cut of the movie.

35mm! Awesome! Of the theatrical cut?

Yes. You can find it on TheStarWarsTrilogy.com.

Status Update: I am officially cancelling this project.

CloakedDragon97 said:

Status Update: I am officially cancelling this project.

Why?

It was taking too much time.

CloakedDragon97 said:

It was taking too much time.

I may try to do it…

That’s a good idea.

CloakedDragon97 said:

That’s a good idea.

But not until I finish my current projects.

Ok then.