Version 4 (or is it 5?) or this edit is currently in progress, so go to the end of the thread for the latest news.
This thread is for the discussion of my edit of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, following on from the discussion that started on page 12 of the Thought on de-SE'ing the DVD thread.
I started sending out discs today, so hopefully I can get some feedback soon.
Using the 2004 PAL DVD as source, the following changes were made (some go quite a way to restoring the original version of the film, some fix continuity and SFX errors, and some might be a bit controversial):
2007: For an updated list of changes in version 3, go to page 36.
0. The Star Wars logo recedes too quickly. I interpolated new frames to slow it down to the right speed.
1. Fixed the jump cut after R2 and 3PO cross the corridor (watch the Stormtroopers in the background)
2. Smoothed a jump cut as R2 starts rolling away from Leia towards 3PO.
3. Smoothed another jump cut as R2 rolls off towards the escape pod.
4. Painted out the flap of white material behind a wall when the Stormtrooper shoots Leia.
5. Fixed the goof where R2's arm opens the pod door, but disappears in the next shot.
6. When 3PO and R2 are in the pod, the Star Destroyer recedes into the background. Unfortunately so do the stars, which is not what they should see. I've replaced the stars with non-receeding ones.
7. Vader takes a very pantomimish stance when Leia is brought to him - I've cut that out.
8. Moved the restraining bolt on R2, which appears in the wrong position in one shot.
9. When 3PO stands up the Sandcrawler, his eyes blink off for half second. I've fixed that.
10. I've cut the SE Tatooine stormtroopers, so this part is now almost identical to the OT (but the CGI Dewback is still there in the background, and I've shortened the preceeding shot of the Sandcrawler).
11. I've painted out a spurious wire that sprouts from 3PO's head while he waits in line to be bought.
12. Graphic equalized some of Owen's lines due to poor audio quality.
13. I've painted the reappearing red R2 unit green to fix the continuity error.
14. There's a bad cut in the music (it completely drops out for a fraction of a second) when we see the Sandpeople mounting their Bantha - fixed.
15. I've edited out the wall hanging/cloak thing behind Luke to fix a continuity error (but in a weird way - more on that later).
16. I've morphed Luke and Ben, and adjusted 3PO, so the jump cut is not so obvious when he turns on the lightsabre (the lightsabre also visibly extends).
17. Mos Eisley. I've painted out (but kept the shot) the humanoid droid smacking down the floating droid as the speeder enters Mos Eisley. The shot with the Ronto throwing it's Jawa riders is cut.
18. (This is a really geeky one) I've painted out a small stone that could be seen rolling across the ground for apparently no reason behind Ben, as he mind-tricks the Stormtroopers.
19. I've fixed a few frames as the speeder approaches the Cantina, where the shadows were not correctly painted.
20. In the same scene, a ship in the background flys in front of two moisture vaporators, which makes it appear to be tiny. I've moved it behind the vaporators.
21. I've painted out Batboy's transparent eyes.
22. Greedo's subtitles are now "burnt" into the video, with the same font as the SE Laserdiscs.
23. Han fires first!
24. The single frame of Greedo before he fries is no longer a poor dummy.
25. Jabba - you're cut! I've done my best to reconstruct the OT here, right down to matching the number of frames in the transition.
26. The sync on Ben's line ("If the ship's as fast as he's boasting...") was out by 600ms (15 frames).
27. I've painted in the radar dish on the Falcon as it sits in docking bay 94 (just before "What a piece of junk!").
28. I've painted out the guy in a green shirt behind Han, in the first shot of Han in the cockpit after they take off.
29. Before Leia is brought to Tarkin, there's a shot of him and another officer standing in front of a poorly projected picture of Alderaan. I've replaced the projection with a shot of Alderaan from later, replicating the original shading and size.
30. Moff Tarkin's line "...then name the system!" has been graphic equalized to mask the poor audio quality.
31. The stars behind the Death Star jump (as if a few frames were cut) as the Death Star fires - I fixed that.
32. Just after Alderaan bites the big one, Luke's lightsabre is green! Now it's blue - and I've shortened it because at one point the tip remains completely out of frame, causing it to appear far too long.
33. I've used reversed footage to fix a horrendous jump cut when Luke turns off the lightsabre.
34. I've used a morph to fix a bad jump cut when Luke ignites the sabre while wearing the helmet.
35. Vader no longer gestures after finishing his sentence (the shot remains the same length).
36. When the Falcon enters the DS docking bay, I've fixed the gap in the glow from the docking bay light.
37. Some of the stars behind Vader, as he walks to the Falcon, show through his helmet.
38. I've cut the DVD-addition line "There's no-one here." as the Stormtroopers leave the Falcon. The alternative was making the second Stormtrooper reply, "Duh!" 
39. Using morphs and pastes, I've fixed a few jump cuts and wobbling doors in the docking bay control room.
40. While our heroes wait for an elevator, a guy goes by first in a light shirt, then in a dark shirt. Now he just wears a dark shirt.
41. I've painted out a stray hair on Leia's forehead which disappears too quickly during a cut-away.
42. The line "I had it all under control until you led us down here!" was of particularly bad quality, so I've replaced it with the same line from the SE LD.
43. After Luke says "It just let go of me and disappeared!" the scene cuts to Leia, at which point all ambient noise suddenly diminishes. I pasted in some sounds to make the transition smoother.
44. The sound of the Stormtrooper hitting his head is so loud it sounds like a comedy sound effect. Alternative sounds didn't work out, so now he just doesn't bump his head - he hangs back until the lead trooper has entered the room.
45. I morphed R2 as he rolls out of the cupboard to fix a slight jump cut (it was much worse on the Laserdiscs but still needed touching up).
46. Two overhead shots of Ben at the Tractor Beam Station needed the colours of the matte painting corrected. The DVD was better than the LD, but there was still room for improvement.
47. Before the cut-away to Leia ("No wait, they'll here!"), Han's gun emits a puff of smoke even though he hasn't fired it yet (painted out).
48. Luke says "What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?", runs off down the corridor, then if you listen closely it sounds like he spits! I cut the sound out.
49. A morph fixes a jump cut when Leia shuts the door on the approaching Stormtroopers, leaving her and Luke trapped on the unextended bridge. There was also a visible squib on the door, which I've painted out.
50. On the DVD, they made a half-hearted effort (a single frame morph) to fix the jump cut when Ben ignites his lightsabre. I've made this a lot smoother.
51. On the DVD, they claimed to have fixed Ben's unpainted lightsabre (just before we cut to our heroes getting to the docking bay). All they did was add the glow, but they forgot to paint the white core. Another shot around this one had a similar problem for a frame or two.
52. In various shots, I've painted out the power cable that led from Ben's sleeve to his lightsabre.
53. When Luke sees the duel from a distance, Ben's lightsabre is already raised and neither sabre is painted. The sabres are now painted in the right positions.
54. When Ben gets cut down, I've added in his face so it looks less like an empty cloak.
55. I've painted Vader's sabre red in a few uncoloured scenes (when he's in the background behind the Stormtroopers).
56. When Han asks "You in kid?" Luke now replies "Yeah," before Han's "Okay, stay sharp."
57. The Falcon shudders as the TIEs pass, but the shake effect on Han and Luke is entirely horizontal and shows no motion blur. I've added rotational and translational movement, and some motion blur.
58. As the TIE makes it's first attack, the glow from the Falcon's engine has a gap in it (from the model's support?) and it flickers. I've smoothed it and filled in the gap.
59. There's a shot of R2 and 3PO in the curved seat on the Falcon. Look closely behind Artoo - for a few frames at the end, a head (probably Luke) appears. I've painted it out.
60. In five or six shots, I've removed the matte boxes from around the TIEs. One shot was particularly awful.
61. I've desaturated a green-tinted TIE fighter that passes in front of Han, and a blue-tinted TIE fighter that passes in front of Luke.
62. I've reframed one shot of a TIE approaching the camera which had no stars on the right 1/5th (or so) of the frame.
63. I've painted out parts of the motion control rig on the falcon that are briefly visible as the Falcon makes it's final descent towards Yavin IV.
64. I've painted out a tool that a technician knocks off a bench as they take care of R2.
65. I've fixed the Death Star schematic that appears on the monitor and in the briefing. The weapon bowl should appear above the equatorial trench, not on it.
66. The clock on the Death Star screen during the attack is now consistent with the announcements. One shot required colour correction to match all other shots of the clock.
67. The whole Biggs scene is gone. I never really liked it, but the ILM guy walking in front to cover up R2's jump made it terrible. They could have done a better job of that, I'm sure. Unfortunately it means I've had to remove the shot of Luke walking under his X-Wing's wing (a different take was used in the OT).
68. In a couple of scenes, I've painted out some stray hairs that Tarkin forgot to comb out.
69. Something I think everyone will be pleased about is that I've been able to restore the missing fanfare, after Red Leader says "I'm gonna cut across the axis and try and draw their fire." I used the Special Edition soundtrack CD as my source. The music was still there in the rear channels, incidentally - it definitely wasn't a creative decision!
70. In a couple of cockpit shots, I've painted out a speck of white that appears on the screen (it doesn't move in a way consistent with a distant rebel ship).
71. In two shots of ships pulling out of the trench, I've adjusted the contrast so that space appears properly black.
72. I've added an X-Wing to the shot where Luke looks down to see Red Leader bite the dust. It always bugged me that there was an explosion with no visible cause.
73. I've done my best to correct some bad blue screening, when Luke says "You can't do any more good back there!".
74. I've reframed the shot of Luke looking back at R2 after he gets shot, because he clearly wasn't smoking as he was in the shots before and after.
75. I've adjusted the colour of the stars in two trench shots, where black space appeared blue (probably not noticeable on a TV screen).
76. I've painted out a smudge on the camera, just after Ben is heard to say "Let go, Luke!"
77. I've copied the second of two identical shots of Vader spinning out of control over the first, because in the first shot, parts of the motion control rig were visible.
78. I've painted out Vader's eye in one shot when it is particularly visible through his mask.
79. As our heroes make their way to get their awards, one rebel in the background raises his hand just before a cut - I've painted it out. Maybe he needed the bathroom.
80. Leia's now don't start moving up a few frames before the credits begin.
81. Denis Lawson's name is now spelt correctly in the end credits.
As you can probably tell, this wasn't an effort to recreate the original version of ANH, but rather to create a hybrid that I could actually stand to watch.
While I wait for people to receive their copies, I'm happy to expand on any of the above or post screenshots.
Darth Editous
dartheditous@hotmail.co.uk
