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Dunedain

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Join date
1-Aug-2006
Last activity
29-Dec-2023
Posts
439

Post History

Post
#1541556
Topic
Harmy's RETURN OF THE JEDI Despecialized Edition HD - V3.1
Time

I would like to point out that many Blu-ray players hooked up to HDTV’s will not play video files encoded in H265 (my 4K Blu-ray player won’t, even though it’s a new model from only two years ago), so if you are going to use H265 at some point, please also make versions of the V3.1 MKV despecialized Return of the Jedi (and V3.0 of the first two films of the trilogy) encoded in H264 for compatibility with all Blu-ray players. Thanks for all the efforts, V3.0 looks great, Harmy! =) Also, thanks to those who worked hard on the film scans, audio tracks and subtitles! =)

Post
#1490145
Topic
The Kenobi <s>Movie</s> Show (Spoilers)
Time

Well, the series certainly isn’t perfect. The predictability is one thing, as soon as the Grand Inquisitor made his cold comment to Reva, I knew they’d try to make her sympathetic and work her into things as not being so bad, blah blah, etc., but this is hollywood and Disney, so no surprise. As to continuity concerns, I can understand them, but the only thing that is true canon is the original trilogy (unaltered, of course). Ever since the prequels I take a rather lenient policy on continuity issues, as long as something doesn’t clearly contradict the original trilogy, I generally let it slide. When it comes to Star Wars, you have to know what to take and what to leave, what belongs and what’s revisionist nonsense, what fits with what Star Wars really is and was made to be when it was originally crafted and what doesn’t. Discerning fans who understand the source of the mythos and lore and what it represents understand the need to do this. So while I do prefer if the continuity is handled well in a series, I don’t worry about it too much; while always keeping in mind that the original trilogy is the gold standard on Star Wars, other sources being lesser.

I do think the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Vader was done quite well. I felt bad for Obi-Wan, Anakin was his best friend, and he was entrusted to train and prepare him, and the combination of his fall years earlier and now when he sees what has happened to him, well, that’s a very hard thing to deal with… And I will give Vader credit for essentially admitting to Obi-Wan that while his severe injuries were at Obi-Wan’s hands, his fall to the dark side took place just before the duel that led to those injuries. I think deep inside he sort of felt bad that Obi-Wan was taking 100% of the blame on himself, even if Vader wouldn’t openly admit it, in part due to his pride and arrogance. But imagine Anakin seeing with his own eyes the look on Obi-Wan’s face when Obi-Wan looks upon him in his current state, what has become of his close friend, that had to cut him deep…

Post
#1489866
Topic
The Kenobi <s>Movie</s> Show (Spoilers)
Time

I’ve seen the 6th episode now. The duel with Vader, wow… extremely impressive skills and force powers; but even more so the importance of Obi-Wan and Anakin being able to finally speak, the terrible regrets Obi-Wan has to deal with, the feeling that he didn’t tutor his student well enough to prevent this fall must weigh so heavily on him. And it’s great to see Qui-Gon again! =) For these reasons I give the episode high marks.

Post
#1488747
Topic
The Kenobi <s>Movie</s> Show (Spoilers)
Time

Overall a good episode. So now there’s a new reason for the attack on the Grand Inquisitor. I thought the lightsaber training session with Anakin worked very well, and showed further insights into how Obi-Wan thinks and the flaws in Anakin’s own thinking and his obsessions, and how it leads him into error time and again. Oh and Vader really schooled her in that duel, clearly not in his league.

Post
#1487285
Topic
The Kenobi <s>Movie</s> Show (Spoilers)
Time

I actually found it rather refreshing to have the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Vader take place in some small village near a typical back-water mining operation. Not every battle has to take place in an amazing setting.

And I have to say I really like the character development, and the slower pace that allows it. Leia is one of those rare kids that’s highly intelligent and wise beyond her years, and her force sensitivity probably gives her additional insights. And we’re getting to hear a lot of Obi-Wan’s private thoughts about the force, how he misses his friend’s, the Jedi Order, and how hard it can be to be caught in the middle of a huge war with so much responsibility placed on one’s shoulders, and so on. And Ewan is just excellent as Obi-Wan.

Post
#1487035
Topic
The Kenobi <s>Movie</s> Show (Spoilers)
Time

When Vader enters the village he suddenly stops, he must have sensed Obi-Wan’s presence nearby, and started flinging people about in an effort to lure him out in the open. This was not random, Vader’s not crazy, he knew Obi-Wan was being cautious and was trying to force his hand. And Obi-Wan must have been sorely tempted to go, but he knew his first obligation was to try and get Leia out safely.

Post
#1486858
Topic
The Kenobi <s>Movie</s> Show (Spoilers)
Time

Well, I’ve seen the first 3 episodes now. I was naturally concerned how this series would be handled with Disney involved, but they allowed an overall good job to be done with the Mandalorian in the first two seasons, so I was anticipating it might be good, also. So far, I think it’s going pretty well. Ewan is, as usual, great as Obi-Wan, and shows why Lucas chose him in the first place. He brings real weight and depth to the entire series. You can feel how much pain he’s had go through thinking and dreaming about the events on Naboo and the Clone War, the mistakes, the friends he’s lost in battle, and what happened to Anakin, most of all. That would have to be very hard. The whole Inquisitor thing is sort of ok, but this Reva is really annoying. While she’s endlessly saying she seeks to prove how worthy she is, etc., at the first chance she murders her superior, proving the Grand Inquisitor right about her; a lowly backstabber, no loyalty, no discipline and totally untrustworthy, just in a constant desperate bid for attention.

The confrontation with Darth Vader is quite a moment, Obi-Wan is rather shocked to see what has become of Anakin. And lets just say that Anakin remembers well his devastating defeat at the hands of his Master… And certainly Obi-Wan is feeling rusty after having laid low for years and having zero time for force and lightsaber use and practice. He’s already got his hand-to-hand combat and blaster techniques and marksmanship working well, and I get the feeling when he shakes the rust off fully, look out bad guys… =)

Post
#1393253
Topic
Info: Mike Verta’s 4K Restoration - May 2020 Livestream
Time

Well, let’s suppose that someone decided, because it had not been done yet (again, supposing), to do a restoration of Gone With The Wind, himself. Now it turns out this fellow isn’t actually a fan of this movie because it doesn’t suit his personal tastes, he doesn’t care much for war/drama, etc. (however you wish to categorize the story) films. But he does recognize that it’s a very important film in the history of film making and so on, and feels it’s his duty as a film enthusiast with at least some of the skills needed to take up this challenge and restore it as well as he is able, using the best sources he can find. Mike doesn’t have to be a huge fan of films like Star Wars for him to recognize how important a film it is. In fact, it’s all the more impressive how he put such an enormous effort into this, even though it’s not quite his type of movie. =)

As to George Lucas. I read about a fan sometime back that was able to get invited to an event where George would be. I think it cost money, it might have been a ticket that was auctioned off for charity or whatever. Anyhow, he got to attend and he met George. He complimented him on his film-making and how much he enjoyed Star Wars and so on. Then, like a true Star Wars fan, he took the opportunity to ask George something like, “Hey, why not just also release the original Star Wars trilogy unaltered?”. George’s answer was along the lines of rolling his eyes and saying that they were his films, etc. George simply prefers the altered versions, apparently because they more seamlessly blend (Hayden, etc.) with the prequels and so on. Which I can see what he means, even if many of us fans would like at least the option to see the trilogy unaltered in the best possible quality. But George was quite clear in his answer, he wants the latest version of the Special Editions to be the ones that are on store shelves now. This clear response directly to a fan when asked, combined with the not subtle hints given by others at Lucasfilm, etc., makes it nearly certain that the reason the unaltered trilogy has not been fully restored (at least publicly) and released in a box set is because George doesn’t want it to be. And as much as I wish he would change his mind on that, I can respect that as an artist he wants his various alterations and also the way the two trilogies blend together now to be what is being offered for sale at this time. Even though I strongly disagree with some of those changes. Maybe he will change his mind, but for now, fan restorations are the only option. Fortunately, with the film scans now available for replacing altered scenes, those can be very good indeed.

Post
#888433
Topic
The Force Awakens: Official Review Thread - ** SPOILERS **
Time

Haven’t seen it, but I heard it’s a really bad quality rip-off of the story in the first Star Wars, incredibly lacking in originality. To the point where any criticisms against how references to the original trilogy were handled in the prequels make Lucas seem like a master of subtlety…

Is that the feeling a lot of other Star Wars fans have that have already seen it?

Post
#879524
Topic
Color matching and prediction: color correction tool v1.3 released!
Time

DrDre said:

Here’s an attempt at color correcting one of the soldier shots in the Star Wars bluray.

Bluray:

Regarde:

Thanks for the pass over the image, that’s much improved. 😃 But I can see this shot is going to be one of those hard ones, that orangey carrot effect seen in the videos can be tough to get rid of. Might even need some kind of separate intra-frame correction that’s only applied to the skin, with all else in the frame getting a different set of correction values. Hmm, is there such a tool?

Post
#879043
Topic
Color matching and prediction: color correction tool v1.3 released!
Time

DrDre said:

Dunedain said:

DrDre said:

Dunedain said:

NeverarGreat said:

DrDre said:
![](<a href=)http://oi57.tinypic.com/3486avs.jpg" width=“720” height=“306” />

The improvement is a good one 😃 The skin tones, hair, and shirt all look just right.

I’d say this one is still the best overall. It’s gets rid of that carroty redness that’s always a problem for everyone onboard the ship better than any other correction I’ve seen. Restoring a natural fair appearance. Great job. I’d be very interested to see these same settings from this version of the correction used on the Imperial officers we see on the Tantive IV, if you please, DrDre. 😃

Which officers are we talking about?

Commander Daine Jir - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Daine_Jir

and Commander Praji - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nahdonnis_Praji

Thanks very much if you can apply the settings used in the picture I refer to in my previous post on those two officers (using the best possible close-up shots available in the film) at high res. =)

I tested the color correction model on those frames, and it doesn’t look great. The Star Wars bluray really needs a shot by shot regrade.

Ah, I see. What do the results look like with the best suited correction settings for the shots those two officers are in? Thanks for checking! 😃

Post
#878360
Topic
Color matching and prediction: color correction tool v1.3 released!
Time

DrDre said:

Dunedain said:

NeverarGreat said:

DrDre said:
![](<a href=)http://oi57.tinypic.com/3486avs.jpg" width=“720” height=“306” />

The improvement is a good one 😃 The skin tones, hair, and shirt all look just right.

I’d say this one is still the best overall. It’s gets rid of that carroty redness that’s always a problem for everyone onboard the ship better than any other correction I’ve seen. Restoring a natural fair appearance. Great job. I’d be very interested to see these same settings from this version of the correction used on the Imperial officers we see on the Tantive IV, if you please, DrDre. 😃

Which officers are we talking about?

Commander Daine Jir - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Daine_Jir

and Commander Praji - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nahdonnis_Praji

Thanks very much if you can apply the settings used in the picture I refer to in my previous post on those two officers (using the best possible close-up shots available in the film) at high res. =)

Post
#794619
Topic
Color matching and prediction: color correction tool v1.3 released!
Time

NeverarGreat said:



DrDre said:
<img src="http://oi57.tinypic.com/3486avs.jpg" width="720" height="306" />


 The improvement is a good one :) The skin tones, hair, and shirt all look just right.


I'd say this one is still the best overall. It's gets rid of that carroty redness that's always a problem for everyone onboard the ship better than any other correction I've seen. Restoring a natural fair appearance. Great job. I'd be very interested to see these same settings from this version of the correction used on the Imperial officers we see on the Tantive IV, if you please, DrDre. :)