ElectricTriangle

The original 1925 version of the Phantom of the Opera only survives as a spliced together dupe of 16mm prints in fairly low quality. The higher quality surviving 35mm print is of a version prepared alongside the sound re-release of Phantom. It is edited with different continuity than the 1925 version, cutting and rearranging scenes, as well as replacing footage with shots from the sound version. In addition, the 35mm material comes from the b-negative camera, using different angles and takes from the primary camera. Because of its higher quality, it has been the preferred version for restorations, even though it is much shorter than the 1925 version. An in depth exploration of the various versions exists here: http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2013/12/versions-and-sources-of-phantom-of-opera.html

This is an attempt to reconstruct the 1925 edit of the film using the higher quality 35mm material. The scenes present in the 1929 version use 35mm footage, while all the material exclusive to the 1925 version comes from the 16mm print.

Sound:
I have used Ben Model’s excellent organ score for the 1925 version. (As heard on reelclassicdvd’s DVD). To sync this edit to a preexisting score, I adjusted the speed of the footage throughout the film, generally keeping it within 16-24 frames a second, with the majority of the footage presented at around 20fps. The final file is a 60fps 1080p MKV (not blu ray compatible) with the real framerate being variable. When further edits were required to keep the sound and picture in sync, I made (hopefully unobtrusive) edits to the soundtrack.

The Technicolor sequence in the middle of the film uses Gaylord Carter’s organ score. Reelclassicdvd’s DVD used the BFI/Channel 4 version of the Technicolor bal masque sequence, which runs at a very slow speed (around 13 fps). This is a more natural level of motion, as the Technicolor camera had to be cranked very slow to get enough light, but it is not very period-accurate, looks bad and slows the pace of the scene. I have this sequence running at around 20fps, using a slowed down version of Gaylord Carter’s organ score taken from the Kino/Image bluray.

Picture:
As the various home media releases of Phantom have differing levels of quality, this edit uses the Kino, Image, and BFI blu-rays for the 1929 footage, with the 16mm footage coming from the HD transfer on the BFI bluray (including the title cards).

Video: 1080p 60fps 21gb MKV - Black and White with technicolor sequence and tinted sequence – 01:45:44
Aspect ratio: Around 1.33:1 for the 16mm material and cropped 1.2:1 for the 35mm
Audio: PCM stereo - Ben Model and Gaylord Carter score

Screencaps: https://imgur.com/a/GUqUcey

PM me (click my user name and then select “start a private topic”) for a copy. New members may express their interest thread if they can’t yet send PMs. Also on Myspleen.

I am so sorry about your cat.

Okay, I rendered out a purist version that includes most all of the DC changes. I have included most all of the shots altered for the director’s cut DVD, from major shots like the V’ger sequence all the way down to re-colored viewing screens. It’s easier to list the shots that weren’t included here (these are more minor omissions than it might look like at first glance).

PM me if you want a copy.

Right now the project files are on a different computer while I’m away at school, but when I get the chance I can probably render something.
Some people have already requested one, but I forgot to do anything about it. There are actually a lot more shots that have been modified then people realize, so it still would involve a degree of picking and choosing. Most people are interested in the finale shots of V’ger making the bridge. The biggest issue is that a couple of the shots run at 30 fps interlaced, so I’d have to find a way to interpolate the framerate satisfactorily.

In short, I can totally do it, it just might not be for a while.

I have a very small update to this that I’m putting out. I rendered V3 out awhile back to correct some small errors, particularly a jump cut that I accidentally introduced. I was waiting and see if there were any bigger changes I wanted to make to justify a new release, but since there aren’t, I might as well release this now.

V3 changes:

• added Grace Lee Whitney (as Janice Rand) to the list of co-stars in the opening credits. She was treated terribly during her time on the show, and I think her name deserves to be next to the rest of the original cast (some promotional materials featured her similarly).
• fixed issue with the BD footage, where aggressive DNR caused the bottom left part of the frame to smear and warp. 12:12
• fixed issue in the original DC effects where the shuttle disappeared for a frame. 13:00
• fixed one frame editing error I introduced 15:21
• The original effects have an issue where the shuttle moves, but the background is frozen. They trimmed the beginning in the DC, but when matching the edit, I trimmed the end of the shot rather then the beginning, as I didn’t know why it was shorter. Now matches the DC. 20:38
• fixed two frames of encoding garbage from the HDTV 26:37
• The audio is now the untouched dolby digital track from the DVD (not rencoded) until the end credits, when it seamlessly cuts to the new end credits music. This saves some space and preserves Blu-ray compatibility if you want to remux.

Anyone who PM’d me previously should have the updated version in their inbox, as I have updated the links.

I sent you a pm back when you first asked. I have sent you another. Just click the speech bubble in the upper right corner of the website to see your PMs.

trillary dump said:

This might be useless info but I found this very good quality pic of the original senate scene, I couldn’t find where it originally came from but I’m hoping that there’s a clip of it in this quality.

It’s from starwars.com and there’s no corresponding video.

Yep, it looks like that’s in 4:3, and the rest uses the DVD masters. A pity. (Interestingly, in the web interface, the pilot is listed in season 1 as an extra).

Wait, you’re getting it in 4:3? I get the 16:9 DVD masters on my Prime account (US). I wish it was the 4:3 copies. I’ve been meaning to give this show a watch, but I haven’t wanted to shell out the cash for it on VUDU.

Fixed link for the 2nd one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJoEadLlaMc

The new 70mm track is by Hairy_Hen. You can see what’s new here: https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Star-Wars-1977-70mm-sound-mix-recreation-stereo-and-51-versions-now-available/id/11348/page/27#1207818

The new 35mm stereo track is by schorman13. The one on the latest version of DE (2.5) was done by Hairy_Hen, which fixed a number of audio drop outs and issues from the laserdisc. They are both primarily sourced from the Japanese digital laserdisc, but the one done by schorman13 uses the newly available optical audio to determine which dropouts and crackling were present in the original theatrical version, and which ones were not for maximum accuracy.
It should sound very similar to all the previous versions of the 1977 35mm stereo track that have been released, but it’s the most accurate to what was heard in theaters.

I don’t know if this has been posted before, but the latest version of the Star Wars Digital collection uses the Struzan art for their covers. Here are some hi-res copies. These have a big logo on top of them and some of the stars are digital edited somewhat, but its a different source for these posters.
https://imgur.com/a/9wGcIBp

This looks great. Will you be utilizing schorman13’s rip of the theatrical Podrace in HD? The digital copy of TPM came with it as an extra.

I thought of trying to get a sympathetic person from librivox (public domain audio-book recordings) to do it, but it might be tricky to advertise, because the project is very clear about not using copyrighted materials. We could try DM-ing people individually.

Another option, after searching around I found there are people who do audio books for fanfiction: https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Audio Book/works. We could find one with a decent voice and mic, and reach out to the person.

CatBus said:

Yes, we have all of those (some are SE), and that’s where our scripts came from, by and large. The trick is that the audio quality is actually pretty bad on all of them, and I’ve concluded it’s not worth despecializing them. If you’re watching an audio-only version of Star Wars, a subpar soundtrack seems kinda insulting. Also, some of the voiceovers get stuff just plain wrong or are SE-specific, and I just can’t tolerate that.

My plan? Record an all-new voiceover track (essentially mono), which could then be placed over any track you like. Probably a nice top-quality Laserdisc-based stereo track, but could also be the mono mix or even a 5.1 mix.

For Empire and Jedi, I remember only having muddy sounding 97 SE’s and 2011 ones, but for Star Wars we have a decent sounding one synced to the original release. Or does it have more issues? I figure they had to have made similar versions for Jedi and Empire, which would certainly be better than having nothing synced up. Of course, if we get a nice sounding voice actor, making a new one is a great idea.

CatBus said:

• The HELP_WANTED file now asks for help with creating a descriptive audio track for the visually impaired. It’s not technically part of Project Threepio, but it is the biggest gap in our overall objective of making these historic films as accessible as possible. We have scripts, we have soundtracks, we have audio editors standing by – what we don’t yet have is the voice talent. Applicants please send me a PM, and also while you’re at it, please be Mark Hamill.

Have we had US forum members check their local library or library the blind for narrated VHS’s of Jedi and Empire? I checked mine, and they only had Star Wars (which we already have a copy of). A caveat: some libraries require you to be blind or disabled to get materials loaned to you, so don’t try and use the service if you aren’t.

hairy_hen said:

Well folks, it turns out the rumors of my doings are true: I have indeed produced a new version of the 70mm soundtrack, which can be found on the just-released 4K77 project.
[…]

Wow, that sounds like an incredible project. Hats off to your hard work-these are always wonderful tracks to listen to.

Melatius said:

Any suggestions of which setting on our AVRs we should choose to get the full effect? I have for example: DTS direct, DTS mono, DTS THX Cinema, Neo 6, etc. Also, besides the Falcon going into the Death Star, any other scenes we should especially check-out?

Edit: I typically use DTS Dolby PLIIx Movie with THX Cinema - is that a good choice?

Hairy_hen already upmixed the Dolby surround with the Shure HTS-5300. So you just let the 5.1 track play as it is.

evilronin said:
Awesome. I didn’t think you could do it digitally. I’ll do more research. I’m trying to pick up a rf demod from eBay. Nostalgia is going cost me. Can you give me any direct links on the process? No worries if not, I’ll dig around myself. Thanks.

I haven’t done it myself, but you basically need a sound card and recording set-up that can capture audio bit-perfect. That can actually be more of a pain than it sounds; a lot of cards and software re-sample stuff.

• Here’s instructions on how to ensure that on Creative X-Fi Cards: https://app.box.com/s/6135gvxl13utjo0dj9n8
• You then record straight from the audio out (should sound like garbage, because it’s Dolby digital data before decoding). And save your recording to a wav file without any adjustments.
• Then you bsconvert to interpret the encapsulated AC3 stream inside the wav file.
  http://www.ac3filter.net/wiki/AC3Filter_tools#bsconvert
• (bsconvert should work for DTS and Dolby Digital. DTS can also use “DTS parser”:http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/SUCCESS-Bit-Perfect-Audio-Capture/id/15988)
• You can then use eac3to or a similar tool to edit the AC3 to sync it to the new video while avoiding transcoding:
  https://forum.fanres.com/thread-1587.html
  (You can also edit the wav file before converting it with bsconvert.)

That’s just my basic understanding. If you have any questions, there’s many members here and on fanres that will be happy to help if you make a thread.

evilronin said:
Hopefully, I’m an idiot and don’t know what I’m talking about and there is a digital way to extract the AC-3RF from the laserdisc while retaining its original quality

There is. People do that on these forums all the time. If you have a RF demodulator that can bitstream DD, then you can just capture that with no re-encoding.

SilverWook said:

This is utterly crazy considering there’s a skit on the Saturday Night Live Season 4 DVD set that has both Coke and Pepsi products shown in it! That had to have been cleared for the video release. Maybe NBC/Universal was willing to cut both companies a check?

Yeah, using the original posters would be fair use. There’s no need to clear licensing on anything. The only reason they were blurred to begin with is the movie had a deal with Pepsi, and that deal is definitely not in effect today. I wonder if they don’t have the original, un-blurred negative, and figured that replacing the blurs would be less distracting. It still doesn’t explain why they removed the coke logo from the cooler. I guess for consistency.

captainsolo said:

Essentially when dealing with PD titles it is the new restoration or version that can be copyrighted but anyone else is free to make their own release or version from the non-restored still PD materials or whatever they get a hold of.

Again, in the US at least, there is ample legal precedent that establishes that you can’t re-copyright a restoration, because the basis of copyright is originality. Now, you can re-copyright a remixed soundtrack or an extended cut of a PD film, because those are creative decisions, but a faithful restoration, no matter how much work is involved, cannot be copyrighted. It is not a new creative work or a derivative work. Some restoration houses register their restorations with the copyright office, but based on current legal precedent those copyrights would not hold up in court.
Here are some examples from earlier in the thread:
http://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1186550/action/topic#1186550
http://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1186553/action/topic#1186553

They are still very much under copyright. Why do you think Disney bought Lucasfilm for billions? Distribution has nothing to to do with a work’s copyright status (it should, as currently their are tons of pieces of art and literature that are under copyright with no one distributing them-so called “orphan works”). Lucasfilm has thankfully ignored the existence of edits on here (and the rules stress that you should buy the official blurays), but fan-works still exist at the whims of Disney’s legal department.

Absolutely nothing. Most of the edits here remain 100% illegal under our terrible copyright laws. This thread is about movies that are currently public domain.

That refers to re-copyrighting foreign works that were in the public domain in the United States but were protected by copyright in the country they were created in (restoring a copyright). http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/copyright-restoration.html
It’s not related to art restoration.