MattMahdi

It's a terrific image and the cover has intensity. I like it.

I apologize for a response that may have come across as either snarky or whiny.

You also made a good choice of artwork. One of the earliest images, before anyone realized that a movie (and following juggernaut) were on their way.

Your comment about translucency reminded me of Marvel's comic book covers. The images were obviously designed to have all the important elements in the bottom two-thirds of the cover so that the title could obscure the rest.

But those few special times when the logo became an outline only were a joy. Suddenly there was so much more to see. I'm thinking specifically of a Walt Simonson cover, but my collection is miles away as I type this so all I'm sure of is that he was the artist. But the idea obviously had an impact.

[Edit: issues 55, "Plif", and 60, "Shira's Story". Suddenly the images and the threat became so much more real.]

Jambe Davdar said:

And here is Sluggo's wonderful cover - 

But I want to see Chaykin's art...

Went back and read that first post. Exciting that your project is complete.

He started the project in February 2007 and finished, three years later, in late January 2011.

My math can be a bit rusty. And....

Ripplin said:

Hey, great news! I don't remember hearing of a Miami Edition of RTJ. I'll need to get both of them sometime. :)

The PAL version was posted on a.b.sw about a year ago, if that helps.

TV's Frink said:

I don't think they matter on Blu.

I'm pretty sure that 4:3 vs 16:9 has nothing to do with it, since my complaint is audio-related! :p

Found the words that escaped me. Is frame rate the same for 16x9?

Tobar said:

TV's Frink said:

I can't ever get past the voices on PAL.  It's just not what I'm used to.

Yeah, it really grates on my ears. So here's hoping someone converts it! =)

Question not related to the topic at hand.

In this era of HD, NTSC v. PAL isn't an issue anymore -- right?

I'm assuming that the dueling formats only matter for 4x3 television. Or do they matter for 16x9?

From a week ago: Rare "Holiday Special" Backstage Photo Found

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2011/01/04/rare-holiday-special-backstage-photo-found/

Fun picture of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

SKot said:

I keep hoping they will convert those to larger image pop-ups, but that message has been there for quite a while now with no sign of any updates.

Well, darn. There goes that hope.

I bought the small booklet they were selling covering the items on display there - the booklet is sort of an addendum to the big hardback they brought out at Celebration 4.  I still need to scan the images from the small booklet and add them to the HS website.

--SKot

Well, I'll certainly look forward to those. Thank you for your hard work over the years.

Skot, have you checked out Ralph McQuarrie's web page:

http://www.ralphmcquarrie.com/gallery_1/star_wars/tv_special/

I can't figure out how to get a closer look at the gallery images, but a few I don't think I recognize. (It's hard when I'm squinting at something the size of a small postage stamp.)

The paragraph to the left is a short summary of production and why it turned out a ghastly mess.

(Ah, never mind, just went back to the main page: "PLEASE NOTE: All thumbnails will eventually become clickable pop-ups.")

Four years ago OCP's list was AMAZING. Probably still is.

At that time I paid him for "Deleted Magic" and a KCCI disc of "The Star Wars Holiday Special". I was young(er) and foolish. I got what I needed even though I recognized the less-than-legal arrangement. (But I didn't pay extra for a case and insert for "Deleted Magic".)

Sadly he and others fill a *perceived* vacuum for people who don't know there are other avenues. A number of people on these forums have been kind enough to mail me their discs. Others have sent me download links. One person was generous enough to RE-UPLOAD his project when I could not find it anywhere.

It's a pity that there can't be more education about options. But restrictions are in place for some very good reasons.

Wisdom, Sluggo.

And here I was planning to say that I love the Title "Star Wars Begins". This work is taking us back to the very beginning of all things, of this media conglomerate that began with a simple film. "Star Wars" stands for so many things now, but in 1977 it was only a film. (And a comic book, and a novel.)

binsearch shows it posted to a.b.sw 801 days ago. Should still be available from long-term Usenet providers.

Sluggo said:

Seriously.

Cut it down to 60 minutes and it may not be all that bad.

At least one person already has.

Once upon a time I saw something called "The Ruthless Edit" that came in at a few minutes under an hour. And it at least was a version I felt safe sharing with a few friends, didn't worry about their coming back to hit me (or worse).

My first digital copy of the SWHS, bought via eBay, had a cover which read at the top "Every saga has a bastard son".

I just posted a request for artwork, other covers, that people have created for the Special:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/The-Star-Wars-Holiday-Special/post/459832/#TopicPost459832

It didn't make sense to clutter this thread.

I would love to see what covers people have created specifically for The Star Wars Holiday Special.

I've collected far too many things related to the Special and, while I've found a handful or two of covers, there are probably more that I haven't dreamed of.

HISTORY:

Years ago, long before I discovered this amazing community, I bought a copy of the Special via eBay. The cover proclaimed at its top "Every saga has a bastard son", a fun play off the first trailer for Episode I. The transfer is kind of muddy but I love that cover.

I bought one other, sans cover, although for another ten dollars I could have had one. Since then I've learned better: that the Special is out there and that one should never pay for it or any other fan edit or preservation.

(Trivia: I much later learned that the second person from whom I bought a copy had already been banned from OT for, you'll never believe this, selling his and others' work.)

RowMan said:

Will this latest "restoration" of the Holiday Special include the lost animation that supposedly was made to play just before and/or after the animated segment? Not necessarily edited in the program, just included somewhere.

Does anyone have a better source than this? It's pretty ghastly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6re5fLsELE

Erikstormtrooper said:

Speaking of frizzies, has anyone ever figured out what the news report was actually about? Was it about frizzy winter hair?

According to that ultimate source for all truth and knowledge, Wikipedia, "probably in reference to a story on hair care". Obviously a slow news night. Speculation, but it's probably correct.

Poor man, to be remembered and immortalized by a group of uber-focused Star Wars fans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolland_Smith

Unrelated to my last implied question / request:

I have no idea who has been posting so prolifically to a.b.sw, but I am hugely grateful for the newspaper strips. They're higher quality than I've ever seen, and it's a joy to be reading through them again.

And Russ Manning's cut week of the Tusken Raider storyline I'd never seen before.

Thank you. 

Was actually surprised that no one posted "Wishful Drinking". (Anyone?)

Video Collector said:

I also have DVDs of the KCMO and CBS.

Pardon me for asking, but... CBS?

I thought that all [US] versions were CBS. Different call letters, but all the same network.

BTW, your collection is frightening in its scope!

SKot said:

I don't actually have all the versions shown on my site...yet.  And some of them I have as a poor quality .avi or .mpg file, but was able to get a passable screen shot from them.

Which makes a lot of sense. The ones we have out here are the ones worth having for viewing and enjoyment. Kind of like a Star Wars theater bootleg, some of which are out there: an historical curiosity, and a valuable reference, but not at all a thing to be enjoyed in its own right. For that you'd want reasonable clarity of picture and sound.

Would be nice to have a torrent site specifically dedicated to the HS and its various versions, commercials, and related video clips.  Hmm...

Too true. It's amazing how much material is surfacing these last months, and I'm obsessively archiving it just... because.

Started with the video clips from your site, SKot, because back then my Internet access was occasional at best and I wanted to be able to enjoy them at home. But then bits and pieces of stuff kept coming and coming.

The thing that really fired my imagination was the animatic to the animated segment. THAT's exciting: the possibility of having that and the finished version with either choice of audio. Or simulated picture-in-picture.

SKot said:

henryperu77 said:

http://www.fuzzymemories.tv

Is this version available too??

 That's the WBBM-TV 2 Chicago version.  I haven't added it to the list yet.

Inferring from general silence, in the community, I'm guessing that the KCCI, KCMO, and WMAR discs are are the only ones floating around in the wild.

I'd never looked closely at the WBBM files because I assumed they were only partial. They're not. Twelve parts, but all the material is there. And the quality's pretty good -- for something half the dimensions / quarter the area of a standard screen.

Anyone know where these files came from? I'm playing about with DVDStyler, just for fun, but it's always better to have an original than to downconvert and then upscale.

How many different versions of the Special are in the wild?

I've seen the KCCI, KCMO, and WMAR discs floating around. Are there others, or should I just be content?

Scanning previous pages, WBBM is apparently around on YouTube. I'd forgotten and will have to look for it.