Reddata

Trooperman said:

^^ I am convinced that the scene with Obi-Wan was intentionally blown out that way. 

If you notice, the part before Obi-Wan comes, which is in the same location, has normal colors.

It's precisely when Obi-Wan appears that the frame turns white.

 

For home video, they were probably trying to correct everything to "normal" and so they saw these blown out whites as a mistake and regraded it to match the part that had come before.

Now that you mention it, the scene is beginning to remind me of the scene in Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers where Gandalf the White first appears. Maybe they were going for matching the brightness of the scene with the spirituality of the character, or something like that. But maybe the connection wasn't all that clear, which is why they toned it down for later releases.

I'd love to hear the recording, thanks. PM sent.