Rodney-2187

Someone please educate me a little more.

I own the most recent Harmy blu rays and I love them. Is that the best available version of the OUT right now?

I read about Mike Verta doing a 4K scan from several different prints and the color being off and lots of work needing to be done. How much better would it look than the Harmy blu rays? Resolution isn’t the only thing when it comes to a good looking picture. I’ll take a clear 1080p or even 720p over a degraded picure in 4K resolution. I also read that he was told by Disney/Lucasfilm that he could never share his work so does it matter anyway?

What is Project 4K77 and how is it different from Mike Verta. What is the Silver Screen Edition?

All of these prints and even the original negatives have deteriorated so much over the years, how would someone restoring them even come to a decision on what the correct colors should look like?

Sorry for all the questions, and sorry for anyone who dislikes a recap of the conversations had over the years. I am just trying to catch up and understand. There is a lot to take in.

Fang Zei said:

In my mind it’s so much simpler, though.

When it comes time to release these movies on 4k, that’s when they include the OOT. They could even put it out on regular blu-ray since many people will still not have upgraded their hardware.

Yes, I know, “the SE in 4k will be reason enough for people to buy it.” But that’s where I disagree.

Either way, Poita, I commend your efforts. This is an important piece of film history and the 35mm prints should be preserved in the highest possible quality.

But why would they do that? The unaltered originals do not seem to even be on their radar and they don’t need them as a selling point, so what would make them spend the money and do the work?

Sorry to be so skeptical, but I have no confidene they will ever go back to those versions, so that makes fan preservation project so much more important.

I doubt it will ever have a great enough effect to get the attention of the mainstream, but as long as they survive is all that matters. There will always be some who are interested and it should be available to them.

I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. You can be a “STAR WARS! OMG I LOVE STAR WARS! GIVE ME MORE STAR WARS!” type of fan and also a movie lover. I like a wide variety of movies, everything from old black and white foreign noir to the new Wonder Woman movie. But let me tell you, when The Last Jedi is released, I go straight back to being an excited kid and it’s one of the best things in the world. I appreciate the groundbreaking pieces of cinematic history that the Original Trilogy movies are, but I also love the experience of the new movies and how it continues to influence our culture.

Now I understand what Luke meant by “It’s time for the Jedi to end.”

So few people even know anything about the special edition changes. Of the few who do know about them, I am surprised how few really care. You’d think changes to such a beloved trilogy of movies and the suppression of the original versions would send the large passionate fan base into a frenzy.

Nope.

Pretty quiet.

While standing in various lines at Star Wars Celebration, I was surprised how other fans didn’t want to chat about the possibility of an OUT release, even during the 40th anniversary of the original. I even got a few eye rolls. I could barely believe it. Nothing is going to change anytime soon, which means the desire for the original versions is just going to become more and more obscure because the vast majority doesn’t even know and the few who do don’t even care.

Lucas succeeded. He changed history.

I don’t think it’s going to happen. Ever. Enjoy your fan made projects. My Harmy blu-rays have a place of honor among my collection. Disney/Lucasfilm and the majority of fans are more concerned with the new movies now. I love the new movies too, but it is a shame we have forgotten where they came from. The number of people who care about the OUT is only going to decrease.

Q) When Did The Star Wars Prequels Become Cool?
A) Never.

Alderaan said:

The only way their bosses at Disney would ever do that is if you, the fans, call it to their attention and force them to do so. Most likely with your wallet.

That is never going to happen. Not enough people care. I doubt Disney will tell them to because if there aren’t enough fans who care, I’m sure there aren’t enough people at Disney who care.

My Harmy set of discs just looks better and better every day.

I will not purchase the Special Editions ever again, but there just simply are not enough people who feel that way for it to matter. And no one seems to care about preserving history or anything like that.

I think the matter is just dead.

Sounds to me like there will be a new set coming in 2020. It might be 4K, it might not be, but it certainly doesn’t sound like it will be the unaltered originals so drop that fantasy now. They don’t need those to sell a ton of discs so why do the extra work?
I’m glad a few great people are still around who will not let history be erased.

What if there are words in the pic?

Slart said:

Oh god, just please no CGI jabba. He looks awful every time.
Not optimistic about this movie in general.

Did you see Tarkin in R1? They’ve come a long way. I bet they could make a very convincing Jabba now.

poita said:

I bit the bullet and contacted everyone I know at Disney, that is in any way related to film restoration. The answer every time wasn’t a ‘can’t say’ or ‘no comment’ but more a baffled “Original Versions? No, no-one is assigned to anything like that” or variations on that theme.
I don’t think they have any plans at all for an original release, or at least nothing in the next five years, things could always change, but nothing appears to be even vaguely on the drawing board.

With that in mind, and the awful feeling in my gut that the SE of Star Wars has now been around for longer than the time between the first screening of Star Wars in 1977 and the Special Edition of ANH being released, I am putting together a team of professional restoration people from companies I work for and have worked for in the past, to restore the damn thing from the available prints, in 4K at a much higher quality level than we have been able to do before. The fan base has achieved amazing things, but so much more can be done now.
Starting with Empire as it is the one about to disappear due to print fade, and then Star Wars, and finally Jedi.
There are places in the world where the Star Wars copyright runs out within the next decade, I feel it is important that a proper, professional restoration takes place now, and is held until the copyright expires, to ensure that the original theatrical versions are not lost. Also that the originals are available, and restored for anyone studying film history, or researchers to be able to use as a definitive version, representative of the films as they were in 1977, 1980 and 1983.
I know many love the Special Editions, and I don’t begrudge their existence, but film history is also important to preserve.

I also have a personal health deadline that is approaching slowly, and I want to ensure this gets done, even if I can’t continue. I have registered an official archive, which lets us hold prints and restore them, I am getting some help to get the online side of things up and running, but hopefully by the end of next month, we will have it all up and running.
More news soon.

Thank you!

I wonder if we will see the Irving boys, Ducain, or Kanjiklub.

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicals is awesome. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones is what you want to stay away from.

If you don’t like seeing anyone but Harrison Ford as Han Solo, all you have to do is don’t watch. I plan on enjoying it myself.

I am worried what another Indiana Jones movie will be like with Harrison Ford.

MalàStrana said:

rodneyfaile said:

I want to see kids light up as the Millennium Falcon goes into hyperspace. That means characters are going to need recasting.

They can watch the original movies…

People will always want more. The storytelling should be able to go beyond the span of one actor’s career. James Bond is still going. Han Solo can too.

I wonder how many times the unaltered versions came up in conversation.

I want Star Wars to go on forever. I want to see kids light up as the Millennium Falcon goes into hyperspace. That means characters are going to need recasting. Some will be good, and some will be bad, but the show must go on. Han Solo is right up there with Robin Hood and King Arthur as far as I’m concerned. The tales will keep on being told.

Fang Zei said:

crissrudd4554 said:

Maybe someday when something you worked hard on and received a lot of recognition for is just suddenly replaced by something else you’ll understand. I doubt much of that event was spent crapping on Lucas but nonetheless it is a bit bittersweet for them to all be gathered together for one event to celebrate SW40 when much of the work they did isn’t even in the film anymore.

(since I’m too lazy to check)

Were any of the alums who ended up going along with the alterations twenty years later present at this get-together? I’m talking about people like Muren (he’s actually the only one I can think of off the top of my head).

“Effects legends such as John Dykstra, Joe Johnston, Richard Edlund, Phil Tippett, Ken Ralston, Chris Evans, Lorne Peterson, Paul Huston, Scott Farrar, Steve Gawley, Bill George, Jean Bolte, Craig Barron, Harrison Ellenshaw, Robert Blalack, and many, many others were in attendance as were Marcia Lucas, Howard Kazanjian, Gary Kurtz, Sid Gannis, Tom Smith, Ben Burtt.”

You might be able to edit all three prequels down into one decent movie. You can’t fix what’s wrong with The Force Awakens because there’s nothing wrong with it.

http://www.jedinews.co.uk/film-music-tv/articles/ilm-40th-anniversary-reunion/

Jay said:

Alderaan said:

SilverWook said:

Was nice of CNN to note there was no Episode IV subtitle when the movie first came out.

The official Star Wars twitter asked followers which was their first Star Wars movie?..

Mark Hamill tweeted: “Star Wars”.

Love Hamill. Refuses to put on a fake smile and regurgitate Lucasfilm PR bullshit.

I wish he would retweet the message.

I just tweeted it to Trump with the words Make Star Wars Great Again!

I also tweeted it to TMZ.

Maybe one of them, would retweet it if all of us tweeted it to them.

I tweeted it to Kevin Smith, Patton Oswalt, Simon Pegg, and Stephen Colbert. Not sure what good it will do.

joefavs said:

Not well. Between Harmy’s post and the OT.com account’s, we’re only looking at about 115 retweets. we need to get it in the hands of someone with a following. Hello Greedo? Red Letter Media?

What about celebrities who love Star Wars? Patton Oswalt? Kevin Smith? Cant you tweet it at them and they might retweet it? Was it tweeted directly at Kathleen Kennedy, Disney, and Lucasfilm? What about Mark Hamill, Rian Johnson, or Simon Pegg? All it would take is one celebrity retweet right?

crissrudd4554 said:

Star Wars
(1977-1997)

The Empire Strikes Back
(1980-1997)

Return of the Jedi
(1983-1997)

RIP

No, there is another. To Harmy you must go.

I am not much of a twitter user. How is it going on there? I would think if it got some attention it would be there. That is where news happens now.