ScruffyNerfHerder

PM sent to RachelZ3. 

This might sound completely crazy, but I wonder if someone could use Oculus Rift (a virtual reality headset for those who don't know) to virtually sit in a Cinerama movie theater? If one knew how to program, he or she could even recreate a particular cinema, modeled in 3D polygons like a modern videogame. The viewer would put on the Rift and pick a "seat" to sit in while the film plays. Put on a pair of nice headphones and you'd have a true Cinerama experience! 

Yes, I know this would be a lot of work, but I think it would be very cool. 

RachelZ3 said:

Needless to say, I am trying to get the same version I saw in the theater when it came out.  How can I tell what I have here, and is it early enough to escape the "improvements" I don't want? 

Many thanks for any help.

First off, welcome to the site Rachel. The CGI Special Edition edits didn't start until 1997, so if you have any version prior to that, it will be the original.

If you're interested, you might also want to look into some of the Preservations on this site. Harmy's "Star Wars Despecialized Edition" takes the Blu-ray of Star Wars and removes all of the CGI and other changes. Team Blu's "Star Wars OT" worked from the Laserdisc editions and did a truly phenomenal job of remastering them in high definition. Both projects are really fantastic. (You can find more info under "Star Wars Preservations and Other Fan Projects.") 

Anyway, I hope this helps. :)

team_negative1 said:

We know there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in Jedi. However, we will be posting some shots from the unaltered original version, including but not just:

Let us know of any other ones of interest.

Team Negative1

I'm very interested, too. RotJ has some of the best moments of the trilogy, even if I'd rank Star Wars and Empire ahead of it.

Can you post any pics of the speederbike chase and the Sarlacc Pit WITHOUT those CGI monstrosities crawling out of it? Thanks!

Hi, Thanks for sharing the pics, vbangle. I really have to commend Team Blue on their fantastic packaging, menus and extras. If I didn't know better, I could believe these were official releases. Nicely done. :)

team_negative1 said:

Technical details

===========================================

Video - Our goal is to have a preserved version that will be released in a high definition 1080p anamorphic MKV

that is full frame for people with projectors (25gigs), and bluray disc (25gigs), and a dual layer dvd (9gigs) as the final product. 

hairy_hen said:

In the '80 stereo mix the crash sound is longer and louder, so it sounds very cool, though from listening to the 70mm recording, it seems like it may have been shorter and less prominent like in the SE (though it's impossible to say for sure, since the recording is very rough and fuzzy).

Thanks for the reply Hairy_hen! Do you think the narrowing of the sound field is brief enough that it's not too noticeable? Because based on your description, I think the "louder and longer" crash sound might better fit the peril of the scene. 

Also, this is probably a really dumb question, but is it possible to create a hybrid of the two versions? 

Best wishes! :)

skyjedi2005 said:

But Marquand was dead and he had also been given final cut by Lucas but had his film changed posthumously by the director of the first film also known as star wars.

Actually, if I remember correctly, J.W. Rinzler's excellent Making of RotJ tells a slightly different story. Marquand and his editor did submit a cut to Lucas, but he had to do so before all of the special effects were done, and Lucas was not too thrilled with Marquand's take. Lucas basically re-did the whole thing from scratch  and that is what was released to theaters in 1983. (Again, I'm going from memory so I could be wrong!)

Still, that's not to say I don't agree with your point; I do. But if Lucas did the edit back then, maybe he feels he has some minor grounds to "update" that edit later. That's debatable. I just wish he hadn't! :P

hairy_hen said:

I think I'll have another shot at integrating the missing snowspeeder crash sound into the '93 mix to see if I can get it to work more seamlessly.  As yet I'm undecided as to whether the original stereo mix or the '97 SE would be a better source for this (it sounds somewhat different in each).

Hi Hairy_hen, Wouldn't the original stereo mix crash be closer to what was heard in theaters in 1980? That's what I would prefer, personally. Can you elaborate on the differences? 

Keep up the great work! :)

Hi Dark_Jedi,

Quite a cool selection! :) What about a simple "raffle"?  Anyone who is interested (like me ;P ) in the discs submits their username and you write them down, put them on paper, and pick out a name from a hat. The winner has to paypal you for shipping, of course. Or, you could give the discs to someone on the forum who has donated to your projects in the past.  

Just a thought! :)

P.S. Nurse 2 Uncensored? Yum! :P

Hi djsmokingjam,

I wish your friend all the best! I think it's great that anyone is making a Star Wars documentary, especially one that highlights the lesser known individuals. I hope it gets made. :)

Hi Harmy, 

Have you looked into using CRF, rather than 2-pass encoding in x264? If you're not familiar with it, let me explain. Instead of simply setting an arbitrary bit rate, which may be great for one scene but under/overkill for another, you set a visual quality level. (CRF 18-16 and "slow" or "slower" is a good setting, IMHO.) X264 then decides what bit rate it needs to get you there automatically. 

You can select different presets to speed up the encode.  The slower presets will deliberate longer, but reduce your file size. Faster presets take less time to encode, but lead to bigger files. No matter what speed preset you select, the visual quality will be essentially the same (though there's some debate that the slower presets are a bit better), only the final file size will vary. 

I've had great luck with CRF. You can read more about it at: https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/ConstantQuality and http://slhck.info/articles/crf .

I hope this made sense! Keep up the great work! :)

Hi Lunar Archivist,

I did a little search for Mighty Orbots. I'll send you the links I found via PM. I hope they're what you're looking for! :)

Donated! :)

Take care of your health, Poita, and congrats on the baby AntcuFaalb! You guys rock! :)

Hey Harmy, 

    It sounds as if most Blu-ray authoring programs have a limit of eight audio tracks. I don't know if anyone has suggested this, but if you can't put every language on one disc, why not make a couple of customized, regional versions like Hollywood does? 

    You could create, say a "North American Edition" with:

1. 5.1   DTS-HD-MA   [English]        (1977 70mm six track mix)
2. 2.0   DTS-HD-MA   [English]        (1977 35mm stereo mix)
3. 1.0   DTS-HD-MA   [English]        (1977 35mm mono mix)
4. 2.0 Dolby Digital [English]        (1985 Laserdisc mix)
5. 2.0 Dolby Digital [English]        (1993 Laserdisc mix)
6. 1.0 Dolby Digital [Spanish]        (1980 Latino dub)
7. 2.0 Dolby Digital [French]         (1977 dub)
8. 2.0 Dolby Digital [English]        (2004 DVD Audio Commentary)

    And a "European Edition" with:

1. 2.0 Dolby Digital [German]         (1978 dub reconstruction)
2. 2.0 Dolby Digital [French]         (1977 dub)
3. 2.0 Dolby Digital [Spanish]        (1977 Castilian dub)
4. 1.0 Dolby Digital [Portuguese]     (1980s Brazilian dub)
5. 2.0 Dolby Digital [Italian]        (1977 dub) 
6. 2.0 Dolby Digital [Polish]         (1995 Voiceover)
7. 2.0 Dolby Digital [Czech]          (1992 dub)
8. 2.0 Dolby Digital [Hungarian]      (1984 dub)

    Or something like that. A third version could have Japanese and the commentary tracks, etc. You could still include all the subtitle tracks on every version.  

    Releasing the Blu-ray this way would also make the file sizes smaller, as people won't have to download languages they don't speak. 

    I know this suggestion isn't exactly elegant, but I do hope it's helpful. =) As always, keep up the great work! 

J.W. Rinzler’s amazing Making of Empire Strikes Back book addresses this. Like you, director Irvin Kershner and Harrison Ford really felt it made no sense as written, so they came up with solutions on the fly.

If memory serves, Vader is trying to keep Solo from doing anything rash. With Leia there, Han has to comply lest she be hurt. Solo also tells Chewie to stop fighting and protect the princess on his behalf. Now Chewie too is under Vader’s control. 

It’s also another way to tempt Luke. If you remember, Vader only tortured everyone on Cloud City so that Luke could sense their pain and fall into his trap. The emotional turmoil over the Carbon Freezing is yet another lure.

If you haven’t read  Rinzler’s book, I HIGHLY recommend it.  There’s a real-time transcript of the entire Carbon Freezing story conferences, including Carrie Fisher slapping poor Billy Dee Williams HARD during rehearsals! You really see how great Kirshner was with his actors, and why Empire works so well. 

Hope this helps! =D

poita said:

I'm going to be in Napean hospital until late next week, so if I don't respond to PMs I'm not being rude, but will follow them up in about a week. 

Are you feeling all right? If not, then I wish you all the best, man! Take care. =D

Did anyone else notice a slight jump cut around the 20 second mark? I hope it was just me and not indicative of missing/damaged frames. Either way, it looks great.

I can't wait to see the finished project! =D

Hi Poita, WOW! The ROTJ Death Star attack was incredible.  I can’t believe 8mm looks that good.  I hope you’ll transfer the rest. I’d love to have a copy.  

Also, this is waay off topic, but I followed your advice to AntcuFaalb and downloaded Davinci Lite for my Mac. I’ve only dipped my toes into the program, but this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

Keep up the great work. =D

Hi Harmy, I know you had a color reference for every shot in Star Wars. Has one appeared for Empire? On September 3, Team Negative 1 said they have "obtained further prints of Empire that are much cleaner and have more accurate colors than our previous ones." Have you thought of asking them to make scans for version 2.5? 

Keep up the great work.  =)

Just a quick note. From ~frame 009836 to 010120, the image seems a bit desaturated. 3PO in particular looks muted. In the next shot, (“Why are you taking this apart now? I’m trying to get us outta here…”) they seem back to normal. Hope that helps. =P

I’ve never heard some of this information before.  Does anyone know the author’s source?

A big thanks to Harmy for the sneak peek, and to A_New_Hope for the mirror.  I’m downloading it now—can’t wait! Happy B-day, Harmy! =D 

Awesome news, Jambe! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your past work, so I’m really looking forward to see what you’ve come up with for Jaws.  Keep up the great work! =D