StarThoughts

bigrob said:

 

any chance of the laserdisc rip which has the JC approved 1.90:1 ratio?

it will have the original stereo soundtrack as well

Ever since James Cameron had adopted the use of the Super 35 format, he'd been framing for both widescreen and television safe, and there has been quite some discussion about how that sometimes compromises the compositions for one or the other more than if he just committed to framing specifically for one ratio. The pan-and-scan formatting often might improve a shot (e.g. the visibility of Jamie Lee Curtis' legs flailing as she hangs from the helicopter in a shot in True Lies, which adds an element of helplessness absent from the widescreen presentation). I would therefore be quite interested to see what this film looks like with a somewhat taller frame.

Will you be using the original entry to Mos Eisley, or the Special Edition version?

I think that the widescreen IMAX ratio is 1.89:1, not 16:9, it's just presented as 16:9 on HD presentations. As the movie wasn't shot on film, I don't know if that means that you could just horizontally crop the 16:9 image to the correct proportions or if the 2.39 version would have to be vertically cropped to approximate the IMAX version.

Bingowings said:

Once again you are placing a human contemporary Western template over a fictional alien culture from a galaxy far far away a long time in the past.

If you have ever tried to get a girl of that age to eat sprouts or tidy their room you may see a certain wisdom in having such a being as the diplomatic valve between her people and the other peoples of the Republic.

A good writer would work it out or dump it.

But we are talking about a film produced by a contemporary Western human that reflects Western values (a bit too much, one might say, what with the blatant racism on display) for a contemporary Western human audience. I guess the key point here is “good writer.” With the prequel trilogy being so much about the ultimate fate of the galaxy, this was too important an element of the films not to have been dealt with. If there was, indeed, a cultural reason for such an arrangement, such a thing should have been established instead of mentioned offhand.

Bingowings said:

There is nothing wrong with a democratically elected monarchy.

There are examples on our own planet.

The Naboo are aliens so maybe they venerate the wisdom of little girls in the same way we venerate the wisdom of of men with long beards from the bronze age.

As I said earlier a good writer could have got those sorts of things either to work or  vanish.

George can't seem to do much of either.

 My problem isn't so much that it is a democratically elected position. I do, however, question how much intelligence goes into electing somebody to a very powerful position who is too young to understand pressures of their electorate and consequences. The idea that this could be “trained” is ridiculous. My issue with this idea is only supported by the fact that Padmé is so easily manipulated in the movies. Ultimately, due to the inexperience and naiveté of one kid, an entire galaxy fell into the hands of tyranny.

No, it's just stereo. You to play it back through a Pro-Logic decoder to derive the center and surround channels.

There are so many, but one that is glaring to me: Padmé. How much contempt must Lucas have for his own character?

Padmé changes completely based upon whatever whim Lucas has at the moment: in the first film she's a 14 year old Queen. That makes sense, that sort of thing happens in a constitutional monarchy.

Then, in the second film because Lucas changed focus on how Palpatine was to come to power, we learn that she was the democratically elected Queen, with a finite term. This means that the population of Naboo elected a teenager to be responsible for the governance of their planet — because that makes so much sense. 

And then, in the last film, this supposedly “strong” female character dies of a broken heart. This is one outdated and disgusting trope. News flash: Anakin Skywalker is not the only schmuck around, and plenty of women work through that. As someone who was raised by a single mother who ran her own business during the 80s, this was something that actively offended me.

Can anybody imagine Leia Organa “dying of a broken heart?” Seriously?

The Criterion laser was PCM stereo Dolby Surround.

I hated the comic book panel transitions. They felt like an element from another film.

The original version used Akira Kurosawa-esque wipes, which was more consistent stylistically with the rest of the film.

I think the prologue is kind of silly too, but it's only a few seconds, it's over and done with quickly.

Buster D said:

Just like JJ with Star Trek.

Eh? The release of Star Trek 2009 was accompanied by Blu-ray sets of the original series and the theatrical features. This year, several sets of various television series were released. And if you're a film music fan, these past few years have been a treasure trove of Trek music, including a box set last year of everything recorded for the original series. I may not have liked the last Abrams Star Trek film very much, but it certainly has benefited me with oodles of classic Trek.

jimjimmyjones85 said:

It was filmed in my neck of the woods and holds a special place in my heart.

I get nostalgia watching the opening titles, with the shots of the old school subway map, before they became ‘anatomically accurate.’

YanniD said:

Or is the Technicolor print not the original undoctored deal?

One wonders why an actor involved in the movies has no better access to an original source than we humble folk.

 The first part of the Technicolor prints had the opening crawl replaced in 1981 (with requisite music cue matching error).

Why would an actor have better access to the original Star Wars films than anybody else? They are films that have been actively suppressed.

Jetrell Fo said:

I hope remastered doesn't mean dynamically compressed .... it will so suck if it does.

 Intrada doesn't do that. In fact, producer Douglass Fake has a thread on his message board complaining about the loudness wars.

Yes, but does Disney?

I just compared “The Last of an Ancient Breed” from the A&M CD to the one that appears on the La-La Land CD. The anomalies I noticed on the La-La Land are present on the A&M as well, and appear to an artifact of the original recording. They're just a little more apparent on the La-La Land because it was mastered just slightly more hot than the A&M. Honestly, I probably just noticed them when listening to the new edition because I was listening for sonic improvements/changes.

Otherwise, the sound is pretty much equivalent, so there would be no advantage to sourcing from the A&M disc for an isolated music track for The Warriors.

As Emily Litella would say, “never mind!”

Weird and silly question, but as both '77 and '97 are being released at the same time, are you guys making cover art for a 2 pack?

There are so many changes, additions and different mix balances in the Blu-ray tracks, I'm not sure how much of an advantage the lossless audio and discrete channels would present. It would certainly be very difficult to use as a basis for any sort of restoration.

I didn't know about the corrected Patton. Thank you!!!

Moth3r said:

I can't see how anyone could not be blown away by the power in hairy_hen's 70mm recreation for Star Wars. You should particularly listen to the dynamic range during sequences such as the Falcon's escape from Mos Eisley, or the section from Ben Kenobi's demise to the dogfight with the sentry ships .

When I downloaded DE 2.5, “Ben's Death and the TIE Fighter Attack” was the first scene I went to in order to check out the revised 5.1 track. This has always been one of my favorite Star Wars audio demo sequences from back in my laserdisc days because it is such a brilliant triumph of editing and sound design.*

The simple fact is, I'm just not as impressed with this sequence in its various post '04 Special Edition incarnations. And this isn't even a sequence that was changed from the original that I can recall. It's still entertaining… it's just that the more limited dynamic range and poor music mixing — and this is a standout cue in the score — severely blunted the impact of a scene that is more dependent upon its sound than most.

But when I watch the DE with hairy_hen's mix, it is as thrilling as it was all those times I was sitting in the theater in the spring of 1981. The dynamic shifts are more striking, music sounds more natural, and the final explosion is much more satisfying. All that makes the scene more effective, and just much more FUN, which, when you come right down to it, all of this boils down to anyway, right?

* — Also a brilliant dramatic beat in the film, giving the audience who are still assimilating the death of a main character an adrenaline jolt to set them up for the finale, but that's another topic entirely.

dark_jedi said:

This is the limited to 3000 release right? if so I have one in hand right now new\sealed, I bought this and the score CD to The Black Hole from SAE a while back, so it sure would be great if we can find an HD version of the theatrical to make this happen.

That's the one. I should mention that I think — and will confirm later — that the transfers on certain songs from the LP program (not the score tracks) may have been a little cleaner than on the new edition. I seem to recall some additional noise in “Last of an Ancient Breed,” for example. I will check.

I'm a big fan of the Disney/Intrada edition of The Black Hole. What a fantastic expansion of a great science-fiction score.

SilverWook said:

IIRC, there was an expanded Limited Edition CD soundtrack release this past year.

Yes indeed, it is from La-La-Land and it includes Barry Devorzon's full score — which is a lot of fun — after the original LP program (it's actually what prompted me to re-watch the film). There are a few songs that are not on the soundtrack album, but with a little research I think an isolated music track could be assembled.

They are at a higher bitrate. They restore the fanfare at the beginning of “The Last Battle” and unswitch the music in the rear channels of Star Wars… other than that, they're mostly just more and more revisions (“Nooooooo!”).

You seem to be valuing the bling over the content. Yes, it's nice to hear stuff zing around your home theater, but if a movie wasn't mixed that way in the first place, it wasn't mixed that way in the first place. There are so many problems with the balances and dynamic range on the DVD and Blu-ray tracks (I am particularly sensitive to what's happened to the music) that I am quite content to listen to hairy_hen's outstanding restoration of the original theatrical 70 millimeter six-track Dolby Stereo mix. I also happen to have a warm place in my heart for the 1985 Dolby Surround mix.

I stand by what I said. If you're not satisfied with that sound mix why don't you try building your own? Everybody who is working on a project here started somewhere.

I would also look forward to a restoration of the theatrical version of The Warriors. The director's cut Blu-ray, while it sports a really sharp picture, has replaced all of the cool Akira Kurosawa-esque transitional wipes with comic book panels that take me completely out of the movie. I'm also not a big fan of the new prologue. Hopefully the original audio can be preserved from the laserdiscs.

I recently watched the film on DVD… it is a pretty decent transfer for its age, but it would really be nice to have this urban classic in high def.

I wonder if an there would be interest in an isolated score track for such a project.

Happy new year to everyone!!!

Jerry, it's true that I'm pretty conversant with the score from The Matrix and its various iterations (I like the music for the sequels as well, but as I am not really into those movies, I don't have the same familiarity with them as I do with the first).

I'll to do anything I can to help out with this project. I'd love to preview your score track, and give you feedback. It sounds like you're nailing it, so it's something I'm really looking forward to hearing with some relish.

Rebelscum said:

Wish someone could combine Harmy's great quality work with some more up to date sound… either from the Blu Rays or the DVD's….

 Why not give it a shot yourself?