THX

Originally posted by: greencapt
...or, when presented with lack of original ideas, just remaking the source material.

Originally posted by: darkhelmet
Lucas has already demonstrated that he will do what he wants with little regard for his original fans.

For the record, the use of a dye transfer print as a transfer element, would not yield an acceptable image. Any discussion of prints, in general, for transfer would be heading in the wrong direction.

...anything shot and printed in Eastmancolor prior to 1983 (the year the 'low fade' negative and print stock was introduced) is going to be pretty faded by now. Under the best storage conditions, Eastmancolor negatives were good for around 25 years (depending on the lab that did the processing). Thereafter, it began to fade, first with the opticals (which were on duplicate negative stock which was thinner) and then the rest of it. Sometimes the negatives can be 'tweaked' on video but eventually those video masters will be obsolete or deteriorate too. The exceptions to this color fading problem with Kodak stock are those movies printed in the following release print processes which did not fade or deteriorate: Technicolor dye transfer prints, Cinecolor and SuperCinecolor prints and Kodachrome (16mm and 8mm). These were the only stable color processes prior to 1983.
[...]
Prior to the post-1983 'low fade' color stock, there was a method of preserving Eastmancolor negatives. In fact, it was basically a variation of the three strip camera. The color negative was reprinted on fine grain B&W separation stock. Each color was preserved in B&W which could then be re-combined to make a new color internegative that had all of the hues of the original. This technique worked quite well. The "Spartacus" restoration was derived from the B&W separations since the Eastmancolor camera negative had completely faded.
[...]
It's probable that in the case of "Star Wars" and "Alien" (both filmed on 'quick fade' Eastmancolor), there were separations made of the original versions. Whether they will ever be used to make a new color internegative is the next question. Lucas keeps re-cutting his movies and won't allow the original versions to be shown again.
[...]
Curiously, the original version of "Star Wars" can still be seen but only privately via film collectors. Even though Technicolor had shut down their process in the U.S., they continued to make dye transfer prints in England through 1978, in Italy through 1980 and in China through 1993. Therefore, some real Technicolor (dye transfer dolby stereo) prints were made of the first release of "Star Wars". The color, sharpness and contrast is far superior to the American prints. These copies look even better than the 70mm print I saw way back when. The black levels of space are pitch black and the colors really glow from the screen. It really looked sensational. The American prints have completely faded by now and the 90's re-issue looked somewhat faded with pinkish fleshtones in the first reel (good old 'color by De Luxe'). Lucas is an advocate for digital projection and wants to phase out motion picture film. I hope he has preserved the film elements because digital is not archival. It's a very unstable format and it's easy to erase or degrade digital data. Since there's no 'hard copy' like film, there's no way to restore missing computer information. It just vanishes.

Originally posted by: Invader Jenny
5) And to top it all off, this movie is not "Superman Begins." They had to start in the middle of an already developed story and take it from there. Unlike Batman, some doors and options were no longer open to suggestion. Superman had to work with what he was given in Superman II.

Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
THX, correct me if I'm wrong (be gentle ), but I was under the impression that these DVDs were being made from the D2 composite masters, which are not an entirely digital data path (the input/outputs are standard analog composite ports.) Judging by Red5's great info above, you could be right. I was just going off what I'd do if I had D1 master tapes, which we know to exist. In some ways it could be good news if there was a D2 intermediate as it could mean that the DVNR was applied between the D1 and D2 stages, which would mean that returning to the D1 could eliminate it.Originally posted by: hairy_hen
I'm not sure if anyone knows for sure if the source used is D1 or D2, do they?