THX11384EB

So poita said in his last post, from 2019, that he was doing “a bit of cleaning on a few scenes of THX-1138” as he is “handing that project to another long-time OT’er that is going to finish it up.”

So this supposedly happened back in 2019, and we obviously never heard from him or this person he handed it off to. Just curious as to why there were people who were/are in communication with him, even though he isn’t active here, and are not informing us of this project’s status.

If it is a matter of time or money, then someone else should helm this project. Money has been spent and we have nothing to show for it. How is this acceptable?

stretch009 said:

THX11384EB said:

silverwheel said:

Another year goes by with nothing. I know this wasn’t a scam, but it sure feels like one at this point. Have any sample frames of the better print been shared? I don’t want to be mean, but I am upset at this point. Timetable is part of the reason why I donated. I wouldn’t have donated to a “maybe we’ll have something in a decade” kind of project. I know real people have real lives, but I don’t think it’s okay to be ghosting the donors about what’s going on. It’s been 7 1/2 years at this point - coupled with no communication, it’s really hard to feel good about my donation.

Very much agree with this take. People gave money with the idea that something would come to fruition, eventually, and that we were helping to preserve an important film. But here we are approaching what, ~8-9 years with nothing to show for it? And to add insult to injury we get continued radio silence from everyone involved. And yes, it’s been addressed multiple times over the years as to why this was/is the case. I can understand and empathize with the health-related issues——we all have our burdens——but that really should have been addressed back then when it was clear the project was in jeopardy; someone should have taken over the project, or at the very least people should have reached out for help within the community.

And now we are put into the position of keeping quiet indefinitely, because if we do “complain” or say anything critical then we are insensitive jerks who don’t care. That’s really not fair to those of us who just wanted to help this project succeed. I think at this point the money that was donated should be returned. The mods need to take action at this point, whatever that entails, otherwise it really does feel like this was some kind of crowd-funded scam.

Then PM the mods and the original poster…

Brilliant idea… thanks for the absolutely unnecessary contribution.

silverwheel said:

Another year goes by with nothing. I know this wasn’t a scam, but it sure feels like one at this point. Have any sample frames of the better print been shared? I don’t want to be mean, but I am upset at this point. Timetable is part of the reason why I donated. I wouldn’t have donated to a “maybe we’ll have something in a decade” kind of project. I know real people have real lives, but I don’t think it’s okay to be ghosting the donors about what’s going on. It’s been 7 1/2 years at this point - coupled with no communication, it’s really hard to feel good about my donation.

Very much agree with this take. People gave money with the idea that something would come to fruition, eventually, and that we were helping to preserve an important film. But here we are approaching what, ~8-9 years with nothing to show for it? And to add insult to injury we get continued radio silence from everyone involved. And yes, it’s been addressed multiple times over the years as to why this was/is the case. I can understand and empathize with the health-related issues——we all have our burdens——but that really should have been addressed back then when it was clear the project was in jeopardy; someone should have taken over the project, or at the very least people should have reached out for help within the community.

And now we are put into the position of keeping quiet indefinitely, because if we do “complain” or say anything critical then we are insensitive jerks who don’t care. That’s really not fair to those of us who just wanted to help this project succeed. I think at this point the money that was donated should be returned. The mods need to take action at this point, whatever that entails, otherwise it really does feel like this was some kind of crowd-funded scam.

The lack of communication(updates) has been really unfortunate, especially for those of us who donated money to this project.

Any updates would be appreciated, even if the project is on hold.

THX11384EB said:

THX11384EB said:

Somewhat off-topic:

Just wanted to know how’s poita doing, any health updates?

Does anyone have any information on poita or this project?

Any info would be appreciated.

stwd4nder2 said:

THX11384EB said:

Have you tried using something like FairUse4WM 1.3?

That requires a temporary key from the auth server to decrypt it. Since the server is no longer up I don’t there’s any way to use that.

Okay, I’ll dig around and see if I can’t find something useful.

Have you tried using something like FairUse4WM 1.3?

Updates on your project would be greatly appreciated! Good luck!

Awesome news! Thank you for giving this film some attention! Been looking forward to the other project(s) for some time now, as they’ve been put on hold or have been in limbo, so having one more is fantastic. Much luck to you on this project!

THX11384EB said:

Somewhat off-topic:

Just wanted to know how’s poita doing, any health updates?

Does anyone have any information on poita or this project?

I have it, PM me.

Somewhat off-topic:

Just wanted to know how’s poita doing, any health updates?

SilverWook said:

Poita had some health issues come up again very recently, which required a hospital stay, so I really would rather not pester him about this until I know he’s fully recovered.

That is completely understandable, and I don’t think anyone here would want to pester him about something insignificant and unrelated to his health. I wish him all the best, with a speedy recovery and good health.

Would someone involved with the project please provide an update?

SilverWook said:

Short version. Another print turned up, so things are on hold until it can be scanned. It’s in english and in better condition. Can’t say more than that.

Hot DAMN! Thank you, that is awesome news. Looking forward to hearing about this new print.

SilverWook said:

I didn’t realize it had been that long without an update. I’ll ask.

Great! Thanks for checking!

THX11384EB said:

Would it be possible to get a status update, maybe some notes on the progress, etc. Not complaining or anything, just curious where we are at with it.

Would it be possible to get a status update, maybe some notes on the progress, etc. Not complaining or anything, just curious where we are at with it.

SilverWook said:

Has this been seen before?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-THX-1138-George-Lucas-Orig-MOVIE-PRESS-KIT-W-9-Photos-PROMO-Scarce/273028784809

Yeah, I came across it back in 2004-5 on eBay; it had an asking price of $150, and it came in a different but similar folder. It never sold and I never saw it relisted. This particular presskit is pretty rare and I’ve only seen maybe 2 copies of it in the wild. The $99 price-tag isn’t terrible but I think it’s still too high: $50 is probably more realistic. Outside the typed information sheets, the 8x10s are readily available and there isn’t much here to justify such a high price. But maybe someone will see the value in it?

SilverWook said:

In the U.S. or overseas? We know a Video CD exists.

From what I understand “Beyond Vision/Cult Classics” released a VHS version of THX and then a DVD (possibly overseas), based on Worldcat database and a few other sources. Additionally, there is a 1998 Warner Home Video Spain, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, DVD.

Again, I’ve read various databases which list THX as having been released on DVD before the bastardized special edition. Some of these sources incorrectly list the special edition as the original, which is easy to take off the list. But it doesn’t explain these other anomalies. However, I would take these sources with a grain of salt because I’ve never seen any DVD for sale, no pictures, etc. The only thing I’ve ever come across was an Asian VCD.

SilverWook said:

The optimist in me recalls how sometimes TMC inexplicably airs a pan and scan version of Close Encounters once in a while, or the 1.85 version of Brigadoon, which Warner’s is too cheap to include on the Blu Ray it seems.

Maddening to think an untouched HD version of THX possibly sits on tape shelf somewhere.

Yeah, it’s crazy because I specifically remember checking out archival showtimes of channels back then and seeing THX listed. I figured they’d air it again so I could cap it; I literally wore out my VHS copy.

Here’s the frustrating thing, I know THX was released on DVD before the director’s cut as there are records showing various releases. But I’ve never been able to confirm these exist.

SilverWook said:

THX is going to be on Turner Classic Movies on Oct. 26th at 9:15pm PST. Probably the buggered version again, but maybe someone could DVR it just in case?

Good idea, but you are probably right about which version will be aired. I think there was only one time THX was aired in HD or on an HD channel, the original version, and that was back in ~2000-02. I think it was Showtime?

pleasehello said:

Does anyone have a higher bitrate version of this release?

I don’t mind the 720p resolution, but this encode really suffers from macro-blocking during dark scenes and scenes with a lot of motion.

Do you mean the Hybrid Edition? AFAIK, this 35mm Tech IB preservation hasn’t been released yet; with the exception of a grind-house version, and the aforementioned hybrid.

Any updates on this? Does it need additional funding of any sort?