Zataro

Williarob said:

Whichever option we choose, there will be people who don’t like it, but one of the best things about this forum is that there will be somebody ready to step up and implement the alternative options. They will feel strongly enough that the short black “flash” is not good enough for them personally, and there will be others who agree, and between them they will find their own way to smooth it over, and hopefully they will share that with others.

Perhaps this is why Lucasfilm / Disney can’t be bothered to do it themselves - we (the experts) can’t all agree on what is best - some like grain, some can’t stand it, some like the “invisible CGI” fixes like the digital recomposits of the SE but want other changes removed… There are already so many different versions of the film and none of us can agree on the correct color timing, cropping, or audio tracks… The only solution is for us all to come up with the version of the film we want to see.

Personally, I’m old school. I want it to look as close to watching a 35mm film print at the cinema in 1977 as possible because that is the film that won the Oscars. That is the film that became a phenomenon, and that is the film I want to watch. I think we’re getting closer to that goal.

And I think that between Harmy’s Despecialized Editions, our own 35mm preservations (and we have more coming), Poita’s and everyone else’s projects, and all of the hybrid projects that will inevitably spin off from all of these, we will eventually get there. We will all find our personal Star Wars Nirvana.

Am I making any sense at this point or am I just so tired I’m delirious? It’s 2 AM, I’m going to bed! I gotta get up and go to work tomorrow… “Star Wars Nirvana…” If we find that, what the hell are we gonna do with all that spare time?

Like others have said, it does make sense. As for the Disney thing, my own two cents as I see it, sorry for being off-topic… & long-winded (Note: As a big fan of Harmy’s, Adywan’s, & Team -1’s (amongst others), I have absolute respect for what they’re doing, this isn’t intended as a slight against the Star Wars Faneditors Community in the least - if it comes off that way, sorry ^^);

As most of us know, the Original Master Negatives were destroyed by Lucas to create the 1997 Special Editions, which were then scanned in 2003 in the (at the time) “future-proof” 2K resolution for the upcoming DVD release, & then re-used for the 2011 Blu-Ray release, even though these scans were even in 2010 horribly dated, suffering from “Older Scanner Tech” flaws, excessive DNR, Edge Enhancement, rush-job Colour Correction, etc. so the way I see it when Disney inevitably wants to do a 4K release, they’re basically faced with 3 choices (assuming Lucas didn’t get a clause in that sales contract that forbids them from releasing the Theatrical Cuts, in which case we’re likely permanently screwed);

A - Do what’s already been rumoured; upscale the existing 2K Master to 4K, which I think we can collectively agree would be an awful, cost-cutting approach, regardless of if they try to “fix” the most glaring issues, such as the terrible colour correction (ergo a hybrid Harmy-Adywan approach, with limited execution though to preserve the “Lucas Edits” as much as possible).
B - Go back to the 1997 Master Negatives & 4K scan those, then either recreate the Original Theatrical versions from those (apparently possible, albeit, costly/time consuming), or release those as-is (1997 Special Editions in 4K-HD), forfeiting the 2004/2011 Lucas Edits, but still retaining a lot of Post-Theatrical Edits - i.e. ‘90s Jabba insert, Han still gets shot at, etc.
C - Get access/buy/whatever Original Theatrical Cut Negatives from a private collector source/other, & then 4K scan those & apply (proper) Colour Correction, frame-by-frame clean-up, etc. with minimal grain removal. Not excessively so, just enough (This route would likely result in a new 5.1/6.1/7.1 Audio Mix, too, due to the different sound Clips used in the Theatricals). To be honest, while not ideal, the Negatives don’t even need to be “that good” considering how far Film Restoration has come in recent years. Just check out the “Behind the Scenes” videos accompanying Jaws’ Blu-Ray. The Master they had to work with is a nightmare-worthy mess. Likewise Criterion works with really clunky Negatives all the time, etc. etc. etc. (ergo the -1 Team approach)

D - Then, regardless of if they go with options B or C (as long as they do an “Official Theatrical Cut release”), as a big fan of Adywan’s Revisited work personally I’d argue there would be some monetary value in Disney applying selective Lucas Edits to these new Scans - in a separate release, of course. Specifically, for example; correcting various props errors - Uniform medals on the wrong side, Vader having the wrong panel on his Suit, Han’s Carbonite Prison featuring the wrong clothing, the insertion of Galactic Basic Standard on the Death Star Control Panel (replacing the 1977 Theatrical English-Language Panel) etc. etc. etc. Removing the now-extremely-obvious matte paintings & replacing them with CGI shots, would be another obvious one (without defiling the original version of Dagobah the way Lucas did), etc. The arguably actually “good” Lucas Edits that get lost in the massive sea of shit Lucas has added in as well.

Granted, this would still be a “give & take” kind of Edit, what with some people liking specific details that many others don’t & vice-versa, so there’d still be no guarantee of “global satisfaction” (even Adywan’s Star Wars Revisited was controversial enough for him to release a “Purist Edition”), but a set of Theatrical & “Revisited” Cuts would arguably provide a satisfying Official Cut for the two biggest fanbases in existence, & make Disney a lovely penny from it in the process?

This is all just me though, based on my personal ideology that Disney, unlike Lucas won’t be interested in utterly ignoring the Fanedits Fanbase forever, considering the money they’re letting slip through their fingers by not doing their own “Official Theatrical” release, & while Lucas did indeed inarguably extensively defile his Masterpieces with his Edits, he did also set the groundwork for an “Official Theatrical Revisited” Edit with much of his 2004/2011 work (I’d include 1997 but IIRC most of the SE’s were about applying unnecessary CGI to everything?). Like I said though, this is just me.

Speaking of Blade Runner, an even greater pipe dream; imagine if they actually released the different Original Trilogy Cuts together in a single Box Set (yes, including the 1997 Special Editions & the 2011 “George Lucas Edition” (on their own respective discs), assuming they end up re-scanning the 1997 Special Edition Masters in a first step to recreating the Theatricals (or otherwise). Though I suppose they could just take a page from Lucas’ book & use the old VHS Master if they don’t, or if they’re just unwilling to put the 1997 Masters through even a basic Remastering process… Alternatively, maybe LucasArts still has the original 2003 2K scans? Lol) in much the same way we can get all 5 cuts of Blade Runner in a single purchase (albeit, in varying levels of quality I might add), as the earlier posts in this Thread reminded me. Throw in those lovely Extras Discs from the Blu-Ray Box & maybe a new Documentary detailing the new Remastering process, & it’s guaranteed to draw a ridiculous amount of Star Wars fans desiring a “Definitive Collection” to have on their shelves to it, even as a 14/15-Disc Box Set.

Regardless, I’m way off-topic, so I’ll just wrap this up with; thanks Team -1, I’m equally amazed & excited to see what you’ve accomplished (especially with the limitations you’ve had to work with), & burn it to a Disc soon 😄 Keep up the great work!

P.S. Damn, that’s a big wall of text. Oops ^^

P.P.S. Did you know that the sky is blue & the grass is green? 😄