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pufnstuf

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Join date
23-Nov-2007
Last activity
19-Apr-2024
Posts
50

Post History

Post
#650998
Topic
Info Wanted: Walter Cronkite's 'Universe' Visits ILM - a better version?
Time

Williarob said:

Does anybody here have a better version of this? If you have seen the little featurette that aired on CBS in 1984 as part of the network TV premiere of Star Wars, you may have spotted a clip of Walter Cronkite meeting with George Lucas. I was able to track down one copy of the whole segment on YouTube, but the quality is not good. If anyone knows of a better source, please let me know.

Thanks!

Have you checked the EditDroid Special Features set?  Also, didn't SW.COM put out a version of this on their website too?

Post
#650138
Topic
Thorr's 35 mm Star Wars Trilogy SE Trailer WQHD Restoration (Part-Finished)
Time

bkev said:

...alternate Jabba shot? Do tell. Does that mean they used a different model, or a different point in the sequence to highlight?

It's the shot of Jabba and Han further along in the conversation... "Han my boy"...

I do need to check if the Sansweet roadshow trailer effects were complete though.  I know he showed some clips of Jabba being designed on the computer prior to the trailer being shown.  Looks like the trailer is on TWC301 - tread well collection too.

Post
#650132
Topic
Thorr's 35 mm Star Wars Trilogy SE Trailer WQHD Restoration (Part-Finished)
Time

Jetrell Fo said:

thorr said:

Hi You_Too.  Thanks for your interest.  No, it's not done yet.  I tend to do it in waves when I feel like it.  It takes a lot of time.  Sometimes something happens that demotivates me because I have to redo something, and so I stop for awhile.  Since you showed some interest, I might start again soon.  When do you plan to release the 97 SE blu-ray set?

Jetrell Fo - I am very interested in the DTS trailer audio.  There are two versions of this trailer.  Do you know which one you have, or both?  If anything would really get me motivated, it would be having an awesome soundtrack to go with this.

Here are the two versions I am aware of.  The part where Jabba is talking to Han is different.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRgsMKu8oNA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4J7R8uzYrc

From what I can tell, the first trailer link is the "President's Day" trailer...I believe IT is on the 2004 Bonus Disc.  Of course the second link above is from the LD.   I believe the U.S. LD set had 3 trailers total.

The DTS SE discs each contain trailer audio for the SE.  I will have to listen to them and sort em out for you.

From my notes, there were three trailers...

TEASER-The first one was from Spring/Summer 1996 and was part of the Sansweet-Lucasfilm fan roadshows that culminated with the screening of the trailer... Probably an early cut, and never made it to theaters.  I have a fan recording/bootleg of this somewhere.  This one had the alternate Jabba shot, "President's Day weekend", "On Feb 14 Star Wars, followed soon after by the ESB and then ROTJ".  I think it was only shown a few times in public.

TRAILER A-This trailer had a limited summer release in 1996 in a few select markets. According to someone who worked at a theater, these trailers were hand delivered and picked up later by FOX representatives.  This trailer had the updated Jabba scene.  I believe the rest, including the audio was unchanged from the first one. 

TRAILER B-This version came out in Nov/Dec 1996 and ran through Jan 1997.  In this version, the dates have firmed up (Jan 31st, Feb 14th and Mar 7th) and there was a new line added by Princess Leia "Here they come!".  

It's doubtful that a DTS 35mm print of the first trailer exists in the wild... The bonus disc is probably the best and only source available. 

Of course there were ESB SE(Trailer C) and ROTJ SE(Trailer D) too...

Post
#648022
Topic
Info: POSSIBLY FOUND - Star Wars A New Hope Technicolor I.B. dye transfer print - random post on reddit
Time

SKot said:

pufnstuf said:

As a matter of fact I picked one up a few years ago on the D&M fan forum... I'm not 100% it's the actual fan club tape or perhaps a first generation dub, but the quality is very good.  Thought there were plenty of good copies out there already.  I can MySpleen it if people are interested.

Definitely, I second that!  Somehow that one has escaped decent preservation, and even the best copies I've seen have been lacking.  The community would definitely benefit from a nice transfer of that copy.

I think the same goes for the Bob Hope Christmas Special with the Star Wars spoof...that one was even more scarce at one point, and I still haven't seen a very clear copy to this day.

--SKot

So the version I have on DVD is not a direct dub from the fan club tape... It's an copy of a copy... Not terrible, but the fan club tape (which i pulled from storage this weekend) should prove to be a better source.  I don't have any decent VHS equipment anymore, so we'd need to find someone with professional grade equipment with the means to extract the most from a VHS source.  Any suggestions.

Should we start a separate thread?

Post
#647839
Topic
Info: POSSIBLY FOUND - Star Wars A New Hope Technicolor I.B. dye transfer print - random post on reddit
Time

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

poita said:

The seller also has Thunderball, Close Encounters and Sinbad on the same tape format.

Just tested the Close Encounters tape... it's EIAJ, black and white, in excellent condition.  Looking forward to seeing the SW tape.

Is it (Close Encounters) just the movie or an recording of a TV broadcast, or a bootleg / screener?

Post
#647179
Topic
Info: POSSIBLY FOUND - Star Wars A New Hope Technicolor I.B. dye transfer print - random post on reddit
Time

SKot said:

pufnstuf said:

SilverWook said:

Wish I had been perusing video tape reels sooner. I might have seen this in time...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-broadcasts-70s-DONNY-MARIE-BATTLESTAR-GALACTICA-early-home-taping-/290920659305?pt=US_Movies_Other_Formats&hash=item43bc38f969

I don't think a decent version of the Donny and Marie Star Wars episode has ever popped up, has it?

The Donny and Marie fan club used to sell VHS episodes of some of their shows back in the 80s... One of the ones sold was the Star Wars episode.  Quality is pretty good.  

Do you know anyone who has one of these tapes?  'Cause if so, this is something just screaming for a preservation...

--SKot 

As a matter of fact I picked one up a few years ago on the D&M fan forum... I'm not 100% it's the actual fan club tape or perhaps a first generation dub, but the quality is very good.  Thought there were plenty of good copies out there already.  I can MySpleen it if people are interested.

Post
#647026
Topic
Info: POSSIBLY FOUND - Star Wars A New Hope Technicolor I.B. dye transfer print - random post on reddit
Time

SilverWook said:

Wish I had been perusing video tape reels sooner. I might have seen this in time...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-broadcasts-70s-DONNY-MARIE-BATTLESTAR-GALACTICA-early-home-taping-/290920659305?pt=US_Movies_Other_Formats&hash=item43bc38f969

I don't think a decent version of the Donny and Marie Star Wars episode has ever popped up, has it?

The Donny and Marie fan club used to sell VHS episodes of some of their shows back in the 80s... One of the ones sold was the Star Wars episode.  Quality is pretty good.  

Post
#646689
Topic
Info: POSSIBLY FOUND - Star Wars A New Hope Technicolor I.B. dye transfer print - random post on reddit
Time

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

Looks like EIAJ, the closest thing to home video format which had some popularity from about 1969 to 1976 when VHS supplanted it.  I digitized about 75 EIAJ tapes for commercial release a few years ago, and I have a nice late-era EIAJ deck.  My EIAJ transfers are better than every commercial house I know of - although I know one guy on the east coast who has a modified deck that produces slightly better transfers.

The only other similar format I know of is CV, but that's about 5 years earlier.  I also have a good CV deck.

If it is a larger format, I should be able to find someone who could transfer it.  I'm a member of an old-vtr's forum and there are people there I could probably cajole into helping.

If anyone here wins it, I'll have a look at it and digitize it if it is of interest.  But of course I suggest coordinating so y'all don't bid against each other.

What kind of image quality can you expect from EIAJ recordings?  Better or worse than VHS, U-MATIC, etc?

Post
#644356
Topic
Info for... the Ewok films: 'Battle For Endor' and 'Caravan Of Courage'...
Time

Not sure if this thread / preservation effort died, but I thought I'd post anyway. Digging through some old boxes of tapes I ran across a cassette tape labeled The Ewok Adventure.  After thinking for a bit I recall when broadcast in some markets, they simulcast the audio on local radio stations so you could hear it in stereo.   Need to find my cassette-to-MP3 converter to check it out, but I believe everything was simulcast, including the commercials.   

Any need or desire for this... even as reference?

Post
#366307
Topic
Info: "making of star wars" film reel set - for sale on ebay
Time

The EditDroid 4-disc "Specials" set is the best in my opinion.  The only drawback is the burned in subtitles, which was unavoidable.  I think I have a Betamax copy of the "Making of" special... I just don't have a player... Next to the Japanese laserdiscs, I would suspect the Betamax release would probably be the next best quality commercial release.

Puf

Post
#365460
Topic
Help: looking for... 'George Lucas: Maker of Films' (1971 documentary)
Time

Still here... injured my back last week, so things have slowed down a bit for me... I've captured the program in Adobe Premiere and I'm authoring the disc in Encore.  I should have something ready for later this week.  Nothing special... the transfer is essentially raw... there are a few hiccups in audio throughout the show... it's on my master copy...  Not sure this is a worthy candidate for a full restoration treatment, but others can decide that if they wish.

Post
#361522
Topic
Help: looking for... 'George Lucas: Maker of Films' (1971 documentary)
Time

I think it was in 1971 or 1972.  Yeah, it’s pretty cool to see the young, poor and idealistic Lucas rail against the corporate movie makers and their big budget blockbuster films… obviously long before he was consumed by the Dark Side he created.  In fairness, I think Lucas redeemed himself to some extent when he became more accepting of the fans, their films, web sites, etc.  While Celebration events are mostly PR and marketing, they are what many fans crave, so I can’t fault him for that. 

 

I never cared for 80s & 90s Lucas… 70s and 21st century Lucas is a bit more appealing. 

 

Gene Youngblood does a lot of pontificating in this interview, but most of his points are valid. 

 

As far as Jar Jar goes, that’s just poor decision making… a weakness which unfortunately transcends this universe as well as that of Star Wars.

 

Another niceties in this interview… They shows clips from his student film “6-18-67” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6-18-67), which was filmed on location of “MacKenna’s Gold”.

Post
#360376
Topic
Help: looking for... 'George Lucas: Maker of Films' (1971 documentary)
Time

Dug up a description I made about the program:

"A very early PBS interview w/ George Lucas. George is interviewed by film critic and author Gene Youngblood. A fascinating interview that includes 2 of George's student film (including THX1138). George and Gene talk candidly about where they came from, the state of film today (1972), and where they believe film is going in the future. They were dead-on in their analysis."

I can dump it on DVD if interested...

Post
#360315
Topic
Help: looking for... 'George Lucas: Maker of Films' (1971 documentary)
Time

I have a VHS copy of this show... got it from a long time trader several years ago, along with the Sesame Street out-takes.

It's a really interesting program...not really a formal interview... if I remember correctly, they're laying in the grass, just talking.  Some of the discussion is quite interesting... talk about the future of film making, independent filmmakers, etc.

I believe they show some of his other college films (or clips), not just THX1138.

It's funny to see a really skinny Lucas...

 

I'll have to see if I can find it.

Post
#315070
Topic
[<( The Star Wars TV Commercials Project )>] (* unfinished project * - a host of info)
Time
Hmmm.. I actually have a couple of these commercials that I got in a trade... like 15 years ago... along with promos for the SuperLive Adventure. I'll have to dig these up... right now everything is in storage... selling our house.

I recall both featured Lucas... in one ad he held a red apple that turned into a bird and flew away... in the other I think there was a clip or two of Vader and some Stormtroopers.

SKot said:

Darth Lars said:

George Lucas was himself in a couple of Japanese commercials for Panasonic/Technics with the slogan "Something New". They were from 1987.

- Chewie surprising a little girl. Girl pets chewie.
- Ewoks turn on a stereo and get startled, again and again. Thet get used to it and start dancing.
- R2D2 and C-3PO with a portable word processor/computer.
- GL is filming scale models that come to life. C3PO is peeking from around the corner.
but most of all:
- Jabba turns on the stereo, listens to music, and starts to cry. Hilarious!

I would love to see these. I've kept less emphasis on foreign (non-US) commercials because the scope of what we have is already overwhelming, but I'm still interested in them. Especially the ones featuring characters from the saga.

--SKot
Post
#301942
Topic
Preserving the...<em>cringe</em>...Star Wars Holiday Special (Released)
Time
Originally posted by: LinkTGF
First off I want to say hello to everyone here - this is my first post here and I'm loving the atmosphere here - editors and preservationists collaborating on various projects!

I'm more experienced in sound editing (not great but better than most) and this kinda thing always intrigued me...

Anyways, I have a bit of rumor I heard from a fairly reliable source concerning the Holiday Special - apparently Australia's FoxTel (sp?) station had entered into talks with LucasFilms to promote a one-off 30th anniversary airing of the Holiday Special for next year, with the possibility of a new George Lucas chat about the history of the special afterwards.

I'm not really too sure about the truth behind this but as I said the person I heard this from is usually pretty knowledgeable about the Holiday Special

As for if it will be remastered/cleaned up? Can't say, but I'm sure George still has the original negative up there at Skywalker Ranch in the vault


Since it's been aired in Australia at least two times (perhaps even three times), it's not outside the realm of possibility. I would be surprised if Lucas allows it given his distain for the program, but he may have no say in the matter. I'm a bit curious how it was allowed to have been aired as many times as it has. Perhaps a loophole in the ownership / broadcast rights. The program was produced by Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion for 20th Century Fox Television and CBS. He may own the program (as it was transferred to him back in the 80s from Smith-Hemion Productions) and the rights to the characters, but he may not own the broadcast rights (domestic or international). Then you have Home Video / DVD distribution rights... It's a legal nightmare... it's a wonder anything gets aired or released to dvd. If you want to see how complicated it can get, read about the legal issues encountered with the Dean Martin show, Greg Garrison and NBC: http://thegolddiggers.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/whose-show-is-it-anyway/ Another example is the Batman TV series from the 60s... you've got 3 or 4 owners, who can't agree, so it's hung up in legal limbo.


Anyway, the last I heard (a couple of years ago) was that Lucasfilm doesn't have the master tapes... they are apparently still in the posession of Smith-Hemion. The only copy Lucasfilm has is a poor quality VHS dub... no better than the rest of us. You'd think they would at least preserve the masters if they cared, but they may not "technically" own the tapes.