wheeldeal

Hello, Harmy -

This is my first post, so please bear with me.

I have just had the pleasure of watching The Empire Strikes Back Despecialized. I've had a lot of fun. Empire was once my favorite film, and I've seen the original, undoctored version dozens of times. I never thought I'd see it in such good fidelity, as my primary exposure comes from watching the 35 mm version on early '90s-era VHS. (It was recorded from an HBO cable channel broadcast around 1992.)

Your restoration work is truly terrific; still, I did notice several noteworthy imperfections of which you might not be aware. I believe the most significant issue occurs at approximately 1:05:00. After Luke confronts "Vader" in the cave, the scene briefly returns to Yoda and R2 before moving to the star destroyer. As far as I know, the Yoda-R2 interlude was reinserted as part of the "Special Edition." It was not present in the original cable broadcast, and I don't believe it was included in the first theatrical release. Of course, it's also possible that it appeared in the 70 mm version, which apparently features a slightly different cut of the film.

Other observations

- 0:52:10 - An imperial officer's transmission is lost as a result of an asteroid impact. I hadn't seen this effect before, although I've heard it was included on certain laserdisc releases. I wouldn't be surprised if it was present in the 70 mm 1980 version, but it's not part of any original 35 mm release I've seen.

- The isolated score you've included is the one featured on the 1997 2-disc Special Edition set. It features alternate music that wasn't used in the original theatrical release.

- I could be wrong, but I remember Yoda's final line as simply, "There is another," rather than "No. There is another." (1:24:31)

I noticed a couple of visual glitches, too, but I imagine you know about them.

Thanks again for your time and effort--a beautiful job on a beautiful film!

Best regards,

Brian