Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Nada]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

George Lucas himself has said that he actually has no problem with fan-edits and things of that nature. Plus there is not current in-print copies of the original cuts to purchase from Disney or Lucasfilm (the last release with them, containing the laserdisc transfers are OOP).

So no, I don't have a negative opinion about downloading a fan-preservation project like the Harmy Despecialized Editions. When Disney releases a new edition of Star Wars with the UOT I'll be rushing out the door to go buy it.

Lucas had no problem with fan films and encouraged it even. Fan edits are a different matter entirely. And making your own fan edit for distribution, whether profitable or not, is still piracy and still illegal and wrong.

[crazyBLUE]

Please get off the discussion of Piracy ~ Fan Edits for it is not to be discussed here.

Or I will remove it all ~ Thanks

[harpolini]

When it comes to the original trilogy, even if they spent millions & millions dollars on a restoration they would easily make their money back. It baffles me why any company in the business to make millions, would turn so much down.

And I'm just over here with that sad realization "I'll probably never have the chance to upgrade my letterbox VHS set... in my lifetime.

[Nada]

Originally Posted by harpolini

And I'm just over here with that sad realization "I'll probably never have the chance to upgrade my letterbox VHS set... in my lifetime.

They are on the 2006 DVD and they are the best versions officially available on any format.

[BuckNaked2k]

Originally Posted by harpolini

...and I'm just over here with that sad realization, "I'll probably never have the chance to upgrade my letterbox VHS set... in my lifetime".

Harmy is your friend.

[Roy_Batty]

Originally Posted by Nada

They are on the 2006 DVD and they are the best versions officially available on any format.

And of course the bonus DVD's with the GOUT look like crap!

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by harpolini

And I'm just over here with that sad realization "I'll probably never have the chance to upgrade my letterbox VHS set... in my lifetime.

These are what you want:

Originally Posted by Roy_Batty

And of course the bonus DVD's with the GOUT look like crap!

Better than nothing.

[Nailwraps]

Yeah, I'm still grateful for these DVDs. Despite being sourced from the laserdiscs, at least it was finally released on a digital format. To me, that's all that matters.

Still, until Disney/Fox releases the OOT/OOS on Blu, I'll definitely look into Harmy's Despecialized Editions.

[Machine Gun Willy]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

These are what you want:






Better than nothing.

Those look awful on a modern television. No one should have to watch that crap.

[Roy_Batty]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

These are what you want:






Better than nothing.

Really, are you going to let George off with that! Prior to the sale of his company his net worth was 3 Billion dollars. A good chunk of that was from the profits of star wars, your telling me he could not do better than dusting off a ten year old non anamorphic transfer in 480i, 4X3 aspect ration of the original trilogy. And your ok with that?

[42041]

Originally Posted by harpolini

When it comes to the original trilogy, even if they spent millions & millions dollars on a restoration they would easily make their money back. It baffles me why any company in the business to make millions, would turn so much down.

And I'm just over here with that sad realization "I'll probably never have the chance to upgrade my letterbox VHS set... in my lifetime.

Why does everyone on the internet think they know a company's revenues and expenses for a product better than the company does?
The perceived volume of internet outrage and the actual monetary value of it can be very disproportionate. And when you consider that restoring Star Wars's original effects to a shiny, newly digitally-recomposited 4K state would likely be extraordinarily expensive, I think it's far from obvious that it would be profitable.

[dubious]

Originally Posted by 42041

Why does everyone on the internet think they know a company's revenues and expenses for a product better than the company does?
The perceived volume of internet outrage and the actual monetary value of it can be very disproportionate. And when you consider that restoring Star Wars's original effects to a shiny, newly digitally-recomposited 4K state would likely be extraordinarily expensive, I think it's far from obvious that it would be profitable.

You speak like the OT is composed of CGI and is part of a Fast & Furious franchise.

The cost of restoring SW in 4K is a drop in the bucket compared to the potential profits the OT sales will continue to generate for the next 50 years and beyond. New movies, new boxsets, own it again, all over again!

[Roy_Batty]

Originally Posted by 42041

Why does everyone on the internet think they know a company's revenues and expenses for a product better than the company does?
The perceived volume of internet outrage and the actual monetary value of it can be very disproportionate. And when you consider that restoring Star Wars's original effects to a shiny, newly digitally-recomposited 4K state would likely be extraordinarily expensive, I think it's far from obvious that it would be profitable.

Oh! Really, then why is Universal currently undergoing a 4k restoration of Spartacus? The Sad truth is Lucas never wanted to restore Star Wars, and it isn't like he did'nt have the opportunity. You know he refused to give the National film archive in Washington a version of the original un-tampered Star wars, instead offering a 35 mm print of the special edition instead!

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by Roy_Batty

Really, are you going to let George off with that! Prior to the sale of his company his net worth was 3 Billion dollars. A good chunk of that was from the profits of star wars, your telling me he could not do better than dusting off a ten year old non anamorphic transfer in 480i, 4X3 aspect ration of the original trilogy. And your ok with that?

I feel like you're attacking me for something George Lucas did.

harpolini lamented that he/she will be stuck with just his/her VHS tapes. So I pointed out that it's on DVD as well. It's currently your best (legal) solution. By saying "there are DVDs" it doesn't mean I condone what George did. I would have preferred it if he made the DVDs anamorphic, and I would have preferred a higher resolution picture and sound, but what can I do?

[42041]

Originally Posted by dubious

You speak like the OT is composed of CGI and is part of a Fast & Furious franchise.

The cost of restoring SW in 4K is a drop in the bucket compared to the potential profits the OT sales will continue to generate for the next 50 years and beyond. New movies, new boxsets, own it again, all over again!

Again: you are merely guessing - and your guess is far less informed than the studio's. The thing is, Star Wars will continue to generate profits regardless of whether they restore the original film.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely think the OT should be restored, but there's little to suggest that it's an obviously profitable venture. (And yeah, Star Wars has a ton of visual effects for a 70s film - many of which simply do not exist in a composited, high-quality, un-SE'd state anymore and would have to be put together again digitally from the original elements, if you don't want it to look like something cobbled together from whatever bits of film they could find).

[kemcha]

So, you're saying that that version of the trilogy is crap? (LOLS) I love Star Wars, no matter what version it is.

Originally Posted by Machine Gun Willy

Those look awful on a modern television. No one should have to watch that crap.

[Cobra Kai]

Originally Posted by 42041

Again: you are merely guessing - and your guess is far less informed than the studio's. The thing is, Star Wars will continue to generate profits regardless of whether they restore the original film.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely think the OT should be restored, but there's little to suggest that it's an obviously profitable venture. (And yeah, Star Wars has a ton of visual effects for a 70s film - many of which simply do not exist in a composited, high-quality, un-SE'd state anymore and would have to be put together again digitally from the original elements, if you don't want it to look like something cobbled together from whatever bits of film they could find).

So, there's "little to suggest" that restoring the most popular film saga of all time would be profitable? The movies that started one huge pop-culture phenomenon that is still going strong nearly 40 years later? Those movies? Yes, of course it would be profitable.

And according to Bill Hunt on thedigitalbits, Robert Harris has even stated in the past that the restoration would be "relatively easily compared to other projects, and for a modest sum."

Besides, there's also the little known fact that Mike Verta has already meticulously restored the first movie... In 4k. The results look far superior to the current blu-ray, and the total cost to Fox/Disney came to the total of $0.00

Now they just need to pay him do Empire and Jedi and we're all good.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Cobra Kai

So, there's "little to suggest" that restoring the most popular film saga of all time would be profitable? The movies that started one huge pop-culture phenomenon that is still going strong nearly 40 years later? Those movies?.

Nobody's questioning the popularity of the movies. The question is whether additional restoration work would generate significant additional revenues and I lean toward 42041: there's really very little reason to think a newly remasterd BD set of the OT would be some huge financial windfall for Fox/Disney.

Most of the people who want Star Wars on BD are happy with the discs they have. Would a new 4k scan generate a lot of buzz and have people here wetting out collective pants? Of course it would.

Would it generate millions and millions of additional dollars? I seriously doubt it.

[42041]

Originally Posted by Cobra Kai

Besides, there's also the little known fact that Mike Verta has already meticulously restored the first movie... In 4k. The results look far superior to the current blu-ray, and the total cost to Fox/Disney came to the total of $0.00

I don't know who Mike Verta is but unless he has access to the original negatives, he did not. That's the only thing you're going to get true 4K Star Wars footage from.
There are probably many ways to do it on the cheap - the simplest would be to remove the most offensive scenes from the SE and call it a day (let's face it, most people aren't going to be up in arms about the odd cgi alien and new matte painting). They could scan a print or maybe they've got some old IP laying around and clean it up. But if you want a true high-end 4K transfer that looks consistently good, there is no easy way of doing that.

[Cobra Kai]

Originally Posted by 42041

I don't know who Mike Verta is but unless he has access to the original negatives, he did not. That's the only thing you're going to get true 4K Star Wars footage from.
There are probably many ways to do it on the cheap - the simplest would be to remove the most offensive scenes from the SE and call it a day (let's face it, most people aren't going to be up in arms about the odd cgi alien and new matte painting). They could scan a print or maybe they've got some old IP laying around and clean it up. But if you want a true high-end 4K transfer that looks consistently good, there is no easy way of doing that.

You're not wrong. There certainly is no "easy" way of doing that. But it has been done. And it wasn't just by scanning some old print.
It was actually done by scanning MANY old prints (including a pristine IB Tech print). Then with the help of custom software that took over 10 years to develop, each of the scans are "stacked", perfectly aligned, and then detail is combined from each print to resolve the image back to the original negative. This is possible because every single print has it's own totally unique grain pattern, so different information from each print can be combined together to recover lost data.

Here is the software in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=92&v=XaDlP-kmzWk

And here are a bunch of before and after videos of the restoration itself:
https://vimeo.com/channels/starwarslegacy