Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope 4K UHD (1977)

[punisher]

I have to go see this here in NY...

I'm in love with Luke..lol

https://nypost.com/2023/03/18/stars-...-back-returns/

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Cinema

There are the original theatrical releases, the special editions in 1997, the DVD release versions in 2004, the blu-ray release versions in 2012, and at this point I don't even know (or care) if the 4K UltraHD release had even more changes. Certainly every fan can prefer whatever version they like most or grew up with, but to not have the original versions preserved on home video (the most current home video, not non-anamorphic DVD), to not have the versions for the fanbase who were responsible for the overwhelming success of the franchise, to not have the versions those fans knew for two full decades, to not have the versions that took the world by storm in 1977, 1980, and 1983 available for the fans that really want them is just absurd at this point.

The (what has now become infamous) line “Maklunkey” was added, which Greedo says just before he and Han shoot at each other. There might be a few other tweaks here and there but that’s the big one.

I would say there is essentially 3 versions of the movies, at least as far as archiving goes. Like if I had some kind of Ultimate Edition, I’d just be fine with the original versions, the 1997 Special Editions, and the current “final pass” versions currently available. You could get really hardcore about it with all the various tweaks and releases, but I don’t necessarily care about having the exact 2004/2011/4K versions.

If you’re gonna go with the prequel alterations he started on the DVD, you might as well go all the way and just take in all the rocks and blinking and added dialog with it.

[KC-Technerd]

Originally Posted by punisher

I have to go see this here in NY...

I'm in love with Luke..lol

Reminds me of Mary Martin as Peter Pan.

[bobbyh64]

Star Wars ‘77 - half-completed
Star Wars ‘97 special edition - 70% complete
Star Wars ‘04 special edition - 95% complete
Star Wars ‘11 special edition - 99% complete
Star Wars ‘19 special edition - 100% complete

[Fang Zei]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

The (what has now become infamous) line “Maklunkey” was added, which Greedo says just before he and Han shoot at each other. There might be a few other tweaks here and there but that’s the big one.

I would say there is essentially 3 versions of the movies, at least as far as archiving goes. Like if I had some kind of Ultimate Edition, I’d just be fine with the original versions, the 1997 Special Editions, and the current “final pass” versions currently available. You could get really hardcore about it with all the various tweaks and releases, but I don’t necessarily care about having the exact 2004/2011/4K versions.

If you’re gonna go with the prequel alterations he started on the DVD, you might as well go all the way and just take in all the rocks and blinking and added dialog with it.

That’s basically how I feel about it also.

The 2004 dvd and 2011 blu-ray versions were never given a wide release theatrically like the ‘97 versions were. They also don’t technically exist at anything higher than 1080p SDR. The 2019/2020 versions are practically identical to the 2011 with a very small number of changes like Maclunkey in ANH (that’s actually the only noticeable change I know of in the 2019 ANH, I don’t know of any in ESB and RotJ relative to how they were in 2011). That just leaves the 2004 dvd version, which would be a cool extra to throw in an ultimate BR-style multi-disc collection on its own bd since it was never seen/heard at its full quality unlike the 2011 bd. I could maybe see some fans preferring that version to the others in that it has the prequel alterations as you say but doesn’t go crazy with other stuff like blinking ewoks, Vader’s added audio in RotJ, rocks in front of R2, et cetera.

On the other hand, even if they were to throw the ‘04 on a bd as an extra disc, that version still had errors like, for example, the flipped audio channels in ANH and the “humdinger glitch” during the Battle of Yavin. Do you preserve all of that exactly as it was? I would, but I can already hear the customer complaints as I type that.

We’d honestly be lucky just to get the original theatrical versions remastered and included at all. I’d throw in the ‘97 version too on its own middle disc for each OT film if only because it’d be a shame not to include it when that’s the exact version the negatives are physically conformed to already (and I do feel the need to point that out since someone in the thread erroneously posted otherwise a page or two back).

Blade Runner treatment for me would go:

disc 1: UHD 2019
disc 2: bd of 2004
disc 3: UHD 1997
disc 4: bd extras
disc 5: UHD original theatrical

Like I said, even the inclusion of the ‘97 version is wishful thinking although ironically it hasn’t even had its laserdisc master ported to dvd like the GOUT was, which means it technically sits as an even worse-preserved version of the OT than what came before and after. There weren’t a lot of changes in ‘04, but the prequel connections like McDiarmid as the Emperor’s hologram in ESB started there and of course we lost ‘97 cg Jabba in ANH as well. There’s probably also a good number of fans who might actually prefer this version, in that it “modernizes” the films aesthetically but leave out direct connections to the prequels like Hayden as Anakin’s ghost in RotJ.

[milo bloom]

I wouldn't buy them separately, but if the 97 versions were put on an extras disc on a future release of some SW thing (even SD on BD), I wouldn't mind giving them a watch now and then. The silver box widescreen VHS set was my first letterbox home video version of the OT back in the day.

[Fang Zei]

Originally Posted by milo bloom

I wouldn't buy them separately, but if the 97 versions were put on an extras disc on a future release of some SW thing (even SD on BD), I wouldn't mind giving them a watch now and then. The silver box widescreen VHS set was my first letterbox home video version of the OT back in the day.

Same here re: the silver box vhs.

I’d want them to at least be viewable in HD, though. Like I said, even the negatives themselves have been conformed to that exact version ever since the SE was finished in late ‘96 / early 1997. There’s also the meticulously color-timed IP they prepared for that version that would be perfect for a modern transfer. Scanning the negative would require color-timing it from scratch but at least they have plenty of accurate reference for how it’s supposed to look. A negative scan would also be an ideal starting point for an HDR grade.

Speaking of which, since the separation masters seem to be the ideal starting point for a theoretical restoration of the unaltered original theatrical versions, does anyone know of just such an example of such a restoration ever being done for a movie and, if so, how it holds up in HDR?

[EvantheKidDS]

Originally Posted by Fang Zei

Same here re: the silver box vhs.

I’d want them to at least be viewable in HD, though. Like I said, even the negatives themselves have been conformed to that exact version ever since the SE was finished in late ‘96 / early 1997. There’s also the meticulously color-timed IP they prepared for that version that would be perfect for a modern transfer. Scanning the negative would require color-timing it from scratch but at least they have plenty of accurate reference for how it’s supposed to look. A negative scan would also be an ideal starting point for an HDR grade.

Speaking of which, since the separation masters seem to be the ideal starting point for a theoretical restoration of the unaltered original theatrical versions, does anyone know of just such an example of such a restoration ever being done for a movie and, if so, how it holds up in HDR?

If there was a hypothetical restoration/reconstruction for the Original Trilogy to be presented in their unaltered forms before 1997, here's what should be done. Firstly, to scan the original negatives (including the VistaVision FX shots) in 4K/16-bit. Next to preform the proper clean-up and remastering to create brand new 4K DIs of all three films with the best presentations along the lines of It's A Wonderful Life's 4K.
Then by using the color-timed interpositive(s) as a guide, to grade each film for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HDR10 so everyone can view it depending on their set-ups. Along with grading for Dolby Vision, to build all brand-new audio tracks for all three films from the best original sources, to create a Dolby Atmos, 35mm Optical, and Stereo/Mono tracks. Lastly, and most importantly, hopefully get George's blessing as this hypothetical restoration needs to be approved by him for releasing.

But then again, we have to constantly remind ourselves that this will most definitely never happen.

[Fang Zei]

Originally Posted by EvantheKidDS

If there was a hypothetical restoration/reconstruction for the Original Trilogy to be presented in their unaltered forms before 1997, here's what should be done. Firstly, to scan the original negatives (including the VistaVision FX shots) in 4K/16-bit. Next to preform the proper clean-up and remastering to create brand new 4K DIs of all three films with the best presentations along the lines of It's A Wonderful Life's 4K.
Then by using the color-timed interpositive(s) as a guide, to grade each film for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HDR10 so everyone can view it depending on their set-ups. Along with grading for Dolby Vision, to build all brand-new audio tracks for all three films from the best original sources, to create a Dolby Atmos, 35mm Optical, and Stereo/Mono tracks. Lastly, and most importantly, hopefully get George's blessing as this hypothetical restoration needs to be approved by him for releasing.

But then again, we have to constantly remind ourselves that this will most definitely never happen.

Probably not, but I have a couple notes anyway.

First off, the negatives have been conformed to the ‘97 SE ever since that version was finished 26 years ago. Any of the unaltered shots that got lifted to be replaced by altered / cg shots may have been put into storage, and I seem to recall hearing that someone from Fox had claimed as much only a few years ago.

Either way, using the negatives as a starting point for restoring the unaltered versions would now require someone to go through them shot by shot to determine what’s been altered and what hasn’t. Maybe there’s a way to do that without them accidentally overlooking something, but this brings me back to my original question.

Has there yet been a 4k HDR release of a movie that was restored from separation masters? I know Nolan’s movies on UHD are still off of IP, and the old IP’s of the OT made back in ‘85 might still be a usable albeit grainy source in terms of fading (although the negatives had already faded somewhat just in those first several years). ANH at least has that technicolor print as a reference, and I think RotJ’s original prints from ‘83 should still be reliable in terms of color unless I’m mistaken. I’d be curious to know how ESB got restored for its ‘97 release, since all of the original materials from 1980 would have faded at least somewhat by then.

The other thing I wanted to point out is that going back to the original vistavision plates and recompositing the miniature vfx shots would technically be revisionism. Sure, we’d be preserving the original photography of the individual elements at a higher quality, but we’d still only be recreating the finished shot. We wouldn’t really be preserving the finished vfx shot as it originally existed.