Star Wars Returns to Theaters…In 2027

[OddballFett]

The real Chosen One all along, but for the fact that he didn’t eject when he should have.

And he would have parachuted down to the Death Star surface and... he'd still be dead.

 

[Gregatron]

I was yesterday years old when I finally saw Maclunkey for the first time, on Youtube.

So now there's even multiple versions of the Special Editions, cgi Jabba 1, cgi Jabba 2, and Maclunkey. Any others I'm missing?

 

[OddballFett]

now from an "art or film history" I think 4k77 is really what you want to preserve in the film archives

personally I think the 2011 Blu-ray is a nice improvement as well, but being a child growing up in the 70's, I like the warmer tones of the project 4K77

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But again, there are really two different audiences that are being catered to

while I personally dislike most of the added scenes of the special edition I do prefer a cleaned up crisper modern look

There are probably more fans now who grew up with the special editions or have never seen it vs one who saw it in the theaters

I mean even those special editions will be hitting the 30th anniversary, and for a good number of fans, those are the versions they will remember

I hope nobody blasts me for this, but ironically, based on these four pictures, I think the 2011 Blu-ray has the best image here. On this particular shot at least (I could possibly feel differently about other scenes in the movie) . I have no idea what the "correct" colors are, but the Blu-ray appears to have the clearest crispest details in this particular instance. The 4K77 appears surprisingly blurred in comparison. You can really see the details of the guy's skin on the Blu-ray while the 4K77 they don't seem to show. Even the ear box on the helmet seems sharper. Though some people may argue the color of his skin might look more natural and real on the 4K77.

While I know there's apparently different color grading on each version, I'm not overly bothered which palette I'm watching, as long as the overall quality of the movie looks good. Though I will say ESB did seem to go a bit overboard on the blue tinge.


In terms of preservation of the original, I'd personally like a 4K one, but with warts and all, including any bad sfx, since as Gregatron says preservation is the point.

 

[OddballFett]

That is more than a technical fix. They move they way they were shot. Either we keep Dykstra's work or we don't.

That's not something I noticed in the originals very much. They may look slightly shakey in their movements on the occasional shot. The way three fighters in formation behind the pilots would move in perfect unison (because they were the same ship replicated three times and put on the same matte) but these are things only noticed by geeks like us who've watched the films so often.

The only egregious one I recall is the long shot of the TIE chasing Luke before Wedge saves him, and the ships both suddenly lurched to the left near the end of that shot - something I've always noticed. I only recently downloaded Harmy's Despecialized. I have the bonus DVDs but it's nice to have a backup on the PC. But that lurch on that shot isn't noticeable here, so if that's something he fixed in some way I am a little surprised he went as far to do so.

 

[Gregatron]

I hope nobody blasts me for this, but ironically, based on these four pictures, I think the 2011 Blu-ray has the best image here. On this particular shot at least (I could possibly feel differently about other scenes in the movie) . I have no idea what the "correct" colors are, but the Blu-ray appears to have the clearest crispest details in this particular instance. The 4K77 appears surprisingly blurred in comparison. You can really see the details of the guy's skin on the Blu-ray while the 4K77 they don't seem to show. Even the ear box on the helmet seems sharper. Though some people may argue the color of his skin might look more natural and real on the 4K77.

While I know there's apparently different color grading on each version, I'm not overly bothered which palette I'm watching, as long as the overall quality of the movie looks good. Though I will say ESB did seem to go a bit overboard on the blue tinge.


In terms of preservation of the original, I'd personally like a 4K one, but with warts and all, including any bad sfx, since as Gregatron says preservation is the point.

The reason the Blu-Ray has the sharpest picture is because it's based upon a scan of the camera negative, with additional sharpening and other processing.

4K77 and other theatrical release prints are several generations (even moreso for the optical composite shots) removed from the negative, and are thus inherently softer and less detailed.

Camera negative>interpositive>internegative>theatrical positive prints

Traditionally, home video releases of films have used interpositives as their masters, since handling the negative is always a dangerous proposition. In recent years, we've seen more and more scans of films directly from their negatives, as technology has improved. But that requires rebuilding all of the color timing and whatnot from scratch.


Once you start comparing the garish, oversaturated colors of the 2004/2011 releases to the theatrical and older home media versions, you can't unsee it.

Things like Lobster Man aboard the Tantive IV, the wonky lightsabers, the magenta explosions during the various shootouts, etc.

 

[Gregatron]

And here's a comparison of the 2006 "bonus" DVD with the 2019 4K:

You can see that thr 4K has a drab, minty green tint throughout. I believe the same gent who color-graded THE MANDALORIAN was put in charge of the 4K grading, and so the films have a subtly "modern" look, with that friggin' teal tint.

 

[Paul Andrew]

All lined up and running consecutively, Maclunkey is a hilarious punchline (from a certain point of view).

Story content aside, the first version is the only one that isn't visually whacky on some level.

 

[Gregatron]

And a comparison of the garish 2011 EMPIRE Blu-Ray versus the subtler, more minty 4K: