Jedi Council Forums - Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?

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Author	Topic: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
R2-918 Registered: Feb '09	Date Posted: 3/4 12:37pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	Does anyone else agree that the 2004 DVD version of Ep.4 A New Hope seems too dark (Picture Quality) in certain scenes like the Cantina and on the Death Star? The other day I watched the Original 1977 version of A New Hope from the 2006 DVD set and the picture appears to be brighter then the 2004 DVD version. Hopefully they will fix this for future releases.
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StarWarrior77 Registered: Oct '08	Date Posted: 3/4 1:42pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	I've noticed this as well. I thought it was my imagination until now. I have no idea why this is though. -----signature----- "Star Wars is not dead. It's gonna get better and better."-George Lucas "Star Wars is Forever, Roger. And you can Suck it." -Jimmy Mac Visit: http://z3.invisionfree.com/Star_Wars_Online/index.php
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Sunnin-Onna-Rock Registered: Feb '09	Date Posted: 3/4 1:49pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	Perhaps they wanted to give more of a sense of those certain locations being sinister.
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Go-Mer-Tonic Registered: Aug '99	Date Posted: 3/4 2:08pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	Well all previous home video releases (from VHS to Laserdisc) were artificially brightened. It was something they did on a regular basis for home video releases in an attempt to make it seem clearer. You will notice in those original home video releases, the blacks are more gray, and some of the optically composited effects looked worse (like the boxes around the ships in space, or the odd black coloring on the sides of the emperor's face in Jedi. These sorts of things looked better it the theater because the brightness was lower. -----signature----- "...that’s not my job, to make people like my movies. They either like them or they don’t. That’s completely out of my hands.” -Lucas "At least I will have finished what I set out to do, and at least they will have been good to me." -Lucas
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R2-918 Registered: Feb '09	Date Posted: 3/4 2:25pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	Go-Mer-Tonic posted: Well all previous home video releases (from VHS to Laserdisc) were artificially brightened. It was something they did on a regular basis for home video releases in an attempt to make it seem clearer. You will notice in those original home video releases, the blacks are more gray, and some of the optically composited effects looked worse (like the boxes around the ships in space, or the odd black coloring on the sides of the emperor's face in Jedi. These sorts of things looked better it the theater because the brightness was lower. Thanks for the info, I seem to remember reading about movies being artificially brightened once they were released on VHS. I remember back when comparing my 1995 VHS original 1977 version of Ep.4 to the 1997 VHS version of the Ep.4 Special Edition, The Ep.4 Special Edition was also very dark even darker then the 2004 DVD version. One thing I love about the 04' DVD version is the amazing picture clarity and vibrant colors, I just wish it was a little more brighter like Empire and Jedi are.
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timmoishere Registered: Jun '07	Date Posted: 3/4 5:24pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	The picture looks just fine to me. Maybe you need to adjust your TV's settings. -----signature----- Will do moose stuff for money. Everything tastes better wrapped in bacon, especially bacon 11/20/2008: The day I married the most wonderful woman in the world.
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BaronLandoCalrissian Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 3/4 7:04pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	From American Cinematographer 2004: "When I began watching Star Wars, from the moment I saw C-3PO and R2-D2 on the blockade-runner I knew something was amiss; something didn’t feel right. I kept watching with an odd, unbalanced feeling in my stomach, and it wasn’t until the story cut to Tatooine that I realized the cause: this was not the Star Wars I knew. A new color pass has been done, and the soft (nearly flashed), pastel color palette created by Gilbert Taylor, BSC has been replaced by very sharp, high-contrast, super-saturated imagery. The blues were nearly popping off my screen, and the blacks were so crushed that in certain scenes — especially those that take place in the Sandcrawler — the image was losing significant detail. The over-saturated blues have also washed out a lot of sky detail and appear to have negated some ND grads that appeared in the original photography. Taylor’s photography on Star Wars was part of what made it unique — the picture didn’t have the sharp, high-contrast, snappy look of most fantasy films. Like John Barry’s inspired production design, which looks aged and worn, Taylor’s desaturated palette and use of nets created a muted, somewhat tattered look that helped ground the story in reality. With this new transfer, that look has been completely destroyed. The new color timing does, however, make Star Wars more closely resemble the other five films in the series, especially the latter ones shot by David Tattersall, BSC. Nevertheless, this change was jolting."
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zombie Registered: Aug '99	Date Posted: 3/4 7:21pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	The 2004-2009 (and who knows how far) transfer is a travesty. Its not that they gave the film new color timing, which sometimes is actually sort of cool, but that its so badly handled on a technical level. Blacks are crushed, there is noise from oversaturation, colors pop in some places, skin tones go crazy, the engine glows and laser blasts are colorless sometimes, Vader has a pink lightsaber, Luke has a green lightsaber, theres not contrast where there should be, the Blockade Runner is blue and everything is dim and dark. Its a total mess. There are less severe problems with the sounds. I don't know what happened. Maybe it was so rushed that they didn't have time to finess it. But most companies that did a transfer this badly would put out a recall, instead of re-releasing it 4 more times. At least its sharp and without edge-enhancement though. Its sad that LFL completely screwed over both the SE and the original theatrical release and have not corrected either in years and years. Definitely one of the bigger home video shams of the DVD age. -----signature----- The Secret History of Star Wars -- now available in print http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com
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Qui-Gon_Reborn Title: Qui-Gon's Personal SWC Modsaber Registered: Dec '08	Date Posted: 3/12 12:20am Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	The picture looks fine to me. But the sound quality is definately better than the original release. -----signature----- To be a true poet is to become God. - Dan Simmons Now bring me that horizon. - Capt. Jack Sparrow High Priestess in the Holy Order of the Circle-in-the-Sky Worshippers
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Grand_Moff_Jawa Registered: May '01	Date Posted: 3/12 3:59am Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	I agree, the color is way over the top. My HDTV is perfectly calibrated and the SE's are the only DVD's that look bad. They have a very over-saturated Technicolor look now. Detail in dark scenes is definitely worsened. -----signature----- "I can't abide those Jawas... disgusting creatures"! - C3PO This sig line is [FABULOUSO!] www.outerrimsieges.com "It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." -- Carl Sagan
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darthhelinith Registered: Feb '09	Date Posted: 3/13 8:58am Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	I hate not being able to see the bright white cores of the lightsabers grrrrr -----signature----- Inquisitor and personal tool of HIM and HER in the SWC Empire Sith Warrior in the Acolytes of Darkness Glamourously Beautiful and Dazzling e-wife of Rev Darth Vader is my Dad. JC Musketeer!! En Guarde!
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Go-Mer-Tonic Registered: Aug '99	Date Posted: 3/13 9:23am Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	You're not supposed to look at them, you'll go blind. -----signature----- "...that’s not my job, to make people like my movies. They either like them or they don’t. That’s completely out of my hands.” -Lucas "At least I will have finished what I set out to do, and at least they will have been good to me." -Lucas
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obi-arin-kenobi Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 3/13 12:19pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	Grand_Moff_Jawa posted: I agree, the color is way over the top. My HDTV is perfectly calibrated and the SE's are the only DVD's that look bad. They have a very over-saturated Technicolor look now. Detail in dark scenes is definitely worsened. Technicolor was involved in the original trilogy, I believe. I'll agree that they aren't perfect, but it was nice to see dagobah with more brown.
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jedimasterbac Title: CT and Fan Design Manager Registered: Jun '04	Date Posted: 3/13 8:39pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	I've honestly never noticed, except for when the blue lid in the escape pod on Tatooine became so vibrant. -----signature----- Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One (my fan fic) http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30225011/p1/?3
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Merlin_Ambrosius69 Registered: Aug '08	Date Posted: 3/14 4:10pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark?
	There is also the fact that Lucas specifically darkened the "R2 in the canyon" sequence in order to make the scene feel more mysterious and suspenseful. I'm of a mind that I'd rather see the details of the rocks and the Jawas' suits than a bunch of black blobs moving through the shadows. /shrug/ -----signature----- "Chance makes playthings of us all." -- Seneca Shameless non-Manager Emeritus sock of Vortigern99. Fan of George RR Martin, JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien.
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BaronLandoCalrissian Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 3/14 4:41pm Subject: Question about A New Hope 2004 DVD edition's picture quality? why so dark? - Date Edited: 3/14 4:42pm (1 edits total) Edited By: BaronLandoCalrissian
	obi-arin-kenobi posted: Technicolor was involved in the original trilogy, I believe. Technicolor lab in London made one or a few prints of the first movie after the fact, that's all.
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