CT STAR WARS LEGACY EDITION - RESTORATION OF THE 1977 ORIGINAL STAR WARS

Well, I apologize for my mistake, but the way his site is set up, I don't think I would be alone in assuming his FAQ section was still intended to be current. If he'd like to avoid further confusion, he should probably make it a bit clearer that information in the archive section linked on the main site has outdated information about fundamental aspects of his current project of the same name.

 

I absolutely agree it is confusing and will be updating the FAQ to make it explicitly clear just how much reverence for the original film is behind this project.

 

Excellent point. It would be the height of insanity for Disney to refuse this offer: "Hey, I did all the work for you. Here's the finished product. Would you like to make money on it?"

 

Having worked on this project in one form or another for 15 years, I've heard every level of both support and criticism for not releasing it publicly. My answer to critics has always been the same:

1) Lucasfilm legal warned me not to. (I've done work on Star Wars projects for LFL, so the channel was open anyway). 2) The only reason the project has gotten the materials and help from original crew it has is precisely because it wasn't being released; it's why I have what others don't. 3) Life is crazy; when I began, nobody could have guessed that Lucas would sell Star Wars to Disney. Since with every passing hour the original film degrades further and further, the restoration needs to be done asap and the film preserved, and we'll figure out how to get it out later. One step at a time. Anything's possible.

Star Wars is why I became an artist and I felt deeply compelled to make sure the original version existed, somewhere, in the best possible form. Of course I want people to see it, and will do everything in my power to make that happen.

 

Your work is incredible! What you've done is amazing, and is appreciated by all of us.

Do you think there's a chance Disney/Fox release this themselves? The original 1977 version?

Why would Lucasfilm warn you specifically and not Harmy or other preservers?

 

Another restoration has been done, presumably at 4k, by Reliance Mediaworks, but what we've seen of it so far is subpar. Comparison on my Vimeo page:



LFL warned me because: 1) Friends. and 2) They generally feel most fan-based restorations are **** and not worth it. I helped out Harmy with his project, by way of references and advice, etc., and I think it's the best publicly-available one by far. But I just happen to be in the unusual position of doing this stuff professionally for 30 years on state-of-the-art gear, so there's an edge there...

 

I love the work done by Harmy and others, creating a good quality home video version of these films, but this is on such another level. This is about restoring the actual negative, suitable for projecting on the largest movie screens in the world, at a quality not seen since 1977. If this does not get released, we should criticize Lucasfilm for suppressing a great work of art, not Mike who has done everything in his power to save this film for future generations.

 

Frankly, I prefer my special edition Blu-rays, but archival copies of the original versions sound sensible to me. I'm pretty sure I have the originals on VHS, but I can't say I find them more enjoyable outside of historical curiosity.

 

Agreed. This is fantastic.

It will be a real shame if something like this never sees the light of day. It's way more than just a "fan edit".

Dammit, Lucasfilm, why do you have to be like this!?

 

Having had the good fortune of scrutinizing every scanned pixel of every 4K frame of many near-pristine original run prints, I find the most curious and distressing part of all of this to be this simple, undeniable fact: Every single frame of the Blu-Ray version of Star Wars is incorrect. There is not a single frame which is properly representative of any publicly-screened, theatrical run print. The range of deviation runs from "sort of close," to "unforgivable." This doesn't bother some people, which I also find curious and distressing.

 

That's an interesting and depressing observation.

Mike, I first saw Star Wars when I was 7 years old in June 1977. It immediately became (and remains) my favorite movie. You have my sincere thanks and respect for all the hard work you have done in preserving the finest film of all time.

 

Mike Verta Have you had any talks with anyone at Lucasfilm about the possibility of them officially releasing your restoration, and if so, what's the likelihood of that happening?

 

I have not talked to LFL about it yet; waiting until every last detail is done, the film fully output to new negative, and then I have contacts there and at Disney to approach.

 

Do you know if Disney/Lucasfilm has ever talked about getting the OOT out again? Or are they ok with the crap SEs?

 

While I have no problem with you wanting the theatricals released, why do we need to take shots at the SE's? I am content with them and have really no desire to see the original cuts.

 

They are terrible restorations, as many people have said, regardless of the changes. The 2011 Blu Rays should not be acceptable to anyone.

 

Terrible is subjective, though.

 

It is important to acknowledge that "terrible," is not subjective, but fact in this case, as the current releases are riddled with errors; not "creative choices" nor sensibility semantics to be debated, but good old fashioned, clear-cut technical and execution errors; mistakes, pure and simple. There are countless examples, clearly visible in screencaps, pointed out by dozens of people over the years and readily available to be seen. You are welcome to enjoy these mistakes, but not to deny them, nor vilify people stating facts. At least, not if you want to be taken seriously.

 

It is likely Lucas may have a clause in the sale preventing Disney from ever releasing the OOT versions.

 

I feel like that's something that would have come out by now if that were the case. Disney has owned Lucasfilm for nearly three years, and that's kind of a really big deal to go unreported in any capacity for that stretch of time, unless it's something they really went out of their way to make sure only very few people internally knew about.

 

That is likely the case.

 

It didn't bother the filmmaker and that's what matters You do not own these films, nor did you have a hand in creating them. So really, you have no say in the matter, same as the rest of us. We can only accept what the filmmaker intended and wishes, like it or not. And just because a 38 year old print looks different doesn't automatically make it absolute or perfect or what was intended, given the technological limitations of the time to achieve a look Lucas was striving for.

 

To be clear, despite what may have seemed a harsh tone in my posts, I really do appreciate the work you've done, and I think it's pretty hard to argue with the assertion that certain technical aspects of the 2004 restoration could have been done better. I see that as a separate issue from the whole OOT-SE kerfuffle though.

Now, maybe there were some tweaks to the picture in 2004 that were actual artistic decisions made by Lucas, but to my non-expert understanding, it appears to me like a lot of these issues are pretty much just coming from Lowry's end--meaning the problem was a simple lack of quality control on the part of both Lowry and Lucasfilm. But I can't imagine Lucas was actively standing there behind Lowry the whole time going, "Okay, great, now crush those blacks some more, guys!"

Basically, it sounds to me like there would have been these sorts of problems even if Lowry was tasked with restoring the OOT.

 

It's not about the creator's wishes, it's about restoring the historically authentic version of the film. "Properly representative of any publicly-screened, theatrical run print," not "Properly representative of the version George Lucas wants on the market." There's nothing about it that threatens the existence or intent of the special edition, because that version of the film is in no danger of disappearing. The original theatrical version is.

 

The version of the film that the filmmaker intends is the one that is to be archived. If the filmmaker only wants one version available as intended, then those wishes should be respected, something that most of these ignorant fans are unwilling to do. "Historically authentic". That's a lark.