Original/Unaltered "Star Wars" Trilogy on Blu-Ray in 2017

This ^

I'm happy for the film to be released as it was back in the day. Matte lines I can live with....Greedo shooting first I can live without

 

They did not have to be released on High definition television. I know there are those that want to see boxes around the TIE fighters. I am not one of them.

Maybe this is why we don't have them.

 

That is a distinct possibility.

Although if the arguments didn't involve toy lightsabers, they were clearly not super passionate about any of it to begin with.

 

Download SmartConverter on your Mac. Then drop in a video file and it will ask you if you want to convert and send to iTunes. Really easy!

 

This.

I'd be happy for any potential remastering to simply clean up the optical effect artifacts myself - things like the aforementioned garbage mattes, dodgy composite work in the Rancor sequence in Jedi, etc, - and leave all the mistakes in, but once you start pulling on that thread, everyone involved will have an opinion on what should be 'fixed', and before you know it, you're back to quasi-Special Edition territory... forget it; if the price of having remastered OT theatrical versions to buy and watch again is retaining said artifacts contained therein, that's a price I'm more than willing to pay.

* Optical effects kept as is - the safer option.
* Presented in 2K - because 4K would show up the optical effect seams to a distracting degree.
* No mistakes fixed - meaning we have the Wampa stick in all it's glory!
* No Episode number and sub-title on Star Wars' opening crawl - it's the version on the OCN, and that's what it should stay as.
* Just a tasteful new remastering/color timing based off the original non-fade Technicolor prints.

If that's the way it goes, I'm good with it...

 

If WB was able to release a boxset of Blade Runner with all the different versions of the film, it should be possible to do it for Star Wars too!

 

How does that work exactly?
"Okay let's just fix those unsightly garbage mates that were never meant to be seen and... Oops! I have added CGI all over the place! Oh well, now that it's there, better keep that in..."

No, I'm all in favor for recompositing the original photochemical effects like they did for Blade Runner. They scanned the 65mm composites at 8K and got rid of the generational loss and that turned out absolutely beautiful. You can actually better realise the artistry and precision that went in the effects work at the time. That way you'll have a cleaner film without actually altering or adding anything that wasn't there originally.

 

Point taken, but Blade Runner's 2007 restoration had it's director overseeing and supervising every aspect, and he knew exactly what he wanted because it was his original vision from the outset... that wouldn't be the case with an OT theatrical restoration; George Lucas wouldn't be involved, both Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand are long deceased, all three cinematographers who shot those films are equally dead, and so who exactly decides what is a mistake to be fixed versus an acceptable part of the film's overall character (intended or not) and thus should be retained?

And frankly, Disney would never put up the bucks to re-scan/composite the couple-thousand FX shots over three films, and there's no need to either... at the most, just cleaning up the assorted artifacts would more than suffice.

 

I just don't see this as a worry. There is a huge difference from removing garbage matte's to making Greedo shoot. I am optional on the Wampa stick.

 

So, there you have it. Just in this thread there is less agreement about STAR WARS than there is in the US Congress practically everything.

 

If they get someone like Robert A. Harris to oversee such a restoration, there'd be no need for worry at all... and he's offered his services to Lucasfilm on that matter!

 

You can also try Subler, as it can take a MKV file and turn it into a MP4/M4V package with as little conversion as needed. It's free, the interface might be a little more complicated, but it also gives you power over more settings.

 

Hey, wouldn't it be appropriate to start a new thread, "Original/Unaltered 'Star Wars' Trilogy on Blu-Ray in 2018"? After all, hope springs eternal.

 

Are you saying there's a new hope for 2018?

 

We should start a new thread every year until it's no longer needed.

 

There may be a 4K trilogy released at some point several years from now, but I'm not aware of any informed speculation for 2018. Pretty much a New, Distant Hope.

Sad, really.

Anyhow, at least the new movie will get a proper consumer release later this year. The extra pixel resolution of the new format may be debatable, but the color and HDR makes for some extra special viewing in my set-up. Would be great to get Force Awakens and Rogue One released in 4K this year, but even that isn't something I'm counting on.

 

Some have made the argument that with proper color timing and proper black levels, the matte lines become much less of an issue. The most recent Harmy edition that I watched, which was meticulously color-corrected to match original prints, looks fantastic. Matte lines are there if you really look for them, but they do not jump out at you.

 

Agreed. Considering the source material, the Harmy editions look fantastic!

 

There are going to be new 4K and BD releases of the UOT this year. They will come with all of the original mixes and a new Dolby Atmos mix. Plus Tool is going to be doing and alternate soundtrack for the limited edition.

 

If only the first two sentences of this post were true.

 

When a theatrical version of the trilogy is released, it will more than likely be a mostly theatrical version. They’re going to lose the matte lines, fix the wampa arm and color correct Vader’s white lightsaber in A New Hope. Purists will complain, but the masses who long for a pristine version of the original trilogy sans the egregious changes will be enthralled.

 

Then THX 1138 later in the year, right ?

 

Star Wars restorations are built on hope!

 

You know, most of the composites were re-comp'd photochemically for the 1997 Special Editions... except of course when they just simply re-did the shot in CGI.

 

I've wanted to watch the original trilogy on bluray for years, but have neglected to do so due to the "changes."

I honestly have never noticed "matte lines," but I definately notice the fake Rebo Band and I ain't havin' none of that.