Star Wars (1977) original Blu ray. Crappier than ever.

Surely the 3 JW Rinzler Making Of books cover the Original Trilogy in greater detail? They amount to over 1,000 pages whereas that Archives book is only 600 pages.

 

My comment was mere conjecture, not a declarative statement... my apologies if I offended you.

 

So this is concerning. Once again in text the "grain reducing" to go along with artificial sharpening to create some congruent work when they were all made by different DP's and had their own style.

Gil Taylor didn't "overly diffuse". That is his style and it has worked with great effect on Repulsion (0ne of my favorite Deneuve movies actually), the Omen, Dr. Stranglelove...etc. You can see that style inside Luke's workshop and especially on the Death Star, the Cantina, and one of my favorites...when Vader makes his first appearance. That is just a thing of beauty. I think Taylor put his own style on that one and it shows.

Not getting this at all, though it is your opinion, the obvious issue I have are technicians "correcting" for the work based on their opinion.

HOWEVER:
Gil Taylor and his colours of monochrome - News | The Star Online

“I wanted to give it a unique visual style that would distinguish it from other films in the science fiction genre,” Taylor declared. “I wanted Star Wars to have clarity because I don’t think space is out of focus ... I thought the look of the film should be absolutely clean ... But George (Lucas) saw it differently ... For example, he asked to set up one shot on the robots with a 300mm camera lens and the sand and sky of the Tunisian desert just meshed together. I told him it wouldn’t work, but he said that was the way he wanted to do the entire film, all diffused.”

“My work was a matter of chopping holes in the walls and working the lighting into the sets, and this resulted in a ‘cut-out’ system of panel lighting using quartz lamps that we could put in the walls, ceiling and floors. This lighting approach allowed George to shoot in almost any direction without extensive relighting, which gave him more freedom.”

??

Btw, a little side note that I found interesting about Taylor

"Taylor’s apprenticeship was interrupted by the outbreak of the second world war, when he joined the Royal Air Force volunteer reserve, his primary mission being to photograph the targets of nocturnal raids over Germany after the bombs were dropped."



So brilliant when you get a reference point.
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I don't know where anyone would get a definitive idea that the 1977 release will see any kind of notice because it is the special editions that was likely part of the deal. While Disney has done some decent remasters, they have also done a lot of questionable ones, especially with the animated works.

The more I think about it, the more I love the fan captures/scans because at least we have people that not only cared about the work and understand the importance of preserving the original vision, but were obviously open to fan interaction while the whole process was going on. The thanks for people tracking down sources and using cross communication was key towards their successes.

 

I have never paid more than 50% of MSRP for any of Taschen's Archives books, and I have almost all of the ones that have been published. If you don't have to have the book as soon as it's out, either one of the usual online suspects will eventually discount it heavily, or it will show up in one of Taschen's (online and in-store) periodic "scratch and dent" sales. I've bought quite a few books from Taschen during those sales, and in my experience the "scratch and dent" aspect is greatly overstated - the only item I've gotten that was anything less than practically new was a set that had some slight smudging on the binding of a couple of the volumes. Considering that it was a $400 set marked down to $200, I can live with that.

 

Good price currently on Amazon UK (£98 down from £150)

http://amzn.eu/2dk2nfi

 

There still seems to be some hope for Mike Verta’s Star Wars Legacy restoration, as he posted an update a few days ago on originaltrlogy.com.
User Profile: mverta - Original Trilogy

 

A new hope, indeed...

 

Thanks for posting that link. Interesting to read how things are going on in the background involving people in the industry. For me, this just moved up as a possibility.
My favorite line from the OT post: "I also got a really interesting rundown by one of the guys who actually mastered the Star Wars Blu-Ray, who was funny and sympathetic, despite the fact that part of the presentation included handing the Blu-Ray its ass."

 

I'm guessing the people who are responsible for the Blu-ray fiasco can only put up a smiley face now...

I hope Disney finally fixes this mess, but I'm worried they will ultimately leave it as is.

 

The folks that worked on 4K77 are already hard at work on 4K83, a restoration of Return of the Jedi, bypassing The Empire Strikes Back for some reason. They're saying that, unlike 4K77, 4K83 should take months rather than years. There's already a clip available on their site.
Project 4K83 | The Star Wars Trilogy

 

I've owned so many versions of the trilogy from VHS to Laserdisc which are both long gone now, I've got some of the DVD's and then in 2011 I bought the blu-ray The Complete Saga which is the best visually yet the colors are somewhat off and too dark at times to see different scenes and then of course these are all the alterations and not the originals. I still watch the blu rays from the Complete Saga as I'm one of the few that do enjoy Ep 1-3.

So a couple years ago a friend sent me the Laserdisc trilogy originals which I actually like more than any of the others I own since they contain the original unaltered versions. So recently I've been able to view the Harmy Despecialized trilogy on blu ray and all I can say is wow, so amazing to see with my own eyes how this turned out. I have only read about it and watched clips on you tube of what the Despecialized was really all about. Yet to see how incredible it looks in the original releases took my breath away. I've only been able to watch Ep IV so far but it's just like how I remember it in the theater. I know I will buy them once again when and if Disney ever decides to releases the originals but until then, I highly recommend the Harmy versions. I know I'm late to the game but better late than never.

 

Is this the project initially responsible for the "Silver Screen Edition" of Star Wars?

 

I don’t know. Team Negative 1 is responsible for the Silver Screen Edition. I don’t know if they worked on 4K77.

 

I really need to get the 2011 Blu-Ray set only so I can download the despecialized editions. I have seen the 2006 DVD versions of the 1993 LaserDisc releases a couple of times but would be nice to have a HD version of the original trilogy despite not really being a Star Wars fan. As for Disney I don't think they will release an official unaltered trilogy collection. I get the feeling there might of been some sort of thing put in place when they bought the franchise from Lucas that they wouldn't release such a thing.

 

I like it a lot.

 

I didn’t realize it got this bad for the actor of Jar Jar. Shame on the people who said it ruined their childhood. It was just a movie.

Jar Jar Binks Actor Says He Considered Suicide After 'Star Wars' Backlash

 

It's George Lucas' fault, tho. The guy deliberately kept showing Jar Jar in Episode II and III just to piss off the fans of the original trilogy. This actor got caught up in it all, but people obviously didn't hate him, just the CGI character.

 

Yeah, I talked to the guy at a restoration seminar over at the Egyptian Theater a couple of months ago, if this is the same guy.

Yes, I thought that was very sad. I was gonna say, "Meesa Feel So Sad, Meesa Gonna Die!", but that would be in bad taste.

Note that the kid, Jake Lloyd, has had serious depression and mental problems to the extent that he's been instutionalized:

‘Star Wars’ actor Jake Lloyd moved to psychiatric facility after spending nearly 10 months in jail - NY Daily News

I saw first hand how even Lucas himself was dismayed and saddened by the number of armchair critics who've attacked him and his work. You can only insulate yourself so far from nut-jobs who want to slam you every hour of every day on the internet.

 

It's a very sad but damning indictment of just how poisonous and callous some areas of so-called 'geek culture' have become in the wake of online anonymity; I'd read previously about the hell that Jake Lloyd had to endure in high school, poor guy... movies are supposed to be fun and entertaining - sometimes even emotional and enlightening - but if you don't like one, don't go off on the cast and crew, harassing them with the vilest insults, issuing death threats, making their personal lives a misery, and sometimes even destroying their professional careers in the process.

There's a special place in Hades for these people when they die... or at least there should be... and the way society is seemingly going these days, it looks likely that special place down below will be standing room only .

 

You just reminded me of a great Harlan Ellison story (and there was a guy who would not put up with obnoxious fans): he told a story from the 1980s where noted SF writer Alan Dean Foster, who has written several Star Wars-themed novels, was at a convention. Somebody tapped him on the shoulder from behind and he turned and said, "yes?" And it was a fan who threw a cup of vomit at him. True story.

Over the Edge excerpt

Mr. Foster chose not to go to as many conventions after that incident. Some crazy fans be really, really crazy.

 

Well, I hate George Lucas, but I wouldn't throw vomits at him.

Some people go way too far, but they have problems in general. It's not about fans per se.

 

You hate a guy you've never met and whose produced artistic output in life - at least that made in the 1970's and '80's - obviously brought a lot of pleasure into your life?

Dude, really... disagree with his later creative decisions (I certainly do), but hate? That's an awful strong term to use, they're only movies, not life and death...

Look at yourself in the mirror and repeat what you just said above... if you don't feel rather silly after that, I respectfully suggest you seek therapy and quickly.

 

I have an idea for a movie. Lucas is driving in Maine during the winter when he is cut off and ends up passed out in a ditch. Lucas wakes up in the house of a SW fanboy who breaks his legs and demands him to rewrite and reshoot episode VI without the Ewoks.

 

Lucas' artistic output was minimal. You of all people here should know very well how the original trilogy was made. Lucas was just there in the shadows, supervising financing and being angry at people. The only noteworthy thing which he had was business focus which allowed the original trilogy to be made. His "artistic" output wasn't worth very much. That's why he didn't even direct V and VI and the prequels suck exactly because he was giving so much artistic output then.

 

I don’t agree with this, but whether or not it’s true, you hate him? Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?