Saw the original STAR WARS projected in 70mm mag last night. Wow, it really rocked!

You should know better than anyone, Steve, "most" people think newer means better.

Lemmings, I say!

 

im jealous

there are not many movies that i can think of that i would pay lots of money to see in this format, actually i cant think of one right now.

you are very lucky to have seen the movie this way.

in 77' i was 6 years old and i have been a star wars nut since the day i saw it...

 

I've seen a few "updated" and "restored" films over the years and come to the conclusion that they all universally(no pun intended) stink. I saw the new DePalma/Pacino "Scarface" a few years ago, and I hated that all the foley, looping, and SFX were all retracked and different. I felt like I was watching one of those prints they show to focus groups.

Saw the 70mm Star Wars, saw the 90's reissue at the Ziegfeld in NYC, always had some kind of copy of it. It's darn near a sacred film to me. What had been done to it since its original release(and what I'm sure will be done to it) is disappointing.


Dan

 

Steve, Who knows why they don't transfer it... maybe the guys who have the authority just don't know. Why not try to coordinate something?

Or, maybe your eccentric friend would be willing to invest in scanning equipment and preserve this for future generations... because as we know, Lucas destroyed the original negatives during the 90s restoration debacle so there is no original version.

 

From what Lucasfilm has said, it would take too much to restore the original cinema cuts these days - the theory is that the original negatives were "cut up" for the 1997 Special Editions. They even used each separate optical effects to restore it (for example, the asteroid battle in Empire - each asteroid was a separate optical effect shot). Perhaps the only truly original cinema prints of Star Wars are now in the hands of private collectors like this. Who knows? Lucasfilm is vague on the subject. Do you we know with certainty that the original negatives are "destroyed"?

Also, I've read that even after premiere in 1977, Lucas had small things changed. So the question is, is there an intact negative of the 1977 premiere of Star Wars?

 

Put "Remastered" in front of it and it's better, everyone knows that!

Seriously, Steve, I have no idea why someone wouldn't want to put the best possible product in high rez and sell it. Now that BD is the winner, maybe they will. (I wouldn't hold my breath though)

 

Steve, can I hang out with your friends?

 

I've never even seen the movie but for about two minutes of it.

 

Time to come up from the bomb shelter, Grant, the war is over

 

And we were just starting to like you

 

Sad..... These are the kinds of things that drive me bonkers.....

Anyway,wish I could have been there.... That guy with the film collection sounds like what I'd be if I were wealthy.... First class movie house and a nice hi fi setup..... What more do ya need for entertainment?.......

 

I'm jealous! Too bad the owner of the print couldn't have it restored and made available for public domain usage or similar.

I have seen the "restored" 2004 version in real HDTV, and it looks pretty sharp. The DVDs don't compare, and I'm sure the 70mm print you saw was even better.

 

Steve, I'm with you completely on this one - I saw a 70 mm screening of Star Wars a few years back at the Cinerama (which Paul Allen owns, IIRC) in Seattle, and was stunned; I remembered why I'd been such a big fan of the original series to begin with.

BTW I also saw the restored 2001 and Lawrence Of Arabia there in recent years - also amazing experiences. For you Puget Sounders (or visitors) on this forum, don't miss a 70 mm screening of your faves there if one comes around.

 

Here's a related link I found:
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2003/star_wars/index.htm

 

Jealous is an understatement. Good god, Steve, you are lucky.

I have always assumed that Lucas had at least one fairly nice 70mm print in a vault somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if one has been digitized "flat" already (by Lucas) and stored away somewhere.

I don't mind Lucas having his preference for the re-edited version and all the remastering -- but I wish he would recognize the valid, historical, cultural relevance of that original version. Arguments about its flaws are really irrelevant; it's a work of art that needs to be preserved and made available, warts and all.

I feel lucky to have gotten the "original version" on DVD, but find it impossible to believe the argument that an old NTSC master is the best they can do.

 

Oh, and I would bet that when the films were "restored" in 1997, they bounced it to digital and then struck film prints, so the restoration work was done in the digital realm?
Roger Ebert said Clones, shot in High Def, looked fantastic in a digital projection.

I saw Blade Runner Final Cut and it did look soft and grainy. I would imagine that all restoration was done in the digital realm (they said they scanned at a very high rate, not possible until recently) then what, a new film negative made? How are film prints made from a digital source?
I wonder how the BR Final Cut looks in a digital projection.

I think the case of George Lucas gives weight to the idea that sometimes it's smart to leave film archives in the hands of the "suits".

 

Steve.

I guess its the same story as to why they cant just leave things that sound great alone and master with a light touch? If they did that too many pinheads would be unemployed I suppose.

I dont think its a matter of making things better or thinking that they are many times. Its cash money that motivates the technology and ultimately leaves things " revised" yet not improved at all really.Hey if it all stopped and everyone realized that it was a fine print in the first place how would they convince us to buy a remaster?

 

I've only ever seen SW/ESP/ROTJ theatricly in their Special Edition forms. That was a lot of fun in 1997.

 

Is this the mag print that Jeff got from South Africa ?

 

I remember in 77 I stood outside in Phoenix in a sandstorm for several hours to see Star Wars. I remember people saying Phoenix was one of the few cities that had it that early. I left Phoenix shortly after that and moved back to Missouri and was telling all of my friends that they had to see this movie when it came out. It blew me away.

Steve, that is awesome that you got to see it again in it's original glory. Lucky you!!

 

Congrat's Steve. When I first saw it the theater didn't even have dolby surround sound or anything cool. Just regular sound and 35 mm.... Still loved it.....

 

I can only imagine what further "tweaking" Lucas will do when the Star Wars movies get released on Blu-Ray.

Steve, I agree with you - go back to the original and strike some Blu-Ray and regular DVDs from a good source print. I'm sure they could take that 70mm print you saw and make it look great.

 

How cool.

I saw a 70mm print during it's initial run at the Loew's Astor Plaza Theater in NYC. Amazing. Went back about a half dozen times.

I'd bring my kids to see that kind of presentation in a heartbeat.

 

Since I was a kid, I've always wondered why the sound of all the Star Wars films has been so flat. I want to see the 70mm