I'm so excited!

I know we're not supposed to discuss piracy or illegal duplication of copyrighted films. And I don't think I'm doing that exactly. But if this is comes too close, please close this down with my apologies.

Attention Star Wars purists! An important release just hit the 'net.

If you're the kind of Star Wars fan that bought the 2006 DVD set for the (non-animorphic) original editions, you may or may not know that various fan preservation/restoration projects have been in the works for several years. Several of them have been much better than those 2006 "extras" editions.

Anyway, the best fan preservation/re-recreation so far of the original '77 movie experience has just been released into the wild. Best BY FAR, if you're talking AV specs. I started this thread for no reason other than how excited the results made me, and how much I know others will love this.

It's a 16GB MKV with beautiful production values and over a dozen audio options. It is simply gorgeous, and a day-and-night difference in quality compared to the 2006 disc. DVD and BD files based on this recreation are in the works as well, so you can wait for those or enjoy the artistry now.

Due to the fan-nature of the project, it's unwise for me to say anything much about distribution. I just wanted to say "it exists and it is amazing."

The primary re-creation artist is named Harmy. He calls this Star Wars Despecialized v2.0. It is supremely worth your effort to track down.

What was the source for this? I hope it was at least the BD or HD broadcasts.

There are a variety of sources, but yes, it was the release of the BD that triggered Harmy's 2.0 reworking, and the BD functions as his primary base.

ESB and ROTJ remain at 1.0 (based off SD sources) for the moment, but even they are a vast technical improvement over the 2006 DVDs. Newer versions of those two will be tackled next.

I prefer Star Wars Revisited. That guy knows what he's doing, and work is continuing on Empire Strikes Back Revisited.

Mod Note: I will allow discussion of this to continue, unless people start putting in links on how to get these cuts. These things tread a fine line between bootleg and something else, but are worthy of discussion as they can be instructive on the more technical aspects of filmmaking. So, discuss the mechanics of these to your heart's content. Do not ask where to get them, or provide information how to get them (beyond simply saying use Google). Failure to follow these instructions will lead to the thread being closed.

Didn't know there was a 2.0 version. The 1.0 version is pretty amazing work. May need to look into this.

Adywan's Revisited series is wonderful for sure. They're attempting something a bit different--Adywan is basically creating his own fusion of the SE's and originals to create what pleases himself, and it works beautifully. (Is he now going back and rebasing on the HD sources? I don't know, but if so, that's great news.)

The Harmy set tries to re-create the original theatricals as closely as possible in the best specs possible. And this new release really raises the bar. But the long and the short of it is that every one of these fan projects has its pros & cons, and slightly different aims.

For example, some people aren't wild about Harmy's colors in this just released 2.0 of SW Despecialized because they are so different than nearly all the home versions. He instead used an original, unfaded theatrical print as his color model. I am surprised at how light it is; I'm seeing details in the dark I never saw before. But then, I'm seeing details everywhere I never saw before, being used to SD or VHS for my "original" original. If you compare shot-by-shot colors with the special editions, you'll see much better skintones in places and worse skintones in others, but the intent here is to produce a pseudo-restoration of the the '77 print in HD as closely as possible.

In short, if you're looking for an HD version of the untouched original, this release is the first approximation to make the grade.

Perhaps the existence of this and similar projects floating around cyberspace, *might* be the tipping point for Lucas to do the right thing, and release an official high quality non-special edition of the Trilogy.

If people are downloading this and watching it, it might cut in on his action. It's the sort of the whole Napster/if-you-can't-beat-em-join-em phenomenon.

Stranger things have happened in life.

Why would he bother going to the expense when those that really want it can find HD versions now?

Well now you've piqued my curiosity. I've seen a 3-strip Technicolor-processed print of the '77 version of Star Wars (which means the colors don't fade), so I'd like to see how this compares to my memory.

Edit: Looking more into it, it appears the color correction was based on one of those Technicolor prints (five currently exist, IIRC). I'll definitely be snagging this.

Because he would make money from sales of official versions? People that download these reconstructions would pay for real versions if they were available, as they would likely be of better quality than fans could assemble. (Well, except those who wouldn't pay for any movies at all.)

Although, I suppose it's worth asking if the expense would be justified. I'd like to think that there are lots of SW fans that would buy legitimate versions of the OOT, and that quite a few people skipped the BDs due to the changes. However, I'm not sure how the average Joe feels about it. Maybe it actually wouldn't sell well enough to be worth it, who knows?

I've been waiting ages for Harmy's 2.0. Didn't know it was finally ready!

Thanks for the update.

A couple of TV spots about how it's the first time the original theatrical editions are available in HD and they'll have plenty of sales.

The color on this is fantastic! Thanks for the heads up! Anxiously awaiting for ESB and ROTJ.

Been awhile since I have paid attention to the fan versions. Has Adywan ever released his versions of ESB and ROTJ? Thought it was cool what he did with SW.

But you're using movie-lover logic, not George Lucas logic. He put the OOT as extras in non-ananmorphic on DVD. It's not about money.

I suspect that the real Star Wars goldmine lies in merchandising. I doubt that the DVD and blu-ray sales are high enough to really catch Lucas' attention, so dangling that particular carrot in front of him probably isn't enough to get him to bite.

No, Adywan's ESB and ROTJ are still on the horizon. I was misremembering. And re-reading the project notes, I think I should amend what I said about it.

Revisited's purpose is to create a really pleasing SE/OOT hybrid, but it's not just one guy arbitrarily deciding everything, there are a lot of people working together on it, and a lot of exchange of ideas. They're trying to make the SE's the way they *wish* they'd been, so it's quite subjective, but their judgement calls on Ep4 were damn good and a very fun watch.

The Despecialized project, in contrast, is trying to do what Lucas wouldn't: maintain or restore the original theatrical films to look great on modern media--basically by starting with the best SE's and working backward, although a lot of other sources wind up being needed as well.

Is this about GL giving the middle finger to his ex-wife, the editor? Stupid.

I miss Marcia Lucas.

^^
Seconded. If you look at A New Hope SE and you look past the garish CGI crapola, two standout additions have bugged me for the last 15 years: Jabba the Hutt and Biggs Darklighter. Jabba basically rehashes everything Greedo says in the Cantina; meanwhile we get Luke meeting up with a character that wasn't established because the earlier Anchorhead scenes were still left out. And ultimately, the whole Biggs/Anchorhead stuff has nothing to do with the overall plot.

Marcia Lucas in her wisdom did an impeccable job editing out a lot of needless fluff and exposition (that ran rampant in the Prequels) and turned the original film into a lean mean box office machine. And ultimately, George resents her and this is his way of giving her the ultimate middle finger.

You'd think that a legion of adoring fans who would forgive him and sing his praises to the hilt if he released good HD versions of The OOT would be enough to sate him. But, nooooooooo!

He's actively working on ESB. ROTJ is next, and then he has plans to edit all three prequels into one film, IIRC. Realistically, he'd only need to edit the second two into one movie, as The Phantom Menace adds almost nothing to the story.

Anyone here seen and loved The War of Stars, pts 1 & 2? I thought the Darth Vader voicings were a bit too juvenile and out of place, but beyond that I love everything else about both movies. To me they're the most fun of the fan editions, basically telling a whole new story (which I won't go into for fear of spoilers.) It amazes me what hobbyists and regular joes can accomplish with media these days.

I would normally discount such conspiratorial musings, but there is just something about the changes Lucas has made to Star Wars that just smack of passive aggression.

Greedo shooting first. The Jabba scene. This shit just adds nothing to film and actually detracts quite a bit. The Jabba scene just reiterates, almost verbatim, the previous scene with Greedo, and the Greedo shoots first scene just looks fake. It's like he's doing this out of spite.

That's always been my bitch with TPM. Nothing happens in that movie that couldn't be dropped in with a couple of lines of dialog in the next movie, ala I fought with your father in the Clone Wars, who was a Jedi Knight like myself. Someone who had never seen the prequels could start with AOTC and not miss a thing.

In that case, I hope the author of the fan edit prequel invests in good ADR.

Wait just one minute there mister! It shows that the force is nothing special, just some microbes living inside certain people! That is super duper important!