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Harmy's Despecialized Editions of the Original Star Wars Trilogy
- Thread starter Anth0ny
- Start date
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half a moon
Banned
True. Mine were like 1gb compressed compared to the native 19gb releases. Why no 5gb releases?
CreepingFear
Member
It's complicated. Fox still owns the rights to Star Wars 77. We don't know what kind of agreement Lucas made with Kennedy and or Disney when he sold his companies. It's possible he had a condition for selling the films be that the originals never see the light of day.
Really good article!I got to interview Harmy recently and just published a story on the Despecialized Editons for ABC News (Australia) if you're interested:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-14/restoring-star-wars/6994818
As a fellow fan it was great to get an opportunity to write about it
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
God, it's like he salted the earth, if he did that.
Fuck Lucas, I have the Japanese Special Collection Laserdiscs.
I'm shocked at the color issues with the original bluray release. fixing magenta tones is like day one stuff. it's sad that we can't get a straight proper remaster of the original print
Bobby Roberts
Banned
The content of the films themselves don't have anything to do with the distribution deals Fox are still involved in. Besides which, its obvious Fox's role isn't very adversarial here because Disney AND Fox have both issued re-releases of the saga since the purchase. Nobody knows whether Lucas tried to put a clause in his sale stating they couldn't release theatrical versions, but it seems pretty far fetched to think such a clause would exist (would YOU risk a 4 billion sale over Greedo shooting first? C'mon) but it doesn't matter anyway because word is the 4k remasters feature new changes to the films, some that further enhance fx fixes, some that revert changes back to their original forms.
The simplest and likelist answer is that they just don't want to.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
I'd be fine with the 4K remasters bringing back the original effects that worked and fixing the errors.
Also would be great if they remove the dumb additions like Jabba in Mos Eisley, CGI Mos Eisley, Jedi Rocks, Hayden Christensen ghost.
Basically the theatrical versions with visual effect errors fixed.
Not gonna happen though.
Also would be great if they remove the dumb additions like Jabba in Mos Eisley, CGI Mos Eisley, Jedi Rocks, Hayden Christensen ghost.
Basically the theatrical versions with visual effect errors fixed.
Not gonna happen though.
CreepingFear
Member
Why wouldn't Disney or Kathleen's LucasFilm restore the originals and give to the fans? They know what the fans want and don't want. They paid attention when they decided the as less cgi as possible route for Force Awakens. Disney has been pretty good at preserving and restoring the original Disney animated classics. I see no reason why they wouldn't do it unless their was some stipulation. That's why I choose to believe in a conspiracy by Lucas, until we see the originals restored and released.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
That's the million dollar question, isn't it.
And again: Lucasfilm wouldn't just be giving fans these things. They'd be SELLING them. And its a big possibility that someone somewhere has decided its not worth the cost based on the number of us that would buy them.
People don't like considering that one, though. Conspiracy theories are way more fun.
I was able to get a hold of A New Hope 2.5 and Empire Strikes Back 2.0 Despecialized (both at their native 17-20GBs). Some scenes look a little rough in terms of video quality, but it's an outstanding job considering the sources he had to work with. Hopefully one day there will be an official remaster of the original versions, however.
I actually have a rips on to DVD5 of these lasers disks. A buddy of my was kind enough to give me the copies. Which reminds me, I need to re-rip them and put them on a mkv or mp4 container.
Sickboy007
Member
I'm convinced Disney will release them, sooner or later. Lucas refused to give the original prints to the NFR, it wasn't just a rational business decision.
yea, I have a feeling they're working on them right now. Lucas didn't wanna even revisit the original versions but Disney has better sense than him. Just give people a cleaned up version. That's all fans wanted forever.
It probably makes sense for Disney to release the originals on 4K at some point. In order to please both fans of the originals and fans of the special editions, they both should get released simultaneously. I wouldn't mind having a bundle with both versions if it doesn't increase the price too much. This would prevent upset customers who potentially buy the wrong version by accident. Not everyone is as aware of the differences, I'd imagine.
amazing how easily they could take advantage of selling the originals, too.
besides the obvious "price them high" approach, they could:
1. Do a limited release. The Disney "vault" method, or the 2006 DVD approach, really. Dat artificial demand.
2. Make it so the only way to get them is via bonus disc in the $300 20 disc box set after episode 9 is released on blu ray. Won't be sold separately.
There is an allure to the original, unaltered trilogy of Star Wars. Never in the history of cinema has such an important release been "locked away" by its creator. With the Disney marketing machine behind it, there's a lot of money to be made there, even among casual Star Wars fans/non-fans, I think.
besides the obvious "price them high" approach, they could:
1. Do a limited release. The Disney "vault" method, or the 2006 DVD approach, really. Dat artificial demand.
2. Make it so the only way to get them is via bonus disc in the $300 20 disc box set after episode 9 is released on blu ray. Won't be sold separately.
There is an allure to the original, unaltered trilogy of Star Wars. Never in the history of cinema has such an important release been "locked away" by its creator. With the Disney marketing machine behind it, there's a lot of money to be made there, even among casual Star Wars fans/non-fans, I think.
I'm shocked at the color issues with the original bluray release. fixing magenta tones is like day one stuff. it's sad that we can't get a straight proper remaster of the original print
There's a lot of weird shit in the home releases you'd think a professional company would catch. For example, the DVDs used some kind of automated cleanup to remove dust, dirt and grain but also fucked up the lightsabers, destroying the white core and dulling the colors.
Look at this shit. This was an official release.
Never heard of this. Do you have a source on this? Curious as to why they wouldn't have complete rights.
I'm sure Disney can work things out. If they could get Spider-Man back for MCU, then anything is possible. Maybe just throw money.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
No, they just misinterpret it consistently. Nobody forgets it.
Disney absolutely owns the rights to Star Wars (1977) like they do the other five films. They just don't own the rights to DISTRIBUTE it. Fox owns those Star Wars (77) rights in perpetuity (the other five films become Disney distributed in 2020) But Disney & Fox have already come to agreements to distribute all the films at least once.
The problem discussing any of this shit is that nobody really ASKS either company what the terms of any of these distro deals are, or rather, neither of these companies are telling anyone SHIT, so a constant cloud of misinformation like the one surrounding Pig Pen's ankles, floats around anything having to do with the Original Trilogy on home video.
Basically:
Lucasfilm can do whatever the fuck it wants to Star Wars. It can restore it, make changes, revert changes.
Lucasfilm CAN'T distribute Star Wars unless a deal is struck with Fox
Fox can't make any changes to Star Wars, it can only distribute it.
Fox can't distribute the film unless Lucasfilm says its okay for them to do so.
The distribution deals have nothing to do with why theatrical versions don't exist on home video.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Ever since people pointed out the Sheev slug, I can't help but notice it every time I watch this scene.There's a lot of weird shit in the home releases you'd think a professional company would catch. For example, the DVDs used some kind of automated cleanup to remove dust, dirt and grain but also fucked up the lightsabers, destroying the white core and dulling the colors.
Look at this shit. This was an official release.
nice summary. helps clear things up.
catapult37
Member
This here. I couldn't believe that in the special editions, they added so much, but left things like the matting boxes around the tie fighters.
Do we know if there's anything being done to strike a deal to release the theatrical versions of the OT?
I wasn't sure how dangerous talking about
torrent sites
The star wars one are easier to get, but others... if you don't know people on certain sites, it seems you're out of luck
That said, this thread has helped greatly and turned my attention to the world of fan edits.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Hi
Fox Mulder
Member
There's a lot of weird shit in the home releases you'd think a professional company would catch. For example, the DVDs used some kind of automated cleanup to remove dust, dirt and grain but also fucked up the lightsabers, destroying the white core and dulling the colors.
Look at this shit. This was an official release.
Lots of studios fuck up restorations with awful dnr or shit transfers. It's sad, but fans care more about films than the companies themselves.
PHOENIXZERO
Member
It's really disappointing when it's movies like the original Star Wars trilogy that is so big and important to pop culture gets treated so terrible and they actually release it that way. All those mistakes are inexcusable.
Anyway, watched the Despecialized editions of the OT over Monday and Tuesday nights and enjoyed it, there's spots where it's noticeable but it was nice to see the movies so close to their original state... Those Anakin eyebrows in ROTJ 1.0 though.
Anyway, watched the Despecialized editions of the OT over Monday and Tuesday nights and enjoyed it, there's spots where it's noticeable but it was nice to see the movies so close to their original state... Those Anakin eyebrows in ROTJ 1.0 though.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
How big are the files?
I just did a du -hs:
Code:
18G DeEdv2.5/
20G ESB v2.0/
7.9G ROTJ 720p final.AVCHD/Also, Harmy has released a workprint of ROTJ Despec v2.0, if you can find it.
spookyfish
Member
Thanks for this. Nice to know.
shortsFortallPeople
Banned
has he said when we can expect the new ROTJ despec? I thought it would be up before TFA hit theaters
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Cool, thanks.
yeah those jumped out immediately
No idea, man. Since I haven't been to OT.com to check his progress in quite a while, I thought so too. But this workprint is way better than the v1.0, sounds like.
I've seen the work print, it's awesome.
Until an official release of the theatrical versions are released, Harmy's is the only way I can watch these movies.
CreepingFear
Member
Probably helps he is not making money off them and the laws in the European country he resides in. I don't know the process in which he uploads them, but I guess he uses a VPN to cover his tracks.
There's a lot of weird shit in the home releases you'd think a professional company would catch. For example, the DVDs used some kind of automated cleanup to remove dust, dirt and grain but also fucked up the lightsabers, destroying the white core and dulling the colors.
Look at this shit. This was an official release.
Yeah, I've always been astonished for all the insane changes and CG inserts and everything, they still never fixed the blue lightsaber in ANH; which looks white about half the time and has an uber distracting "shimmer". IIRC it's particularly egregious during Luke's training with the remote. Seems like it would be a simple enough thing to fix.
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