How the original 1977 release of 'Star Wars' was saved... with an illegal 35mm print

[Karim D. Ghantous]

It makes my collection of perfectly legal 35mm trailers look merely cute by comparison. ;-)

http://moviemezzanine.com/the-fans-who-saved-star-wars/

"Oh, crap! I certainly shouldn't have said it was illegal!"

 

[Andy_Johnson]

I watched the making of the Despecialized Edition a while back and I was blown away by the amount of effort that went into literally every frame. I'm so glad that other people had an opposition as strong as mine regarding the CGI and "enhancements".

But seriously, props to them for a huge effort and undertaking! As far as the legality, well I'll leave that one to the law school grads

 

[Kevin Reilly]

I had heard about the Despecialized Edition but not this. Great article.

 

[Craig W. Bickerstaff]

I've been watching a slightly more compressed version of this and it's quite cool to watch. Sharpness is nothing compared too the iTunes release but it's quite nice to look at with all it's heavy film grain etc. it has it's own charm in terms of picture quality. Certainly much better than watching the DVD release that came out in 2006 I think.

 

[Kevin Reilly]

I've been watching a slightly more compressed version of this and it's quite cool to watch. Sharpness is nothing compared too the iTunes release but it's quite nice to look at with all it's heavy film grain etc. it has it's own charm in terms of picture quality. Certainly much better than watching the DVD release that came out in 2006 I think.

Finally saw it and I agree. It definitely works for what it is.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Note that the problem with any releases like this is that it's just one person's (or one group of people's) idea of what the original film looks like. Comparing a 1977 theatrical print to Rec709 color space digital video is fraught with problems. I've done it, and it's very, very tricky. There's a great deal of subjective weasel-room here.

The one good thing that will hopefully come out of this is that it'll put more pressure on Disney to release a boxed set of all the theatrical versions in the original edit. My guess is that they'll do this for May 2017, because that'll be the 40th anniversary of the original ​Star Wars.

 

[Bérenger Brillante]

I have had a VHS from the first airing in my country until it became completly unseeable.
When I tell my friend, the first version is not EP IV but Star Wars, they laugh. It's great to know we can find again the "real" original one.

 

[Marc Wielage]

I have had a VHS from the first airing in my country until it became completly unseeable. When I tell my friend, the first version is not EP IV but Star Wars, they laugh. It's great to know we can find again the "real" original one.

Not true. The original 1981 transfer of Star Wars (done by Lou Levinson at Modern Videofilm in LA) was pan/scan and still said "Episode 4: A New Hope." The film was never transferred to video until after the release of Empire Strikes Back in 1980.

I agree that it'd be great for Fox and Disney to get together and work out a way to reissue the original theatrical versions on HD Blu-ray if not 4K Blu-ray. But there are a lot of financial and political problems between the studios. I think there's a lot of money to be made here, but getting two hard-headed Hollywood studios to cooperate on a single project is fraught with problems. I remain optimistic that it'll eventually happen.

 

[Mark Warren]

Not true. The original 1981 transfer ...

I interpreted what he said as "the first version" meaning the first film, i.e.- the first theatrical release. It also sounds like he taped what he possessed off a television airing.
The first version and the first airing could be two different things.

I sound like Perry Mason.

 

[Marc Wielage]

I interpreted what he said as "the first version" meaning the first film, i.e.- the first theatrical release. It also sounds like he taped what he possessed off a television airing. The first version and the first airing could be two different things.

The first TV airing wasn't until the late 1980s, unless you consider Pay TV. If he had a bootleg​, then it could well be the 1977 version. But not a legitimately released pre-recorded tape. I know -- I was there.