The head shaking fact is... the original 1977 film has ALREADY been restored, a few times, but through non-official channels. The work has already been done FOR Disney, whom I am sure could partner with one of these existing fan-based restoration teams to use for a theatrical release.
...Which they won't.
But, as good as they are, those fanmade versions aren’t as good as an official release could be, since they’re digitally restored scans of release prints, rather than being from the negative or an interpositive, as official studio releases of films are.
Lucas has been quoted as saying that a restoration would be expensive, and that he considered it an incompleted film, anyway, so why bother?
That being said, the elements are there. They could either scan the negative and the trims made for the Special Edition and then digitally reassemble Humpty Dumpty, or do a new scan of a surviving interpositive or a similar high-quality source. The only things standing in the way are money and motivation.
Of course, the low-quality, DVD “bonus disc”, laserdisc masters have been cited as “proof” that the original versions “look terrible”. And now we have the clickbait articles (and the idiocy of people like Anomaly, Inc.) coming out of the BFI screenings. There’s either an agenda at play, here, and/or a total lack of understanding when it comes to film history and restoration.
There’s been a concerted effort by Lucas Cultists to claim that the original cuts “look terrible”. I, on the other hand, think that the 2004 and 2011 versions look terrible, with wonky colors and crushed blacks. The 2019 4K is an improvement, but still has major, major issues. But the dilettante fanboys don’t know any better, and just think “ remastered=good”.
These people have been fooled into thinking that the modern-day remastering and revisionism of the film somehow “looks better” than the film as originally shot, finished, and presented.
That being said, the 1997 Special Editions are the best the films have ever looked and sounded, thanks to their extensive photochemical restoration, including Lucas using his own personal Technicolor IB print of STAR WARS as a guide for color-timing the 1997 version. The result was a consistent, very faithful color grade, in many ways superior to the original release.
Every home video release since 2004 has been a step down from that, particularly the 2004/2011 releases, which cranked up the saturation to ridiculous levels to try and make the OT consistent with the vibrant look of the prequels. The 4Ks dialed things down, but introduced new problems, too.
I’ll take the original, vibrant color-grading and grainy, filmic look any day over the 4Ks’ dark, drab look and excessive DNR.
