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.
That's a solid analysis.
I'm one of those who saw Star Wars in theaters back in 1977. Then the re-release in the early 1980s, before ROTJ. And I wonder... what IS the definitive version?
-Is it the mono or Dolby stereo audio mix? The mono mix version was released a little bit later in June 1977, and had additional dialogue... should THAT be included?
-Is is a fresh-from-the-lab color print, or like the one(s) I saw that had probably been run through the projector countless times? Should there be the cue mark/switch reel marks, or not?
-Should it be in 35mm, or 70mm (as both were technically used for the film)?
-Should theaters in 2027 play film stock, on now out-of-date projectors? Most theaters use 2K digital projection now; some use 4K. Would a modern theater laser projector at 4K be acceptable to us?
Pointless questions in many ways, but what would be an acceptable refresh of the film so that OCD'ers like us would say it's the ORIGINAL being displayed?
IMO, an "original" theatrical version presentation in 2027 would involve:
1) A "print" that is restored and color corrected to its original values, and derived from original film assets wherever possible.
2) The Dolby stereo mix... but with the additional mono mix dialogue added in (as MOST of us would have probably seen this version). No modern day sound enhancements, no Dolby Atmos, etc.
3) Grain. The film grain should be preserved and not "cleared" Whether this could be represented digitally, I am not sure.
4) Matte lines should still be present. While these where more evident on home video releases, if we want to get to the original, then the matte lines around creatures and ships should be there. NO clean-up... let the original tech shine through, with all of its shortcomings.
5) No traces of SE additions... NO digital Jabba or blue screen Boba Fett, NO digital ships or "sped up" shots during the Death Star attacks, NO cleaned-up opening crawl, NO hyper enhanced light saber blades, even though this means leaving the almost white saber in the Falcon Jedi remote training scene, and the more muted saber colors from Vader V. Kenobi, NO Greedo shoots first.
...etc, you get the point.
