Re: Original, Original "Star Wars" Trilogy Finally Coming to DVD

I've never seen it sans the sub-title (except in the DVD documentary),
but that version of the film (pre-SE) is fine by me. <

Ironically the "Empire of Dreams" documentary - including that clip
from the original film - was in anamorphic widescreen on the DVD.
Which means that they had adequate source materials to create a new
video master for *that* clip at least. <g>

For more on Anamorphic widescreen and what that means in terms of
picutre quality on a widescreen display see here:

http://tinyurl.com/qgnqb

For more on the entire controversy, source, confirmations, and the
flimsiness of Lucasfilm's excuses (including comments by Robert
Harris, who has literally saved some of the greatest works in cinema
history from irreovacble loss) see here:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/

(Read all of the DAILY COLUMN items with "Star Wars" in the title going
back to 5/17 for the full story)

As with Bill Hunt of "The Digital Bits" I have both met and exchanged
messages with Bob Harris and therefore have a sense of the man beyond
just his published works and public appearances. Over the past 5 1/2
years I have always found him to be honest, honorable and fair to
others in all his dealings. If he says he can take the surviving
elements of the original films and restore then to something almost
identical to their original condition, I believe him without
reservation. I've seen his work on "My Fair Lady" among other films,
and I've also seen the near-miracles that Fox's in-house restoration
department has done. (I had the chance to compare a ten minute reel
from an existing release print of "The Seven Year Itch" to the same
section from a restoration-in-progress. The new print hadn't yet gone
through final color adjustment and was still literally damp from the
processing tank when they brought it over to the projection room on the
Fox lot, but the difference was night and day. I think one of Lucas's
major mistakes on the "SW" restorations was his determination to do
everything in-house and not involve outside experts.)

Regards,

Joe


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