There is a lot of debate in the comments regarding who did the transfer. Here is what I know as fact from Fox employees: Lucasfilm was bought by Disney in 2012. Lucasfilm worked on 4K transfers after the purchase by Disney (with Disney oversight) on the 6 existing movies. A New Hope was owned by Fox 100%, so they had complete and total oversight and final approval on the 4K transfer of that particular movie. Article here on the rights battle before Disney bought Fox: screenrant.com/star-wars-movie-tv-rights-explained/ That makes A New Hope a Fox supervised transfer, done in tandem with Lucasfilm, but since Lucasfilm DID NOT own A New Hope, Fox had final say in the transfer. Disney had no final approval or input on the transfer. It was Fox working with Lucas, as Fox owned A New Hope in perpetuity until they were bought out and it was their film.
Correct. A New Hope being the first Star Wars film produced was always 100% owned by Fox, the rest were owned by LucasFilm with Fox having distribution rights only. Even after DIsney bought Lucas film, Ep IV was still under th Fox umbrella - the Fox studio store still carried A New Hope merchandise but that's it. The other films, were all owned by Lucas Film but the distribution rights went from Fox to Disney when they bought LucasFilm. All of the transfers were done at Lucas Film but A New Hope was also facilitated/supervised by the Fox resotration team who did 'Alien', 'Die Hard' and 'Predator'. The rest were all done by Lucasfilm, no idea if Disney had any say in the final product.
Scott Tilden Lucas is a very creative person but lacks the ability like most to say it’s done. The best saying is “a film is never done just released” I think he was very unhappy with his film, and from his ex-wife’s version of things it was a mess, but did release the theatrical versions until people hated the phantom menace. It seems that is what really hurt him and he doesn’t want to give the people the theatrical cuts because of that. If you also watch all the behind the scenes stuff it really seems that he had a very different vision originally for episode 2 once he finished episode 1 but scrapped it due to the reception of the phantom menace.
What surprised me, apart from the ‘sparkle’ in Carrie Fisher’s eyes is the dirt, the droids look filthy, the Falcon looks positively unsanitary. The 4k bump is extraordinarily immersive, check out the scene in the sandcrawler when R2D2 wakes up, so much detail, then compare that with the Blu-ray, nothing in the background is visible. Also observe the surfaces inside the Death Star, the set design is spectacular and the enhanced clarity is amazing.
Armando De La Cruz .........if you have the Blu-ray, that’s good. If you want the very best picture quality and Dolby Atmos sound, then you should buy the 4K. I’m still spotting stuff I’ve never noticed before.....in a film I’ve seen dozens of times.
Lucas wanted to have Star Wars have a livid in felling. He purposely had everything look as used and dirty as he could. Alien also does the same thing. It’s suppose to be a sharp contrast to the prequel which he wanted to be perfect and clean which is why he had them filtered digitally to get that clean look. Makes a lot of sense when you look at that but people just want to say they look like shit and had no artistic intent.
Absolutely agree with you. Seeing all the cracks and dirt in C3PO's armour at the very start of Tantive IV capture was unbelievable. The immersive experience of 7.1 vs 5.1 is beyond belief too. The soundtrack is stunning.
In a perfect world Criterion would be in charge of releasing the UNALTERED Original Star Wars Trilogy on 4K (or 8K even?) with all the special features from every release (including VHS and Laserdisc) and *all* the originally unreleased deleted scenes. It would have a spectacular video and audio transfer as only Criterion could do along with packaging that had the original theatrical artwork and a large booklet with great info in each one. It would be the crown jewel of home video. One can dream--and I'll send that dream out to the Universe!
Just wanted to say I appreciated your message and approach of communicating your judgement of visual and HDR by using your eyes and impressions of the presentation vs. Nit measuring equipment. Ultimately that resonates well for the hobbyists in all of us and that is the sweet spot for most of us as collectors of physical media to be able to share feelings like this of our impressions of the disc presentation. Keep up the good work and I appreciate your content. Subscribed
The Atmos mix is a real treat. From the opening burst of brass, hearing John Williams' music all around and up above you is Godlike, just heavenly. The height explosions before the Imperial cruiser shoots out the Rebel blockade runner's main reactor command attention. When the Falcon comes out of hyperspace into a meteor shower that used to be the planet Alderaan, there are all sorts of whooshes and collision sounds coming from up above. Inside the Death Star hangar, the controller's voice on the PA system saying "Unlock 1, 5, 7 and 9--release charges" is directly above. Amazing.
I think a lot of us have been rebought these movies so many times we're now saying no more. Yes, every release puts some new extras on to convince us to get them, but we've got to draw the line somewhere. I got the despecialised editions and to be honest I don't see myself ever going back to the official releases. I've put up with those crazy additions and alterations for 20 years now, it's time to go back to enjoying the ones I originally fell in love with. (Plus, ironically, the special editions look VERY dated now with the blurry CGI, if they are gonna keep reissuing them they should at least make the 97 effects look a bit more believable)
This is my position as well. Part of the reason I hate the ‘New Hope’ additions so much is they look like crap. If you’re going to live in this revisionist universe then keep revising it as the technology gets better. Instead of permanently sticking one of the greatest films of all time with cheap looking 1997 CGI
@@Justusson this has the crappy CGI. It's a 4K scan of the special edition. If you are looking for a good quality 4K rip of the original (unaltered) then look into the 4K-77 project, which is a fan project scanning original 35mm prints in 4K. Having viewed both, I can say that the untouched star wars is awesome--- and it's a shame it's not easier to watch in high quality. That being said, the work done on this 4K puts the fan project to shame. For instance, the scene where Obi Wan first gives luke the blue lightsaber, the details on their faces etc are so much better on the official release. So....It's good. Just has that special edition frustration.
@@CalvinCrack That’s crap, but thanks for letting me know. I’m starting to wonder if they ever are going to be released,., However, that project you spoke of. Is that downloadable? The whole movie? Seems like a thing Lucas would prance upon if it was, no?
@@Justusson yes it's downloadable. you have to be a little savvy to pull it off. But if you go to the forums of the 4K-77 project website you'll eventually get led in the right direction. there are instructions there
I am old enough to remember seeing the theatrical version over eight times in the cinemas back in early 1978. I was in my final year at high school in Australia and a big SFF and Trekkie too. The movie blew me away. It was awesome to watch it in a new cinema complex and in the Dolby Surround system. I also saw it in my old local movie theatre which had an old sound system.
From what I understand and have read'ed over the years The 2004 DVDs / 2011 Blu-Ray Discs / 2015 Blu-Ray Discs of The Original Trilogy had rushed color grading on those releases and on these newer 4K UHD Blu-Ray Disc releases the color grading is closer to what the films originally looked in 77 , 80 and 83 and what they looked liked back when the Special Editions came out in 1997.
Without George Lucas we wouldn’t have any Star Wars. For me, it’s been so long that I don’t even notice the changes to episode IV. ......and I skip the most egregious bit in Return of the Jedi (that god awful song number in Jabba’s palace)
Look for the 'Harmy Despecialized' editions. A group of fans had effectively restored the films (and included tons of extra audio tracks from the community and other extra's) even though they did it to 720p it still looks absolute fantastic.
The CG effects looked clumsy/bad in '97, on the DVDs in '04, the Blus in '11, and I'm sure even now in 2020 on 4K. But, I trust your judgement that this is the best they've looked and will have to check it out. Tempted by the box set but it does look like a pain to remove the discs (and the last two episodes were ass).
I was pleasantly surprised with this disc as well. I think it's worth it for the improved colors alone, which are much truer to the film's original look, in my opinion. And I agree, it bugs me when discs come stacked! I usually buy a bunch of empty 3 disc cases and put the discs in there.
I have to agree, this is the best the film has ever looked. It's been hit with DNR nicely which gets rid of most of the film grain and the colour is more subdued and natural. In the opening scenes of A New Hope 3PO always looked over-saturated and a horrible, almost greenish yellow at times - now he looks much better. Same with things like the sky of Tatooine, which used to look all blotchy and over-blown, that's all been fixed. The Rebel troops in the opening gun battle now all have a natural looking skin instead of looking like beetroots. The HDR does wonders for some of the darker scenes. All very nicely done. All in all I was very impressed - Disney FINALLY has done something right with Star Wars! Even the new bluray copies looked amazing. Fortunately, here in Aus I seem to have gotten a better deal than you did - I paid $AUS21 each for episodes I - VI plus Rogue One (less than $US14 , I can't keep up with the exchange rate at the mo). The Disney Sequel trilogy will never EVER defile my shelves. We didn't get the slipcovers but at least they had a proper disc holder for the 3rd disc. My only real gripe was the spines of the cases - the stylized 'Star Wars' logo is unevenly written on each spine so they don't line up when on the shelf - I don't understand that myself but I guess I'll have to live with it. Other than that - I highly recommend!
Old 70s and 80s movies look always the best when they look as close as the original! A Pioneer plasma tv(calibrated and everything off)plus the upscaler pioneer av amplifier(1080i) and a high end dvd player (with ntsc signal) gives back everything(as you remembered)you don’t need uhd and hdr. These rereleases make the motion pictures look artificial. CGI looks more realistic on lower resolution as well.
I bought the 4k digital set from Vudu. Thought the transfers looked pretty good, the Atmos soundtracks sounded pretty good. HDR is awesome. Gave my 5.1.2 system a great workout. I also picked up Rogue One on 4k digital. I think it is the best looking, and sounding out of them all. I purchased the 4K 9 movie pack up for 99.99. I think I will be staying with the digital 4K copies for the time being. Picking them up on disc is rather expensive right now.
Guys - Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012. Then they did restorations with Lucasfilm. Fox still owned the rights to A New Hope, and they had final oversight and approval on the transfer to 4K working with Lucas.
My only real gripe with this (and the other OT releases) ist that I think the classic Making of documentaries and Empire of Dreams should have been included in this set/ these sets. And, of course, having the original theatrical release in here would also have been great, but I understand that’s probably not gonna happen anytime soon.
Would you say that episodes 1,2,3 on Blu-ray now look older than episodes 4,5,6 on 4k? I’m looking to buy episodes 4,5,6 on 4k only if they look newer. I want to keep episodes 1,2,3 on Blu-ray, buy 4,5,6 on 4k and keep 7,8,9 on 4k. I have just never liked how 1,2,3 looked newer than 4,5,6! I think it would make the transition much smoother! Hope you understand what I mean! 👍🏻👍🏻
I honestly think that the Theatrical cut was not part of the Disney deal. George might have insisted that the contract to sell LucasFilm stipulated that the original, unaltered versions of the films could not be bought. I don’t know if 20th Century Fox owned the negative to the first film, since they paid for it, but I do know that when the A.F.I. inducted Star Wars into the list of greatest 100 films of all time, they requested a print of Star Wars to put in a vault, George sent a print of the “Special Edition” to them......they rejected it.
"In the wake of Disney’s purchase in 2012, a decision was made to protect the studio’s investment by creating new 4K Digital Intermediates of the films and to ensure that all of the photochemical and digital assets were properly cataloged and preserved (a process that continued through 2014). For Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi, all of the original camera neg, the VistaVision effects footage, and SE film-outs was scanned in 16-bit 4K by Reliance MediaWorks (formerly Lowry Digital). Lucas once again took the opportunity to tweak the editing, digital VFX, and color timing. In addition to the new 4K DIs, new film-out protection master interpositives were created. New cut negatives were created as well, combining the original camera negative with film-out internegative of the new VFX. (This is why it’s often said that the original theatrical versions technically no longer exist-the OCN has been conformed to the new versions. However, I’ve confirmed with individuals directly responsible that everything-including all theatrical film trims-is well preserved and protected by Disney.) The studio’s new Ultra HD releases (and the recent Disney+ versions) were mastered from these 4K DIs, complete with color grading for high dynamic range (only HDR10 is available on the discs, but Dolby Vision is available on the Digital version)." -- The Digital Bits
Hammer I love Digital Bits and they’re partially correct, but Fox had 100% final oversight on the transfer of A New Hope because they owned the rights. They worked on it with Lucas, but they had final say, and they approved the final transfer. Confirmed this with multiple Fox employees. This article will give you details on the rights issues before Disney bought Fox: screenrant.com/star-wars-movie-tv-rights-explained/
It is not a Disney transfer. A New Hope being the first Star Wars film produced was always 100% owned by Fox. Even after DIsney bought Lucas film, Ep IV was still under thr FOx umbrella. The rest, were all owned by Lucas Film but the distribution rights went from Fox to Disney. All of the transfers were done at Lucas Film but A New Hope was also facilitated by the Fox resotration team who did 'Alien', 'Die Hard' and 'Predator' The rest, all done by Lucasfilm, no idea if Disney had any say in the final product.
BOUGHT THIS AS SOON AS IT CAME OUT AS ITS BEEN MY FAVOURITE FILM SINCE IT CAME OUT IN 1977. SINCE OBTAINED THE FAN MADE 4K77 4K80 4K83 AND WILL NEVER WATCH THE TINKERED WITH VERSIONS AGAIN.
The reason for the dialogue being low in some scenes as you say when the character is off to the left or right is because in these new transfers the dialogue has been forced through the centre channel like all new remastered movies, But whereas before these were originally mixed with 6 track Dolby Stereo and had Voices or dialogue panning across the front the soundstage and not fixed to a centre channel.
I here a lot of people complaining that they want the original version. Sorry to burst that bubble. There are no such things as the original. In 1977 there were already different versions in different theaters. So, which version do you guys want? The original one is George his vision and those are the special ones.
Im just waiting for them to release the unedited version, not buying another star wars disc until they do. Well that's what I tell myself anyway, well see haha !
Can't believe my chosen format for these films are the DVD special features from almost 20 years ago that came packaged with the original version of the film.
I just got Project 4K77 and 4K83 no-DNR and look forward to watching it on May the 4th But from what I've skimmed through, I like the grain, no noise shouldn't be too bad on my projector but it isn't clean I know they did the best they could with what they had, so my wish list is 4K HDR/DV with atmos, clean, natural with grain
Non-DNR is the best choice by far. Forget Atmos - TN1's 4K77 & 4K83 audio were transferred from 70mm 6-track-mag - the best sound in existence. Select the DTS-HD 6-channel-track and enjoy.
Also the Standard blu ray is remastered too. It looks way better than 2011 BD. Those remasters were made by Fox with Lucas before Lucasfilm owned by Disney.
The one thing that must be said about this 4K format is that I'm finding that quite a lot of the movies freeze up usually around the halfway point ,and I have a good player it's not top of the line, but I did invest 400 dollars ,also been doing some research and I'm not the only one who's experiencing this problem, so whether it's a glitch or whatever people need to know abut this!
Jeff- fantastic review. I really appreciate you stating that you just like to watch the movies and you’re not an expert on calibration (just like me and I imagine many others who follow you). The sound issue of having to turn up and down quite helpful based on dialogue vs music. Finally, I understand that Jeff’s reviews may not be for everyone but giving a thumbs down for disliking video is weak sauce.
Turn on the Auto Volume feature on your AVR. Each manufacturer calls it something different and it digitally compresses the audio. But, for older movies, it helps a great deal. I turn it on every once in a while. It really helps with the differences in volume between dialogue and action scenes.
Easy way to correct volume of Center Channel on your Denon, just hit Option button on remote, click on Channel Level Adjust and go to Center and increase volume on it. Works great for Movies with Poor Balanced Mixes. I use it quite frequently to boost Center channel in many movies. Can easily put it back to 0 after that particular movie without screwing up your overall calibrated Dolby Atmos Sound
I’m tempted on buying that skywalker saga set because it just looks so nice but it feels weird buying a set of movies that I hate 6 of the 9 films in it
My biggest question is...is this the BEST Star Wars could possibly look, was EVERYTHING possible done to make it look as good as possible? Is there ANY room for improvement or is this as good as it could get?
There are five versions of the Star Wars original trilogy: • Original theatrical version • 1997 Special Edition theatrical version • 2004 DVD version • 2011 Fox Blu-Ray version • 2019 Disney+ version (contained in the 4K box set)
I just got a 4K player and 4K tv and I have been watching a lot of your videos so thank you for all that you do. I will say this though. I am a huge Star Wars fan but I don’t feel the need to get the 4K releases of this unless they release the ORIGINAL Theatrical movie 🍿
I didn't have any blue Rey films when I got my 4k DVD so when I watched scream and Jaws I thought it looked dark and thought it was something wrong but when I switched to Blue Rey I can see the difference
Great video as always. Zavvi are currently doing 3 Disney 4K for £36 so I just picked up the original trilogy for that bargain price! Cant wait to watch them.
love the great original trilogy movies and a new hope before all the changes came in and would love to see the originals released in 4K or on blu ray but loved seeing this version in 4K after seeing it at a friend’s house on Disney plus before I got these in 4K blu ray
4K77 lacks HDR, so it’s honestly better then 4K77. It’s comparable to 4K77 with the DNR (to a lesser degree) but the colors are better. If you like film grain, the 4K77 with no DNR might be a better presentation but the HDR is a huge plus
mrtheoden I don’t believe so. I was on the site yesterday. Check the FAQs - it says they have no plans to do an HDR version at this time because the entire film would have to be regraded and they don’t have the expertise to do it.
@@goodsuc81 - 35mm and 65mm (Star Wars was shot on both) have much greater dynamic-range than what's possible with HDR-10 or even HDR-12 (Dolby Vision's upper limit). Digital is still technically behind analog. There's way more information on film to capture than even 4K Blu-ray is capable of - resolution and dynamic-range. Team Negative 1 might go back and give 4K77, 4K80 and 4K83 a HDR grading in the future.
Using a Dolby atmos soundbar I’ve had similar dialogue issues, overall very minor but dialogue is outdated in some respects. Every thing else with the mix is perfect,the best audio honestly so far from all the films may be phantom menace (worst visual transfer though)
I feel the same way when older movies get a 4k upgrade. Yeah it looks super sharp but some older movies almost feel like they're meant to have that "patina" and removing those scuffs seems to do the movie more harm than good. Idk it's hard to describe.
Jeff, just found your channel, great stuff & Incredible collection!!! Planning to start upgrading my favorites to 4K - can you do a video on the best 4K players and what we should look for when choosing a player (without going broke) - several options would be great, thanks! keep the videos coming
Depending on the tv u choose go with the Panasonic ub420 if using Samsung tv or non dolby vision tv. Panasonic ub820 if using dolby vision tv. I have a Samsung q80t so i went with the ub420 because my tv has no dolby vision
As a star wars purest that you are, you need to download 4k77. Its an 80gig file plus you have the choice of dnr on or off version. They are true 4k transfers from an original cinema reel. Youd realise how dnr has been applied to all versions after 1998
@Mykel Hardin you need to go to the 4k77 website and join the forums. They need to be protected from disney or all the hard work will be for nothing. There totally free and loved by all the purest fans.
@Mykel Hardin star wars was never in hdr. Hdr is a new format. The 4k blurays have had to be altered yet again to have hdr. There not meant to have it. They are infact 0-255 colour so black and whites are to there fullest
@Mykel Hardin your in for a true nostalgic treat when you warch 4k 77. 4k83 is available too. Just waiting on empire as it needs the most work. I actually donated to help the process, which i never do lol
@Mykel Hardin i have to admit i love 4k hdr. Theres loads of hdr films that llok amazing. I love the vivid colours. The 4k77 is a close to uncompressed true 4k 35mm scan. It was scsnned to 16bit dpx files i think. It contains all the audio options you can think off including the opticle track taken directly from the reels. The bluray dts master hd is on there too.
Been waiting for your review before making a decision on purchasing. Thank you for this! Great channel! Now I can finally have these physically in my library in 4k as well as add them to my digital library :-)
if sound balancing is the issue would it be the tv or is it the sound quality of the movie, cause me and my sister do our yearly harry potter marathon on blu ray and the sound balancing happens on all the movies and i keep thinking its my tv cause the same thing happens when i watched godzilla king of the monsters. but would it be my tv or what
TheDigitalBits: "For Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi, all of the original camera neg, the VistaVision effects footage, and SE film-outs was scanned in 16-bit 4K by Reliance MediaWorks (formerly Lowry Digital). Lucas once again took the opportunity to tweak the editing, digital VFX, and color timing. In addition to the new 4K DIs, new film-out protection master interpositives were created. New cut negatives were created as well, combining the original camera negative with film-out internegative of the new VFX. (This is why it’s often said that the original theatrical versions technically no longer exist-the OCN has been conformed to the new versions. However. . .everything-including all theatrical film trims-is well preserved and protected by Disney.) The studio’s new Ultra HD releases (and the recent Disney+ versions) were mastered from these 4K DIs, complete with color grading for high dynamic range (. . . HDR10. . . on the discs, . . .Dolby Vision. . . on the Digital version).
Loved this video and agree with you totally!! I also debated about getting the complete set package--I bought the one of Big Bang Theory because all my loose seasons were on DVD and I wanted to upgrade to Blu-ray--its a nice set, don't get me wrong, but it has the same difficulty that the Star Wars one would have-removing the discs from the cardboard sleeves. I did figure out an easy way--I grab them with a disc clesning cloth and no fingerprints! Anyone, I did the same thing you did and bought the original trilogy of Star Wars because that is also my favorite--The Empire Strikes Back also being my favorite in this trilogy. I also had already received the latest, The Rise of Skywalker, on 4K from the DMC. All of these movies in the original trilogy just remind me how smart it was to convert all my stuff to 4K! Recently found your channel, and as a fellow physical media collector, I loved it and subscribed. Keep up the good work!
The standard Blu-Ray version (which is secondary to the 4K Ultra HD version) contained in the 4K Ultra HD box set differs from the 2011 Fox Blu-Ray version. It’s the same as the Disney+ version; hence the Disney Blu-Ray version. The Disney Blu-Ray version of the first six installments of the Skywalker Saga contains two audio commentary tracks: the audio commentary by George Lucas and a few others (originally recorded for the DVD version in the 2000s) and the archival commentary by the cast and crew (originally featured in the Fox Blu-Ray version).
I FINALLY bought it, even though I bought the Amazon Prime Video 4K offering as well! Only difference is there is no BONUS Disc. The Original Theatrical Version I AM STILL WAITING FOR!!! From a Screenwriter inspired by that film at the age of 5 way back from Memorial Day Weekend, 1977, outing!!!
I bought the skywalker saga boxset on bluray (before my recent 4k upgrade) before I bought the skywalker saga boxset in 4k and it blows my mind that the new bluray set is a better box than the 4k set. I'm 100% swapping the discs around so the 4k discs are in the bluray boxset and I'm literally going to use the 4k box for display purposes. If I didn't save £60 on the 4k set and bought it at full price I'd be pretty pissed, the way the discs are stored in a sleeve are prone to scratches and fingerprints and are just unacceptable.
The only thing that would annoy me with this is the uneven audio. So IDK to get the Blu-ray or the 4K now. The last time I saw this movie it was on dvd. 🤔
I hate the orange colorgrading, there's great fan restorations of a 35mm technicolor print and its updated every now and then to fix corrections and such. It's called 4k77 if you get a chance.
Timo B The new color timing is the original color timing. Much closer to the theatrical copies. The old Blu-ray had contrast boosting with crushed blacks. The colors were wrong, weird color changes during scene (pink/ purple lightsaber), the skintones are purple. Overblown color bleeding in dark scenes, awful.
@@theblackesteyesthedevilseyes Ive seen quite a bit of 35mm restorations of the original and keeping up with a 35mm restoration of the 97 SE and its not even close to it.
jeff, there is appropiate times when a film needs to be tinkered to make it good Adding that Macklunkey line is Not appropiate and at times childish at this point , people should be putting up Meme's telling lucas to remove the Macklunkey line in favor of the previous cut of the special editions, the previous cut in terms of sound is better if you can easily try to take the 4k image of this cut and pair it with the earlier cuts of the special editions that do not need the macklunkey line, lucasfilm may be able to please the fans adding that Macklunkey line is Garbage, even if people did tolerate the film for what it is, people would rather see that macklunkey line Removed from the digital to own and 4k/ bluray releases to keep it seperated from the disney plus version i do not like it when this trilogy gets tampered with at the wrong time , for innapropiate reasons there is appropiate reasons to tinker with it that add to the story, like the jabba sequence and then there is just plain garbage reasons , like the greedo macklunkey line, what i think they should do, is Restore the HAN SHOT FIRST sequence in the special edition, and just shoot greedo already, han is supposed to be this mercenary that doesnt give two shits about jabba's henchmen , like clint eastwood in his westerns
“at this point , people should be putting up Meme’s telling lucas to remove the Macklunkey line” welcome to 2020. A human from the 20th century would not know how to parse this sentence
Then never buy movies again becausea lot of directors make cuts or change their movies after release. Also there where more than one version when it came out in theaters 1977. Which one do you mean? You Star Wars fanboys just say stupid things without even knowing that their isn't even such a thing as the original version.
Lucas said the studio didnt bother to make a 3 strip safety of the negative so many different elements from all over the world were used to make a decent start to restoration meaning enhancements were made to make separate elements match for better or worse. Some shots are purposely out of focus because they aren't great but go by so fast and we have little time to process them. All he wanted was to get the film out and passed the audience to make more. The restoration was done by Fox confirmed by George Lucas. Check out Christopher Nolan's interview with George Lucas on Star Wars.
The Despecialized Edition is scourced from the 2011 blu-ray so it wouldn't have an more film grain than that. 4K77 however does. Both a DNR version and a non-DNR version are avalible.
@@PeterKoperdan He only used the other scources to remove the SE changes. All the stuff in between is blu-ray footage. The whole point of the project is to make the officcial edition that never was. So it's much cleaner than something like 4K77.
@@PeterKoperdan A group called TeamNegative 1 got hold of 35mm film print that they scanned in 4K, cleaned up, and released online. It's the best and most autenthic was to watch the original version. They did the same for Return of the Jedi and they are working on Empire.
Good review man. So I read the Disney did these 4k transfers. They're been working on them since 2014. They have the negatives for these altered versions and the theatrical cuts. All new 4k transfers with 16 bit color.
Yeah Lucasfilm owned Empire and RTOJ but Fox distributed them. Fox owned A New Hope 100% until Disney purchased it. That’s why we didn’t get Star Wars 4K until that purchase took place.
@@JeffRauseo right on. Just glad these are Native 4k. To me Empire was a big improvement. But I'll still watch your take on it. And, who knows if we'll ever see the theatrical cuts?
Lucas over saw the transfers back when they planned to release all of the films in 3D and all changes made were under his direction. Disney didn't have anything to do with the Transfers for 1-6 just the sequels.
The problem with sharp blu ray and 4k original Star Wars movies is that they show all the poor special effects of the time. Particularly a space ship against the blackness of space. I have the 6 remastered Star Wars dvd's (not bluray) from 2006 and they are a little soft but still handle the special effects well. My copy of A New Hope also has the original 1977 version on dvd as well. But the picture is smaller on a tv and its very grainy. So in other words interior and outdoor shots look great on bluray or 4k but anything else looks worse believe or not.
Was NOT happy to see that. Kino Lorber has drained enough from my wallet as is, and then I see THIS listed on Vinegar. For the first time in my life, I can actually complain about having too much of a good thing.
Just wanted to follow up, thanks to Jeff for the tip I did a pick-up order at Target - the three original Star Wars films (buy two get one free). I then sold the digital codes as a set for the trilogy. Bottom line - I'm paying about $13 per title ($4 per physical disc)!
Jeff i always trust your reviews bro 100%, it's nice to see you enjoyed this one and that Fox did a good job on the restoration. I know you said its an upgrade on the disney plus version but is it upgraded enough to make a disc purchase worth it? Disney plus has just come out here in the UK and i'm debating with myself whether to watch all the Star Wars on there or enjoy them on the discs instead
I thought Disney would use 100 gigabyte discs but apparently they decided to use 66 gigabyte discs and that's why i decided to buy the blu-ray boxset because it was only £55 but now hmv is selling the 4k version's 2 for £24 which is a bargain and i hate cardboard sleeves even though blu-rays are harder to scratch but i have the same problem with my BOND 50 blu-ray boxset, great review.
jeff, since people hated this new version of the special edition of a new hope ONLY for the addition of greedo saying Maclunkey if they are going to keep reissuing these, at Least Get Rid of The Greedo Line where he says Maclunkey it would then be a respectful version of the special edition of the film on dvd, blu and 4k and digital but adding the Maclunkey bit is kinda the last straw they have to do something about it and fix it so that a redo of the 4k releases is on par with the 2011 fox bluray version, the 2004 dvd version , and the 1997 special edition and that instead of greedo saying maclunkey to han, you let the Han line "i'll bet you have" cut to shooting greedo where han shoots first
Talking about audio, you are slightly out of synk with your audio on this one. But good review. It is always nice to hear a tru fan and not some pixel gazing guy with a setup the price of most family homes! I am definitely buying the 4k´s even before I have a chance to upgrade to a 4k projector. Thanks!
I think the audio sync is a CZcams issue. It has come up from time to time with random comments, but I don’t see an issue on my end. Are you using Bluetooth headphones? I find those to be out of sync on CZcams, but CZcams also has some audio syncing issues from time to time. I record my audio on the same device as my video so there’s no reason for them to be out of sync. It’s weird.
Does the included standard Blu-ray include Greedo's 'Maclunkey' like the 4K version? I ask because the 2019 Disney Blu-ray doesn't. It's the exact same as 2011 boxed set.
Hey discovered your channel today. Just starting my 4K collection (gremlins is the first movie I've got). Can't wait to see Star Wars in 4K in the next few days. Shame about the volume issues
Great review as always. I don’t have a 4K tv, I do have a 1080p 3-D TV. I do have a 4K player. I bought all the Star Wars movies on 4K each sold separately. I watched the new hope 4K disc. I still do see the difference between the 4K and the blu ray. It’s not as nice without HDR. The dinner scene I was able to see what they were eating, you know the scene where we first discovered the blue milk. I noticed for the first time that one bowl looked like there was stew in it. Also, you’re right, the stormtroopers did look whiter. Keep up the good work.
There is a lot of debate in the comments regarding who did the transfer. Here is what I know as fact from Fox employees:
Lucasfilm was bought by Disney in 2012. Lucasfilm worked on 4K transfers after the purchase by Disney (with Disney oversight) on the 6 existing movies.
A New Hope was owned by Fox 100%, so they had complete and total oversight and final approval on the 4K transfer of that particular movie. Article here on the rights battle before Disney bought Fox: screenrant.com/star-wars-movie-tv-rights-explained/
That makes A New Hope a Fox supervised transfer, done in tandem with Lucasfilm, but since Lucasfilm DID NOT own A New Hope, Fox had final say in the transfer. Disney had no final approval or input on the transfer. It was Fox working with Lucas, as Fox owned A New Hope in perpetuity until they were bought out and it was their film.
Correct. A New Hope being the first Star Wars film produced was always 100% owned by Fox, the rest were owned by LucasFilm with Fox having distribution rights only. Even after DIsney bought Lucas film, Ep IV was still under th Fox umbrella - the Fox studio store still carried A New Hope merchandise but that's it. The other films, were all owned by Lucas Film but the distribution rights went from Fox to Disney when they bought LucasFilm. All of the transfers were done at Lucas Film but A New Hope was also facilitated/supervised by the Fox resotration team who did 'Alien', 'Die Hard' and 'Predator'. The rest were all done by Lucasfilm, no idea if Disney had any say in the final product.
Question: Is the purple hue finally gone? That was one thing that really bothered me with the Bluray.
SB0780 that Alien 4K was good from the HDR10 version I saw; I just wish it wasn’t HDR 10+ since I don’t have a tv able to present that format.
Scott Tilden Lucas is a very creative person but lacks the ability like most to say it’s done. The best saying is “a film is never done just released” I think he was very unhappy with his film, and from his ex-wife’s version of things it was a mess, but did release the theatrical versions until people hated the phantom menace. It seems that is what really hurt him and he doesn’t want to give the people the theatrical cuts because of that. If you also watch all the behind the scenes stuff it really seems that he had a very different vision originally for episode 2 once he finished episode 1 but scrapped it due to the reception of the phantom menace.
Yes- no more purple skin tones.All coulors are back to normal level and looks natural.
What surprised me, apart from the ‘sparkle’ in Carrie Fisher’s eyes is the dirt, the droids look filthy, the Falcon looks positively unsanitary. The 4k bump is extraordinarily immersive, check out the scene in the sandcrawler when R2D2 wakes up, so much detail, then compare that with the Blu-ray, nothing in the background is visible. Also observe the surfaces inside the Death Star, the set design is spectacular and the enhanced clarity is amazing.
absolutely my thoughts too!
so worth the double dip???
Armando De La Cruz .........if you have the Blu-ray, that’s good.
If you want the very best picture quality and Dolby Atmos sound, then you should buy the 4K. I’m still spotting stuff I’ve never noticed before.....in a film I’ve seen dozens of times.
Lucas wanted to have Star Wars have a livid in felling. He purposely had everything look as used and dirty as he could. Alien also does the same thing. It’s suppose to be a sharp contrast to the prequel which he wanted to be perfect and clean which is why he had them filtered digitally to get that clean look. Makes a lot of sense when you look at that but people just want to say they look like shit and had no artistic intent.
Absolutely agree with you. Seeing all the cracks and dirt in C3PO's armour at the very start of Tantive IV capture was unbelievable. The immersive experience of 7.1 vs 5.1 is beyond belief too. The soundtrack is stunning.
In a perfect world Criterion would be in charge of releasing the UNALTERED Original Star Wars Trilogy on 4K (or 8K even?) with all the special features from every release (including VHS and Laserdisc) and *all* the originally unreleased deleted scenes. It would have a spectacular video and audio transfer as only Criterion could do along with packaging that had the original theatrical artwork and a large booklet with great info in each one. It would be the crown jewel of home video. One can dream--and I'll send that dream out to the Universe!
Just wanted to say I appreciated your message and approach of communicating your judgement of visual and HDR by using your eyes and impressions of the presentation vs. Nit measuring equipment. Ultimately that resonates well for the hobbyists in all of us and that is the sweet spot for most of us as collectors of physical media to be able to share feelings like this of our impressions of the disc presentation. Keep up the good work and I appreciate your content. Subscribed
Thanks Chris. That’s all I can do is use my eyes and best judgement. I feel like that’s what matters.
The Atmos mix is a real treat. From the opening burst of brass, hearing John Williams' music all around and up above you is Godlike, just heavenly. The height explosions before the Imperial cruiser shoots out the Rebel blockade runner's main reactor command attention. When the Falcon comes out of hyperspace into a meteor shower that used to be the planet Alderaan, there are all sorts of whooshes and collision sounds coming from up above. Inside the Death Star hangar, the controller's voice on the PA system saying "Unlock 1, 5, 7 and 9--release charges" is directly above. Amazing.
Good to hear. How many height speakers are you using ?
I want a pure representation of the film, grain and all. Original release also.
Check out the 4k77 project
I want a new car
There is a limited edition DVD which has a second disc in there that is the original. I have the return of the Jedi version.
i want a girlfriend
@@thefilmrookie3099 yes but unfortunately the picture and sound quality is pretty poor on that release.
I think a lot of us have been rebought these movies so many times we're now saying no more. Yes, every release puts some new extras on to convince us to get them, but we've got to draw the line somewhere. I got the despecialised editions and to be honest I don't see myself ever going back to the official releases. I've put up with those crazy additions and alterations for 20 years now, it's time to go back to enjoying the ones I originally fell in love with. (Plus, ironically, the special editions look VERY dated now with the blurry CGI, if they are gonna keep reissuing them they should at least make the 97 effects look a bit more believable)
This is my position as well. Part of the reason I hate the ‘New Hope’ additions so much is they look like crap. If you’re going to live in this revisionist universe then keep revising it as the technology gets better. Instead of permanently sticking one of the greatest films of all time with cheap looking 1997 CGI
So, is this the original version then, if I get it correctly? Without the crappy CGI?
@@Justusson this has the crappy CGI. It's a 4K scan of the special edition. If you are looking for a good quality 4K rip of the original (unaltered) then look into the 4K-77 project, which is a fan project scanning original 35mm prints in 4K. Having viewed both, I can say that the untouched star wars is awesome--- and it's a shame it's not easier to watch in high quality. That being said, the work done on this 4K puts the fan project to shame. For instance, the scene where Obi Wan first gives luke the blue lightsaber, the details on their faces etc are so much better on the official release. So....It's good. Just has that special edition frustration.
@@CalvinCrack That’s crap, but thanks for letting me know. I’m starting to wonder if they ever are going to be released,.,
However, that project you spoke of. Is that downloadable? The whole movie? Seems like a thing Lucas would prance upon if it was, no?
@@Justusson yes it's downloadable. you have to be a little savvy to pull it off. But if you go to the forums of the 4K-77 project website you'll eventually get led in the right direction. there are instructions there
Lots of detail watching this film in 4K, mind-blowing to the point of it feeling like I was back in '77 on set.
You were on the set of the film?
I was blown away by this 4K transfer on my lg cx. So good.
I am old enough to remember seeing the theatrical version over eight times in the cinemas back in early 1978. I was in my final year at high school in Australia and a big SFF and Trekkie too. The movie blew me away. It was awesome to watch it in a new cinema complex and in the Dolby Surround system. I also saw it in my old local movie theatre which had an old sound system.
I saw it in the summer of 1977. I was on vacation in Texas. It was still amazing for its time.
From what I understand and have read'ed over the years The 2004 DVDs / 2011 Blu-Ray Discs / 2015 Blu-Ray Discs of The Original Trilogy had rushed color grading on those releases and on these newer 4K UHD Blu-Ray Disc releases the color grading is closer to what the films originally looked in 77 , 80 and 83 and what they looked liked back when the Special Editions came out in 1997.
Why cant we have the theatrical cut? I hate tampering with films. Nice vid though 👍
Blame George Lucas
Uncle George L doesn't want us to have'em. Simple as that. Too bad. 😞
Without George Lucas we wouldn’t have any Star Wars. For me, it’s been so long that I don’t even notice the changes to episode IV. ......and I skip the most egregious bit in Return of the Jedi (that god awful song number in Jabba’s palace)
Look for the Fan Edit 4k restorations. Its the only way.
Look for the 'Harmy Despecialized' editions. A group of fans had effectively restored the films (and included tons of extra audio tracks from the community and other extra's) even though they did it to 720p it still looks absolute fantastic.
The CG effects looked clumsy/bad in '97, on the DVDs in '04, the Blus in '11, and I'm sure even now in 2020 on 4K. But, I trust your judgement that this is the best they've looked and will have to check it out. Tempted by the box set but it does look like a pain to remove the discs (and the last two episodes were ass).
Honestly I didn’t think the CGI was bad. I think the HDR grading helped to blend it better
I was pleasantly surprised with this disc as well. I think it's worth it for the improved colors alone, which are much truer to the film's original look, in my opinion. And I agree, it bugs me when discs come stacked! I usually buy a bunch of empty 3 disc cases and put the discs in there.
So, to be clear, and to cut to the chase for some, this version is yet another that IS NOT the original theatrical, unaltered version?
There's about 20 'original' versions, and they're never coming out. Just live with it
I have to agree, this is the best the film has ever looked. It's been hit with DNR nicely which gets rid of most of the film grain and the colour is more subdued and natural. In the opening scenes of A New Hope 3PO always looked over-saturated and a horrible, almost greenish yellow at times - now he looks much better. Same with things like the sky of Tatooine, which used to look all blotchy and over-blown, that's all been fixed. The Rebel troops in the opening gun battle now all have a natural looking skin instead of looking like beetroots. The HDR does wonders for some of the darker scenes. All very nicely done.
All in all I was very impressed - Disney FINALLY has done something right with Star Wars! Even the new bluray copies looked amazing.
Fortunately, here in Aus I seem to have gotten a better deal than you did - I paid $AUS21 each for episodes I - VI plus Rogue One (less than $US14 , I can't keep up with the exchange rate at the mo). The Disney Sequel trilogy will never EVER defile my shelves.
We didn't get the slipcovers but at least they had a proper disc holder for the 3rd disc. My only real gripe was the spines of the cases - the stylized 'Star Wars' logo is unevenly written on each spine so they don't line up when on the shelf - I don't understand that myself but I guess I'll have to live with it.
Other than that - I highly recommend!
Old 70s and 80s movies look always the best when they look as close as the original!
A Pioneer plasma tv(calibrated and everything off)plus the upscaler pioneer av amplifier(1080i) and a high end dvd player (with ntsc signal) gives back everything(as you remembered)you don’t need uhd and hdr.
These rereleases make the motion pictures look artificial.
CGI looks more realistic on lower resolution as well.
This is the type of guy you would love to spend the night watching movies with :D
I bought the 4k digital set from Vudu. Thought the transfers looked pretty good, the Atmos soundtracks sounded pretty good. HDR is awesome. Gave my 5.1.2 system a great workout. I also picked up Rogue One on 4k digital. I think it is the best looking, and sounding out of them all. I purchased the 4K 9 movie pack up for 99.99. I think I will be staying with the digital 4K copies for the time being. Picking them up on disc is rather expensive right now.
None of these were done by Disney..the 4K restorations were done back when Lucas was preparing these for 3D years ago. The prequels and OG trilogy.
You're right, I was told the same.
Guys - Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012. Then they did restorations with Lucasfilm.
Fox still owned the rights to A New Hope, and they had final oversight and approval on the transfer to 4K working with Lucas.
I believe all 3 4k transfers were done by Reliance Media Works.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing???
Cody Chavarria A bad thing, Lucas was involved and is responsible for the heavy use of DNR.
My only real gripe with this (and the other OT releases) ist that I think the classic Making of documentaries and Empire of Dreams should have been included in this set/ these sets. And, of course, having the original theatrical release in here would also have been great, but I understand that’s probably not gonna happen anytime soon.
In your AVR or processor, turn up your center channel 1dB or 1.5dB. It helps with most movies as it's a bit easier to hear dialogue.
Turning on the Auto Volume feature also helps. It digitally compresses the audio but for older movies, it really helps a great deal.
it is the best 4K ever! i know this film from 1977 and watched all versions a dozen times. this last one is the best, and no pink/purple haze anymore.
Would you say that episodes 1,2,3 on Blu-ray now look older than episodes 4,5,6 on 4k? I’m looking to buy episodes 4,5,6 on 4k only if they look newer. I want to keep episodes 1,2,3 on Blu-ray, buy 4,5,6 on 4k and keep 7,8,9 on 4k. I have just never liked how 1,2,3 looked newer than 4,5,6! I think it would make the transition much smoother! Hope you understand what I mean!
👍🏻👍🏻
I honestly think that the Theatrical cut was not part of the Disney deal. George might have insisted that the contract to sell LucasFilm stipulated that the original, unaltered versions of the films could not be bought. I don’t know if 20th Century Fox owned the negative to the first film, since they paid for it, but I do know that when the A.F.I. inducted Star Wars into the list of greatest 100 films of all time, they requested a print of Star Wars to put in a vault, George sent a print of the “Special Edition” to them......they rejected it.
I’ve noticed the audio drops in the special editions but when I watch 4k77 all the dialogue sounds perfect
4K77 is the definitive. Especially with the No DNR version.
"In the wake of Disney’s purchase in 2012, a decision was made to protect the studio’s investment by creating new 4K Digital Intermediates of the films and to ensure that all of the photochemical and digital assets were properly cataloged and preserved (a process that continued through 2014). For Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi, all of the original camera neg, the VistaVision effects footage, and SE film-outs was scanned in 16-bit 4K by Reliance MediaWorks (formerly Lowry Digital). Lucas once again took the opportunity to tweak the editing, digital VFX, and color timing. In addition to the new 4K DIs, new film-out protection master interpositives were created. New cut negatives were created as well, combining the original camera negative with film-out internegative of the new VFX. (This is why it’s often said that the original theatrical versions technically no longer exist-the OCN has been conformed to the new versions. However, I’ve confirmed with individuals directly responsible that everything-including all theatrical film trims-is well preserved and protected by Disney.) The studio’s new Ultra HD releases (and the recent Disney+ versions) were mastered from these 4K DIs, complete with color grading for high dynamic range (only HDR10 is available on the discs, but Dolby Vision is available on the Digital version)."
-- The Digital Bits
Hammer I love Digital Bits and they’re partially correct, but Fox had 100% final oversight on the transfer of A New Hope because they owned the rights. They worked on it with Lucas, but they had final say, and they approved the final transfer.
Confirmed this with multiple Fox employees. This article will give you details on the rights issues before Disney bought Fox: screenrant.com/star-wars-movie-tv-rights-explained/
It is not a Disney transfer. A New Hope being the first Star Wars film produced was always 100% owned by Fox. Even after DIsney bought Lucas film, Ep IV was still under thr FOx umbrella. The rest, were all owned by Lucas Film but the distribution rights went from Fox to Disney. All of the transfers were done at Lucas Film but A New Hope was also facilitated by the Fox resotration team who did 'Alien', 'Die Hard' and 'Predator' The rest, all done by Lucasfilm, no idea if Disney had any say in the final product.
BOUGHT THIS AS SOON AS IT CAME OUT AS ITS BEEN MY FAVOURITE FILM SINCE IT CAME OUT IN 1977. SINCE OBTAINED THE FAN MADE 4K77 4K80 4K83 AND WILL NEVER WATCH THE TINKERED WITH VERSIONS AGAIN.
Why can we get 5 different versions of Bladerunner, but can't get the original 1977 version of Star Wars? WHY!!!
Finally! A solid detailed review of New Hope! Big hugs buddy!
The reason for the dialogue being low in some scenes as you say when the character is off to the left or right is because in these new transfers the dialogue has been forced through the centre channel like all new remastered movies, But whereas before these were originally mixed with 6 track Dolby Stereo and had Voices or dialogue panning across the front the soundstage and not fixed to a centre channel.
Native 4k! yea. Thanks for the new hope. Now we got hope.
I here a lot of people complaining that they want the original version. Sorry to burst that bubble. There are no such things as the original. In 1977 there were already different versions in different theaters. So, which version do you guys want? The original one is George his vision and those are the special ones.
Im just waiting for them to release the unedited version, not buying another star wars disc until they do. Well that's what I tell myself anyway, well see haha !
Get the Despecialized editions
The Raul Guerrero G Better yet, Project 4K77.
Can't believe my chosen format for these films are the DVD special features from almost 20 years ago that came packaged with the original version of the film.
I just got Project 4K77 and 4K83 no-DNR and look forward to watching it on May the 4th
But from what I've skimmed through, I like the grain, no noise shouldn't be too bad on my projector but it isn't clean
I know they did the best they could with what they had, so my wish list is 4K HDR/DV with atmos, clean, natural with grain
Non-DNR is the best choice by far.
Forget Atmos - TN1's 4K77 & 4K83 audio were transferred from 70mm 6-track-mag - the best sound in existence. Select the DTS-HD 6-channel-track and enjoy.
Also the Standard blu ray is remastered too. It looks way better than 2011 BD. Those remasters were made by Fox with Lucas before Lucasfilm owned by Disney.
The one thing that must be said about this 4K format is that I'm finding that quite a lot of the movies freeze up usually around the halfway point ,and I have a good player it's not top of the line, but I did invest 400 dollars ,also been doing some research and I'm not the only one who's experiencing this problem, so whether it's a glitch or whatever people need to know abut this!
Jeff- fantastic review. I really appreciate you stating that you just like to watch the movies and you’re not an expert on calibration (just like me and I imagine many others who follow you). The sound issue of having to turn up and down quite helpful based on dialogue vs music. Finally, I understand that Jeff’s reviews may not be for everyone but giving a thumbs down for disliking video is weak sauce.
Turn on the Auto Volume feature on your AVR. Each manufacturer calls it something different and it digitally compresses the audio. But, for older movies, it helps a great deal. I turn it on every once in a while. It really helps with the differences in volume between dialogue and action scenes.
Easy way to correct volume of Center Channel on your Denon, just hit Option button on remote, click on Channel Level Adjust and go to Center and increase volume on it. Works great for Movies with Poor Balanced Mixes. I use it quite frequently to boost Center channel in many movies. Can easily put it back to 0 after that particular movie without screwing up your overall calibrated Dolby Atmos Sound
I’m tempted on buying that skywalker saga set because it just looks so nice but it feels weird buying a set of movies that I hate 6 of the 9 films in it
My biggest question is...is this the BEST Star Wars could possibly look, was EVERYTHING possible done to make it look as good as possible? Is there ANY room for improvement or is this as good as it could get?
There are five versions of the Star Wars original trilogy:
• Original theatrical version
• 1997 Special Edition theatrical version
• 2004 DVD version
• 2011 Fox Blu-Ray version
• 2019 Disney+ version (contained in the 4K box set)
Ooh, nice embossed slip cover. Thanks for the review, really helpful
Just sating that I was in the theater in '77 and the movie was dark. I thought the projector could use a brighter lamp for this movie. Nice review.
I just got a 4K player and 4K tv and I have been watching a lot of your videos so thank you for all that you do. I will say this though. I am a huge Star Wars fan but I don’t feel the need to get the 4K releases of this unless they release the ORIGINAL Theatrical movie 🍿
I watched it on Disney + and it looks great. I do agree the 4k media DVD will most likely look better. So I will definitely buy this one.
@@kyle5353 Your right? 4k content can be transferred to Blu ray DVD.
Just recently subscribed to this channel. You really do great reiviews. Keep up the good work!
I didn't have any blue Rey films when I got my 4k DVD so when I watched scream and Jaws I thought it looked dark and thought it was something wrong but when I switched to Blue Rey I can see the difference
Great video as always.
Zavvi are currently doing 3 Disney 4K for £36 so I just picked up the original trilogy for that bargain price! Cant wait to watch them.
love the great original trilogy movies and a new hope before all the changes came in and would love to see the originals released in 4K or on blu ray but loved seeing this version in 4K after seeing it at a friend’s house on Disney plus before I got these in 4K blu ray
I recommend you check out Project 4k77, Project 4k80, and Project 4k83 if you want true original Star Wars in 4k.
So, the shotty CGI of market animals is still a part of this then, I assume?,.. :-/
@@Justusson yeah it is
@@andrewattenboroughtwothumb4697 WHYYYYYYYY?!!!!! 😭
Why can’t they just release the 4k original? No crap? Just as it were? It’s been 40 years!!!
@@Justusson I agree
How does it stack up against the 4K1977 project? Could you elaborate on that, please? I bought the 4K77 earlier this year. Thank you! Big fan.
4K77 lacks HDR, so it’s honestly better then 4K77. It’s comparable to 4K77 with the DNR (to a lesser degree) but the colors are better. If you like film grain, the 4K77 with no DNR might be a better presentation but the HDR is a huge plus
@@JeffRauseo I thought 4k77 had HDR? Was only on the site a week ago...
mrtheoden nope 4k77 is to be as close as to the theatrical cut as possible and the theatrical cut didn’t have hdr
mrtheoden I don’t believe so. I was on the site yesterday. Check the FAQs - it says they have no plans to do an HDR version at this time because the entire film would have to be regraded and they don’t have the expertise to do it.
@@goodsuc81 - 35mm and 65mm (Star Wars was shot on both) have much greater dynamic-range than what's possible with HDR-10 or even HDR-12 (Dolby Vision's upper limit). Digital is still technically behind analog. There's way more information on film to capture than even 4K Blu-ray is capable of - resolution and dynamic-range. Team Negative 1 might go back and give 4K77, 4K80 and 4K83 a HDR grading in the future.
Yeah that’s great, call me when they release the original theatrical cut.....contractually not likely to happen anytime soon if I know Lucas.
Using a Dolby atmos soundbar I’ve had similar dialogue issues, overall very minor but dialogue is outdated in some respects. Every thing else with the mix is perfect,the best audio honestly so far from all the films may be phantom menace (worst visual transfer though)
Hey Jeff, did you hear the Maclunky greedo said before dying? 😂
Great video!
Tony Stark lol yes. I heard it back on Disney+ first
I feel the same way when older movies get a 4k upgrade. Yeah it looks super sharp but some older movies almost feel like they're meant to have that "patina" and removing those scuffs seems to do the movie more harm than good. Idk it's hard to describe.
TFrail yeah I’m torn on it!
Jeff, just found your channel, great stuff & Incredible collection!!! Planning to start upgrading my favorites to 4K - can you do a video on the best 4K players and what we should look for when choosing a player (without going broke) - several options would be great, thanks! keep the videos coming
Depending on the tv u choose go with the Panasonic ub420 if using Samsung tv or non dolby vision tv. Panasonic ub820 if using dolby vision tv. I have a Samsung q80t so i went with the ub420 because my tv has no dolby vision
As a star wars purest that you are, you need to download 4k77. Its an 80gig file plus you have the choice of dnr on or off version. They are true 4k transfers from an original cinema reel. Youd realise how dnr has been applied to all versions after 1998
@Mykel Hardin you need to go to the 4k77 website and join the forums. They need to be protected from disney or all the hard work will be for nothing. There totally free and loved by all the purest fans.
@Mykel Hardin star wars was never in hdr. Hdr is a new format. The 4k blurays have had to be altered yet again to have hdr. There not meant to have it. They are infact 0-255 colour so black and whites are to there fullest
@Mykel Hardin your in for a true nostalgic treat when you warch 4k 77. 4k83 is available too. Just waiting on empire as it needs the most work. I actually donated to help the process, which i never do lol
@Mykel Hardin i have to admit i love 4k hdr. Theres loads of hdr films that llok amazing. I love the vivid colours. The 4k77 is a close to uncompressed true 4k 35mm scan. It was scsnned to 16bit dpx files i think. It contains all the audio options you can think off including the opticle track taken directly from the reels. The bluray dts master hd is on there too.
Thanks for the review. And man...stacking 3 discs in a 2 discs case... c'mon Disney!
I hate how manufacturers on Blu Rays stack disc on top of each other!!! Disney is the best at it!
I think episode 4-6 will really benift from the 4k format, can really see the detail on it.
Been waiting for your review before making a decision on purchasing. Thank you for this! Great channel! Now I can finally have these physically in my library in 4k as well as add them to my digital library :-)
I Love 35mm Grain!
👍👍
SILVER SCREEN VERSION IS VERY ADEQUATE AND CHEAPER
if sound balancing is the issue would it be the tv or is it the sound quality of the movie, cause me and my sister do our yearly harry potter marathon on blu ray and the sound balancing happens on all the movies and i keep thinking its my tv cause the same thing happens when i watched godzilla king of the monsters. but would it be my tv or what
TheDigitalBits: "For Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi, all of the original camera neg, the VistaVision effects footage, and SE film-outs was scanned in 16-bit 4K by Reliance MediaWorks (formerly Lowry Digital). Lucas once again took the opportunity to tweak the editing, digital VFX, and color timing. In addition to the new 4K DIs, new film-out protection master interpositives were created. New cut negatives were created as well, combining the original camera negative with film-out internegative of the new VFX. (This is why it’s often said that the original theatrical versions technically no longer exist-the OCN has been conformed to the new versions. However. . .everything-including all theatrical film trims-is well preserved and protected by Disney.) The studio’s new Ultra HD releases (and the recent Disney+ versions) were mastered from these 4K DIs, complete with color grading for high dynamic range (. . . HDR10. . . on the discs, . . .Dolby Vision. . . on the Digital version).
Loved this video and agree with you totally!! I also debated about getting the complete set package--I bought the one of Big Bang Theory because all my loose seasons were on DVD and I wanted to upgrade to Blu-ray--its a nice set, don't get me wrong, but it has the same difficulty that the Star Wars one would have-removing the discs from the cardboard sleeves. I did figure out an easy way--I grab them with a disc clesning cloth and no fingerprints! Anyone, I did the same thing you did and bought the original trilogy of Star Wars because that is also my favorite--The Empire Strikes Back also being my favorite in this trilogy. I also had already received the latest, The Rise of Skywalker, on 4K from the DMC. All of these movies in the original trilogy just remind me how smart it was to convert all my stuff to 4K! Recently found your channel, and as a fellow physical media collector, I loved it and subscribed. Keep up the good work!
The standard Blu-Ray version (which is secondary to the 4K Ultra HD version) contained in the 4K Ultra HD box set differs from the 2011 Fox Blu-Ray version. It’s the same as the Disney+ version; hence the Disney Blu-Ray version.
The Disney Blu-Ray version of the first six installments of the Skywalker Saga contains two audio commentary tracks: the audio commentary by George Lucas and a few others (originally recorded for the DVD version in the 2000s) and the archival commentary by the cast and crew (originally featured in the Fox Blu-Ray version).
I FINALLY bought it, even though I bought the Amazon Prime Video 4K offering as well! Only difference is there is no BONUS Disc. The Original Theatrical Version I AM STILL WAITING FOR!!! From a Screenwriter inspired by that film at the age of 5 way back from Memorial Day Weekend, 1977, outing!!!
I bought the skywalker saga boxset on bluray (before my recent 4k upgrade) before I bought the skywalker saga boxset in 4k and it blows my mind that the new bluray set is a better box than the 4k set. I'm 100% swapping the discs around so the 4k discs are in the bluray boxset and I'm literally going to use the 4k box for display purposes. If I didn't save £60 on the 4k set and bought it at full price I'd be pretty pissed, the way the discs are stored in a sleeve are prone to scratches and fingerprints and are just unacceptable.
The only thing that would annoy me with this is the uneven audio. So IDK to get the Blu-ray or the 4K now. The last time I saw this movie it was on dvd. 🤔
I hate the orange colorgrading, there's great fan restorations of a 35mm technicolor print and its updated every now and then to fix corrections and such. It's called 4k77 if you get a chance.
Timo B The new color timing is the original color timing. Much closer to the theatrical copies.
The old Blu-ray had contrast boosting with crushed blacks. The colors were wrong, weird color changes during scene (pink/ purple lightsaber), the skintones are purple. Overblown color bleeding in dark scenes, awful.
@@theblackesteyesthedevilseyes Ive seen quite a bit of 35mm restorations of the original and keeping up with a 35mm restoration of the 97 SE and its not even close to it.
I totally agree with disc stacking. If you’re going to do it, do it under the Blu-ray, not the 4K.
jeff, there is appropiate times when a film needs to be tinkered to make it good
Adding that Macklunkey line is Not appropiate and at times childish
at this point , people should be putting up Meme's telling lucas to remove the Macklunkey line in favor of the previous cut of the special editions, the previous cut in terms of sound is better
if you can easily try to take the 4k image of this cut and pair it with the earlier cuts of the special editions that do not need the macklunkey line, lucasfilm may be able to please the fans
adding that Macklunkey line is Garbage, even if people did tolerate the film for what it is, people would rather see that macklunkey line Removed from the digital to own and 4k/ bluray releases to keep it seperated from the disney plus version
i do not like it when this trilogy gets tampered with at the wrong time , for innapropiate reasons
there is appropiate reasons to tinker with it that add to the story, like the jabba sequence
and then there is just plain garbage reasons , like the greedo macklunkey line, what i think they should do, is Restore the HAN SHOT FIRST sequence in the special edition, and just shoot greedo already, han is supposed to be this mercenary that doesnt give two shits about jabba's henchmen , like clint eastwood in his westerns
“at this point , people should be putting up Meme’s telling lucas to remove the Macklunkey line” welcome to 2020. A human from the 20th century would not know how to parse this sentence
So the 4K dvd has the maclunky scene then?
Is the included Bluray also from the new 4K Master?
Haven't upgraded to 4K yet.
I like your collection I'm a movie buff or binge watch tv series like friends to big bang theory to etc...
Thanks so much for the review. I appreciate it. May have to get this now.
I wont spend another dime on Star Wars unless it's the unaltered theatrical release
Unspecialized
Same here. We need more people to stick up for this.
@@LukeLovesRosewe shouldn’t have to resort to that
@@HabitualJoker Obviously. But it's out there and I gotta, it's pretty awesome
Then never buy movies again becausea lot of directors make cuts or change their movies after release. Also there where more than one version when it came out in theaters 1977. Which one do you mean? You Star Wars fanboys just say stupid things without even knowing that their isn't even such a thing as the original version.
Lucas said the studio didnt bother to make a 3 strip safety of the negative so many different elements from all over the world were used to make a decent start to restoration meaning enhancements were made to make separate elements match for better or worse. Some shots are purposely out of focus because they aren't great but go by so fast and we have little time to process them. All he wanted was to get the film out and passed the audience to make more. The restoration was done by Fox confirmed by George Lucas. Check out Christopher Nolan's interview with George Lucas on Star Wars.
I already asked my girlfriend Brittany for that for my 41st birthday
Nobody gives a fuck
Don’t worry Erik, I care.
M Y G I R L F R I E N D
Does it still have the new edits in it? If it does then ill still with my included Disney+ version. How does it differ from the Disney+ version?
I just bought rise of skywalker and the feature is stacked on top of the bonus disc like on your disc, did not know these were out, thanks.
How does it compare to Despecialized Edition though? :P I mean that one has ALL the film grain, haha!
The Despecialized Edition is scourced from the 2011 blu-ray so it wouldn't have an more film grain than that. 4K77 however does. Both a DNR version and a non-DNR version are avalible.
Robin Glader Despecialized has more than one source.
@@PeterKoperdan He only used the other scources to remove the SE changes. All the stuff in between is blu-ray footage. The whole point of the project is to make the officcial edition that never was. So it's much cleaner than something like 4K77.
@@Robin_Glader Never heard of 4K77.
@@PeterKoperdan A group called TeamNegative 1 got hold of 35mm film print that they scanned in 4K, cleaned up, and released online.
It's the best and most autenthic was to watch the original version. They did the same for Return of the Jedi and they are working on Empire.
Good review man. So I read the Disney did these 4k transfers. They're been working on them since 2014. They have the negatives for these altered versions and the theatrical cuts. All new 4k transfers with 16 bit color.
Disney didn’t own A New Hope until they bought Fox though. This was a Fox transfer.
@@JeffRauseo yea the read was a little confusing. It was on the digital bits website
Yeah Lucasfilm owned Empire and RTOJ but Fox distributed them. Fox owned A New Hope 100% until Disney purchased it. That’s why we didn’t get Star Wars 4K until that purchase took place.
@@JeffRauseo right on. Just glad these are Native 4k. To me Empire was a big improvement. But I'll still watch your take on it. And, who knows if we'll ever see the theatrical cuts?
Lucas over saw the transfers back when they planned to release all of the films in 3D and all changes made were under his direction. Disney didn't have anything to do with the Transfers for 1-6 just the sequels.
The problem with sharp blu ray and 4k original Star Wars movies is that they show all the poor special effects of the time. Particularly a space ship against the blackness of space. I have the 6 remastered Star Wars dvd's (not bluray) from 2006 and they are a little soft but still handle the special effects well. My copy of A New Hope also has the original 1977 version on dvd as well. But the picture is smaller on a tv and its very grainy. So in other words interior and outdoor shots look great on bluray or 4k but anything else looks worse believe or not.
Sandcastle Beach bum Bullsh*t, a theatrical copy is similar to 2k and 4k. Everything was visible in cinemas. As intended. DVDs are crap, eye cancer.
Is it the inflight cut we have on Disney +?
Vinegar syndrome has Rad coming to blu ray 4K in May and I just pre ordered my copy, I can't wait.
Was NOT happy to see that. Kino Lorber has drained enough from my wallet as is, and then I see THIS listed on Vinegar. For the first time in my life, I can actually complain about having too much of a good thing.
Just wanted to follow up, thanks to Jeff for the tip I did a pick-up order at Target - the three original Star Wars films (buy two get one free). I then sold the digital codes as a set for the trilogy. Bottom line - I'm paying about $13 per title ($4 per physical disc)!
Are the Blu-ray discs the same transfers as the 2011 Blu-ray releases or are they sourced from the new 4K transfers?
For the next 4K release: Update all effects shots/space scenes more in line with Rogue One (and Mandalorian).
Yuck, no more changes please.
I’m about to watch it my self. I bought the box set.
Jeff i always trust your reviews bro 100%, it's nice to see you enjoyed this one and that Fox did a good job on the restoration.
I know you said its an upgrade on the disney plus version but is it upgraded enough to make a disc purchase worth it? Disney plus has just come out here in the UK and i'm debating with myself whether to watch all the Star Wars on there or enjoy them on the discs instead
I thought Disney would use 100 gigabyte discs but apparently they decided to use 66 gigabyte discs and that's why i decided to buy the blu-ray boxset because it was only £55 but now
hmv is selling the 4k version's 2 for £24 which is a bargain and i hate cardboard sleeves even though blu-rays are harder to scratch but i have the same problem with my BOND 50 blu-ray boxset, great review.
jeff, since people hated this new version of the special edition of a new hope ONLY for the addition of greedo saying Maclunkey
if they are going to keep reissuing these, at Least Get Rid of The Greedo Line where he says Maclunkey
it would then be a respectful version of the special edition of the film on dvd, blu and 4k and digital
but adding the Maclunkey bit is kinda the last straw
they have to do something about it and fix it
so that a redo of the 4k releases is on par with the 2011 fox bluray version, the 2004 dvd version , and the 1997 special edition
and that instead of greedo saying maclunkey to han, you let the Han line "i'll bet you have" cut to shooting greedo where han shoots first
Great video, very informative and easy to understand for someone like me who isn't that in the know when it comes to the technical side. Thanks man.
Talking about audio, you are slightly out of synk with your audio on this one. But good review. It is always nice to hear a tru fan and not some pixel gazing guy with a setup the price of most family homes! I am definitely buying the 4k´s even before I have a chance to upgrade to a 4k projector. Thanks!
I think the audio sync is a CZcams issue. It has come up from time to time with random comments, but I don’t see an issue on my end. Are you using Bluetooth headphones? I find those to be out of sync on CZcams, but CZcams also has some audio syncing issues from time to time. I record my audio on the same device as my video so there’s no reason for them to be out of sync. It’s weird.
Does the included standard Blu-ray include Greedo's 'Maclunkey' like the 4K version? I ask because the 2019 Disney Blu-ray doesn't. It's the exact same as 2011 boxed set.
Hey discovered your channel today. Just starting my 4K collection (gremlins is the first movie I've got). Can't wait to see Star Wars in 4K in the next few days. Shame about the volume issues
Great review as always. I don’t have a 4K tv, I do have a 1080p 3-D TV. I do have a 4K player. I bought all the Star Wars movies on 4K each sold separately. I watched the new hope 4K disc. I still do see the difference between the 4K and the blu ray. It’s not as nice without HDR. The dinner scene I was able to see what they were eating, you know the scene where we first discovered the blue milk. I noticed for the first time that one bowl looked like there was stew in it. Also, you’re right, the stormtroopers did look whiter. Keep up the good work.
Ken Lafrentz If you’re watching on a 1080p TV, you’re only going to see 1080p no matter what you feed it...
Hey do u know where or if the special edition trailers are included anywhere in the 4k editions of the original trilogy?