Where can I learn about the restorations of Star Wars? What was done to the original film elements?
In 1995, the original negatives were discovered to have been in a state of disrepair, and so a restoration was enacted. First the film was washed in a bath and then hand-cleaned to remove dirt. Then, some optical transitions like wipes and dissolves were re-printed using the original film pieces and new modern printers. Some parts of the negative were damaged or too degraded, and so were replaced with duplicate material from second-generation copies. Finally, the faded colours were colour-timed back to life, using a non-fade Technicolor print from 1977 as the reference. In 2004, the negatives were scanned in 1080p HD resolution; Lucas supervised a re-colouring at ILM, and the films were digitally cleaned to remove dirt and scratches not possible in 1997 for new high definition digital masters. A very detailed article on the restorations for the 1997 and 2004 releases is available. See Saving Star Wars: Its Restoration and Changing Physicality. 7) Q: It seems like every Star Wars fan ex
