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Disney putting out a 4K restoration of the original, unaltered 1977 Star Wars would be a godsend...and also a very wise move on their part. As mentioned earlier, putting out yet another version of the same Special Edition Star Wars wouldn't garner a huge amount of sales after everyone who wants to already owns the Blu-ray version by now. But if they released the unaltered original (especially if it was in 4K), imagine how many purist fans would open their wallets and scream, "TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT, TAKE IT ALL!!" I'll be at the front of that line, I can assure you. I've been waiting patiently for ages for such a thing to happen, so let's hope it's true.
Another reason for Disney to step up their game is that the fans have already beaten them to the punch with hi-def versions of the original film. Firstly there is Harmy's De-Specialized Version, which took the Blu-ray as its base and then removed everything that was not like the 1977 version (including the color timing), using the highest quality material available to "patch" the added digital material out. This resulted in an amazing-looking 720p reconstruction of the original film. Secondly, some other enterprising fans managed to get their hands on one or more original 35mm prints of Star Wars, and used professional equipment to scan the entire thing in 1080p. It's a little more "warts and all", but actually looks fantastic and is as purely 1977 as you can get. So if Disney really does release the original at 4K, it's about the only thing that can upstage these fan-produced editions...but it'd be a win-win for everyone.
I personally have no problem with the various Special Editions existing...in fact, it's exciting to me to see the different versions, despite many changes not being for the better. It's the idea Lucas had that you never get to own the previous versions again that really got me...but that no longer has to be the case under Disney. The problem is so easily resolved by releasing all the versions on one set, Blade Runner style, where you can choose the one you want to watch. If Disney gets that right, they will resolve a good 95% of people's complaints about the Original Trilogy.
--SKot
Another reason for Disney to step up their game is that the fans have already beaten them to the punch with hi-def versions of the original film. Firstly there is Harmy's De-Specialized Version, which took the Blu-ray as its base and then removed everything that was not like the 1977 version (including the color timing), using the highest quality material available to "patch" the added digital material out. This resulted in an amazing-looking 720p reconstruction of the original film. Secondly, some other enterprising fans managed to get their hands on one or more original 35mm prints of Star Wars, and used professional equipment to scan the entire thing in 1080p. It's a little more "warts and all", but actually looks fantastic and is as purely 1977 as you can get. So if Disney really does release the original at 4K, it's about the only thing that can upstage these fan-produced editions...but it'd be a win-win for everyone.
I personally have no problem with the various Special Editions existing...in fact, it's exciting to me to see the different versions, despite many changes not being for the better. It's the idea Lucas had that you never get to own the previous versions again that really got me...but that no longer has to be the case under Disney. The problem is so easily resolved by releasing all the versions on one set, Blade Runner style, where you can choose the one you want to watch. If Disney gets that right, they will resolve a good 95% of people's complaints about the Original Trilogy.
--SKot
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