But given that this was an analog, photochemical procedure, each generation away from that original negative introduced softness and grain into the image, making the source material for this new version softer than the negatives used for official releases. Instead, an intermediary print called an internegative - essentially, a duplicate of the final, color-corrected negative - would be used to strike the release prints that ended up in theaters. That's largely due to the elements used back in the days of film releases, prints wouldn't be struck from the original conformed negative due to the high probability of damage. To combat that damage, the scanned elements underwent digital restoration to stabilize the images, color-correct them, and remove damage and dirt - and while the end result is impressive, it's not going to be what you're used to from a modern Blu-ray release.

Han shoots first, Jabba doesn't show, and not a scrap of CG The colors are there, but the damage is just insurmountable.' 'Even the best one, even the one that was used as a reference for the Special Edition was in terrible shape. So the ones that still exist, somebody just dug them out of dumpsters and managed to hang on to them,' a representative from Team Negative1, going by the name Mr. 'They all had to be destroyed after they were shown. But that project was made up of bits and pieces assembled from a variety of different sources, whereas the new Silver Screen release was pulled primarily from that single Spanish print - a bit of a coup given that the film prints aren't technically supposed to be floating around in the wild at all. There have been various fan-made restorations of the original Star Wars trilogy over the years, most famously the 'Despecialized Edition,' which just released an updated Return of the Jedi earlier this year. Dubbed 'The Silver Screen Edition,' the project was completed by an anonymous group going under the name Team Negative1, and is largely taken from a Spanish-language low-fade 35mm print, with certain sections - including the original title crawl, which had neither 'Episode IV' nor 'A New Hope' when first released - filled in by a faded vintage print on Kodak Eastman film stock.

While defaced 'special editions' and numerous re-releases are the way many have experienced Star Wars, a group of dedicated fans have taken matters into their own hands, recently releasing a digitally restored version of the film pulled from 35mm prints dating back to the original release in 1977.

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