clmayfield
Active Hunter
I became aware of the "Star Wars Despecialized Edition" (DEED) a while ago, but the whole process of downloading a 20 GB file was a bit too daunting when I heard of them a couple of years ago. Post-TFA and with my newly rekindled obsession, with Boba Fett, I finally decided to download the DEED this weekend and play them on my Blu Ray via USB. I have watched ANH and it was spectacular! I figured everyone here would be aware of the DEED, but a search on "despecialized" and "harmy" resulted in only a couple of hits, so I thought I would spread the word.
For those who don't know, us old folks who watched the original trilogy on release in the movie theater saw the movies in a certain way. Apparently, some film editing buffs, frustrated with not only the fact that Lucas refused to release an original cut of the trilogy on Blu Ray, but also upset with the the color rendering and generally crappy quality of the remasters that Lucas was involved with decided to take matters into their own hands. These guys painstakingly remastered the original version using, among other things, a pristine condition version of the film on celluloid. If you own the Blue Ray Trilogy (this is honor system here), you may download the "Despecialized Edition" for free. I haven't watched ESB or ROTJ yet, but if you are a 40-something, watching these movies in their original form will take you back. And the video quality is breathtaking.
Here is a comparison of the DEED version to the Lucas releases:
And here is a link with instructions on how to download the DEED:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yLsvexWBVM8IYSGopKuSfsGk5YIgCwQWd23bqb5ryD4/pub#h.8rvtxho2dil0
It was a bit complicated, but if I could do it, you can, too. It does involve downloading some freeware and following some directions, but it really wasn't that complicated. Good luck and May the Force be with you.
For those who don't know, us old folks who watched the original trilogy on release in the movie theater saw the movies in a certain way. Apparently, some film editing buffs, frustrated with not only the fact that Lucas refused to release an original cut of the trilogy on Blu Ray, but also upset with the the color rendering and generally crappy quality of the remasters that Lucas was involved with decided to take matters into their own hands. These guys painstakingly remastered the original version using, among other things, a pristine condition version of the film on celluloid. If you own the Blue Ray Trilogy (this is honor system here), you may download the "Despecialized Edition" for free. I haven't watched ESB or ROTJ yet, but if you are a 40-something, watching these movies in their original form will take you back. And the video quality is breathtaking.
Here is a comparison of the DEED version to the Lucas releases:
And here is a link with instructions on how to download the DEED:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yLsvexWBVM8IYSGopKuSfsGk5YIgCwQWd23bqb5ryD4/pub#h.8rvtxho2dil0
It was a bit complicated, but if I could do it, you can, too. It does involve downloading some freeware and following some directions, but it really wasn't that complicated. Good luck and May the Force be with you.
Last edited by a moderator:
