True. I got a little too wrapped up in what I was saying and unintentionally skewed your wording. You said: "they did a darned good job of adding some polish to the film and trying to bring it up to Rober Wise's original intent". I went off on a slight tangent about accuracy and fidelity to craftmanship, which isn't entirely what you meant, I guess. My apologies.
Fair comment.
No, I'm not kidding you. I wish I was! I've always felt that the shot looks rather artificial, and when I watched the DE with my dad, who has his standards, but doesn't watch films the way I do, he remarked that the wingwalk effects looked very unconvincing (although he was, primarily, talking about the animation of the blocks forming against the hull). For me, it's the combination of the blocks with the saucer. The original matte painting wasn't satisfactory, but I question how much of an improvement the CG for this scene was/is.
The shot was quite poorly conceived, in my humble opinion. Technically, the execution is fine, unlike the wingwalk, which in my honest estimation, is the reverse circumstance. The DE is hardly a disaster, but I'm kind of relieved to see it left behind on DVD, truth be told. And this isn't just a beef with Foundation Imaging, either. I personally dislike Wise's edits (specifically, for the things he REMOVED), versus the original theatrical edition, as well as other annoying decisions like kowtowing to a contemporary audience, ignorant of an overture, with a star field instead of a blank screen. In my opinion, the DE smacks of compromise and after-the-fact rationalisations.
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