lapis molari

Well, color me impressed: after HAL9000’s tour-de-force on the Prequels (they are my go-to versions), he gets closer to my ideal of A New Hope than any other version I’ve seen.

It’s always a treat to see an edit that’s a labor of love, especially when it’s a film you yourself love too.

There are lots of big-picture improvements to be found here: the color looks soooo much better than the blu-ray, Han shoots first, the weakest Special Edition CGI creatures are gone, and more. HAL9000 achieves this result while standing on the shoulders of giants, and combines their efforts to create a whole that is even better than their parts.

But what speaks most to the love invested in this edit are small details. The Cantina Band that is subtly heard outside the cantina. Luke calling Wedge instead of Biggs. The dual language track to give viewers their choice of Obi-Wan’s line “Your father wanted…” or “I wanted…”.

Does this replace all other versions for me? No, but it is at the top of the list.

I originally thought to edit Ludendorff into merely a supporting villain, with Ares as the clear lead villain (instead of two lead villains). But Ares is so weak, that Ludendorff offers the more interesting villain of the two.

Dr Poison had the potential to be the most interesting, but the footage is insufficient to really pull that off.

Perhaps the solution is to edit out the Ares scenes without his armor/helmet. Then dub the remaining scenes in ancient Greek (Because why wouldn’t Ares speak in his native tongue?). That might work if enough shots with helmet can be re-used for the climax of the battle, once Ares has lost his helmet.

SparkySywer, I enjoyed watching your edit. You make me think I was looking in the wrong direction: reducing Ludendorff without reducing Ares probably won’t make the finale more satisfying. In the hope of getting ideas from more editors, I took the liberty of linking this page on Fanedit (forums.fanedit.org/showthread.php?tid=15280&page=8). I hope that’s okay!

Nice plot change! I look forward to see it your way.

I figured the first fanedit would be to remove the castle scene. Too much focus on the male hero, the gala is too implausible so close to the front lines and to the armistice, it shaves 10+ minutes off an overly long movie.

My estimate for cuts would be:
1:22:29-1:24:09 cut phone conversation of the gala
1:24:14-1:24:20 cut reference to gala
1:25:22-1:25:40 cut reference to gala
1:29:28-1:30:17 cut reference to gala
1:31:02-1:41:03 cut gala

I haven’t figured a solution for two issues:

• we jump from morning to evening without feeling any passage of time. Perhaps there is a way to make the ride in the woods seem longer?
• Trevor’s german uniform is visible, but he no longer has reason to wear it.

I don’t have the expertise to make this edit look smooth. If anyone likes the idea, please run with it and improve on it!