I’m using Harmy’s Despecialized editions as a default for making my own custom set.
So far I’ve completed Star Wars, with the following SE alterations:
- Alderaan explosion
- X-Wing shots taking off from Yavin 4
- X-Wing shots during the battle of Yavin
- Death Star explosion
- Updated Millenium Falcon graphics
- Actors replacing mattes during throne room scene
I’ve debated replacing the shot of the Falcon taking off from Tatooine too, but so far I haven’t done it. The increased speed and maneuverability makes the moment more dynamic and modern if you will, but I can’t get past the terribly artificial colors.
Right now I’m working on Empire, and so far I’ve noticed some matte shots on Hoth and from the Falcon cockpit over the asteroid that look pretty bad, similar to the sand barge backgrounds in Return of the Jedi. There are a lot of smaller corrections needed in this film though like Luke’s “this is it” right before he crashes, and 3PO’s dialogue getting drowned out on the original mix when the gang enters the carbon freezing chamber.
Also debating if I should replace the original Emperor hologram with Adywan’s, and how much of the SE alterations I should include from Cloud City. I hate the two SE shots that were screwed in right after Lando gives the evacuation order, and will definitely leave those OOT, but not sure about the rest.
Oh and finally, the “bring my shuttle sequence”. The one SE addition I really love was the added shot of Vader’s shuttle en route to the Executor. Everything else, including Vadar’s new dialogue, Vader boarding the shuttle, all of that is junk. But that quick shot of the shuttle in route while the music is really moving just adds to the emotion and pace. I think I saw on Adywan’s version he got it really right.