More than two years have passed since I last attended to this thread. Needless to say, my proposed OT fan-edit didn’t receive the warmest of reception, and for good cause. Since then, my ideal OT has been revised. I no longer desire to tint all outdoor scenes on Tatooine/Hoth pink/blue, for example, or to change the hue of Vader’s lightsaber in any of the episodes. Hopefully my new plans for the Divergent Edition will prove more palatable.
SOURCES:
- Adywan’s Star Wars Revisited
- OOT
- SE '04
SW Revisited would serve as the template for the DE. Roughly, I’d say that SW:DE would turn out 70% identical to SW:R. Since TESB:R & ROTJ:R haven’t been released yet, I can’t say with any certainty that the same would apply to my edits of those films, but I assume so.
Now, for the changes I’d make for A New Hope: Divergent Edition.
CHANGE #1
Reinsert this Fox logo:
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I like it a whole lot better than the newer one.
CHANGE #2
Remove “Episode IV” from the crawl while retaining the “A New Hope” subtitle.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Put succinctly, I don’t like the episode numbers anymore for various reasons.
CHANGE #3
Change the energy bolts fired from the larger ships – the Star Destroyers, Tantive IV, Millennium Falcon, and Death Star turbolasers – into energy beams.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE:
When it comes to beams vs. bolts, I prefer the former every time. I just find them more visually impressive and aesthetically pleasing.
CHANGE #4
Recolour the sky of Tatooine a bleak “butterscotch” colour in all daylight scenes.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE:
Tatooine is a supposed to be a desolate, ugly world with no natural beauty. Changing the sky from a calming blue to an ugly yellow-brown would bring even more emphasis to that.
CHANGE #5
Recolour all Imperial blaster bolts green.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE:
From the beginning, I’ve disliked that Imperial blasters fire red bolts. Imperial ships fire green blasts, distinguishing them from Rebel ships, so why shouldn’t their hand-held weapons do the same?
CHANGE #6
Reinsert all the deleted scenes with Luke/Tosche Station/Biggs on Tatooine.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I like how those scenes flesh out Luke’s life on Tatooine and I like the Biggs/Luke camaraderie.
CHANGE #7
Keep Vader exactly the way he was in the theatrical version of SW – red lenses, non-blinking buttons, voice and all.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I’m not keen on “harmonizing” Vader’s appearance throughout the OT. I like the idea that Vader upgrades his armour throughout the films.
CHANGE #8
Restore the original “Artoo travelling through canyon” shot:
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
The expanded canyon shot from the SEs pretties up Tatooine too much. I don’t want anything of Tatooine looking pretty in my edit.
CHANGE #9
Restore the original “Look, sir! Droids!” scene.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I hate the cramped garbage with the shuttle and added stormtroopers and CG dewbacks. Screw that shit.
CHANGE #10
Use the krayt dragon call from the SE '04.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
The original call sounds too much like the dewback call.
CHANGE #11
Reinsert original Ben’s hut.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Again, the new shot pretties Tatooine up too much.
CHANGE #12
Recolour Luke’s lightsaber cyan.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
- To better distinguish Luke’s lightsaber from Ben’s.
- The blade appears cyan upon it’s initial activation in the '95 VHS release of the movie, so the nostalgia factor’s strong with this one.
CHANGE #13
Remove all instances of “The Imperial March” and “Emperor’s Theme”.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I’m too much of a purist when it comes to the music.
CHANGE #14
Completely remove the torture droid from the scene in Leia’s cell and re-edit it to imply that Vader directly tortured her himself.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
- To give the Imperials’ treatment of Leia a more brutal, hands-on touch.
- I’ve always hated that droid.
CHANGE #15
Reinsert all the original Mos Eisley approach footage, keeping only the improved landspeeder effects from the SEs.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Mos Eisley is a craphole on a craphole planet; it doesn’t need crap CG making it crappier.
CHANGE #16
Reinsert the “wolfman with drink” shot while keeping the Rasta alien.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I like 'em both. Surely they can co-exist?
CHANGE #17
Reinsert Han’s girlfriend in the cantina.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Quoth the Barney Gumble, “I like it!”
CHANGE #18
Change this line of Han’s
“It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.”
to
“It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs.”
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
To make it a bit clearer that a parsec is a measurement of distance, not time.
CHANGE #19
Recolour the blaster bolts from Han’s blaster/the Millennium Falcon orange.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
He’s not an Imperial, and he hasn’t joined the Rebel Alliance yet, so he and his ship should have a “neutral” blaster colour.
CHANGE #20
Keep the explosion of Alderaan used in SW:R minus the shockwave.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I don’t like 2D shockwaves in outer space.
CHANGE #21
Crop every shot that shows Ben taking out his lightsaber before encountering Vader so that he doesn’t take out his lightsaber before encountering Vader.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
It may just be me, but I find it comical when Ben takes out his lightsaber, doesn’t use it, puts it back, only to whip it out again while sneaking around the Death Star.
CHANGE #22
Change this line of Tarkin’s
“The Jedi are extinct. Their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that’s left of their religion.”
to
“The Jedi are extinct. Their fire has gone out of the universe. Your kind, my friend, are all that remain of their religion.”
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I accept the existence of Imperial Inquisitors – fallen Jedi who allied themselves with the Empire – as part of my personal canon. Since Tarkin’s original line of dialogue seems to rule out the existence of any fallen Jedi beyond Vader, it has to be changed.
CHANGE #23
Reinsert the original “Han chases stormtroopers down corridor” scene.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Less is more.
CHANGE #24
Reinsert original “Ben vs. Vader” duel.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
All due respect to Adywan, but I simply don’t care for his re-edited duel. Aside from removing that silly little spin Ben makes, I don’t see anything of the duel as it was that needs to be changed.
CHANGE #25
Remove that shot of Vader stomping on Ben’s empty robes.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Vader’s not stupid.
CHANGE #26
Recolour Luke’s farm clothes in the mission briefing scene.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I don’t like the idea that a few hours at most pass between the time of the Millennium Falcon’s arrival on Yavin IV and the time the briefing is held; methinks the Rebels would like to take some time testing out Luke’s skills as a fighter pilot before putting him on Red Squadron. Changing the colours of his clothes would help sell the idea that he’s been with the Rebels for a little while.
CHANGE #27
Reinsert Red Leader’s mention of Anakin upon meeting Luke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f00IkrWvur4&t=8m16s
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Quoth the Barney Gumble again, “I like it!”
CHANGE #28
Reinsert this shot:
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I’ve always loved this original shot of Yavin. To hell with the revised, obscured-by-clouds-and-CG-X-Wings shot.
CHANGE #29
Restore the “original” SE Battle of Yavin.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
Again, all due respect to Adywan, but the additional ships do nothing for me.
CHANGE #30
Recolour the red lights aboard Vader’s TIE blue.
IMPETUS FOR CHANGE
I honestly think blue is Vader’s colour. Since changing his lightsaber to blue wouldn’t sit well with most, this would make a fine compromise.