Watched it recently, it’s much better but on a personal subjective level, it doesn’t quite cut out enough for me. Biggest problem is that you left in the kids at the end which now make zero sense in the context of the film. On a technical level it was masterful as always though.
Prequel Fan-Edit thread: http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Yet-another-series-of-prequel-edits/id/17329
Watched it recently, it’s much better but on a personal subjective level, it doesn’t quite cut out enough for me. Biggest problem is that you left in the kids at the end which now make zero sense in the context of the film. On a technical level it was masterful as always though.
I used to agree with you, but just assume a passage of time. The kids don’t have to be from Canto Bight, they can just be kids anywhere inspired by Luke.
The Skywalker Saga:
I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX
This is the way.
Watched it recently, it’s much better but on a personal subjective level, it doesn’t quite cut out enough for me. Biggest problem is that you left in the kids at the end which now make zero sense in the context of the film. On a technical level it was masterful as always though.
I used to agree with you, but just assume a passage of time. The kids don’t have to be from Canto Bight, they can just be kids anywhere inspired by Luke.
Agree thats exactly how I took it and also this scene needs to be in it for future starwars movies context. Just a same Lukes 3rd lession didnt make an appearance.
“We Are What They Grow Beyond” - Yoda
My Prefered Saga Viewing Preference:
Ep. III - Revenge of the Sith Special Edition (StankPac Edit) * Rogue One - A Star Wars Story (Hal 9000 Edit)
Ep. IV - A New Hope D+77 (OohTeeDee Edit) * Ep. V - Empire Strikes Back D+80 (OohTeeDee Edit)
Ep. VI - Return of The Jedi OTD83 (OohTeeDee Edit) * Ep. VII - The Force Awakens Restructured (Hal 9000 Edit)
Ep. VIII - The Last Jedi Legendary (Hal 9000 Edit) * Ep. IX - The Rise of Skywalker Ascendant (Hal 9000 Edit)
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Watched it recently, it’s much better but on a personal subjective level, it doesn’t quite cut out enough for me. Biggest problem is that you left in the kids at the end which now make zero sense in the context of the film. On a technical level it was masterful as always though.
I used to agree with you, but just assume a passage of time. The kids don’t have to be from Canto Bight, they can just be kids anywhere inspired by Luke.
I just prefer the original formula of all the other films where we end each episode with our protagonists together gazing at something, rather than setting up future films in the middle of a trilogy.
Prequel Fan-Edit thread: http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Yet-another-series-of-prequel-edits/id/17329
I am 90% sure broomboy isn’t setting up anything in particular. It’s only there to show that Luke’s sacrifice actually did ignite hope in the Galaxy.
Plus, I don’t expect Disney to have a major character named Temiri Blagg in their movies anytime soon.
Temiri Blagg
Why do Star Wars names have to be so bad?
Reading R + L ≠ J theories
Temiri Blagg
Why do Star Wars names have to be so blagg?
FTFY
Just finished watching you edit, Hal. Great work; I’ve left a review on fanedit. I’m happy to have been able to contribute what little I did in the case artwork, with all due respect to Sherman’s work.
Impossible thought exercise:
If my version is what was literally projected in theaters… What do you think you would have made of the very brief excursion to Canto Bight, especially the abrupt landing and arrest scene? My hope was that it would blend in well with the other 10,000 times the film tries to subvert expectations at every turn and often multiple times within a sequence.
For my part, I would probably have laughed at how short Finn and Rose’s efforts were cut, inferring the sort of sardonic criticism of their plans that the film directs at Poe for his, and also to Luke, Rey, and other characters. I would likely have suspected that some material had been cut in the interest of time/pacing (since it is still a lengthy Star Wars movie), which would have bridged their escape from jail to being in hyperspace. Then the fathier stuff would be one of those “oh man why did they cut this stuff out” things that I would have relented with “oh I guess that makes sense in service to the movie as a whole.”
That was my intent, and it isn’t a slam dunk at all. But I felt if I were to do a fan edit at all, it had to eliminate the fathier chase completely.
^ That is pretty much exactly what I thought of it when I watched your first workprint.
Also, sorry I never checked out your other WP and haven’t had a chance to download or watch the final version. Life has been quite busy lately and it’s been putting pretty much all of my hobbies on hold, including posting here and places like FE and Fanres. I’ll get to it at some point, I promise!
Temiri Blagg
Why do Star Wars names have to be so blagg?
FTFY
Until I saw the FTFY I thought I just had a stroke and forgot about it.
Reading R + L ≠ J theories
No worries, Ash. Your feedback has been unilaterally helpful, and I wouldn’t want you to watch the final product until you would do so just to enjoy it.
Congrats on the finished edit, Hal!
Ok, just a little something, an idea in case it would be possible to implement it in a v2 (if there is at some point a v2, of course), in order to smoother the only issue I have with this edit, ie the close up on the ring at the end of the movie. When I’ve watched the edit with people who’ve only seen the movie once a few month ago in theater and forgot quite a bit about it, there was a single question: not “who’s this boy?”, no, but “what’s this ring?”. So, I’ve found a solution. Good or bad, tell me, here it is:
just before the fathier chase, Rose shows this ring to the kid via a close up on it (around 1:06:25 of the theatrical cut);
even long before this scene (around 0:36:00 of the edit), Holdo’s “state of the Resistance” speech evoques their symbol.
What about inserting the shot on Rose’s ring when Holdo mentions the symbol ? If you look at the Canto Bight ring shot, you only see the hands and the ring, nothing else. The close up on Poe at 0:36:40 should be replaced or shortened with the implementation of the close up on Rose’s ring.
Just an idea that would fix the only moment of the edit where people may say “hey, there is something missing for me to fully understand the ending !”.
(oh, and something else: is there a dts export of the audio track of TFA:R ? There was a mov uncompressed file but if a dts version of it had been made I would gladly mux it to the mkv file of the edit 😃)
I don’t recall making a DTS for TFA:R, but if Hal can send me the stems for it I’ll happily make one.
I don’t recall making a DTS for TFA:R, but if Hal can send me the stems for it I’ll happily make one.
PM sent
And I don’t see an issue about the ring for a hypothetical first time audience. Holdo mentions their symbol, then at the end we have the “Everyman” boy with an old school rebel insignia ring, who just heard enjoying a campfire story about Luke Skywalker.
I’m not sure all first time viewers know what the Rebellion symbol is. But most of them, maybe.
Oh, fair point. This strikes me as one of those things that feels like a hurdle by virtue of being a function of a fan edit, but would readily have been received and defended were it a feature of the original film.
No way to know for sure, but that’s my suspicion and by that criteria, I like it. 😃
Oh, fair point. This strikes me as one of those things that feels like a hurdle by virtue of being a function of a fan edit, but would readily have been received and defended were it a feature of the original film.
No way to know for sure, but that’s my suspicion and by that criteria, I like it. 😃
I agree with ya Hal. I think it works.
Here’s a few thoughts on the role of humor in the ‘Hal9000 fan edit’ version of the Star Wars saga so far, in light of accusations of a perception of my TLJ edit as “No Fun Allowed” which was presented to me.[I don’t plan to mess with the OT beyond merely hybridizing the various official versions of the film, and perhaps a decidedly limited inclusion of a handful of other things, such as Adywan’s ESB Emperor scene (though even then it is merely sprucing up a SE alteration).]
ANH is an earnest story which makes use of ‘fish out of water’ and character-based humor throughout, with R2 and 3PO taking much of this on. The story is told in a ‘straight’ manner, with the humor being derived from the characters. (No fourth wall breaks.)
ESB is a bit darker and more contemplative overall, with its humor continuing to derive from characters, new and old. 3PO is almost completely played for comedic relief, all of which is consistent with his established characteristics. The same sort of dry, character-driven humor present in ANH continues on as well. The dramatic moments of the film are played straight, and each sequence has a consistent tone.
ROTJ is where humor starts to become more campy, for better or worse. Within the bounds of our ‘sacred trilogy,’ ROTJ sets the far end of the humor goalpost with Ewoks, Salacious Crumb, burping Sarlacc, and observational humor Solo. The film is able to achieve dramatic elevation at important moments, and the humor, while not everyone’s cup of tea, does not infringe of these for the most part.
In COD, my edit of TPM, the humor is reigned in, though consciously allowed to remain a characteristic part of the movie. I’d say it does not venture as far as ROTJ, though enough is there to round out the otherwise dry plot. There’s less humor, to be sure, but I think what remains functions in a more palatable way overall.
In TAS, my edit of AOTC, a great deal of the “humor” has been removed, falling into the category of pure cringe IMHO. I’m thinking of anything 3PO does after entering the droid factory, for example. The end result is a more serious tone for the film, with less cringey, laugh in disbelief style humor. However, it leaves the film less distinct, with a ‘sink or swim’ attitude on the part of this editor, and it is either received by a viewer as more or less effective, depending on how it functions without these crutches.
LOE, my edit of ROTS, has a similar treatment applied. Moreso than AOTC, ROTS reached for dark, dramatic sequences and a darker overall tone. This seemed to mix poorly with moments of very cartoony humor, so I attempted to even out the tone by cutting down on both the silliest bits of humor and a couple over-the-top dark moments. The end result is the darkest, least funny film of the bunch. This one will also stand or fall based on its effectiveness, which is very much open to debate, without relying on cartoony humor.
TFA:R doesn’t really change anything related to humor. TFA itself is a decidedly fun romp, with its humor typically being derived from its characters, which lent it a feeling of Star Wars authenticity. It might have gone a little too far in a few places, but seems to be well within the goalpost set by ROTJ, and a return to form by mostly effective and appropriate use of humor.
TLJ’s humor struck me as problematic at several points. As a microcosm, consider the spaceship/iron gag. It’s a genuinely fun and funny moment, though is a hard stylistic break from all prior Star Wars films, and is the sort of thing usually found in a parody. Removing this joke from TLJ:L ought not to be inferred as disliking the joke, but as part of an attempt to lessen the tenacious ‘deconstruction’ the film engages in from beginning to end, and to cohere with the other seven films to date. The same goes for the Caretakers, whose only role in the finished film is to break the fourth wall. Much of the film’s humor comes at the expense of Star Wars and its fan’s expectations. I’m not opposed to this in principle, though very much believe less would have been more.
TFA and TLJ’s humor is more pervasive and blended in than any of the prequels’. If one were to attempt to remove the majority of their humor in the same way I did with the prequels, they would suffer and not be nearly as successful overall. I recognized this and didn’t care to mess with TFA in this regard, for similar reasons as ROTJ. The humor I toned down for TLJ was in the interest of lessening the film’s constant meta commentary in order for what remains (including the deconstruction that remains) to telegraph good faith and be more easily received by its ostensible audience. In other words, to craft an edit I wish I could send back in time to myself at the time of the film’s release. A gift from me, the one who has digested and wrestled with the film’s views and come to appreciate it, to the other me, the first time viewer who couldn’t help but feel confused and insulted.
Don’t worry bout people saying your edit is too serious Hal. You left in the genuinely funny and well fitting moments for an experience that is more tonally balanced. You kept more humor in your edit than I have in mine.
[I don’t plan to mess with the OT beyond merely hybridizing the various official versions of the film, and perhaps a decidedly limited inclusion of a handful of other things, such as Adywan’s ESB Emperor scene (though even then it is merely sprucing up a SE alteration).]
And adding a fourth “.” to ROTJ opening crawl ! 😉
Don’t worry bout people saying your edit is too serious Hal. You left in the genuinely funny and well fitting moments for an experience that is more tonally balanced. You kept more humor in your edit than I have in mine.
It was just a perception that surprised me, and I wanted to reflect on it in light of my ‘presentation’ of the saga films so far. As long as I’m happy with the end result, which partly depends on it testing well, it’s all good.
I admit I was among those that wondered in the theater what Hal would do with the film.
Finally got a chance to sit down and see for myself! Fantastic edit, cut out and down everything that I would have wanted. Save for broom boy, but it works. The reinsertion of deleted scenes was flawless. I actually didn’t realize the jacket scene was one of them until after I went over the change list. Luke’s Moment is touching and much needed. I think if this had been the cut shown theatrically there’d be less strife in the fandom. And I’m honored to be included in the Special Thanks!
About to show your edit to my parents who have never seen TLJ, it will be interesting to see what they think!
The Skywalker Saga:
I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX
This is the way.