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The ‘Custom Special Edition’ That Almost Wasn’t, But Then Was (Released) — Page 15

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Quick question I have re: the Empire Strikes Back Custom Special Edition: Is there a reason why Vader leaving Cloud City was cut entirely as opposed to simply restoring the “Bring my shuttle” line and music? I searched the thread but if the answer was there I must have missed it, apologies for my mistake.

The work done on the A New Hope hyperspace VFX is flat-out amazing.

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Broom Kid said:

Quick question I have re: the Empire Strikes Back Custom Special Edition: Is there a reason why Vader leaving Cloud City was cut entirely as opposed to simply restoring the “Bring my shuttle” line and music? I searched the thread but if the answer was there I must have missed it, apologies for my mistake.

Simple: it seems silly to request his shuttle be brought to him as he approaches it from ten feet away. That little scene doesn’t make sense if you just put the original line into the SE version.

My stance on revising fan edits.

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But before the SE version, you didn’t know where his shuttle actually WAS. It was only until the SE that they chose to extend that scene and make it look like he was walking directly to it while he was talking.

But I get the reasoning! Thanks for responding.

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I’m not sure what you’re asking. The OOT or SE versions of that super short scene work fine, but if you want to revert the actual Vader line you also have to cut the shot of him walking toward the shuttle.

My stance on revising fan edits.

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Yeah, I think I confused things, apologies. I was reading the fix-list, and it seemed like the “Bring my shuttle” line had been cut out entirely when I read it, leaving Vader’s exit of Cloud City to be just those shots of his shuttle approaching the executor.

That’s when I asked my question about why you’d cut his exit entirely instead of just leaving “Bring my Shuttle.” But you didn’t - Bring My Shuttle IS there in your custom special edition, now that I actually, you know, CHECK the video, LOL.

Apologies again.

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Taking a look at the surprise new presentations of the OT on Disney+, there’s only one thing that gets my attention for ANH and ESB.

My saga edits are and always will be mastered in BluRay-spec 1080p. The new 4K HDR aspect of the Disney+ presentation cannot carry over into anything I put out. Even if it could, I’m still dependent on DVD footage (for the PT), film scan-based footage and some GOUT (for the OT), and regular 1080p footage (for the ST), so I’m anchored somewhat by the lowest common denominator.

When boiled down to an apples to apples comparison to a decent color corrected BluRay starting place, the only thing to offer seems to be a couple of content changes or a few shots that the BluRay particularly botched. The standout for me seems to be Vader’s saber in ESB; it looks better than what I was able to do. We’ll see if I find it worth the trouble to revise once the community has digested the new presentation available, but for now it seems like ANH and ESB can remain tentatively ‘final.’

My stance on revising fan edits.

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Hal 9000 said:

Taking a look at the surprise new presentations of the OT on Disney+, there’s only one thing that gets my attention for ANH and ESB.

My saga edits are and always will be mastered in BluRay-spec 1080p. The new 4K HDR aspect of the Disney+ presentation cannot carry over into anything I put out. Even if it could, I’m still dependent on DVD footage (for the PT), film scan-based footage and some GOUT (for the OT), and regular 1080p footage (for the ST), so I’m anchored somewhat by the lowest common denominator.

When boiled down to an apples to apples comparison to a decent color corrected BluRay starting place, the only thing to offer seems to be a couple of content changes or a few shots that the BluRay particularly botched. The standout for me seems to be Vader’s saber in ESB; it looks better than what I was able to do. We’ll see if I find it worth the trouble to revise once the community has digested the new presentation available, but for now it seems like ANH and ESB can remain tentatively ‘final.’

Dis Disney color correct the Original Trilogy for Disney+, or is this part of the dreadful teal effect that’s applied to films when remastered in 4K HDR. I just got Disney+ today and noticed that myself too.

The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.

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HOLY CRAP!!! They changed the Han and Greedo scene again! This time there’s a close-up of Greedo saying one last word and then the infamous change occurs.

The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.

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Yep, all the differences are being discussed over in the General subforum.

General consensus seems to be that the Disney+ versions are the 2012 Reliance 4K scans that Lucas was preparing for the 3D releases that got scrapped, and according to Pablo Hidalgo, that Greedo scene change was the last alteration George made to the film(s) before he sold LFL to Disney.

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ChainsawAsh said:

Yep, all the differences are being discussed over in the General subforum.

General consensus seems to be that the Disney+ versions are the 2012 Reliance 4K scans that Lucas was preparing for the 3D releases that got scrapped, and according to Pablo Hidalgo, that Greedo scene change was the last alteration George made to the film(s) before he sold LFL to Disney.

So, it would’ve been one last change that would be introduced in the cancelled 3D release, despite not being in the 2011 Blu-ray?

The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.

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nl0428 said:

ChainsawAsh said:

Yep, all the differences are being discussed over in the General subforum.

General consensus seems to be that the Disney+ versions are the 2012 Reliance 4K scans that Lucas was preparing for the 3D releases that got scrapped, and according to Pablo Hidalgo, that Greedo scene change was the last alteration George made to the film(s) before he sold LFL to Disney.

So, it would’ve been one last change that would be introduced in the cancelled 3D release, despite not being in the 2011 Blu-ray?

Yep. I personally would speculate that Lucas was initially attempting to update the 2004 master for 3D and found it lacking when converted (maybe he finally noticed the horrid color work), so he just dumped what they’d already finished on the BR release and then had new 4K scans done with the intention of using those for the 3D release, all changes he’d already made that ended up on the 2011 release included. And then he just couldn’t resist one last tweak on top of that…

But then 3D re-releases turned out to not be terribly successful and he sold the company, so his new 2012 masters were shelved.

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ChainsawAsh said:

nl0428 said:

ChainsawAsh said:

Yep, all the differences are being discussed over in the General subforum.

General consensus seems to be that the Disney+ versions are the 2012 Reliance 4K scans that Lucas was preparing for the 3D releases that got scrapped, and according to Pablo Hidalgo, that Greedo scene change was the last alteration George made to the film(s) before he sold LFL to Disney.

So, it would’ve been one last change that would be introduced in the cancelled 3D release, despite not being in the 2011 Blu-ray?

Yep. I personally would speculate that Lucas was initially attempting to update the 2004 master for 3D and found it lacking when converted (maybe he finally noticed the horrid color work), so he just dumped what they’d already finished on the BR release and then had new 4K scans done with the intention of using those for the 3D release, all changes he’d already made that ended up on the 2011 release included. And then he just couldn’t resist one last tweak on top of that…

But then 3D re-releases turned out to not be terribly successful and he sold the company, so his new 2012 masters were shelved.

To be honest, as fan editors, I feel like we’ve sort of turned into George Lucas with not being satisfied with changes and edits we make.

The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.

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Honestly, I’ve thought it many times, but if George had released ANH in 3D instead of TPM it would have made bank. Probably could’ve really helped the franchise long term with the Chinese audience as well.

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Hal 9000 said:

I know I have. 😕

It’s okay, I have too. But at the same time, I think we’ve developed even more respect for him by understanding how he feels.

“A movie is never finished, only abandoned”

George Lucas, 1997

The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.

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 (Edited)

DominicCobb said:

Honestly, I’ve thought it many times, but if George had released ANH in 3D instead of TPM it would have made bank. Probably could’ve really helped the franchise long term with the Chinese audience as well.

^ THIS, dammit!

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Even though us fan editors will most likely never do this, but would you consider color correcting the 4K versions on Disney+ for an edit like this?

The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.

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Hal 9000 said:

No; I’m really not up to something like that and depend on the coloring abilities of others around here for the most part.

Agreed. I’m good sticking with 1080p Blu-rays too.

The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.

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Right; the end result would be 1080p, so there’s less reason to put a ton of work into starting over. (ROTJ can still benefit if my eventual source, Adywan or otherwise, used anything from the new transfers.) ESB might be revised to use the new transfer during the duel to get rid of the missing cores without resorting to Revisited in which they were completely redone.

My stance on revising fan edits.

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Sent you PM Hal9000 for links

Havent watched ANH yet (have it) & check it out cool stuff so far keep it up

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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.