Okay, moving on from all things STAR WARS for the time being, I’ll continue onwards in no particular order…

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (released 1951/directed by Christian Nyby)

Theatrical Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYkcZMzBTpU NOW GONE! Will look for replacement soon.

THE THING (released 1982/directed by John Carpenter)

Theatrical Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hp8SkoRwS8

**Coming Soon… ** Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s THING prequel/remake is due for release in 2011…

PLEASE NOTE - JUST IN CASE anyone happens to stumble across this old ‘Trailers’ thread of mine sometime - although I’ve got many diverse ‘scene edits’ worked out for future use, I’m just temporarily using this space to visualise a few select ones for myself before I get a chance to start a couple of threads in the relevant forums to show a lot more ideas eventually!

But I’m still working on ideas for the wording and layout of all this for myself still, so things aren’t going to be written in exactly the way I written below. 😃

NEW THREAD TITLE - THE STAR WARS ‘SAGA’ RETOLD, from a certain point of view…

2021 UPDATE - I initially started this lengthy ideas thread shortly before the concluding sequel instalment THE RISE OF SKYWALKER was due to be released at the end of 2019. Finish off my comments here sometime - Maybe add that I’ve given it some thought since then, and what conclusions I’ve come to about it all. Not sure if I should be disregarding everything but the original trilogy, given everything I’ve written here already. perhaps mention I wasn’t expecting much, and I was even more disappointed. Emperor returning was the worst aspect for me…followed closely by the dad-killing Kylo getting a kiss from Rey. Confirm that I can’t include the existing versions in my own SKYWALKER SAGA viewing order, and that my preferred original trilogy ‘special editions’ will ONLY be adywan’s revisited versions in future. Also mention that I’ve gone back and streamlined my initial posts somewhat - should I only mention this when I post my new 2 - episode Sequels ending?

1st POST

Welcome!

There was a time when things were much simpler concerning the STAR WARS ‘saga’.

But over the years, the additional instalments conflicted me…and despite plenty of impressive visuals and soundtrack goodness throughout the ORIGINAL TRILOGY’s various PREQUELS and SEQUELS, I ended up wanting to ‘unlearn what I had learned’, where some of their content was concerned…

However, I wondered if it was possible to undo some of the footage and dialogue more to my own liking…so I checked back-and-forth…and after much scrutinising (and agonising too!), I found that MUCH LESS worked MUCH MORE for me in certain areas…

…so with THE RISE OF SKYWALKER about to conclude the current trilogy at the end of the year…I thought it might be fun to show what I’d change, and describe the moments I’d prefer to TWEAK, REARRANGE, OR COMPLETELY DISCARD for my own ideal ‘saga’ re-watch someday…

Just to clarify, I’m not currently editing any of these movies, and this is purely a visual description of how I’d LIKE to alter them for myself someday, if I ever find the time.

And while there’s sure to be things you don’t agree with along the way, perhaps some of you will find something of interest here and there.

Every now and then over the coming weeks and months, I’ll describe my proposals for various scenes from across the ‘saga’ in separate, numbered posts, and will update this initial post with the ones I’ve covered, for easy reference for myself.

All thoughts are welcome of course, but for the sake of everyone’s scrolling sanity…please don’t ‘quote’ the WHOLE of these lengthy posts if you wish to comment on anything, as just posting your thoughts will suffice, without us all having to see every single screenshot again, thanks. 😃

NEXT UP, I’ll describe my THREE (!) favourite ‘viewing orders’ which begin and end in the same way, no-matter-what…

2nd POST

By the end of this year, eleven ( ! ) major live-action STAR WARS movies will have been released in this particular ‘production/release’ order - A NEW HOPE - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - RETURN OF THE JEDI - THE PHANTOM MENACE - ATTACK OF THE CLONES - REVENGE OF THE SITH - THE FORCE AWAKENS - ROGUE ONE - THE LAST JEDI - SOLO - THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - and there’s various potential ways to re-order them for ourselves…with different views on the best way to do it, as described HERE , HERE , HERE , HERE , HERE , HERE , HERE , HERE , and HERE for example!

…so the first decision I had to make was…HOW would my own ideal re-watch of the existing movies begin?

Well, for certain reasons, I knew that I definitely WASN’T going to start off with the events of THE PHANTOM MENACE…

…and while I briefly considered the notion of beginning with ROGUE ONE instead, I soon realised that didn’t work for me either, due to one thing or another…

…so with apologies to George, here’s the only answer that absolutely works best for me EVERY time -

…AND SO ON…

(If you’d like a quick re-watch, here you go - CLICK HERE , and continue here - CLICK HERE)

Along with it’s majestic score and explosive sound effects, EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE’s dramatic mid-adventure opening scenes were my first introduction to the worlds of STAR WARS and it’s characters…and remains the greatest cinematic opening to any movie ever, as far as I’m concerned.

On top of that, it also remains the best movie to properly establish the overall look and feel of the STAR WARS universe in my view, which is why it will ALWAYS be how I’d begin any ‘saga’ re-watch for myself. 😃

…and while there are a number of possible ‘viewing order’ methods to watch the various STAR WARS movies released so far, I also consider watching the entire ORIGINAL TRILOGY to be the BEST starting point for someone completely new to the franchise too…so that ALL the great original character introductions and ‘reveals’ are kept INTACT for themselves, while giving better context for the various ‘references’ and ‘call-backs’ featured in everything else that followed…

…then by watching the entire PREQUEL TRILOGY storyline AFTERWARDS as an extended ‘backstory/flashback’ to earlier events, it allows for a longer period of viewing time to pass before they eventually go on to watch the entire concluding SEQUEL TRILOGY storyline too…so that the much older versions of Luke, Han, and Leia won’t seem as jarring, by the time they get to watching the THE FORCE AWAKENS.

So for all these reasons, I’ll always consider the original Episode 4-5-6, 1-2-3, 7-8-9 ‘Theatrical/Production’ release order to be the most satisfying and least confusing way to watch these movies for myself and others, if they were ALL to be included…but MAINLY because I’d recommend someone new to the franchise begins with A NEW HOPE first, no-matter-what.

EXCEPT… this scenario is messed up by the fact that George decided to replace elderly Sebastian Shaw’s ‘Forceghost’ with a creepy-looking young fella in the current ‘Special Edition’ of RETURN OF THE JEDI instead…which will make newbies ask “Who on Endor’s Forest Moon is THAT?!” if they HAVEN’T watched Hayden in the PREQUELS first!

It’s almost as if George INTENDED it to be awkward, if watched in any way other than his favoured ‘chronological’ order…

I wouldn’t normally want newbies to split-up the ORIGINAL TRILOGY to go directly from the highs of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK to the lows of THE PHANTOM MENACE (as it makes for a rude interruption of the hooded Emperor’s mysterious identity and menacing aura in the RETURN OF THE JEDI), but I’d certainly recommend that they use the 'Ernst Rister 4-5, 1-2-3, 6, 7-8-9 order if they’re going to watch the ‘Special Edition’ of RETURN OF THE JEDI…so that they’ll actually KNOW who that random ‘Forceghost’ guy is, by the time they get to him in that particular order!

And it still ensures that someone new starts off with A NEW HOPE first, so that’s good.

But luckily for my own re-watching intentions… (those 2006 GOUT ‘bonus’ DVD discs aside), the likes of Harmy’s ‘Despecialized Edition’ of RETURN OF THE JEDI and ‘Project 4K83’ both sort out the ‘Hayden’ problem in the meantime.

…and for future purposes, adywan’s ongoing RETURN OF THE JEDI REVISITED has got my back too -

NOTE: This is work-in-progress shot that was previewed recently.

Which brings me to the versions of the ORIGINAL TRILOGY I’d ideally include in my own ‘saga’ re-watch…

I’ll always have a huge nostalgic preference for the actual '77 - '80 - '83 original versions over the existing ‘Special Edition’ recuts…but adywan’s incredible enhancements and fixes for A NEW HOPE and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK took things to a whole new level for me, and will always amaze…so his ongoing REVISITED TRILOGY is my definitive choice nowadays…and I’m looking forward to seeing his inventive new ideas for RETURN OF THE JEDI too, someday.

And of course, the fact that the Tantive IV recedes further away than ever in adywan’s makeover of A NEW HOPE’s iconic opening shot, is what clinched it for me… 😃

CLICK HERE for the sheer perfection of that.

SO TO RECAP, HERE’S MY FAVOURITE ‘VIEWING ORDER’ OF EVERYTHING SO FAR -

ORIGINAL TRILOGY storyline to kick things off with Luke, Han, and Leia…
PREQUEL TRILOGY storyline as a ‘backstory/flashback’ to earlier events…
SEQUEL TRILOGY storyline as a ‘jump-forward-in-time’ to conclude the ‘Skywalker saga’ with much older Luke, Han, and Leia…
SOLO storyline as a ‘backstory/flashback’ to fun times with Han and Chewie…
ROGUE ONE to ALWAYS finish things off as a final ‘backstory/flashback’ to bittersweet events involving some familiar faces and settings…as a way of rounding things off with where it all started off in the first place…
…and then I’d eventually start off with the exact same ‘viewing order’ once again…whenever I decide to have ANOTHER re-watch of the whole ‘saga’ spread over a period of nights, someday in the future! 😃

…AND HERE’S MY 2nd-FAVOURITE ‘VIEWING ORDER’ -

There’s also a case to be made for watching the entire ORIGINAL TRILOGY and the entire SEQUEL TRILOGY back-to-back, despite suddenly seeing much older versions of Luke, Han, and Leia as I mentioned previously…so that I could have SIX continuous movies in-a-row with the ‘main cast’ throughout…WITHOUT interrupting things with the PREQUEL TRILOGY storyline as a ‘backstory/flashback’ in-between…and WITHOUT the need to place it at the beginning either…

…so that when THE RISE OF SKYWALKER concludes, I’d then follow it up with THREE ‘backstory/flashbacks’ in-a-row for some extra STAR WARS goodness to end things on…

SO IT WOULD GO LIKE THIS -

ORIGINAL TRILOGY storyline to kick things off…
SEQUEL TRILOGY storyline as a ‘jump-forward-in-time’ to conclude things with older Luke, Han, and Leia…
PREQUEL TRILOGY storyline as a ‘backstory/flashback’ to earlier events…
SOLO storyline as a ‘backstory/flashback’ to fun times with Han and Chewie…
ROGUE ONE to ALWAYS finish things off as a final ‘backstory/flashback’ to bittersweet events involving some familiar faces and settings…as a way of rounding things off with where it all started out in the first place…
…ready to begin all over again someday, in the exact same way!

…AND HERE’S MY 3rd-FAVOURITE ‘VIEWING ORDER’ -

Although I’ve chosen not to split-up the ORIGINAL TRILOGY in the above two options, I actually quite like the ‘Ernst Rister’ scenario in certain ways too - it’s not just the way it resolves ‘Haydens’ confusing appearance as a ‘Forceghost’ in RETURN OF THE JEDI if anyone wants to start off with the ‘Special Editions’ of the ORIGINAL TRILOGY before the PREQUELS…it’s also because there’s a case to be made for STRETCHING OUT the uncertainty and loose ends of where everything left off at the end of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK a lot longer…to allow for watching the build-up of Palpatine and Anakin’s rise to power BEFORE we resume with their relationship as Emperor and Vader in RETURN OF THE JEDI, and BEFORE we find out what happened to Han…

SO IT WOULD GO LIKE THIS -

ORIGINAL TRILOGY storyline to kick things off with Luke, Han, and Leia…
PREQUEL TRILOGY storyline as a ‘backstory/flashback’ to earlier events, after THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK ends in uncertainty…
ORIGINAL TRILOGY storyline resumes with RETURN OF THE JEDI…
SEQUEL TRILOGY storyline as a ‘jump-forward-in-time’ to conclude things much with older Luke, Han, and Leia…
SOLO storyline as a ‘backstory/flashback’ involving fun times with Han and Chewie…
ROGUE ONE to ALWAYS finish things off as a final ‘backstory/flashback’ to bittersweet events involving some familiar faces and settings…as a way of rounding things off with where it all started out in the first place…
…ready to begin all over again someday, in the exact same way!

But whether you’ve got a preferred order of your own or not…we finally come to the amendments I’ve got in mind for the actual movies themselves…and NEXT UP, I’ll describe my proposed NEW OPENING for THE PHANTOM MENACE…

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3rd POST

While some may baulk at the idea of including the entire PREQUEL TRILOGY in their own ideal ‘viewing order’, I definitely want to include it in mine for various reasons…

…just NOT BEFORE watching the ORIGINAL TRILOGY first…and NOT in it’s existing form either, ideally! 😃

So to start things off, here’s my proposed NEW OPENING for THE PHANTOM MENACE which I’d like to see…as a way to introduce and reinforce the PREQUEL TRILOGY’s entire ‘backstory/flashback’ storyline at some point AFTER I’ve watched the ORIGINAL TRILOGY first…

…and as with all my future examples, I’ll put an ‘asterix’ beside the word ‘CUT’ to indicate every time I’m showing a completely new cut that’s different from how things appear in the actual movie -

WE START OFF with the usual 20TH CENTURY FOX FOX/LUCASFILM logos and fanfare, as the silent blue wording fades to black -

…and then we CUT* to an ENTIRELY NEW OPENING incorporating some footage from A NEW HOPE, which acts as a short ‘reprise’ of certain events from that movie…beginning with an ‘establishing shot’ of Obi-Wan’s dwelling on Tatooine as we hear Artoo’s faint whistles -

…and then we CUT* to the close-up of Luke saying “YOU FOUGHT IN THE CLONE WARS?” -

…and then we continue on as normal, as Obi-wan discusses Luke’s father, then hands over his lightsaber -

…and then we continue on as normal, as Obi-wan tells Luke what happened to his father, before this introductory ‘prologue’ ends with the close-up of Obi-Wan declaring “…BEFORE THE DARK TIMES…BEFORE THE EMPIRE!” -

NOTE: By adding this short ‘reprise’, it ensures that I would NEED to watch the ORIGINAL TRILOGY beforehand to give these characters their proper context at this point, which suits me fine…and it would help to kick off this ‘middle section’ of my preferred Episode 4-5-6, 1-2-3, 7-8-9 ‘saga’ viewing order with some additional ‘gravitas’ for myself…and of course, I’d IDEALLY use adywan’s STAR WARS REVISITED footage for this, seeing as it’s his enhanced version of A NEW HOPE that I’d choose to start off my ‘saga’ re-watch with, in the first place! - CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE

…and then we CUT* to the receding STAR WARS main title at this point, as this PREQUEL TRILOGY ‘flashback’ to the CLONE WARS ‘backstory’ begins -

…and then we continue on as normal, as we see THE PHANTOM MENACE’s receding description ‘scroll’ -

NOTE: I’m content to stick with the integrity of George’s underwhelming scroll wording as it is, seeing as it WON’T be the introductory description at the start of my overall ‘saga’ viewing order any longer. And adding the ‘prologue’ scene with Luke and Obi-wan beforehand will help to improve it’s dull scenario a little for me too.

…and then we continue on as normal, as we see the red Tantive ship heading towards us -

…and then we continue on as normal, as the Tantive ship passes us and heads away towards the planet Naboo which is surrounded by larger ships -

…and then we CUT* to the close-up of the Tantive ship’s Captain clicking on a switch, as she says “WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THE AMBASSADORS FOR THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR WISH TO BOARD IMMEDIATELY” -

…and then we continue on as normal, as we pan upwards to the monitor to see Nute Gunray saying “YES, OF COURSE…” -

…and then we CUT* to the interior of the Tantive ship as Nute Gunray says the words “…AND WE’D BE HAPPY TO RECEIVE THE AMBASSADORS” -

…and then we continue on as normal, as the Tantive ship dives downwards, and then lands in a docking bay -

…and then we continue on as normal, as the two Jedi are met by a silver droid and led along a corridor -

…and then we continue on as normal, as the silver droid leaves the waiting room, and the two Jedi finally reveal themselves, as Obi-Wan says “I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS”, followed by Qui-Gon saying “I DON’T SENSE ANYTHING”, followed by Obi-Wan saying “IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MISSION MASTER, IT’S SOMETHING…ELSEWHERE, ELUSIVE” -

*** NOTE - If I prefer to DELAY showing that Palpatine/the Emperor is behind the Neimodians attack on the Jedi and Naboo, then I could instead now cut to the silver droid entering through the door with refreshments, and continue in the same way I’ve shown further down - so that would mean that the first time we actually see Palpatine would be when his ‘faulty Hologram’ breaks up when speaking to the queen and her cohorts instead! ***

…and then we CUT* to the hologram of Palpatine telling Nute Gunray “WE MUST ACCELERATE OUR PLANS” -

…and then we continue on as normal, as the close-up of Palpatine then says “BEGIN LANDING YOUR TROOPS” -

…and then we CUT* to Nute Gunray saying “AND THE JEDI?” -

…and then we continue on as normal, as Palpatine says “THE CHANCELLOR SHOULD NEVER HAVE BROUGHT THEM INTO THIS, KILL THEM IMMEDIATELY!” -

…and then we continue on as normal, as Nute Gunray bows, and then says “YES, YES MY LORD, AS YOU WISH”, as Palpatine’s hologram fades away -

…and then we CUT* to the silver droid entering the doorway as it brings refreshments to the Jedi -

…and then we continue on as normal. as Obi-wan says “IS IT IN THEIR NATURE TO MAKE US WAIT THIS LONG?”, while Qui-gon taps his hand impatiently -

…and then we CUT* to the Tantive ship in the docking bay, as the pilot says “CAPTAIN LOOK!”, followed by the captain saying “SHIELDS UP!”, as the ship gets blown up -

…and then we continue on as normal, as the Jedi jump up igniting their lightsabers, and the silver droid drops it’s tray, as gas begins to fill the room, and the Jedi hold their breath -

NOTE: This way, the pace of the opening scenes of THE PHANTOM MENACE move along with a greater sense of urgency overall, compared to the existing movie…while retaining the only Nute Gunray/Palpatine dialogue I want to keep…and by having Nute Gunray in mid-conversation with Palpatine this way, it makes it look as if Nute contacted him because he ALREADY realised that the hooded ‘ambassadors’ were actually Jedi…and didn’t just rely on that random silver droid happening to mention the possibility to him, for him to be aware of the fact! Or alternatively, it can be imagined that Palpatine found out what the Supreme Chancellor was up to at this point, and it was him that contacted Nute about it!

Additionally, it also gets rid of Palpatine’s ludicrous “stunted slime” retort which really grinds my gears (is that REALLY the worst term of abuse a Dark Lord Of The Sith could manage??! 😃), while also removing the whining Neimoidian he’s referring to…so that we are only introduced to the MAIN DUO of Nute Gunray and his advisor Rune Haako right from the start.

So that’s the exact opening to the PREQUEL TRILOGY’s ‘backstory’ which I’d like to see, and while I don’t have the time to put a full-length video example together, here’s a few individual snippets to give a decent idea of how the majority of it would all look and sound overall, if you play them one after another -

1st Part - CLICK HERE - (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm logos, and blue wording)

2nd Part - CLICK HERE - (Establishing shot on Tattooine)

3rd Part - CLICK HERE - (Luke and Obi-wan’s discussion)

4th Part - CLICK HERE - (Main Title and scroll, as Tantive ship appears)

5th Part - CLICK HERE - (Captain talks to Nute Gunray on monitor)

6th Part - CLICK HERE - (Nute Gunray continues on monitor, as Jedi end up in waiting room)

7th Part - CLICK HERE - (Palpatine hologram orders Nute Gunray to begin landing his troops)

8th Part - CLICK HERE - (Palpatine hologram orders Nute Gunray to also kill the Jedi)

NEXT UP, I’ll describe my proposed NEW ENDING for REVENGE OF THE JEDI which shows how I’d prefer to conclude the PREQUEL TRILOGY’s ‘backstory’/‘flashback’ in a certain ‘stylised’ way for myself…which would feature MUCH LESS dialogue and a MUCH MORE uninterrupted flow of John Williams’ evocative soundtrack music to end things on…

But it’s taken me a while to draft it up bit-by-bit along with info. about my choices, as I want to cover every single alteration I’ve got in mind for the WHOLE of the final 1 hr 6 mins. (!) of the movie’s multi-strand ending, starting from when Anakin and Obi-wan begin duelling…which means it’s going to be the LONGEST post I’ll ever need to show here…but I’m nearly there with it all, and it should be up here within the next few days, when I get the chance to finish it off.

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followed by Qui-Gon saying “NO, I SENSE AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF FEAR FOR SOMETHING AS TRIVIAL AS THIS TRADE DISPUTE”, while Obi-wan takes a drink from the droid, as Qui-gon then takes a cup from the droid’s tray too -

NOTE - MENTION THE WORD ‘COMPROMISE’ SOMEWHERE IN ALL THIS

NOTE: the clip shown in C. is a shortened version of adywan’s REVISITED scene as seen here - https://streamable.com/30bu3 (NOTE - I’m still undecided whether to include the WHOLE scene or not)

NOTE - END BY SAYING I’LL BE SHOWING MY CHANGES TO THE NEMOIDIANS AND DESTROYER DROIDS SEQUENCE WHICH COMES AFTER ALL THIS, ALONG WITH MY CHANGES TO THE JAR JAR INTRODUCTION.

Blockquotes can also be nested…/highlighted in a block of blue like this example, by adding an arrow pointed to the right at the start of the sentance I want highlighted. NOTE - LEAVE A GAP BETWEEN THE ARROW AND FIRST LETTER.

NOTE - TO TURN A WHOLE TYPED-OUT LINK ADDRESS INTO THE WORD ‘HERE’, I JUST NEED TO TYPE THIS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE IT - [link] AND ALSO ADD NORMAL CURVED BRACKETS LIKE THIS TO THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE LINK ADDRESS - ( )

A LITTLE IDEA FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN’T LIKE THE PREQUELS WHATSOVER - a stitched together version of the pretty good Obi-wan/Anakin lightsaber duel in the tv show could make for a nice little replacement ‘mini prequel’ for the Original Trilogy as an appetiser short…with no ‘de-aging’ needing done to the footage of Ewan and Hayden whatsoever. Just stick the usual silent blue wording at the start, and have a silent Lucasfilm logo fade out at the end of it.

ADD ‘TIME STAMPS’ TO ALL MY CUTS IN CASE MY LINKS GET TAKEN DOWN AGAIN!