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Post #470751

Author
The Aluminum Falcon
Parent topic
Which version/release of the Star Wars movies do you watch and why?
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/470751/action/topic#470751
Date created
5-Feb-2011, 6:49 PM

With all the new releases coming out, it constantly changes for me. However, please note that I really don't watch the prequel trilogy often no matter what version. Here's my current list.

  1. Star Wars/A New Hope: Tie between Lee Thorogood's 1997 laserdisc preservation and Moth3r's widescreen bootleg telecine. I grew up with the 1997 version and (despite it's shortcomings) it's got a special place in my heart. Though I prefer the original theatrical version, call me crazy but I like the color timing of the 1997 (not 2004) edition. Guess it always looked right to my eyes since that's the first I saw of Star Wars. On the other hand, Moth3r's widescreen telecine is Star Wars in its purest form. Whenever I watch the telecine, I can imagine being a person in the 1970's excited by the spectacle of Star Wars.
  2. Empire Strikes Back: Adywan's AVCHD. I'm somewhat neutral about the 1997 changes to Empire, which didn't feel nearly as much as the ones made to ANH and ROTJ, so I simply like the highest quality version. I also love the color timing and look of the lightsabers.
  3. Return of the Jedi: Harmy's 1983 Theatrical Reconstruction. Unlike the other two Special Editions, I simply thought the ROTJ SE was god-awful. I also loathed the color timing of the DVD and can't stand the lightsabers. Harmy's reconstruction has brilliant lightsabers, and the color timing just makes everything feel so... right. Note that I'm watching the NTSC DVD5 version with Hairy Hen's 5.1 mix muxed in to replace the inferior 2.0 audio track.
  4. Phantom Menace: L8wtr's Shadow of the Sith fan edit. It's much more streamlined and fun than the official cuts. Though if I had to pick a non fan-edit, it would be Adywan's AVCHD since it is the best quality.
  5. Attack of the Clones: The Phantom Editor's Attack of the Phantom fan edit because it made the love story less cringe-worthy and more believable. As for a non fan-edit, I would choose the DVD since it's the only one I know of, as there hasn't been a reconstruction of the IMAX Cut yet.
  6. Revenge of the Sith: Stankpac's Revenge of the Sith fan edit because it cuts the Yoda battle and makes many alterations that improve the movie. If I had to pick a non fan-edit, it would be the official DVD; though I may like Adywan's theatrical version if I could get my hands on it.

 

So there you have it, those are my favorite versions. Although to be honest, I expect that by the end of the year, my favorites will change. I'll definitely love Spence's ROTJ edit which looks like a vast improvement of story. I also probably may start preferring ESB: Revisited or Harmy's improved De-specialized editions (if they come out this year).