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Star Wars - The Edits and DVDr releases thread — Page 12

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Rikter:

I found a couple of sites that might be of interest to you or to others (you may have seen them before...indeed, either of them might even be your own sites!). While not necessarily within the scope of what you are focusing on here, they may well serve as good supplementary info.

The first is a site documenting the history of the Star Wars movies on home video, detailing the differences between all the versions, etc. It is at
http://www.davisdvd.com/misc/ep4.htm
(with links at the bottom of the page for the other episodes).

The other is a site documenting the various Star Wars DVDs available, retail as well as bootleg (especially for the original trilogy pre-SE). It is here:
http://www.prillaman.net/starwarsdvd.html

Anyway, keep up the good work!

nabziF
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The MeBeJedi STAR WARS: A New Hope (prototype??)

THIS is ONLY 1 opinion.................... (written at 5:30am)

First,
This is not a transfer of the Definitive Collection LD's but a transfer of the "Faces" set (which is said to be of better quality)

It's like watching the film for the first time at home again!

But this time we are treated with a 15 second THX LD trailer that is followed by a 27 second "Millenium Falcon" intro which navigates straight to the main menu. This basic menu layout that thankfully lacks all the "Drama and SPFX" that most new commercial DVD's all seem to be infected with, instead MeBeJedi delievers a neat, clean basic menu layout that features an immediate chapter selection screen (witty chapter names ). The discs menu structure lacks any needless title screens and selecting a chapter is simple enough and by simply pushing your down arrow button you can highlight the commentary link which then jumps you to the appropriate commentery page which feature a brief description of the commentary for that chapter.

Again these menus are very simple and you should have no problem moving through them at all ~

The Video Quality...

The Picture is awesome!!!

So far the colors are the BEST I've seen yet and DAMN the video just looks so clean.............

It's apparent that this was the result of a painstaking color correction process - the gamma levels have been adjusted, contrast and the color levels (was it done in RGB or YUV?) have all been restored and under my DVD players zoom feature the quality holds up....
@ 2x zoom they still look very good @ 3x zoom you say damn this is a good transfer (good job on the the VBR and color correction is perfect!) - the colors really are that good and are even better then the actually laserdiscs IMHO -

The Audio Quality...

This is the best feature yet! - THE PCM track is better then the TR47 set - IF you crank up the TR47 set there is some noise inthe audio stream.... THIS set has very little noise on the audio. It's a cleaner and smoother audio track then ANY other set I've heard

2 audio formats/ 3 audio tracks

LPCM 2.0 @ 1536 kbps

WOW ~ This is a great sounding PCM and with the care that was taken in the conversion the matrixed surround track was reatained and BOY what beautiful playback you get.

AC3 Dolby Digital 5.1 - THE BEST 5.1 EVER ~ It really only sounds like a perfect conversion - there is NO fake rear steering just a WONDERFUL re-encode of the original PCM - CHEERS to you on that! (it's a little quite but most DD 5.1 is)

AC3 Dolby Digital 2.0 -
And the commentary is clean but a little loud compaired the rest of the video.

OVERALL -

I did not see or here any major or noticable errors in the video or the audio. There are no "missing" scenes and I do not recall even seeing a side flip or a disc change and from what I saw today - the TR47 and the Dr. Gonzo set may well soon become things of the past.

AND if this is only a prototype...

DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!



“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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Awesome. But I was wondering if the idea to insert his name into the credits was still alive. I mean, I understand that he would like a little credit for his efforts, but actually altering the movie itself is exactly what we are all trying to work against, isn't it? Besides, it'd be a little... how do I say this without being offensive? Tacky. It's the only word I can think of.

The idea I had to make sure that he receives the credit for his efforts, is to insert a splash screen at the end of the credits. Anybody who has let a DVD run to the end of the credits knows what I mean, when the company that did the authoring and encoding has their five seconds of fame with one of those screens. I think it would be appropriate, since he certainly deserves the same recognition as the encoders of any other DVD, and still leaves the movie intact.

Anyway, if that was all a joke or I missed the post that would have answered my question already, I apologize... I've got a pregnant wife and two jobs so I can't always catch every post.
For as much as some people claim to hate what Star Wars has become, they sure seem incapable of shutting up about it.
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It was just something fun to do. People need to lighten up...

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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I was just trying to express my thoughts regarding the idea, and at the same time offer a viable alternative to make sure that people know who's responsable for what is sounding like the best transfer yet. Even if the idea was just a joke, I still think you should put that splash screen at the end of the credits, sounds as though you deserve it.

I think my idea was actually fairly good, as well as flattering, since someone, namely me, thinks that your hard work should be recognized. And you say I need to lighten up?

IN OTHER NEWS: I've been working on a new set of covers for the various sets of DVDs floating around. Each set tailored to their respective "versions", but still designed so that all the versions still seem to "go together" on the shelf. I think they're looking kinda good since everything other than photos is being done in a clean vector format. EVERYTHING. Logos, titles, text (duh... text). I've spent some time on these. (The photoediting on the back cover for the TR47 ROTJ is kicking my ass for some unexplainable reason.) Anyway, I'd love to design a set for yours. Just lemme know if you'd like to see what I come up with. (And let me know what you'd like your particular "version" to be called. i.e. "The TR47 Version", "The Anamorphic Version", "The MeBeJedi/UBeSith Version", etc.)


**ADDITIONAL**

I just ran through another thread and I think I know why you were a little snappy about the credit-alteration comment I made. I just wanna clarify and say that OF COURSE you had influence and help from others, but so did EVERYONE who's done a transfer so far, and we still call their versions by their names right? So this will by all rights be your version... just wanted to let you know that whoever it was that took a poke at you in the other thread is missing the point, and that I appreiciate all the work you're doing. (Oh, and put your damn name on a splash screen after the credits, it'll be cool and non-invasive. )
For as much as some people claim to hate what Star Wars has become, they sure seem incapable of shutting up about it.
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A couple of suggestions as a way to credit yourself without insiting another lynch mob (like the one I occasionally get over the yellow saber):

A logo before the film... Maybe similar to a THX intro.

Or bill yourself in the end credits, maybe after Lucas is credited a writer/director and Kurtz is as producer, insert a credit - Digital Restoration - MeBeJedi.

That way you're billed without people up in arms thinking that you're claiming you wrote & directed it...

http://twitter.com/TheMagnoliaFan

http://www.youtube.com/user/magnoliafan78

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"And you say I need to lighten up?"

Sorry, that wasn't directed solely at you. There's been several people mentioning this. I was just trying to make a cool effect, and apparently ruffled a few feathers in the process. Kinda takes the fun out of this.

"I just ran through another thread and I think I know why you were a little snappy about the credit-alteration comment I made."

Yeah, see what I mean? Again, it wasn't just you - it was just that your comment brought back bad memories.

YOU RAPED MY CHILDHOOD! Lol!

"Just lemme know if you'd like to see what I come up with."

I'd love to see them. I, myself, don't have the capabilities to make my own labels (my father-in-law does, but I ain't bothering him. He's a butt-hole, and the colors on his projects never look good.)

"A couple of suggestions as a way to credit yourself without insiting another lynch mob"

You noticed that too, did ya?

"(like the one I occasionally get over the yellow saber):"

What was that all about?

"A logo before the film... Maybe similar to a THX intro. Or bill yourself in the end credits, maybe after Lucas is credited a writer/director and Kurtz is as producer, insert a credit - Digital Restoration - MeBeJedi."

Lol. That would be pretty cool! Maybe put my name under Lucas'. (I was actually thinking of putting something like that in the bottom right-hand corner as well.)

"That way you're billed without people up in arms thinking that you're claiming you wrote & directed it..."

Well, again, the overall intent was just to see if I could erase Lucas' name and replace it with my own. It turned out to be surprisingly easy, mostly because there were very few frames in the actual transition.

Then again, I could erase the "written and directed" part as well, and replace it with "digital restoration by". Then no one could accuse me of making the films my own.

(Disclaimer: THAT WAS A JOKE!)

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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I certainly noticed the lynch mob mentality...
I've gotten the reaction a few times here and there over Jar Jar's cursing and Dooku's saber, and I'm sure I'll get it here and there over III and the OT...
It's funny, finding myself thinking, "This is the film I wanted to make and if people don't like it tough...", meanwhile getting irritated at George for the same attitude.
It is funny how up in arms people get over little experiments...
Imagine if I had released my test footage of Jar Jar being voiced by Donkey from Shrek, rough footage with Eagle 5 from Space Balls in TPM, or my test shot of the Force Ghosts with yet another actor portraying Anakin who looked like Shaw, was built like Vader, but appeared to be 40's ish.
Sometime's you just want to do stuff just to see if it could be done...

http://twitter.com/TheMagnoliaFan

http://www.youtube.com/user/magnoliafan78

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"It's funny, finding myself thinking, "This is the film I wanted to make and if people don't like it tough...", meanwhile getting irritated at George for the same attitude."

Deja Vu...

"Sometime's you just want to do stuff just to see if it could be done..."

Which is exactly what got me to this point...

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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I love this!

I can't believe that the only two people with the nads to get in there and RESTORE or EDIT the films are both always cathing crap!

Some of these "Fanboys" need to relax - I mean if you don't like what they are doing ignore it.

The MagnoliaFan Edits are becoming VERY VERY famous and have been very well recieved sure some folks won't like but most will....

And now the MeBeJedi Versions.. DUDE you've managed to do what no other has - Capture it right!

Your colors and sound are the STUPEDIOUS!

~ Your restoration is THE BEST and Definitive versions of the OT (Isn't Laserman doing a frame-by-frame restoration??)



I just wanted to say I support the both of you fully ~ screw the whinning fanboys!

RiK

“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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Originally posted by: Rikter
I love this!

I can't believe that the only two people with the nads to get in there and RESTORE or EDIT the films are both always cathing crap!

Some of these "Fanboys" need to relax - I mean if you don't like what they are doing ignore it.

The MagnoliaFan Edits are becoming VERY VERY famous and have been very well recieved sure some folks won't like but most will....

And now the MeBeJedi Versions.. DUDE you've managed to do what no other has - Capture it right!

Your colors and sound are the STUPEDIOUS!

~ Your restoration is THE BEST and Definitive versions of the OT (Isn't Laserman doing a frame-by-frame restoration??)



I just wanted to say I support the both of you fully ~ screw the whinning fanboys!

RiK



Soooooo... you think there's no reason whatsoever to have a problem with somebody going in and editing the OT as they see fit? Only whining fanboys would complain about something like this? Well then, I suppose Lucas will be expecting his apology letter from you within the week. (I'm kidding! I'm kidding!)

As for MagnoliaFan's edits, I think the idea is great, since these movies are still available in their original form, and these are just an alternative. (An alternative that I look forward to getting my hands on just as soon as I can sort out the various versions and which one I need to download.) I agree that anybody giving him shit needs to be beaten within an inch of their lives by somebody with no sense of measurement, (think about it...)

As for MeBeJedi's transfer... I don't think ANYBODY has a problem with the work he's doing. I'm sure that EVERYBODY who has the slightest inkling of the effort involved is planning on naming their children after him in homage to his work. (Too bad my wife and I have already settled on a name for the daughter we're having in November. ) The idea though was that he was talking about changing the movie itself on site devoted to the idea that the movies shouldn't have been changed in the first place... that's some dangerous ground to tread on. Did most people overreact? Hell yeah they did. I myself tried to temper my reaction with some helpful alternatives, but probably still came off as a prick at first. (And I cetainly didn't mean for it to be taken in a harsh way. ) As far as the menu issue goes: hell man, for all I care I can pop the disc in and be greeted with nothing more than "MeBeJedi did this. Recognize foo'!" with 'play' highlighted at the bottom. That'd add a certain amount of humor to the ordeal that's led us to have to "bootleg" in the first place, now that I think about it. *heh*heh* In the end, it's the MOVIE that counts. As long as that gets an unaltered, respectful treatment, then I'm happy as a pig in shit. (Not to mention that fact that MeBeJedi will choose the DVD covers I'm working on for his set as the only officially sanctioned set! The Emperor has foreseen it!)

Then again, maybe you were only referring to the menu debate (which is indeed a stupid argument, considering how easy it is to redo the damn things in the first place) and it's me who's overreacting... DAMN THE INTERNET! You never can tell what the hell anybody is trying to say!!

In conclusion, I love you all and look forward to long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners and late night cuddle sessions with each and every one of you... except Jimbo. He annoys me.
For as much as some people claim to hate what Star Wars has become, they sure seem incapable of shutting up about it.
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Originally posted by: Rebel Rouser

In conclusion, I love you all and look forward to long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners and late night cuddle sessions with each and every one of you... except Jimbo. He annoys me.



HAHAHAHAHHA



“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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The MeBeJedi STAR WARS: A New Hope (prototype??)

THIS is ONLY 1 opinion.................... (written at 5:30am)

First,
This is not a transfer of the Definitive Collection LD's but a transfer of the "Faces" set (which is said to be of better quality)

It's like watching the film for the first time at home again!

But this time we are treated with a 15 second THX LD trailer that is followed by a 27 second "Millenium Falcon" intro which navigates straight to the main menu. This basic menu layout that thankfully lacks all the "Drama and SPFX" that most new commercial DVD's all seem to be infected with, instead MeBeJedi delievers a neat, clean basic menu layout that features an immediate chapter selection screen (witty chapter names ). The discs menu structure lacks any needless title screens and selecting a chapter is simple enough and by simply pushing your down arrow button you can highlight the commentary link which then jumps you to the appropriate commentery page which feature a brief description of the commentary for that chapter.

Again these menus are very simple and you should have no problem moving through them at all ~

The Video Quality...

The Picture is awesome!!!

So far the colors are the BEST I've seen yet and DAMN the video just looks so clean.............

It's apparent that this was the result of a painstaking color correction process - the gamma levels have been adjusted, contrast and the color levels (was it done HuffyYUV) have all been restored. The color seems a bit red in some scenes but it is neither distracting or overdone this seems to be a side effect of the contrast changes, it does seem to be a bit overly white on the Tantive IV but like I said it's still one of thes best - IMHO

BUT as far as the general video quality... Under my DVD players zoom feature the quality holds up....
@ 2x zoom they still look very good @ 3x zoom you say damn this is a good transfer (good job on the the VBR and color correction is perfect!) - the colors really are that good and are even better then the actually laserdiscs IMHO -

The Audio Quality...

This is the best feature yet! - THE PCM track is better then the TR47 set - IF you crank up the TR47 set there is some noise in the audio stream.... THIS set has very little noise to no noise in the audio. It's a cleaner and smoother PCM audio track then ANY other set I've heard as it has the most natural sound.

2 audio formats/ 3 audio tracks

LPCM 2.0 @ 1536 kbps

WOW ~ This is a great sounding PCM and with the care that was taken in the conversion the matrixed surround track was reatained and BOY what beautiful playback you get.

AC3 Dolby Digital 5.1 - THE BEST 5.1 EVER ~ It really only sounds like a perfect conversion - there is NO fake rear steering just a WONDERFUL re-encode of the original PCM - CHEERS to you on that! (it's a little quite but most DD 5.1 is)

AC3 Dolby Digital 2.0 -
And the commentary is clean but a little loud compaired the rest of the video.

OVERALL -

I did not see or here any major or noticable errors in the video or the audio other then the contrast being a bit much - BUT that is me knit picking . There are no "missing" scenes and I do not recall even seeing a side flip or a disc change and from what I saw today

- the TR47 and the Dr. Gonzo set may well soon become things of the past.

UPDATE!

OKAY - Today I had a few friends over........

I did a blind test with 4 DVD versions of the OT. For the test I put in each of the DVD's and played the first 5 minutes of each film (as the first 5 minutes really do push the limits with all the white - so the colors really stand out on the scenes on the Tantive IV

I tested it on this gear -

Projector Playback -

Projection Panel: nView Spectra C - connected via SVGA
Video processer: ViewSonic NextVision N4 - connected via SVGA
Over Head Projector: 3M 9700 - 410w/4000 lumens

TV Playback -

TV: Apex 27" - connected via S-video
DVD 1: Mintek 1600
DVD 2: Apex AD-1500

Audio Playback

Decoded via PRO-LOGIC II + DTS NEO6

The PLII was the winner here ~ The DTS was a bit to quite and the conversion created extra noise

A/V Receiver 1: Onkyo TX-SR501 - connected via TOS-LINK
A/V Receiver 2: JVC RX-315 (used to power tactile transducers)
Front Speakers: NHT New Wave x2
Center Speakers: NHT New Wave
Rear Speakers: Kenwood KS-203 x2
Center Rear: Kenwood KS-203
Sub: KLH ASW10
Tactile Transducers: AURA "Bass Shaker" AST-1B-4 x2

All three films were tested on both my TV (first) then the Projector...
Again We watched the first 5-10 minutes and skipped around the disc for other scenes (Anchorhead, Vadrer+Ben's dual and the D-Star).

The end result was that everyone (all 5 of us including my wife ) picked the MeBeJedi set for BOTH audio and visual followed by the TR47 set then the Dr. Gonzo Set.

Here are some comparison screen captures

- I'm sorry about this dial-uppers BUT quality is the point here...

THE DR. GONZO set
http://home.comcast.net/~newmexicoufo/Dr_Gonzo_set.jpg

THE TR47 set
http://home.comcast.net/~newmexicoufo/TR47_Set.jpg

THE MeBeJedi set
http://home.comcast.net/~newmexicoufo/MeBeJedi_Set.jpg

“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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Cheers for the screencaps, Rik

Looks like one day soon I'll hopefully have the:-

TR47 Letterbox
Dr Gonzo Anamorphics
BeMyJedi version - anam or letter
and hopefully eventually Laserman's version too


...though no George Lucas official dvds

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
‘How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + FAQs - includes info on how to search for projects and threads on the OT•com

A Project Index for Star Wars Preservations (Harmy’s Despecialized & 4K77/80/83 etc) : A Project Index for Star Wars Fan Edits (adywan & Hal 9000 etc)

… and take your time to look around this site before posting - to get a feel for this place. Don’t just lazily make yet another thread asking for projects.

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TR-47's seems to have more fine detail... it might be a close call between the two.
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^^^Yes. Upon seeing more screencaps between the two, TR47 seems to have overall higher sharpness and detail.

They are both awesome however. Don't read bad meaning into what I'm saying.

My stance on revising fan edits.

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Hmmm... now that the buchered DVDs are out, wouldn't it be possible to take those and then just un-edit (so to speak) the changes? Getting rid of Jabba should be easy as pie, the other stuff would require the use of the LD or faces footage.

'Course, it'd be easier to accuse folks of piracy if this was done, maybe it's better not to. :-/
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I am thinking this way too. It'd be nice to have the new remastered ones (2004 DVD official set) with these homebrew remastered goodies spliced back in (anamorphic widescreen 5.1 of course). I hope Magnolia has this in the works, or someone. I wish I knew how to do it. Rikter if you hook me with that software I'll start tinkering at least.
16 years I wait and this is what I get???
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Nothing to see here.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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Hey guys - I need someone to post a reveiw of the FARSIGHT version -

Please include all the details and a neutral objective review - I will then add it to the first page

ALSO

The Dr. Gonzo and the FARSIGHT are TWO versions they are NOT the same....

BUT they are BOTH ANAMORPHIC

“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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It'd be cool if someone could also do a review for the 'Fraz', 'QualityBroth' and 'Kristhemovieman' versions of the OT too...

or even some more info on which are anamorphic/letterbox, sound details, what they are sourced from, do they have bonus disks, what content are on the discs apart from the films themselves - ie menus, chapter stops, commentaries, extras etc.

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
‘How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + FAQs - includes info on how to search for projects and threads on the OT•com

A Project Index for Star Wars Preservations (Harmy’s Despecialized & 4K77/80/83 etc) : A Project Index for Star Wars Fan Edits (adywan & Hal 9000 etc)

… and take your time to look around this site before posting - to get a feel for this place. Don’t just lazily make yet another thread asking for projects.

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Hello, I was wondering if someone could please help me to get a DVDr copy of Star Wars : Episode 2 - The Clone War - MagnoliaFan Edit, on DVDr?? It would mean the world to me to be able to see it, and I would truly appreciate it! My e-mail is p3jedi@aol.com. Many, many thanks in advance!
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i have been a lurker on many boards just reading the posts on all things SW for a long time now, i heard of the edit that appeared after TPM came out but i never came across it until the other night when a group of buddies and i got together to rate the 2004 dvds in comparison to the OT videos and one of the guys brought over rikter's DVD of the phantom edit 1.1 for me to view. i loved it and i am hooked (which is not a surprise since a good SW tale is enough). if it can become a better movie with just the pacing edited i cant wait to view MF's versions of Balance of the Force and The Clone War. being a film major i know how much work can go into a project like this and i salute you.

-dns