Anyone else think Empire Strikes Back's Special Edition is actually better than the Theatrical Cut? — Page 4

My opinion is the 2020 Special Edition is unwatchable. Too much color was taken out, too much dvnr. The audio is at least better than on Star Wars, but i hate all the changes. The Emperor scene is so bad for that alone i find it not fun to watch. I hate the Revenge of the Sith Emperor being in a movie made in the 1980s. I hate Morrison’s Fett. While i find Disney’s version to be tolerable because he is a good actor, here its like he read lines for Lucas over a telephone.

The changes to the score and pacing especially in the alert my star destroyer to prepare for my arrival are ruinous to the movie.

Wish there was a semi specialized that had all the original effects, a new multi track mix. A cleaned up picture with good colors. And all the stuff that wasn’t supposed to be there like matte lines and garbage mattes removed. Fix misaligned rotoscope. Those kind of things. Remove all the prequelisms.

No.

The changes really adds nothing to it, and like the later vader “NOOOOO” in ROTJ ultra super special edition, the removal of the "bring my shuttle line,” cheats the audience of the emotional impact of a scene, and in film those around Vader have an idea of the mood he is in after his duel with Luke. With the new line he almost sounds bored, and ordering a burger from a drive thru.

The line is abrupt, direct and to the point: it tells those around him that he wants his shuttle there NOW, and he’s in no mood for any delays.

“Alert my star destroyer” and everything that follows just adds bloat to the film. Vader has no need to report in, nor does anyone aboard have need to know his comings and goings; Vader will arrive when he sees fit, and the ship will leave when he says so. If you have a problem with that, you should ask Admiral Ozzel how doing things your ways on Vader’s ship goes for you.

Everyone else has of course mentioned the atrocity that is the Luke yell.

Those of you who are defending the special editions’ existence, let me just say , you’re missing the point. We have no problem with them existing, or even that you prefer them. I for one think it would be interesting to have a choice every now and again. But the problem is that Lucas denied us that choice, and we had to depend on fans like Harmy to restore the old versions. So it’s not a matter of whether or not the special editions should exist or not, as I think most of us would agree that the special editions would be fine as long as they existed alongside the originals.

[Bluto said:]
6) Luke’s scream. Only used in the 1997 version, and a bizarre addition which was thankfully removed in all future versions. Without this, the 1997 SE would be about neck and neck with the 1980 version for me.
Bluto

Too bad we now have to deal with Vader’s "Noooo"s at the end of ROTJ (as if it weren’t already the most insufferable episode’s SE of them all), i agree that TESB is the best of the SWSEs, the fact alone that an argument could be made (whether someone agrees or not) if it’s better than the original says it all, but still, the added effects recall too much attention, they really stick like sore thumbs.
I’m actually not against the Wampa because, if anything else was left the same, it would be more like a Lucas’ cut instead of a Special Edition, and i’m all for extended cuts in general, unless the movies in question are awful, but this definitely isn’t the case.

Kyp_Astaar said:

[Bluto said:]
6) Luke’s scream. Only used in the 1997 version, and a bizarre addition which was thankfully removed in all future versions. Without this, the 1997 SE would be about neck and neck with the 1980 version for me.
Bluto

Too bad we now have to deal with Vader’s "Noooo"s at the end of ROTJ (as if it weren’t already the most insufferable episode’s SE of them all), i agree that TESB is the best of the SWSEs, the fact alone that an argument could be made (whether someone agrees or not) if it’s better than the original says it all, but still, the added effects recall too much attention, they really stick like sore thumbs.
I’m actually not against the Wampa because, if anything else was left the same, it would be more like a Lucas’ cut instead of a Special Edition, and i’m all for extended cuts in general, unless the movies in question are awful, but this definitely isn’t the case.

What is this “WE”? Not if you have all official cuts to choose from. Fan edits are in a different category altogether.

I used to have a more definitive answer to this prior to 2009. Since I’m on my journey to get all official versions, I can pick, and choose, which of those versions to watch. 1980 Theatrical Edition, 1997 Special Edition, 2004 DVD Edition, 2006 DVD Edition, 2011 BD Edition, 2019/2020 Disney+/4K&BD Edition. Oh wait, no mention of GOUT? Sounds idiotic to me, mine is easier to follow.
Below is a great comparison between the 1980 Theatrical release and the 1997 Special Edition release.
https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=2005824