- Time
- (Edited)
- Post link
Hi. I’m a newbie here and this is my first post 😮)
Looking through the list of SW edits on fanedit.org, I was surprised at the lack of entries for ROTJ. Surely, of all the OT movies this is the one screaming for the scissors to be taken to it!
So, I thought I would give it a bash. The idea behind my edit is nothing too fancy, simply the reduction of Ewok ‘cuteness’ and general goofiness.
My edit is based on a DVD rip of the original theatrical version. All-in-all, I feel this is the better version, with Shaw as the Anakin ghost and minus the extra silliness from the SE. Also, as we all know, the colour balancing is alot better than the FUBAR’d SE!
Here is the full list of cuts:
-
The initial scene between Bib Fortuna and the droids. I felt this was rather redundant and the start of the movie needed a slightly faster pace.
-
The droid torture room. Just too awful to be kept in the movie, IMO.
-
The very next scene with Lapti Nek and the slave girl falling into the Rancor pit. More redundancy, get to the good stuff already! The audience doesn’t need any prior warning of the threat that is to face Luke a little later on.
-
The Rancor keepers grabbing Luke and the ridiculous shot of the fat Rancor keeper crying over his dead pet. Dumb.
-
All shots of Boba Fett on the Sail Barge. The scene goes from Lando falling off the skiff (holding on to the rope), to Leia’s murder of Jabba, then back to Luke on the second skiff kicking ass with his lightsaber. We no longer see Luke’s jump to the second skiff, but this could just have easily taken place at the time Leia was throttling Jabba. Fett’s fate is now ambiguous. Was he simply minding the store back at the Palace?
-
Leia asking Han what the matter is when he looks at the Falcon (and Han’s response). Ford’s excellent unspoken acting makes the dialogue unnecessary.
-
Leia’s first encounter with Wicket. Cute overload. Also, I like the idea that Leia’s whereabouts remains a mystery for the audience, as well as the other characters.
-
R2-D2 zapping the Ewok and the Ewok’s little jumps. Cute.
-
Little shots of Ewoks cuddling (and Han’s ‘funny’ one-liners), following the main characters’ acceptance into their tribe. Too much cuteness/comedy.
-
The first few lines of Luke and Leia’s heart-to-heart (Luke questioning Leia about her mother). The fact that Leia remembers her mother makes no sense (especially after watching ROTS). The scene now starts with Leia asking what the matter is and Luke telling her about Vader. The rest of the scene plays out as before.
-
The Ewok spinning round on the speeder and grabbing the hanging vine. Cute and stupid. The scene now goes from C-3PO saying that he will “stay here” to Han tapping the Biker Scout on the shoulder.
-
C-3PO and the Ewok’s trap for the Stormtroopers, immediately following capture of the rebels. This little trap makes the troopers look dumb. The scene now goes from the rebels being captured to the Ewok blowing the horn and the other Ewoks attacking.
-
Lots of little shots of the Ewoks getting the better of the troopers, inluding the montage of the AT-STs falling into various traps. There are now only two AT-STs on Endor - the one that gets stolen by Chewbacca/Ewoks and the one they shoot at and destroy. In my edit the Ewoks are little more than a destraction for the Stormtroopers. They are certainly not a serious threat.
My edit is still a work in progress. I thought I would post the details to get some feedback before it is finalised.
Thank you!
