My introduction to Star Wars came around the time of TPM, and before I had my own copy of the OT we would rent them from Blockbuster. On the shelf there was the ‘Faces’ trilogy as well as one labeled ‘Special Edition.’ So I’d rented both versions a time or two before ultimately (my parents) buying a copy of the SE on VHS (the box set with Vader on the box which farts if you close it just right). A while later, I got into this forum and appreciated the preservation of the original versions which turned out to be discarded by the LFL.
So when I play the movies in my head I get a mix of the OOT and SE.
By the time I get to this project a few years ago there are many sources for both versions as well as other fan projects that do all sorts of things visually to the movies. For example, Adywan’s Revisited project which radically overhauls the visuals are very impressive and enjoyable. However, the feel of watching the movie is rather different as well. My personal preference is to retain the overall character of the original filmmaking even if select things the SE updated remain. (If the SE never existed I don’t think I’d feel a need to do this at all, but since I grew up on it, it seems natural to want to make a hybrid personal version.)
So, I wanted to mostly stick with just hybridizing the OOT and SE versions, and that was my guideline. Filmmaking things like small continuity errors or misaligned effects don’t usually bother me. So I tried to thread the needle between the various official versions, guided by my sense of taste. For ANH, I wanted to retain the SE’s improved visuals of certain locations and ships but avoid ugly CGI creatures in the foreground. However, the latter can’t be done fully without sacrificing a sense of cohesion (wondering why so many establishing shots were redone but not the speeder approaching Mos Eisley, for instance). So I tried to strike a balance in that regard. For ESB, I don’t mind most of the SE changes but I removed those that threw off the pacing. I don’t have a lot of love for the SE of ROTJ, so this one leans toward the original version while keeping some of the SE touches. And of course I present both endings because people tend to have strong preferences for them.
I did decide to include a few changes made by fans as well, but only when I felt they were ‘demanded’ by the movies themselves in a way. The hyperspace tunnel in ANH after they escape the Death Star solves a problem since dialogue and the sound design places the scene in hyperspace despite no visual evidence of this.
Then there are fan changes to SE changes. To me if the SE tried something but fell short of what it seems to be trying to do, it makes sense to use fan changes that help it. For instance, Adywan fixing a continuity error about Cloud City’s interior windows which was caused by the SE forgetting to add a window later in a scene where it should still be visible. Or the SE Emperor in ESB being made to look a lot better. (Or me trying to make the Temeura Morrison redub of Boba Fett sound a little more menacing than his '04 DVD recording that sounded literally phoned in with one take.)
Ultimately I’d like the original trilogy to thread the needle between the original filmmaking, noble aspects of the SE, sensible tweaks for continuity with the ever-spreading body of other SW works, and feel ‘right’ to my younger self who was equally familiar with both official versions. Inevitably this cannot be perfect, but that’s why it’s simply my ‘custom special edition’ take which I’d want to have on a shelf alongside the best available presentation of the original versions.
