Also, Ady is keeping the Shaw ghost. It’d be weird to switch unmasked Vader but keep the Shaw ghost. Either do a “Prowse ghost” (which probably isn’t possible with extant footage) or keep it Shaw.
There are good reasons why fan edits aim to shorten the first third of the movie.
When we look at the model shots kept in the SE, they have far better camera work, shot composition, and motion than the shots replaced in the SE. Granted, there are a few shots that are better in the OOT (e.g., the X-Wings’ descent and Luke emerging from the smoke), but I think improving the shots within the confines of '77’s shot styling would be best.
A lot of the shots from '97 show their age and their limitation (e.g., every X-Wing is Red 2, the overly-fluid motion in the S-foils and arrival shots, and the mere graphical limits of '90s CGI models). Replacing them with CGI or models that better mimic what was done in '77 would be best.
To truly get that “degenerate” vibe, intercut some hardcore STAR WARS porn scenes into the Jabba’s palace and sail barge scenes. Gotta have some sex scenes in there to go with the drunken revellers.
Ah, the Guccione’s Caligula route!
My suggestion would be to add that movie’s Lawnmower of Death to Jabba’s Palace. It’s way more effective than the Sarlacc.
Agreed. The shots that got replaced in the SE are some of the least good shots in the movie. Admittedly, the CGI models needed better textures to blend with the model shots (e.g., matching the paint on the models) and motion that fit with ROTJ-period effects, but the original shots are the weakest in the movie.
This is looking fantastic! Best of luck powering through the rotoscoping.
Would you possibly make a grained/color-corrected version of the 2019/20 blu, once the process is done?
What’s wrong with the romance between Han and Leia? Their back and forth banter is one of the oft-cited strengths of the film, and I agree. Their chemistry on screen is really fun and engaging.
It’s basically the “boy sexually harasses girl until she gives in” storyline.
It hasn’t aged well that’s for sure. In fact, Harrison Ford movies from the eighties haven’t aged well, as explained in this video: Predatory Romance in Harrison Ford Movies
Agreed. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it’s a bit more uncomfortable these days than it would be in the ‘80s. This Pop Culture Detective guy has many a good point, folks.
I’m just waiting for the Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and Dead Alive/Brain Dead restorations. Jackson’s edgelord phase produced some fantastic films.
Damn, that sounds like a daunting task. I really appreciate how thorough you’re being with this whole endeavor, correcting the transfer’s many errors and getting the movie looking like the 4K83 print (I’m assuming you’re using the ungraded version, not Sanjuro or Dre’s shot-by-shot/reel-by-reel ones). I’m liking the preview screenshots thus far. Fantastic work!
Also, she should’ve died on Malachor. Her existing past RotJ as Ahsoka the White feels contrived and fanservicey.
I do agree with this. Vader killing her is powerful and they never should’ve taken that away.
I firmly agree there. Heck, outside of the Maul episodes and Ahsoka’s fight with Vader, I try to ignore Rebels. It doesn’t have much to offer the current EU.
Adywan did fantastic work in making the Cloud City windows/backgrounds consistent in his edit. His work is my go-to version of ESB and it’s an excellent demonstration of how the SE’s should have been (i.e., fixing legit errors, improving visual effects, and not compromising the flow of the movie).
Yeah, the idea that it’s impossible to restore the original versions is patently absurd. Movies where the negative no longer exists in any form have been restored to excellent levels of quality. There’s plenty of source material to use.
It’s not like it’s on silver nitrate or went through a fire. The archives have a bunch of material for a proper restoration. Also, it’s probably better for TESB and ROTJ than SW, from a film quality perspective.
Yeah, except Qui-Gon’s, since he’s rebellious. It’s not so much about making Luke’s saber unique as it is being more aesthetically pleasing and thematically appropriate.
Agreed. Heck, adding a line about how Qui-Gon is not really a part of the order anymore would help to add gravitas to his green blade. Since Luke is a Jedi outside of the order as well, it makes sense that he would carry on Qui-Gon’s legacy.
I also like some of the knights/masters division. I’d prefer if the whole order used blue, except for the masters of the council using purple. It highlights how “royal” they are, in comparison to the other members. Obi-Wan would keep his blue blade, out of choice/to thematically separate himself from the council’s issues.
It’s a continuity mess the way the battle has been edited. We have Lando leading Gold group ( but no fighters in Gold group), Red group is the X-wings, Green groups is the A-wings and Grey group is the Y-wings. Blue groups was also in there originally, which were the B-wings. But who the hell is Lando the leader of? In ROTJ:R, the Y-wings return to being Gold group and the B-wings are back as Blue group. Grey group is gone.
Gold squadron was reformed with a mix of different starfighters and the Millennium Falcon.
On screen members are Gold Leader, Lando Calrissian, Gold Four(A-Wing), Jake Farrell, and Gold Nine(Y-Wing), Norra Wexley, flying through the Death Star reactor shaft.Is that how they tried to explain things in the EU? oh dear. I’m so glad i’m ignoring the EU.
But, my statement still stands. The battle is a mess of continuity, especially where squadron colours/ pilots are concerned. Wedge tells red 2 & 3 to pull in and yet an a-wing (green squadron) replies. We have an Y-wing shooting ties and Wedge congratulating Red 2, even though this same pilot was already identified as Grey Leader at the beginning of the battle. The whole space battle needs sorting
That sounds like a lot of CGI work to get the appropriate ships for these segments. Of course, I’m kind of thinking CGI will be needed to sort out the numerous scaling issues throughout the battle. I appreciate the ambition and the quality of the model effects, but these problems are inevitable when dealing with so many layers of effects.
Even in ESB it’s not really a love triangle, as the only reason she’s kissing Luke like that is to piss off Han. It’s not because she WANTS to kiss Luke (although yes, there’s that deleted scene where she DOES, and then they’re interrupted - but since that’s gone, and Return of the Jedi exists…)
I think it’s possible to go straight from Han saying “Hey, what’s going on?” to Leia saying “Hold me” and the scene works just as well. No argument, Han still looks bewildered by Leia’s reactions without there being a dumb fight in between that highlights a silly plotline that shouldn’t exist, AND you lose some of Carrie Fisher’s absolute worst acting, ever.
You could probably take the “Hey, what’s going on” dialog out of its shot, dub it over the approach Han makes (it’s virtually the same) of him saying “I’m sorry” and just let the scene end like it always did (“Hold me”) The edit would be mostly audio, not video.
Yeah, wiping to the shuttle’s arrival after Luke leaves Leia just feels abrupt. That audio edit sounds like a feasible plan to preserve Han and Leia’s reaction while cutting out the “jealousy” bits.
Even in ESB it’s not really a love triangle, as the only reason she’s kissing Luke like that is to piss off Han. It’s not because she WANTS to kiss Luke (although yes, there’s that deleted scene where she DOES, and then they’re interrupted - but since that’s gone, and Return of the Jedi exists…)
I think it’s possible to go straight from Han saying “Hey, what’s going on?” to Leia saying “Hold me” and the scene works just as well. No argument, Han still looks bewildered by Leia’s reactions without there being a dumb fight in between that highlights a silly plotline that shouldn’t exist, AND you lose some of Carrie Fisher’s absolute worst acting, ever.
You could probably take the “Hey, what’s going on” dialog out of its shot, dub it over the approach Han makes (it’s virtually the same) of him saying “I’m sorry” and just let the scene end like it always did (“Hold me”) The edit would be mostly audio, not video.
Yeah, wiping to the shuttle’s arrival after Luke leaves Leia just feels abrupt. That audio edit sounds like a feasible plan to preserve Han and Leia’s reaction while cutting out the “jealousy” bits.
I mentioned this earlier but the scenes between Han and Leia need to be more intimate.
Quick, someone find out if Carrie Fisher has ever done a sex scene in her career! 😉
You don’t need that. Cutting out the love triangle with Luke is a first step.
But, since there is no “love triangle” in the actual films, only in your mind, EU & deleted scenes, this isn’t even an issue.
Disagree. You can say it’s more accurate to say Han is being jealous than there being an actual love triangle, but to me that’s just potato, potato.
Besides, it’s just two scenes. DarthRush’s edit cut the first one (wiping from Luke leaving to the shuttle landing) and trimmed the second one (“He wasn’t, I can feel it.” cuts back and forth of confused Han and Leia turning to him “He’s my brother”). This should be a standard cut in every ROTJ edit.
Thinking ahead to things that should change with the Battle of Yavin, I’ve got a few ideas.
- Yavin 4 isn’t visible in the fly-by or is half-blocked by the gas giant (like the test renders of the '97 scene)
While this needs to be done, I never found a test render where it was half blocked in my SE research. I seem to recall something they made for one of those IMAX SFX reels maybe having the moon at a better angle.
Yeah, that’s what I was referring to, albeit incorrectly. It wasn’t half-blocked there, but it should have been.
Thinking ahead to things that should change with the Battle of Yavin, I’ve got a few ideas.
These would require more work with the CGI guy Ady has mentioned before (or other CGI-inclined folk - many are on YouTube with their samples), but it’s doable.
But would we still consider the originals “erased” if the only changes were recomped effects? That’s the approach the D+XX project takes, and I don’t see anyone kicking up a big fuss about how it’s not “really” original.
Maybe so, but it still would be getting rid of the groundbreaking effects that won the film an Academy Award.
Those efforts would still be there. All the original models would be preserved, just recomped for better quality. If anything, that would only emphasize how good the models were by presenting them in the best quality possible. And the other categories that Star Wars won, like creature design, editing, and music, would still be preserved in their original form.
Agreed. I’ve never minded removing matte lines or recomposites, since the old composites had unfortunate artifacts of the optical printing process. Heck, redoing the optical on finer-grain film (like the wipes) would’ve been welcome too.
E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial is emotionally manipulative junk food.
I prefer the Austrian porn version. It’s so unsexy that it’s artistic.
Yeah, that’s actually good.
Thanks. It’s all the more reason why I’d support a fanedit where Qui-Gon (and maybe Dooku) is the only Jedi with a green blade. It gives Luke’s green blade some added significance, in representing a “fulfillment” of Qui-Gon’s goals.
Luke’s green lightsaber uses the crystal from Qui-Gon’s hilt, since he found it among Kenobi’s belongings.
Also, until somebody like jonh, Sir Ridley, or Snooker does a “good” version of the Hayden Anakin ghost (i.e. not using Shaw’s body, Anakin giving a truly proud or happy expression like Shaw, and maybe wearing something akin to his ROTS robes), I’d say stick with Shaw.
I totally get your preference, but it’s more than just “purists” who prefer Shaw.
That’s it. If I want the prequels, I’ll play Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (still fun, BTW) or watch the Auralnauts versions.
With the sequels, I like to just see TLJ as the distant, possibly “elseworlds” finale. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t, IDK.