Buzz Lightyear

It’s not about fighting style, it’s about choreography. Obi-Wan vs Maul in Rebels and Vader vs Luke in both ESB and RotJ were very well choreographed fights. The original Obi-Wan vs. Vader fight was very sloppily choreographed because of a mix of factors: Alec Guinness was older and almost certainly didn’t take the concept of lightsaber fights very seriously in general, they were using fragile sticks that they were worried about breaking, and they had a limited budget and tight schedule and obviously didn’t prioritize spending a lot of time on multiple reshoots of the saber fight just to get it looking good.

SC38 Reimagined kind of goes over the top, sure, but it’s undeniably better choreographed than the original. I personally think the trimmed down edit of SC38 Reimagined works best. It focuses on Obi-Wan’s defensive fighting style established in the prequels (which is how he’s able to hold his own against Anakin’s natural raw strength), while demonstrating Vader’s sheer rage and aggression without going overboard.

I also personally find it a bit odd to complain about it not fitting in terms of special effects. The special effects aren’t good enough in ANH for any of it to actually look real, you really have to stretch your imagination no matter what you do. If I can suspend my disbelief for a guy in a rubber mask from a halloween store, then I can suspend my disbelief for a cool fight scene.

By the way, I guess I should mention in this thread too, but I made my own personal edit of ForceGhostRecon’s edit that restores the original opening so it is compatible with Rogue One. You can PM me if you want to check it out.

HyperDown said:

Does Han shoot first?

Yes, he does.

So, I’ve been planning a chronological Star Wars marathon of every show and movie, and I really wanted a version of A New Hope that incorporates FXitinPost’s SC38 Reimagined. ForceGhostRecon’s edit was the best one out there, as he did a great trim down of SC38 that makes it less excessive. However, he altered the opening using Rogue One footage, thus rendering his edit incompatible with Rogue One. I wanted a version that adhered to canon and fit with every other movie, including Rogue One, so I decided to make my own edit.

I used ForceGhostRecon’s edit as a base, but restored the original opening, the original Death Star explosion, and the Special Edition scenes. I also made an alternate version that still excludes the Jabba scene (on the one hand, it’s canon, and I kind of dig the bizarre novelty of seeing a CGI alien in a Star Wars movie from 1977, but on the other hand the movie is better without the scene, so I figured I’d just have both options).

I’m really happy with the end result. I feel like the new fight scene between Obi-Wan and Vader really flows well as a follow-up to what we saw Obi-Wan and Vader were capable of in Episode 3, Rebels, and Rogue One. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s definitely mine.

If anyone’s interested in checking it out, feel free to send me a PM.

Edit: I’ve now updated my edit so that Vader’s original line when encountering Obi-Wan is restored. This way SC38 Reimagined can be viewed along with Rebels without causing Vader to sound repetitive.

Edit2: I’ve now updated my edit to restore the original “If you strike me down” clip and I adjusted the aspect ratio so that it’s consistent throughout the whole movie.

Here’s a video of the scene in its current state: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFhHyVOGfbE

I think people are focusing too much on the “message” behind the rules governing the Force and the dark side, and not enough on the fact that it’s just a fantasy magic system.

The dark side is only something that applies to people who actually use the Force. This means that it is a risk associated with that particular activity. People who do not use the Force, such as Han Solo, can be as morally gray as they want without any risk whatsoever of falling to the dark side. So the message isn’t “anger is always bad”, it’s “you need to be tremendously careful and have tremendous self control when dealing with this mysterious fantasy power”.

The whole appeal of fantasy is that it allows us to explore the human condition from angles not possible in reality. And in the case of the Force, it allows writers to explore the idea of how people would respond to a situation in which they have access to this mysterious power that constantly puts them at risk of being consumed by their negative emotions. It’s not supposed to be a direct moral lesson for real life, because the dark side doesn’t exist in real life. You need to stop thinking about real life and just immerse yourself in the fantasy.

ForceGhostRecon actually did trim down the fight so it’s less over-the-top. I think it turned out pretty cool.

If you’re not interested in an edit with the scene, no one is holding you down and forcing you to watch one.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to make an edit using ForceGhostRecon’s edit but with the Rogue One stuff swapped out for the normal opening. I feel like the reimagined fight scene helps the movie fit in better when watching the entire Star Wars series chronologically.

Just want to say, I love the way you handled the droid factory scene and the transition to Dooku’s meeting. It now feels like an official movie edit, whereas in the previous version it did not. I’m glad you were able to find a compromise you were comfortable with.

Anyone have any links to some good ANH fanedits that use SC 38? I already have ForceGhostRecon’s but I kind of want one that doesn’t include the scenes from Rogue One, since I want a version that can be marathoned with Rogue One.

Could I get a PM as well? And I’d love to get a link to your latest Episode 1 edit, too.

Man, it’s so weird suddenly seeing people on other forums talk about this edit like it’s the first Star Wars edit to be made. I guess it’s good that the editing scene is mostly low key, but at the same time I wish more people could see some of the amazing edits that have been made instead of obsessing over a few less-than-stellar ones that happen to catch the public eye somehow.

They murdered his mom. Showing Anakin killing the Tuskens right outside his mom’s tent is fine, I would’ve done it too. The only problem is him talking about hunting down everyone, even the women and children. He didn’t need to go that far.

Hal 9000 said:

jarbear said:

From the current discussion, I am probably more curious with Sir Ridley’s work on having Anakin’s lightsaber retract showing he has his lightsaber but is surrendering … that is the simplest and probably the better way to go.

Here’s the shot in context, if you’d like to take a look. We’re lucky to have Ridley around. 😃

https://vimeo.com/342642767

Nice!!! Now THAT feels like a legit movie transition.

NeverarGreat said:

Hal 9000 said:

jarbear said:

From the current discussion, I am probably more curious with Sir Ridley’s work on having Anakin’s lightsaber retract showing he has his lightsaber but is surrendering … that is the simplest and probably the better way to go.

Here’s the shot in context, if you’d like to take a look. We’re lucky to have Ridley around. 😃

https://vimeo.com/342642767

Nice work. If you’re still entertaining suggestions, the one thing that seems weird is the final shot of Anakin; it seems superfluous, and cutting from Padme to the next scene sounds like it would be a natural progression for the music.

I disagree. The final shot with the destroyer droids and Jango surrounding Anakin emphasizes the fact that Anakin is in a really bad spot and has no chance of winning if he tries to fight his way out. Padme isn’t the main focus because she’s not the one with the ability to slice through armies of droids with a lightsaber.

Iryin01 said:

Octorox said:

Iryin01 said:

Buzz Lightyear said:

I can’t see any way to make a complete removal of the factory scene feel seamless. A Dooku VO would not be enough, a real version of the movie just wouldn’t handle the transition that way. It would establish Dooku finding out about Anakin and Padme, and then it would show Anakin and Padme being apprehended and taken to Dooku. Unless there are deleted scenes somewhere that show this, it just won’t feel like an official edit if we jump straight to Padme talking with Dooku.

Honestly, I think the rest of this edit improves AotC so drastically that it can afford to have a single, trimmed down less-than-stellar scene for the sake of feeling like an official movie edit.

I mean, to be fair, Padme said that she wanted a diplomatic solution to the situation. Therefore, it makes sense that they could simply walk in to talk with Dooku without any real confrontation. The reason Obi-Wan was apprehended was because he was sneaking around and sending messages via his ship.

Why wouldn’t they just come in the front entrance then? I think the preceding scene implies that they are looking for an discreet entrance to sneak in.

Fair point. Honestly, I really just dislike the droid factory scene for a bunch of reasons. The first being the R2 and C3PO shenanigans, the second being that Anakin’s lightsaber is destroyed (it devalues the lightsaber we see later on in the saga), and also that Anakin’s cloak obviously gets caught on his lightsaber during the action.

Anakin still loses his lightsaber either way. Either it gets destroyed or Count Dooku takes it and never gives it back.

I’m always up for checking out another prequel edit. I’d love to get a PM when you’re done.

I can’t see any way to make a complete removal of the factory scene feel seamless. A Dooku VO would not be enough, a real version of the movie just wouldn’t handle the transition that way. It would establish Dooku finding out about Anakin and Padme, and then it would show Anakin and Padme being apprehended and taken to Dooku. Unless there are deleted scenes somewhere that show this, it just won’t feel like an official edit if we jump straight to Padme talking with Dooku.

Honestly, I think the rest of this edit improves AotC so drastically that it can afford to have a single, trimmed down less-than-stellar scene for the sake of feeling like an official movie edit.

Sifo Dyas said:

How long does this takes?
Couple of days, a week maybe, depending on travel distance

So basically nothing here suggests that months need to pass, yet alone a year or more.

Yoda right before Luke fights Vader: Luke! You must complete the training[…]Only a fully trained Jedi Knight with the Force as his ally will conquer Vader and his Emperor.

Yoda a few days later, after Luke gets his ass handed to him by Vader: No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need[…]One thing remains. Vader. You must…confront…Vader.

Sorry dude, but that makes no sense. Either Luke spent some time training on his own while he was busy working with the rebellion, making plans to free Han, and coping with the world-shattering revelation that his dad is Space Hitler…or Yoda has a bad case of Alzheimer’s.

My vote is to keep out the garage scene completely and use l8wrtr’s version of the droid factory scene (or something similar).

The garage scene is unnecessary because, without it, it’s never actually established that Anakin killed the women and the children, or even all the men. For all we know, he could have simply killed the ones responsible for his mother’s death, and any others that attacked him as a result, before the rest ran away. And I don’t think Anakin needs to be shown expressing guilt if he only went after the ones that tortured and killed his mother.

Regarding the droid factory scene…I haven’t watched the original version in awhile, so I can’t remember…but is there really no way to trim out the silly antics while still showing Anakin and Padme getting apprehended? I recall one if your goals was to make the cut feel like it could be an official movie cut, but there’s no way an official cut would have such an abrupt transition. It’s the one time that it really jumps out that this is a fan edit.

LordPlagueis said:

I prefer the droid factory scene over the deleted scene “Dooku interrogates Padmé.” In the deleted scene, Dooku offers clemency if Naboo joins the separatists. But Padmé could no more withdraw Naboo from the Republic than a U.S. Senator could withdraw his State from the Union. Surely only the Queen could secede. The droid factory scene - or an alternate capture scene - is crucial to the plot. It explains why Anakin only wields a lightsaber in the arena once the Jedi arrive. Without it, Anakin and Padmé seem to willingly walk to their deaths.

Actually, that part really does bother me, now that I think of it. I understand why he removed the droid factory scene, but the scene he replaced it with just feels so abrupt and awkward. It’s like “Hey, let’s go talk with Dooku” skip to suddenly at the table with Dooku “Oh hey that didn’t work, guess we’re gonna die”.

Wouldn’t attempting that kind of thing make more sense once we actually know where the hell they’ve been this whole time?

I’m definitely interested in seeing how this new version of Ep 1 turns out. I enjoyed the previous version quite alot, but I agree with previous comments that it’s not quite as perfect as your Ep 2 edit, which shocked me with how well it converted such an unenjoyable movie into such an enjoyable movie (however, I can’t comment on your Ep 3 edit because I refuse to accept the loss of Yoda vs. Palps).

I came here immediately in hopes that someone would do this.

This sounds like exactly the kind of edit for Ep 3 that I’ve been looking for. I felt like the Hal9000 cut went a bit overboard, so I’d love to see how you handled things. Think you could send me a link?

Edit: Although I do have one concern. Removing all references to the “Chosen One” makes this edit mesh poorly with edits of Ep 1 that include references to the Chosen One (including the Hal9000 edit). Did you ever do your own edit of the previous episodes?