Docking Bay 54

Sirius said:

Yeah, for the people who liked the show at how it actually is story wise, a fanedit like the tiktocker one could be a good shot, sure. But many people disliked the fact that Leia was rescued twice in the same series, Vader let Kenobi escape for no apparent reason in their first battle, Reva tryed to kill Luke with a poor reason, etc. So when the faneditors take this kind of thing in consideration, they aren’t just doing what they wanted to see in the series, they are making something observing the complaints of other fans too.

I think that these edits are more for the fans that didn’t like the show fully, just parts of it (but still want to liked it).

^^^ Right on. Admittedly, this guy’s version presents and feels more like a “director’s extended cut” of a movie - and that’s what I appreciate about it. Pretty much my only (or biggest) personal requirement of a fan-edit is that it doesn’t transform the material into something that it never was -or- was never meant to be. At the end of the day, the source material IS canon (for better or for worse) and I prefer to consume my media as canonically as possible (-even if some of it subjectively sucks).

DarthYcey said:

Docking Bay 54 said:

vranir said:

I see some guy getting publicity for his Kenobi edit, which he posted about on TikTok. I know that fan editors are wise to generally keep their work less public, but it made me feel a bit indignant for you and the other two or three people in this forum who have done the same project, likely as well or better than the one getting credit for it.

I have it and watched it. He did an exceptional, even, marvelous job, imho. The “obi wan movie” that was tucked inside of the series, he managed to very deftly stitch together - considering what appears to have been the intentions of the original creators. He was masterful with Reva’s portrayal. Soundtrack edit choices were highly respectable. He adhered to the “3-act formatting” of contemporary film making. Very theatrical cut of the source material. For the time being, this version is my go-to canon visual of the story, bar none.

4.5 out of 5 stars / 9.7 out of 10

Once I saw Anjohan had been working on a V.2, I decided to hold off on watching his first cut, so I sat through the edit of this tiktok’r. I agree with several others I’ve talked to (on this site and IRL) that this edit was just not very good. It pains me actually to see how much recognition he’s getting for it when there are far better edits out there. Reading your assessment feels like we were watching an entirely different movie. The music choices were awkward at times (using Cloud City for Alderaan and the Coruscant speeder chase for the Daiyu rooftop chase, to name a few), the music fades were very rough much of the time, and overall the film just zipped along way too quickly. Lost were several interesting convos and establishing scenes that gave context to what came next. It reminded me of Rise of Skywalker where things just jumped from one thing to the next without a chance to catch your breath. When you cut too much stuff while also trying to cram in the story from 6 episodes (yes, Nur is jammed in there too in 17 minutes), you get a rushed and disjointed product that has things ‘just happening’. I can easily see new viewers who hadn’t watch the series’ original episodes get lost at times because of how this thing was edited together.

Aside from the music choices and poor audio fades, other things just didn’t fit well. Recycling Qui-Gon lines from TPM to use under the rock pile didn’t hit for me, and then it’s even more awkward at the end when Obi-Wan still acts surprised at Qui-Gon like it’s the first time he’s heard from him in decades. Then you have lots of ‘cutty’ stuff like going from inquisitors talking to Obi-Wan just running up to Freck’s transport. Or no intro to Roken, just him planning a rescue already on Jabiim. One of the worst sequences was Tala tending to a burned Obi-Wan, to Reva finding Leia, to Obi-Wan descending into the bacta tank, to then Reva already on Nur interrogating Leia. These are all back-to-back and super awkward with everyone just teleporting around between scenes. Also, we see Vader on his ship, then Obi-Wan talking to Leia, to suddenly Obi-Wan sitting by himself, to Leia yelling at him for leaving. The organization of these scenes are edited very poorly.

So yeah, you can fit all 6 episodes into a movie and make cuts along the way to do so, but this fan editor’s product is the result of those choices, and it’s not good. It was so rough that it made me go ahead and watch Anjohan’s V.1 because I needed a palette cleanser – I was pleased then to see how much better his version was. I feel like a successful edit needed to blend OG music with the music from the series. Anjohan did that, but what I heard from the tiktok’r just made me think of the original movies. Seriously, the Coruscant speeder chase music was a really bad choice for the rooftop chase, it just doesn’t work. Same for using Bespin as Alderaan. I also didn’t care for all the ESB music at the very beginning.

Anyway…I’ve said enough about the subpar version, let’s talk more about the better version. I really liked Anjohan’s re-scoring for much of the film. I missed getting more Imperial March for Vader’s entrances, and then the sadder piano version in the final convo after their duel didn’t really work for me, although it wasn’t bad (just not my cup of tea, but it’s his version). Otherwise, the music choices were very inspired. I particularly liked the changes during the Jabiim action scenes inside the base and then with Vader pulling a Starkiller and later with Vader vs Reva. The Mapuzo changes with Vader/Obi-Wan were also good.

Leia’s toned down intro and faster capture are a must for an edit, IMO, so I’m glad to see that you did that (and well). I also liked the idea of speeding things up on Daiyu with the bounty hunters but I felt it could have used a better establishing event than just Leia running and climbing the ladder to the roof. Maybe have the bounty hunter come around the corner, Obi-Wan punches him, then Leia takes off running from that because she’s scared. It gives a beginning then to her running and Obi-Wan chasing after her and calling out to her. Then, you can show her running in the market area where Obi-Wan shoots one of the bounty hunters and clotheslines another. This would better establish why they are fleeing since the bounty hunters are on their scent now.

Although losing the Nur episode was probably the best choice to get this to a respectable runtime, I did appreciate the creativity in using Nur for the first rescue. The series writing is really repetitive with two captures/rescues, so it made sense to lose one. But Anjohan was able to use them both in a way that worked well enough. Showing events in a creative way that doesn’t hurt the story is always going to be preferred over zipping along and jamming all of the existing story elements together with poor editing. I’ll take this 10/10 over the rushed tiktok’r version.

I don’t want to repeat anymore of what others have said, so I’ll end things here. Overall, great job, Anjohan! Looking forward to checking out your V.2 after it’s done processing.

I hear ya. These reviews are completely subjective, for sure. I just appreciated the fact that the edit tried it’s best to fully stick to the source material, episode-to-episode, without overly combining sequences and switching around shots to fit a narrative to create a flow that didn’t originally happen. Obviously, this is very tricky to achieve when trimming down something from 6+ hours to 2 1/2 hours while still maintaining the integrity of the original telling of the story. When it comes to these fan edits, it ends up boiling down to people being able to see what THEY WANT TO SEE, and everything else being dismissed out of hand. Nothing wrong with that, technically. Anjohan’s V.1 edit is GREAT. I also have the other 2 edits currently posted on the site. I don’t particularly mind that this other guy seemingly “rushed” his version out and went to TikTok with it instead of posting it here first or at all lol. Who cares, except for folks in an echo chamber? I appreciate the comradery of this community but “homerism” isn’t allowed to factor into my viewership or enjoyment of projects like these. That just gets in the way. The thing about these edits is that no one person has the absolute correct solution(s) to the perceived ills of the source material, so, in fact, many different approaches can and do work. In this case, this guy’s version worked best for what I was hoping for in an edit of this show (so far). Doesn’t take anything away from Anjohan’s (community-involved) work though. I’m just glad that ANYONE is doing SOMETHING with it lol.

vranir said:

I see some guy getting publicity for his Kenobi edit, which he posted about on TikTok. I know that fan editors are wise to generally keep their work less public, but it made me feel a bit indignant for you and the other two or three people in this forum who have done the same project, likely as well or better than the one getting credit for it.

I have it and watched it. He did an exceptional, even, marvelous job, imho. The “obi wan movie” that was tucked inside of the series, he managed to very deftly stitch together - considering what appears to have been the intentions of the original creators. He was masterful with Reva’s portrayal. Soundtrack edit choices were highly respectable. He adhered to the “3-act formatting” of contemporary film making. Very theatrical cut of the source material. For the time being, this version is my go-to canon visual of the story, bar none.

4.5 out of 5 stars / 9.7 out of 10

This sounds cool! May I have a link?

Mario said:

I’m searching for my personal best Edit for the Kenobi Series. I’m interested. Can you send me a link please?

SAME! Please and Thank You!

Hey this sounds fantastic! May I have a link when it’s available?

@Anjohan

Me and the 10 year old really enjoyed this! They’ve seen everything else on Disney Plus but not a single episode of Obi-Wan, so they went into this completely unspoiled. This was fantastic work, especially to be completed so quickly.

My .02 Review -

What I wasn’t fond of:

• The opening Obi-on-Tatooine segment might’ve went on just a tad too long, but I understand the decision.
• Reva could’ve used just a bit more role exposition, so that her position and motivations are earlier understood.
• ^^^ Same with Leia
• The animus between Reva and the Grand Inquisitor could’ve been better established.
• Removing Reva’s knife throw to reveal the hidden jedi in the cantina. That should’ve been shown.
• Although I completely understood everyone’s gripes about the dual Leia kidnappings/rescues, I never fancied the idea of combining them together and removing the establishing shots of Fortress Inquisitorious, nor, removing the platform rescue escape. The connective tissue between the fortress and the new canon media, I feel, is just too important for such a glaring omission. The pacing in this part of the movie suffers a bit more than it should because of this.
• Removing the Tomb hallway of Jedi corpses. Although a “dark” scene, I believe it to be an appropriate inclusion.
• Obi-wan’s repair of LOLA missed it’s intended pay-off because we never see how/why it was broken.

Stuff I LIKED:

• Trimming Reva’s scenes and dialogue to prevent/remove the unnecessary cringe/fluff.
• The soundtrack changes. GREAT STUFF!!!
• Removing the Lar’s Homestead defending against Reva, and, the subsequent Reva-chasing-Luke scenes.
• The Hayden/Anakin face de-aging during the flashback training sequences. Lucasfilm should be ashamed.

All in all this was a fun watch and really gets to the substance of the story without having to wade through the muck of 6+ hours of television viewing.

I rate this 7/10 stars -or- 3.5 out of 5

@Anjohan SALUTE! Link request PM’d

IIWerewolf said:

I really disliked the TLJ theatrical, RoS was not as bad for me at the time but not great. This edit got me to really enjoy the film now, this edit really does fix a lot and considering what you had to work with it’s a great achievement. Was actually entertained this time!! Great job to all involved.

^^^ THIS. Glad I have now seen these versions. Almost a damned shame when the “community” has to save the creation from itself…smh

I, too, would greatly appreciate a link to this 😉

You should also checkout Ep. III - Revenge of the Sith Special Edition (StankPac Edit) for a quality version of ROTS

Thanks for the heads up! So… I just read his edits log and, while it’s considerably extensive, it makes me all the more curious as to how the film will actually feel when watching it this way. Gotta see it!

DZ-330 said:

Hal’s Legendary is a little more reserved with its edits, however, Poppa’s Rekindled is more heavy. If things like Leia Poppins bothered you, then Poppa’s is the way to go, if not Hal’s!

Burbin said:

That’s actually a part of why I prefer Legendary, to me Leia’s space walk is the only indication we get of Leia’s secret Force power before TRoS reveals that she had been fully trained as a Jedi and becomes Rey’s Master, both movies get some better context. Legendary also does have a few edits that Rekindled doesn’t have, such as removing Kylo’s line about Rey’s parents being buried on Jakku. So I’d say they’re closer overall compared to Restructured vs Starlight.

Ya, Leia Poppins actually didn’t bother me. For me, it was a cool display of, not only her connection to the Force, but also her command over it. I like to feel that I immediately understood RJ’s intent with that decision and I appreciated it. These film makers seem to be acutely aware that the “general audience” wouldn’t necessarily be informed about Leia’s force sensitivity - or even why she has it, so perhaps they approach this type of decision from the position of attempting to “shock” everyone at the same time. The die-hard fans (-whom have been following every piece of SW media since '83) will either cheer or eye-roll the scene, while everyone else might gasp at it while realizing she’s on some totally higher level than what they thought they knew of her. Either way, it’s a dice roll and I was fine with it personally.

sherlockpotter said:

Docking Bay 54 said:

Burbin said:

Restructured is Hal’s edit of TFA, with a few trims and a reordering of the story it offers a nice improvement over the theatrical cut while keeping the overall look and feel from the original. I recommend it if you like TFA and would just like to see a version that improves upon it.

Starlight is a TFA edit by user NeverarGreat, it has a few similarities with Restructured as Neverar helped Hal with some of the edits, but overall it’s a more radical version that has a lot more changes and additions. I recommend it if you’d like to see an alternate take on episode VII, though a few of the changes don’t align perfectly with Hal’s Ascendant.

Rekindled is a TLJ edit by user Poppasketti, it is very similar to Hal’s Legendary edit as it originated from it, Poppasketti did a lot of work that’s included in both edits as they were developed side by side. I think Legendary aligns slightly better with Hal’s Restructured and Ascendant, though from what I gather Rekindled seems to be a favourite among many users.

But it’s up to you which version of TFA & TLJ you prefer, there’s no “definitive” answer. I personally prefer Hal’s edits as a more cohesive experience, but Starlight & Rekindled are really good alternatives.

Thanks, Burbin! Very helpful! Gonna be looking into some (hopefully) superb PT edits after I get situated with these. Right now, I’m on board with Adywan’s OT edits (-he’s how I found this wonderful site).

Great write-up, Burbin!

Just FYI, Hal also created edits for Episode I, Episode II, and Episode III which are absolutely incredible.

Hal’s kinda a fan-editing legend.

Oh… It’s ON!!! Gonna be great watching versions of these films that actually HELP solidify the story integrity and overall entertainment proposition of the entire saga. It’s truly a bummer that the PT and the ST are so “divisive” merely because some of the writing and a LOT of the directing was…questionable - when the reality is that the general premise of the saga is good stuff. I’ve had some of my people spazz out when I played Adywan’s current fan-edits for them. They didn’t even know that something like this existed lol.

I’m not gonna rag on either the PT nor ST too much in this post but, suffice it to say, I’ve long felt that the PT’s main problem was two-fold: Anakin should’ve been a “teen”, as opposed to an 8 year old, when he was introduced, and, Jar-Jar was a clumsily (pun intended?) written/directed character (-because there are other, more satisfying ways in the GFFA to express “humor” that is cool for, both, kids and adults). I didn’t mind the galactic “politics” exposition, and in fact, felt that it gave more “gravity” to that universe as a whole.

The ST, on the other hand, I sadly find mostly un-watchable due to a myriad of things, but chief among them: Death Star 2.0 aka Starkiller Base and the way Rey’s character was written, seemingly to have little, if any, charm. I don’t know if it’s strictly a matter of casting or more a case of directing but… she, nor, any of the other new “big 3” aren’t nearly as endearing as Luke, Leia and Han (even Chewy and the droids) were. That, to me, is the biggest problem with those movies. Everyone loves and roots for Luke because he is introduced as being genuinely innocent and ignorant to the “truth” that shapes the reality around him as he just wants to leave a “boring” home and live out his own adventure in growing up. He then learns a terrible truth, while stumbling a bit and then uses his newfound wisdom and power to help the folks that he cares for while fighting for a greater cause that affects ALL of the other “innocents” of his world. Who can’t identify with that in real life? Again, these are just my own personal opinions in a general sense. YMMV and I’m sure it does.

Burbin said:

Restructured is Hal’s edit of TFA, with a few trims and a reordering of the story it offers a nice improvement over the theatrical cut while keeping the overall look and feel from the original. I recommend it if you like TFA and would just like to see a version that improves upon it.

Starlight is a TFA edit by user NeverarGreat, it has a few similarities with Restructured as Neverar helped Hal with some of the edits, but overall it’s a more radical version that has a lot more changes and additions. I recommend it if you’d like to see an alternate take on episode VII, though a few of the changes don’t align perfectly with Hal’s Ascendant.

Rekindled is a TLJ edit by user Poppasketti, it is very similar to Hal’s Legendary edit as it originated from it, Poppasketti did a lot of work that’s included in both edits as they were developed side by side. I think Legendary aligns slightly better with Hal’s Restructured and Ascendant, though from what I gather Rekindled seems to be a favourite among many users.

But it’s up to you which version of TFA & TLJ you prefer, there’s no “definitive” answer. I personally prefer Hal’s edits as a more cohesive experience, but Starlight & Rekindled are really good alternatives.

Thanks, Burbin! Very helpful! Gonna be looking into some (hopefully) superb PT edits after I get situated with these. Right now, I’m on board with Adywan’s OT edits (-he’s how I found this wonderful site).

EddieDean said:

Docking Bay 54 said:

Hi, new here. How can I get a copy of this? The changelog makes this edit sound fantastic!!!

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for any fan edit of TFA and TLJ that compliment this edit visually, canonically and pacing wise??

I’d recommend TFA:Starlight and
TLJ:Legendary to precede this. All three edits, while made by different people, included a lot of cross-collaboration and shared goals.

EddieDean said:

CaptainFaraday said:

EddieDean said:

Docking Bay 54 said:

Hi, new here. How can I get a copy of this? The changelog makes this edit sound fantastic!!!

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for any fan edit of TFA and TLJ that compliment this edit visually, canonically and pacing wise??

I’d recommend TFA:Starlight and
TLJ:Legendary to precede this. All three edits, while made by different people, included a lot of cross-collaboration and shared goals.

TLJ Legendary was also Hal. You might have mixed the titles with Rekindled by Poppasketti?

My bad, I did mean Rekindled.

Burbin said:

Docking Bay 54 said:

Does anyone have any recommendations for any fan edit of TFA and TLJ that compliment this edit visually, canonically and pacing wise??

I recommend Hal’s own TFA:Restructured & TLJ:Legendary for the most coherent/consistent ST experience.

Thanks for ALL of these recommedations (and clarifications). A bit confused still about “TFA: Starlight” and “TFA:Restructured” and “Rekindled” ?? Where can I find these 3 and which one is felt to be the more “definitive” edit between the 2?? Again, a hearty THANK YOU, Hal9000!

Hal 9000 said:

^ Just sent you a PM.

Thanks, HAL9000! Grabbing the ST now…

Hi, new here. How can I get a copy of this? The changelog makes this edit sound fantastic!!!

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for any fan edit of TFA and TLJ that compliment this edit visually, canonically and pacing wise??