G&G-Fan

I’m going to be the one guy who says the special editions, though my top preference is watching fan-edits because they usually give me the best of both worlds. I can have the best changes and remove the worst changes.

First of all, I’d want to retain all of the movie mistake fixes and visual effect improvements the SE made, like removing matte lines.

For ANH, I don’t like the Jabba scene or Greedo shooting first at all but none of the rest bother me so much. In fact I really like some of the additions. I like the expanded Mos Eisley, the original looks so dull. There’s only people and some droids. Yes the slapstick with the Jawa falling off the Ronto and the Ronto walking right in front of the camera was annoying and cringeworthy, but I liked the addition of the Ronto when it wasn’t in your face (having animals makes it look so much more interesting) and overall making the city look larger, more diverse and populated. I like the new CG Dewbacks, the old one wasn’t organic at all, it couldn’t move. Love the new Sandcrawler shot (rather then the dull looking wide) and Tatooine evening wide shot when R2 is wandering alone. I love how they added Biggs. And pretty much all of the new visual effects are a plus (the CG ships, new explosions, etc.). Actually seeing the X-Wings in the wide shot when they’re flying away from the base and towards the Death Star especially. Originally they just indicated them using their engine lights and it just looks weird. They overall definitely improved the Battle of Yavin.

Basically, everything in this video I consider good changes (the subtle censorship I don’t really care about, the fact that others were left in makes me think it wasn’t censorship but rather Lucas thinking they reacted to late or that it looked fake rather then him thinking seeing people get shot is bad): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvbrVFP_f0w

For Empire Strikes Back it’s the special edition, no contest. The only thing that even bothers me there is the extended Vader arriving on the Star Destroyer that messes with the pacing and “You were lucky to get out of there”, but these are minor. I much prefer seeing the Wampa rather then teasing it (we already saw the headshot of it earlier anyway, teasing it isn’t even being mysterious or hiding its appearance; plus it’s still suspenseful seeing the Wampa feed on the carcass; in fact I’d say it’s way more scary seeing the Wampa turn his attention to Luke then seeing nothing). I much prefer Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor then the abomination from the original. The music transitions were better. Cloud City was improved in every way. The new CG outside shots were a plus and actually having windows and seeing outside rather then it feeling subterranean and claustrophobic was fantastic. And I’d rather watch a version where the Imperial badges are in their correct position during that one scene near the end.

In Return of the Jedi, I prefer the planetary celebrations (the new music is so much better) and Hayden as Anakin (sacrilegious I know). I prefer the more alive Sarlacc with actual tentacles instead of tiny stubs (I feel like the part where it grabs Lando works better and is more tense with it looking more alive). I like the added Bantha shot in the desert. I hate Jedi Rocks but I like Oola falling into the pit and Boba being a flirt. I like removing Anakin’s eyebrows. I despise Vader saying “NOOOOOOO” though. But still overall I prefer the special edition.

IMO it’s actually ANH that’s the black sheep of the OT and not ROTJ. ESB and ROTJ both had much more more emotional depth then ANH which glossed over even a whole planet’s destruction with a population of millions to just be a fun space epic. ANH is still a great film but I’m willing to admit there’s some deep emotional depth not touched on in there, and dark stuff that doesn’t feel as dark as it really is because of the way it’s presented. You have an entire planet blown up full of millions of people glossed over, Leia doesn’t even have a scene where she grieves over it, Leia gets tortured and it doesn’t feel as dark as it should (compare with the similar scene in ESB with Vader and Han, in which you have dark music and hear Han’s painful screams), and Luke is stone cold when his best friend dies and there’s no mention of him afterwards. I will give it credit for Owen and Beru’s death, Luke mourning Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan recalling the fall of the Republic though (the looks on his face perfectly show that he’s been through some tragic stuff).

Plus it has no Imperial March, it was before Vader underwent his epic makeover (new shiny helmet, way cooler looking chest plate, actual chest lights, etc.; he didn’t look bad at all in ANH, he still looks awesome, but I feel like anybody who says they didn’t improve his look in ESB onwards is lying to themselves), it looks like its on less of a budget (which to be fair is because it was), in general aesthetic ESB and ROTJ look more alike then ANH does to ESB and ROTJ, ANH focuses a lot less on powerful Force users like the Jedi and Sith and more on more… I guess ordinary people? Like pilots, bounty hunters and politicians (ordinary is probably a bad word and an understatement but compared to Jedi and Sith they definitely feel ordinary). Which in and of itself isn’t a bad thing (I love the Mandalorian… a ton; I think its because of emotional depth, stunning atmosphere and great character development that I don’t mind the fact that its less about force users) but I like more balance. Now I’m not hating on ANH here, it’s got great story, character development, revolutionary special effects, excellent music, it’s a ton of fun, yada yada yada, but I’m just saying why ROTJ has more appeal to my modern sensibilities. I love movies that make me feel and think more, and the thing that interests me most about Star Wars is the Jedi and Sith and the powerful force users in the PT and OT.

I know people will bring up the Ewoks as a way of saying how ROTJ is supposedly way more kid friendly, but think about the heavy stuff in the stuff with Vader, Luke, Sidious, Yoda, and Obi-Wan. That scene with Luke and Vader on Endor with Luke telling his father to come with him is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time and incredibly powerful and deep. It’s a meaningful, beautiful conversation between a son and his father who went on the wrong path and let his rage consume him and lost everything he had ever loved, and his son is trying to help him out of the horrible trap he’s fallen into. When Vader says “It’s too late for me, son”, that shit hits hard because I know what it’s like to hate myself because I messed up and think it’s too late for me to dig myself out of a hole I’ve dug myself into. It’s emotional and deep and part of why Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is my favorite character of all time. Obi-Wan and Luke’s conversation on Dagobah is also very deep. Though I think someone said it’s because he was sick of doing the movies, Alec Guinness looking more tired and depressed actually works very well as he reminisces about Anakin and talks about how he’s “More machine then man.” And when Vader goes back to being Anakin and saves his son from the Emperor is my favorite movie scene of all time. It’s very dark and powerful. Luke’s screams for help are heart wrenching and when Anakin picks up the Emperor it feels so triumphant, and then it feels so touching when Luke goes over to his father and comforts him. Anakin’s death is also impactful and sad, I don’t cry but I almost do. The whole thing has the emotional depth of an ocean and it gives it the screen time and gravitas it deserves. The acting is utterly incredible and the character development is phenomenal and tugs at my heart.

Even think about some of the stuff at Jabba’s palace. You got sex slaves that are dropped to their death underneath a trap door where a monster will eat them if they are disobedient. If anything the Ewok stuff is there to balance the fact that everything else is so serious and dark. It’d be a very dour, dark film otherwise.

So yes, I’d say underrated. For me its ESB > ROTJ > ANH.

Link doesn’t work, just says “Sorry, we couldn’t find that page”

Does anyone have daneditor’s radical ROTJ edit? I know it’s from years ago but it has some really cool ideas, I’d love to see it and I’d honestly be sad if it were lost forever.

Damn, this thing may be years old but it’s got some awesome ideas! I would love to see it. Link?

I’ve encountered the same issue with all of his edits. At this point you’re better off getting them from 1337x.to.

TestingOutTheTest said:

To be fair Vader didn’t sense her death

But he did. That’s why he said “Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she alright?” and “She was alive! I felt it!”

When he was being operated on, he could feel her presence, which is also why he said “Padme help me” as the mask was being lowered on him. But after the operation, she died and he couldn’t feel her anymore, which is why he was confused.

At least that’s how I interpreted it.

I also find it unbelievable that Padme wouldn’t try and track down Vader and bring him back to the light, and/or just raise both of the twins herself. Also wouldn’t Vader be able to feel that she’s still alive through the force?

I will also say my edit will keep Hayden

I checked and the Return of the Jedi one isn’t there.

When will we be able to see these new versions? Will they replace the old ones?

I really like the flipping of the Tarkin shot, I think it looks more aesthetically pleasing.

Btw, I’m glad you’re adding the Imperial March to Vader’s entrance, I’m planning on doing the same for my edit (in fact I’ve considered overhauling a lot of the Empire scenes with Imperial March tunes). I feel like the grand first entrance of Vader should have his theme. I find the original Empire theme in ANH to just be generic and bland. There’s a reason the Imperial March is so much more iconic: it’s much more impactful, unique, thunderous, powerful and fitting. If having the Imperial March in ANH was a special edition change George Lucas actually made then it would’ve been one of my favorite changes.

Maybe delete the images in a post you’re quoting? Or just not quote it? It’s not like people would’ve been confused about what your talking about. Your message is super unnecessarily long because you quoted the images.

About the color grading, I really like it, only problem IMO is that Luke’s lightsaber in Obi-Wan’s hutt looks too dark blue IMO. Anakin’s lightsaber wasn’t that dark.

That’s stupid reasoning

I like the Erso wanted hologram.

I feel like this movie needs to connect to modern Star Wars more and have more galaxy building. Like, add the Imperial March (it literally feels like the black sheep of the saga for not having it), add references to the Sith, show how this story is connected to the grand scheme of things more. Imperial propaganda and wanted holograms sounds like a great way to do that.

Blur is better

I’ve got another question: since you’re using telecine’s redone blast bolts, will you also include the blinking lights on Vader’s chest that he put in?

What differences are there going to be between V1 (what’s listed on the front post) and V2? And do you have an ETA for V2?

Ronster said:

Ok here’s an interesting tidbit I found it’s from a game called Star Wars Force Commander… It was in development whilst the Special edition was in production and it has a different version of Special Edition “Ben’s Hut” Matte painting.

https://youtu.be/QZ7MIX70UXY?t=458

This video should play at the moment the painting appears.

The thing that sticks out is that it has a small rocky path leading up to the Hut which explains how the Landspeeder or if anyone should walk up there could reach the Hut. Once you look more closely you can see how they covered up the path in the release version of the Special Edition to make it a cliff but they left the Landspeeder facing the Hut as if it had ascended the path.

Futhermore after this there is a very nice animation of a star destroyer orbiting Tattooine although the starfield is totally messed up the animation is actually pretty clever and a nice motion about it. I thought to myself it could just as easily be Dantooine but anyway I digress… The real important find is how the matte painting was changed to remove the access to the hut which could be a good idea for a restoration?

Isn’t he doing a completely new Ben’s hutt matte? Could’ve swore I read that either on here or on his blog.

DZ-330 said:

I understand that Revisited is its own canon, however, has the thought of reversing the change of Chewie getting a medal to not conflict with “The Rise of Skywalker” been considered?

I hope not.

I think having the Falcon’s interior look like it’s in hyperspace is very important, it’s a pretty glaring mistake, I’m surprised none of the special editions have bothered to fix it.

Why remove Yavin IV though?

I mean, what’s wrong with a lot of red?

Btw I do wanna say that I do think this is my favorite implementation of SC 38 into ANH, you did a good job.

TestingOutTheTest said:

Since you’re editing the films partially for consistency… can you remove Palps referring to Luke’s lightsaber as “a Jedi’s weapon” in RotJ? It implies that he doesn’t care about lightsabers, yet still uses one in RotS.

I mean, Vader also uses a lightsaber and he’s also a Sith. He always was, even in 1977, as evidenced by the deleted line “This Sith Lord sent by the Emperor will be our undoing.” The actual meaning of the line is that he’s trying to make a point that Luke’s father was a Jedi but he was turned to the dark side, so that means Luke is perfectly capable of turning to the dark side permanently as well. And just because he says it’s a Jedi’s weapon doesn’t mean Sith can’t use them. The US military’s weapons are guns but that doesn’t mean our enemies can’t use them.

TestingOutTheTest said:

Are you going to reinstate the whole “attachments being forbidden” thing that Hal 9000 removed in his edits? Because it is supposed to reinforce Anakin’s fall as well as the Jedi being flawed so much that Luke moves past those specific flaws in RotJ?

I definitely agree with you, attachments being forbidden was never going to be removed from my edits.

I don’t even think it was removed in Hal’s edits. He removed Anakin saying that in AOTC because he thought the line delivery was awkward, but he still says “Possession is forbidden”, and the idea that the Jedi forbid marriage I believe is still in his edits. In LoE him and Padme still have the exchange about them having to hide their marriage. This idea is even in the original trilogy (when Yoda insisted Luke not go and save his friends in ESB, and when Obi-Wan told Luke he needed to bury his feelings for Leia in ROTJ).