Hal 9000

I’m curious, can anyone report any viewing experiences they have had with Star Wars newbies, specifically on the question of Padme and Leia living on Alderaan.
I think what’s in LOE gives the viewer enough information to infer what’s taken place when they get to the OT. (However, even if this isn’t the case, I would argue that the PT rarely considers the saga from a first-time chronological viewer anyway.) It’s not made explicit in dialogue that Padme and Leia are going to Bail’s planet to live, though the design is different from Naboo and his ship takes them there, with Leia being aboard ‘her’ very similar ship at the start of ANH.

The ending has less exposition than ROTS does, but given how the PT assumes familiarity with what came before, I feel it does enough of what is needed. However, I’m just wondering if anyone has any data about first-time viewers. I’m glad I did the alternate ending version while I had all the footage laid out so that it’ll always be there as an option.

If you’d like audio, just let me know. Not because you can’t, but because perhaps you’d prefer not to.

My thinking about Rose’s fathier line is that it originally set things up for her to be thrilled to see one up close and feel outrage at the way they have been treated.
With the line removed in a version of the film without further interactions with fathiers, Rose still seems interested enough in them to facilitate Finn’s scorn as he notices them being electro-whipped without implying there will be anything more to it later on.

If the space horses in IX have anything to do with Rose and it makes sense, I may end up putting her line back in as setup for that. But as things are, I feel better about the line being removed.

Wow, I never knew that. Holy cow.

We tried that, but I think it’s a bid dull and confusing. Even so, I like the balance poppasketti struck with the music being altered.

Thank you for sharing that; I’d have liked to be a fly on the wall.
That’s a good point about the nightmare and lack of spelling it out. I would think it’d still be comprehensible, given the following scene’s discussion of saving people from death. In TAS Anakin doesn’t dream that his mother will die, just that she’s suffering. Dreaming the dream we see of Padmé in LOE may actually be more resonant with that, though kept in subtext and not spelled out with exposition.
And yeah, these edits aren’t beholden to ‘memes,’ and suppose that they were what was released in an alternate universe; pretending this is the case isn’t always going to work effectively. Palpatine’s antics might just be the biggest difference between LOE and ROTS in actuality, and that’s a fair thing to miss. When I exhibited these a few years ago, Yoda’s missing saber duel was everyone’s main/only critique of Ep2. On this and similar points I’d more value the newbies’ take.
I wish you a happy OT viewing next weekend, also.

EDIT: Maybe it’d be fun to load up both versions of LOE and either randomly pick one or have someone else who doesn’t know the difference flip a coin and click on it. You wouldn’t know what happens with Padme until it does at the end.

At this point I hope the tail doesn’t wag the dog; I hope they craft a fitting end to the trilogy as it is by this point, rather than moving away from their trajectory in paranoid reaction to perceived backlash.
I do wonder to what degree Palpatine is the sincere (potentially planned all along) conclusion of the story that’s developed, or corporate decision in reaction to what was done with TLJ.

Thanks for that.

I don’t think that scene could easily use SE audio due to the floaty droid, and the right edits right before and after the talking.
I’m not sure I prefer the SE spacing anyway; the one currently in there makes it sound like it takes a moment for the mind trick to filter through his thick skull and that Ben is waiting with his next direction the second he finished repeating it.

Reylo and Bendemption would fulfill the tragedy of the prequels and OT (to a lesser degree), especially if they get to go on living together.

Fight me.

If I have any trick-or-treaters dressed as Kylo Ren, I may have to express disappointment by telling them “you’re just a child… in a mask.”

Now that’s not something I’ve ever noticed before until I just took a listen to compare.
So, the real answer is because I used OOT audio for the scene due to removing audio-affecting things before, during, and right after it, and because I wasn’t aware of the difference. I suppose it could be understood as a delayed reaction due to the mind trick. Ben responds quickly as soon as the trooper finished parroting his last line.

I am glad you enjoyed the film overall this way, though. I’m looking forward to watching the hopefully-complete-by-then Hal9000 presentation of the 9-part saga next year.

This video essay blew me away:
https://youtu.be/f9mv2Ad8nzI

PM sent

Personally, it’s very inviting and pertinent for me to project myself onto Luke in that scene. With what Yoda would be referring to in my subjective dreamscape, my response to Yoda’s question wouldn’t be that I hadn’t read the texts before.

I do wonder what a cut of TFA and TLJ would be like that strips all (subjectively) ~’unearnest’ humor. Part of what made the original SW great was it’s sincerity.

I agree with you in principle, but I feel differently anyway. 😕

I’d still like to see RJ’s trilogy.

From the VHS (and probably LaserDisc) intros to the 1997 SE release.

With some sort of space horses in the trailer for IX, I’m hoping that (whether through editing or just luck) it can play as the fulfillment of what Finn and Rose wish they could have done on Canto Bight, but didn’t.

If so, I might put back in her line, “I’ve never seen one [a fathier] before.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiG9V_qfuaE

If all the SW aliens were human, that’d be prejudiced to say the least. But they’re an entirely other species. If all the animals on earth were personified, I’m sure we’d think plenty of them were jerks.

Looking forward to a V2. I’m not sure what your source is, perhaps the BluRay or iTunes version or something, but I encourage exporting at the maximum settings that make any sort of sense, if you haven’t already.

I’m planning to tweak your edit just slightly by restoring the original opening style and the “we’ll have you flying in no time” gag, just for personal, non-shared enjoyment.

No, just the LUTs provided by DrDre.

At this point I think my best strategy is to have the attitude of “a pessimist is never disappointed.”

After TFA, I said to myself that I think JJ did a good job, ala Star Trek ‘09, but that I’m glad he’s not directing any more SW films. When I heard he was being brought in to replace Trevorrow, I wasn’t enthused.

Obviously I hope these misgivings are themselves misguided.

The shot of the X-wings approaching the Death Star before everyone checks in is easily the worst SE update to the sequence. The extended shot of the ship models gliding across the screen looks less convincing than other, more dynamic shots elsewhere, and the R2 units look incorrect.
I wonder if it’d be feasible or desirable to create two more subtle shots using CG to approximate the two in the original version.

I am feeling cautiously pessimistic about this.