MalàStrana

I like the way it looks, which is less blueish than the v4.2. About the ending shot, I feel the transition from the kiss to Kamino might be slightly abrupt; could a slow motion effect (like the one used on Kylo Ren for TFA:R when he kills Han) be used to give an extra hundred microseconds to smoother the transition (to the last shot or even to the entire kissing part) ?

Hal 9000 said:
And, Mala, I don’t have time at the moment to respond to each, but many of your suggestions for Ep2 will be either attempted or implemented.

Thanks !

Not the droid factory, though. :p

Ahah, like I wrote 😄

I’m not even gonna try to convince you about readding a trimmed version of the factory scene

uncleben said:

No problem, everything you do is already pretty huge 🙌
(still, if by any chance you or MalàStrana have separate files for the subtitles… that’d be amazing! 😄)

Sorry I totally forgot your message ! I’ll send them to you tonight. But the issue you mentionned is always found with 720p files, because subtitles files adjust their size to the size of the format: that’s why on 1080p files they have a normal size and on 720p the size gets smaller. At least of a laptop/pc screen; I don’t recall having seen that when the file is played through a cody system for example. I don’t know how to implement a contant size into the srt file, but it probably just is a front code to add at the beginning of the file (such as the color and else).

edit: here are the files:
I: https://mega.nz/#!h88kAKwD!cPVqd3tvLEBGE45Xa6XxzH293_mV6KrYS9mO78Zwg5s
II: https://mega.nz/#!VoVlmIxJ!fFwY_b2y7qLxJj02kFRz4Ip9OAJcJBiO_9mVwJRU1d4
III: https://mega.nz/#!p1tEBbKD!dv-_aN3JSluCZXhX0ybssQOf19_UBHdEp1Uv51aFbRM

Collipso said:

MalàStrana said:

(and thanks a lot for the crawls with the theatrical titles !)

Wait, what?

Hal 9000 said:

And here are exports of the prior versions of my crawls with original titles:
https://mega.nz/#!k5RgySRK!TC1avnNyi4-S_4qFuxIoqaY_f83Hm7bBcWmGLP9R4Fc
https://mega.nz/#!tk5XAJ4S!K3rRiBe-RuluoUQmYapJ_yWH3iJcplpNQ2mX7SvXglc
https://mega.nz/#!M5AxkJJI!Hf7fMMi1T5kooHf-tNsCu1S3wOd_LSNI8uwzw4URC0Q

Since you’re talking about the Death Star ending shot, I’ve read somewhere the idea of putting Erso and Krennic in the shot. It might require Adywan/Sir Ridley skills though; don’t know if someone already made a mock up of this idea (might be quite impossible to do but I’ve seen around here many tweaks I thought out of reach of a faneditor).

edit: thinking about it, if Lucasfilm releases R1 deleted scenes, this Vader shot could be an appropriate replacement (not sure it would work, but that way you keep the DS reveal to R1 or ANH - and I’m not talking about Hal’s edit, but at some point some would try to better link Episode 3 to R1 I guess):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frdj1zb9sMY#t=1m55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBNc7Pz35OA#t=0m20

Hal 9000 said:

I do really like the 2003 microseries, though it’s all style and nothing important.

Well, Anakin being knighted and completing his last journey to confront himself (the “mirror” trial) are things I would consider interesting and quite important !

I think the kiss scene is mandatory to make the romance work. I would even like that Hal keeps Padmé’s lines at the beginning of the scene, I believe it would then flow slightly better when the scene becomes wordless (I even see some kind of pattern here: each time Anakin’s actions have strong consequences (kissing Padmé in AOTC, turning to the dark side in the Padmé’s ruminations scene of ROTS, killing the Emperor in ROTJ), he should always be wordless.

For what it’s worth, here are my “last minute” very small suggestions for Episode II (the current v4.2 is around 95-98% perfect to my taste, so it merely is “full nitpicking” mode I confesss 😃):

• Readd the last part of Jar Jar introducing the jedi at Padmé’s HQ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm593Vhs3bI#t=0m54s
  (it doesn’t change anything actually - Jar Jar was still a main character in your Episode I edit, so it would give him a few more screen presence that aren’t annoying -, but I believe it would make the sound transition work better). In the same scene, I’m unsure about Padmé’s “Ani, you’ll always be that little boy I knew on Tatooine”, it’s such a weird thing to say (but the scene might feel rushed with that line removed, so it probably has to stay);

• you’ve already mentioned you were going to remove the Obi-wan/Anakin last residual childish antagonism from the theatrical cut (“and you will know your place”) so it’s perfect !

• for somes reasons, I kinda miss the arrogant “Easy. Jedi business, Go back to your drinks”., which in a way showed the gap between the Jedi Order and the rest of the population to explain why they don’t care when they get exterminated a few years later (something we only get to see in TCW-Season 5 with the Ahsoka arc on Coruscant). And I think it’s good that Anakin shows off a little at this point of the movie (he’s confident and no longer the awkward child seen in Episode I). But again it’s a small thing and I understand why some would hate that line;

• the line “You’re exactly the way I remember" has been removed the “you in my dreams” part but I don’t think it works; very minor detail but the sentence ends abruptly, it’s a little bit jarring and the only moment in your edit that feels like something has been cut (I’ve tried to find a sample of an Anakin sentence that ends with “you” but none is to be found that could work in this context to replace the “you” supposed to be followed by “in my dreams”: very tricky this line !);

• I like the way Octoroxx used the Queen’s throne room in his edit; I understand why you removed it entirely but I feel that some exposition regarding the Federations and the Republic is interesting here (however your edit works fine without it, but in the Saga context the info it contains is interesting);

• during the diner scene, I believe Anakin’s line “If Master Obi-Wan caught me doing this, he’d be very grumpy” should be removed like all the previous Anakin mentions of his master you’ve removed (not sure if possible though in order to keep the rest of the scene), just because it’s a very ridiculous line 😄 ;

• after Anakin’s dream, I would suggest to remove the last line: “I’m sorry. I don’t have a choice”. It’s a repetitive line and Padmé already agreed to come with him;

• I’m not even gonna try to convince you about readding a trimmed version of the factory scene: I know you totally hate it ! (but removing it creates a curious transition… too bad there isn’t a cut scene of Anakin handing his saber to Jango => pretty sure such a scene exists somewhere in Lucasfilm vaults…);

• Octoroxx had 2 interesting ideas in his edit: he trimmed Anakin’s whining about having to follow Mace Windu’s orders, and he slightly trimmed chat between Dooku and Obi-Wan;

• I understand the title ‘Tyrannus’ has no pay-off in your edit (and none in ROTS as well, theatrical cut or your edit), but in TCW it does, would be cool to hear Sidious calling Dooku that way (but again: very minor detail 😃).

Oh and one last thing, very minor thing (that I truly hate as a matter of fact) I’ve never seen altered in any Episode II edit: the very bad edit transition to Padmé laying in the sand (here the video - it’s a youtube sample that has cut out the Padmé scene, but there is still the shot I’m talking about at 1:04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFWEBm0TC00#t=1m04). This Anakin shot should be placed just before he jumps to save Obi-Wan, not here (Marcia Lucas was really missed on the PT, especially Episode II which has the worst editing work of the Saga). I really don’t know if it could be corrected though.

As promised, that was my last long “small suggestions” post for the coming and final v4.3 of your PT edits 😄 (don’t worry, it truly is the last 😉).

(and thanks a lot for the crawls with the theatrical titles !)

Hal 9000 said:

I will still keep the underwater sequence out of the edit […]. It’s the Canto Bight of TPM. 😛

Ouch! That’s mean to Johnson… or is it mean to Lucas ? (I really don’t know 😄)

Since you’re making a final v4.3 and you’ve already willing to implement last minute alterations (such as the necklace scene), here are some minor suggestions based on other edits:

• cut Anakin’s interjection “What are we gonna do about it!” and Qui-Gon’s response (L8 edit);

• readd “the entire planet is one big city” line (it creates a slight jarring audio cut and I actually don’t mind this line);

• when Qui-Gonn says “The situation has become much more complicated.” I think you should try to keep the shot of Anakin looking back at him if possible;

• trims to remove Boss Nass’s blubbering and awkward vocalizations (Octoroxx edit);

• when they get back to Naboo and that they enter the gungan sanctuary, I made an audio alteration to your edit to get a Jar Jar voice-over saying “When danger, gungans go to secret place” (I think it works great; I can send a sample to you if you’re interested);

• Octorox take on the battle has a very interesting idea to reduce Jar Jar’s antics with the booma without creating a jarring cut;

• when Anakin takes the ship to destroy the droids, there is a drop into the sound mix that can be easily fixed (again I can send you the sample I’ve made);

• maybe readd the shots of Padmé capturing the vice-Roy since there is a rushed cut to that scene that feels a little bit jarring ?

• Reordered some of the final shots of the film so that Padme smiles at Anakin, he smiles back and then Obi-Wan looks away worriedly, foreshadowing the events of Episode II (Octoroxx edit)

And here is a major suggestion I’ve been thinking about: the Gungan underwater scene. I get the theatrical cut is boring and I love how rushed is the beginning of your edit, but I feel for at least 5 reasons it would be good to reinstall a trimmed version of the Boss Nass first meeting (the underwater journey should remain as it is in your edit: totally removed), playing it somewhere in between what Q2 and L8 did:

• reason 1: it establishes a first meeting with Boss Nass who plays a major part in the last act (we also get to see the Gungans being technologically advances, hence Padmé’s plan is not that dumb since the Gungans can indeed defend themselves);
• reason 2: it gives a quick explanation why the Jedi keep Jar Jar along with them;
• reason 3: Obi-Wan’s “What happens to one of you will affect the other. You must understand this.” is an interesting line since it is somehow a meta comment on what’s going on (a very small event will in the end spark an intergalactic civil war over 9 movies);
• reason 4: it’s a matter of world building. Gungan City is beautiful and it’s the only city with actual people we get to see on Naboo.
• reason 5: Qui-Gonn uses the Jedi mind trick here. It established his grey Jedi behavior as well as something that’s will later be explained as a joke by Watto.

What do you think ? (I know I can be wrong about everything in this post, but I guess now is the time to think everything through one last time for your v4.3 😃).

Thanks for the equally long reply ! And I’m glad for the necklace of Episode I being put back 😃

• Obi-Wan jumping out of cockpit. It’ll probably stay out, since its so cartoony. I think it’d only be missed due to having already been familiar with the original.

You may be right about the first cartoonish jump, but the second (little) one is actually quite nice here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUpB2MkLNLE#t=0m18s

• I think I edited the elevator sequence like that but felt it was too abrupt without something to cut away to in between.

Yeah I was thinking about that and the only solution would be to reinstall a shot a R2 hiding from the 2 droids. Maybe the shot “those are jedi fighters all right” could be used… if so removing the sound from this line… i’ll check that out if this is possible, IIRC there is no central channel dialogue for this shot so the rest could be muted thanks to ambient sound of the space battle (could work)… i’ll try that and keep you informed if this is feasible !

• Balcony scene. Well… I suppose the balcony scene could work. It would be a way to include a very subtle appearance of the necklace, and enhance the tragic aspects of Anakin’s story. It would come at the cost of slightly undercutting a powerful cut from Palpatine’s “…a new apprentice…” to Anakin’s nightmare. I’ll think about this one, but it might be a good idea if I reinstate the necklace in Episode I to let that scene feel solid.

The scene could also be reinstalled after the first Padmé/Anakin scene (around 0:20:00); I wasn’t thinking about placing it before the nightmare scene (around 0:32:00 of your edit), but this choice could indeed be better.

• Apartment scene. I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure where else the third rebellion deleted scene would go and that scene’s second half would have to be removed anyway. I think it’ll need to remain out.

The only place it could be reinstalled I think is between the second rebellion scene and Obi-Wan/Anakin farewells (around 0:40:00 of your edit). It would also better establish that during the appartment scene Anakin had no antagonist against Obi-Wan as well as being a callback to his quest for more power (I really do think this dialogue is important for Anakin’s turn, “I’m not the jedi I should be. I want more” => it has a clear payoff with the later Palpatine reveal, “all your life you’ve wanted something better etc.”). But I believe it would need to use (or reuse) a wide shot… or reinstall the second nightmare to smoother the scene transition… I would love to say half the scene back but yeah, I understand it might be tricky to do so.

• I think it’d feel abrupt to remove that much of Mace and Anakin’s conversation over Palpatine. This dialogue lets us see ‘principle photography Anakin’ advocate for his idea of justice before acting on it.

It might be just the “he must stand trial” that really bothers me, because Anakin doesn’t mention it after. He never intended to really arrest Palpatine. I’m not sure I must confess about that line. Anyway it plays so far better than the theatrical cut in your edit that I might just be nitpicking on very small details no one else sees 😃

• Not sure how well it would play to have just the first shot of killings in the Temple and a closeup of Anakin. I will play with this. Maybe it would work being placed between Padme crying and Bail arriving there.

Oh yeah it would be great to put it there !

• “YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE.” I’m open to persuasion on this point, though I like omitting it in order to keep things personal, and I’ll likely keep it that way.

I’ve just been talking to someone familiar with your edit and the theatrical cut, and… I think the way it currently is should stay. I agree it’s better Obi-Wan doesn’t mention the prophecy here. In this regard, should the earlier mention during the gunner scene be trimmed as well of the chosen one ? (well, don’t know, because Yoda’s remark has a payoff so it probaly should stay as it is).

Hal 9000 said:

Well, the necklace has no payoff whatsoever in Episode III because my handling of it does not allow a place for either of its two appearances there. I’m open to others’ opinions though, given this.

I agree but there is a payoff for the necklace in my beloved Clone Wars microseries (when Anakin is knighted) so I would love to see it reinstalled 😄

(by the way whatever you add or remove could you keep a log of the number of frames added/removed so it would be more simple to resync the subtitles ? I will do it in both languages, my pleasure as usual !).

Here are a few suggestions (my last two cents on Episode III, I promise 😃):

Removed Obi-Wan leaping from his cockpit, and his little jump during the fight with the battle droids.

Oh it’s such a fun callback to the Clone Wars microseries 😃

The elevator sequence is gone

Maybe you should keep at least the destroyers scene and cut when they enter the elevator ? I think it would be good to keep as much Anakin/Obi-Wan friendship interaction as possible. I also like the R2 humor with the elevator but since you later reuse of shot of Anakin I guess it has to stay removed (and it might be a little bit over the top humor so I agree with the removal).

Anakin never tells Padme about his nightmare, another conflict within him.

I agree with that, but still I think you should keep the balcony scene, which is the only moment in the movie they actually look happy together (and the corniness of the scene is cute, way better than what Lucas wrote for Episode II).

Dialogue trimmed in most scenes, especially during Anakin’s appointment to the Jedi Council.

I think you should also remove the following line (where Anakin is too vehement): “How can you do this? This is outrageous.”

the opera scene

I would love to see Lucas caméo reinstalled 😃

The scene where he seems to have paranoia about Obi-Wan being as Padme’s apartment is gone.

I would suggest to keep the part where he admits his “lust” for power, which is still why he embraces the dark side according to ROTJ, while still removing the paranoia and saving Padmé stuff. Dialogues would flow like that:

• Obi-Wan’s been here, hasn’t he?
• He came by this morning.
• What did he want?
• He’s worried about you. He says you’ve been under a lot of stress.
• I feel lost.
• Lost? What do you mean?
• I’m not the Jedi I should be. I want more. And I know I shouldn’t.
• You expect too much of yourself.

Removed Boga’s noisy introduction

Well, it’s a fun western vibe ! 😃

Grievous retreats as soon as the clone troops arrive, in keeping with what little characterization about him we have seen so far, rather than gloating a bit and then running away.

Western vibe again: I wish you would use Kerr’s idea to keep the Sergio Leone close ups and the “you are doom” line.

Trimmed dialogue as Palpatine reveals his true nature to Anakin in order to slightly downplay Padme as Anakin’s only real motive for joining the dark side.

You should cut completely all references to Padmé so as to keep that only to Anakin (he told about his nightmares to no one in your edit, so Palpatine shouldn’t know either, and Anakin is already someone convinced by fascist ideals - as established in Episode II and in TCW tv series - and who leads a continuying quest for more power: the Padmé dying subplot should then stay something 100% kept in his own mind; it would emphasize his guilt more when he understands he killed her at the end - even if he actually didn’t in your edit !).

Removed Palpatine’s voiceover as Anakin waits in the Council room, talking about Padme again.

I agree with this removal but it creates a slight sound issue. I’ll check if it could be possible to use the soundtrack cue to replace the voice over (“Anakin’s dark deeds” is the name of the cue IIRC).

Trimmed the lightsaber fight, including Palpatine’s bizarre serpentine jump.

I would suggest to keep the first jump because it explains why 3 jedi masters are stunned by such an unpredictable and vicious move (it would also keep a creepy weirdness to Darth Sidious aggressive martial style).

As Anakin enters the scene, Windu is already going to kill Palpatine

I think you should remove a few more lines and only keep Anakin helping to kill Windu with almost no word said, hence removing the following lines:

• He must stand trial.
• He has control of the senate and the courts.
• He must live. I need him.

If Anakin says almost no word, it would also be a very interesting parallel to the ending of ROTJ when he quietly kills Palpatine (I’m referring to ROTJ edits without “No. Nooooooo” obviously 😉).

Anakin and Palpatine don’t mention Padme during the knighting of Vader scene

You should also remove Palpatine’s “…along with all the senators.” and “The council’s next move will be against the senate.” It’s over the top that Anakin would agree with Palpatine about that (why would the Jedi kill all the senators they have been protecting for generations ? Anakin has turned to the dark side but he’s not completely stupid to believe that in your edit).

Removed R2 popping out of Anakin’s fighter.

Well, I don’t mind the popping out thing (but I might be alone here 😃).

removed the scene where Anakin ignites his saber on a roomful of children

100% agree, but I wish you could keep the wide shot of the clone troopers killing jedi inside the Temple along with Anakin’s close up (to imply he’s actively killing jedis, as seen later in the movie with the recording scene).

Removed Obi-Wan referencing the chosen one prophecy during Anakin’s immolation. It’s more effective when it’s personal rather than philosophical.

I’m unsure about that. Since you’ve kept the Chosen One subplot intact in your edits I think it would be good to keep that last reference here.

Three last ideas:

• remove a small part of Windu’s dialogue in the gunner (I made this change using your edit, I can send it to you if you wish to hear if it sounds good) when he says “It’s very dangerous, putting them together. I don’t think the boy can handle it.” to make him say “It’s very dangerous. I don’t think the boy can handle it.” (because if putting them together is dangerous - and why would it be ? - why are you putting them together ?!?).

• remove Padmé naming the kids, so you still keep Leia being Luke’s sister as a slight revelation when you watch I-II-III-(R1)-IV-V-VI.

• Don’t know if possible to remove, but I never liked the shot of Palpatine smilling during Vader’s wrath. It’s too ridiculously evil.

Sorry it’s a long post but I’ve been thinking recently (after rewatching your edit and the extended cut) about what I would do if I were to make my own Episode III edit using yours as the base so I take the opportunity share my ideas here 😃 (don’t worry I’m not gonna make such a list for Episode I & II… only a few minor suggestions but not that many !).

Ahah, funny how things go 😃 I believe I agree with everything you want to put back and the little things you want to remove for good.

Reinstate “My powers have doubled since the last time we’ve met, Count.” “Good. Twice the pride, double the fall.”

It’s already in v4.2 !

Are you taking last minute small suggestions as well ? Very small things, like the ones you’ve mentioned. For example, having watched the full extended cut of ROTS by Octorox recently I felt that a few things could have been kept, such as “this is where the fun begins”, the missile sequence where we finally get to see the finest pilot in the galaxy Anakin was supposed to be according to Ben in ANH (and a smart callback to the podrace in TPM), the complete dialogue with Grievous ('cause I like TCW tv series so I find it fun it really is the very first time they meet), or the complete deleted scene with seed of rebellion (you’ve removed one 3PO joke and 2 other lines). Small things, really.

Ah cool I didn’t know that. Corrected then. Thanks !

ysamjo said:

we got the exploding Alderaan, but we don’t care about anybody on that planet bc we don’t know them

It would be possible to add a shot of Bail Organa watching the destruction of his home planet (maybe using a shot from the end of Episode II with alterations to make him look like in Rogue One).

ysamjo said:

That’s why I said in the first 6 episodes.

I agree but is there room (or is it even needed) anywhere in the 6 movies ? What I mean is that the PT is the first movement, the initial error (the fact the Jedi are failling is the heart of Episode III; Dooku explains it in a few Episode II dialogues; we even see the Jedi Council more interested by politics than by mystical propheties in Episode I => so it’s pretty obvious during the PT that the Jedi Order is wrong, but the main protagonists just don’t admit it… or not in a clear way, except for Palpatine in a few scenes as well); the OT is the second movement, the error being corrected; the third (and last ?) movement is the ST, which tries to synthetize that. I get what you want to do, but I don’t think you can add it into the narratives of the OH (Original Hexalogy) further.

darthrush said:

honestly, screw the prequels. I just don’t want Luke Skywalker referring to Darth Sidious. I’d rather have him talk about his legacy of saving his father and that effect on him. Him referring to things that worked well for me emotionally from the OT, and not from the PT, where I saw a bunch of souless monks get offed by troopers when they were meant to be skilled protectors of peace and justice.

Too bad because Luke’s behavior against the meaning/purpose of the Jedi Order is fueled by what happened during the PT (events he got to know about between Episode VI and VII). You get rid of every single PT reference, you get rid of a strong part of Luke’s characterization of his ST character. I think it’s totally OK to dislike the PT as movies, but as part of the SW canon I’m not a huge fan of revisionism to erase them. But… it’s your edit, if it works for you it’s 100% your choice 😉

ysamjo said:

One the other side we don’t see the Jedi admitting or processing their own guilt in creating Darth Vader.

SPOILER ALERT ON EPISODE VIII

At one point in TLJ Luke does aknowledge what happened during the events of Episode III and the guilt of the Jedi Order, blinded with arrogance (using the same words Darth Sidious used during his confrontation agaisnt Yoda)

paja said:

Any Updates?

paja said:

So… any news?

FBK ash, I forgot to tell you : welcome here ! 😉

Mary-Sue Poppins ?

I think you’ve removed too much of TFA, hence your fanedit is hard to understand. But it might be very convenient for future Star Wars marathons when the series reaches Episode LXVI : The Final Order Strikes Back for Good

I don’t have them right now (need to reach home first), but according to the spleen you’ll get them with the 720p version:

This is the 720p mp4 version. Also available as a 1080p BluRay-compliant mkv, and a DVD5.
Video specs: H.264, 1280x720, 23.976 fps.
Audio specs: 5.1 AAC, 448 kbps (due to DVD-sourced deleted scenes used)
Includes fan editor’s commentary track, English and French subtitles

Disney had nothing to do with the OT. You should remove their logo from the disc me-think. And using an image from TFA for a OT box set is quite curious as well.

If I’m not mistaken the subtitles are muxed in the mkv file of the last (and final) version of Hal’s PT. If you do happen to see mistakes or else let me know so I can correct/improve them ! I’ve also made subtitles for Rise of the Rebellion (a Rogue One fanedit that greatly improves the pacing of the first act), for a complete “Prequel saga” watch.

Have fun with these edits, they truly are great at removing the fat and silliness that prevented a very interesting (yet not perfect) 3-act story to better display its qualities.