MalàStrana

I have finished to watch your Episode I- Army of the Republic. It’s very cool. A little bit too long and too loaded with (repetitive) action sequences but it works, even with so many subplots going one (it’s so dense). Not very convinced by the 99 subplot by the way, it’s really forced/fake emotivity around this character. Some transitions seem rought but I don’t think you could do better with the original material. Just some weird frame-rate issues before and after each transition. Less wipes could be a solution I guess.

I’m more puzzled about the choice you’ve made for the following episodes though. Bane and “children of the Force” plots are very weak in the tvseries (I’ll see if you’ve managed to improve them), as well as the “parasite” thing and “Anakin being jealous” plots you seem to have based your Episode IV edit on. Cool material such as the “R2D2 centric” double episode does not seem to be part of your plans.

However I’m very interested by your upcoming take on the Maul and Ventress plots. There is something quite awesome to achieve with that. I also hope you’ll find a way to put every Tarkin material within the very same movie feature (maybe Episode 9 ?).

Anyway, it’s overall a very good work you’ve done so far. We just don’t share the exact same tastes about this tvseries, 'cause I’m more critical of the show than you are.

Episode 9 which will comprise the order 66 and Sifo Dyas arcs

Hum… If I may: these story arcs are very weak in the tvseries, but if you intend to keep them you should do you Episode 8 with this material and keep Episode 9 to end with Ahsoka leaving the Order. It would emphasize even more why Anakin is already in deep mistrust with the Order when ROTS begins.

SilverWook said:

and even built a new improved Threepio suit for Anthony Daniels

“Improved” ?!? The 3PO suit in TFA is quite terrible. Looks plastic.

It’s really hard to say why the DS has this weird position, but for sure this is something never seen in a SW flick. Edwards really knows how to raise expectations and how to play on different scales : remember his Godzilla, where gigantism and human perspective are mixed into the same shot ? This is something the man is very good at. I also love the DS-solar eclipse shot (very nice hommage to the Mustafar eclipse Anakin/Vader stares at in ROTS). There is a “Edwards” movie feel (i.e. “Godzilla” feel) as well as a “SW movie” feel, something that the previous trailer was missing. I’m still puzzled about a few things but now I’ll stick to the fact that I might really like this stand-alone movie.

[by the way did I mention that I don’t like TFA ? I’m not sure I did]

SilverWook said:

Compared to what?

What part of my 2-lines post are you referring to ? The cheap looking ? Well, compared to the other movies of the saga. Better than expected ? Well, compared to the previous trailer.

It still looks cheap and some cgi aren’t quite finished, but it seems better than expected. Edwards’ visual style is clearly there, I’m still sure it’s gonna be far more interesting than the highly overrated Ep7.

Intentional but weird. It really sounds like a mix issue, not a joke. Anyway this sequence is nowhere to be seen in any AOTC fan edit.

TV’s Frink said:

LuckyGungan2001 said:

this reality is frequently broken by L8wrtr’s version with their poor audio cuts

I don’t know if you watched an old version or something but I showed my kids his whole trilogy not too long ago and I didn’t hear any poor audio cuts.

I agree with Lucky on this one. I remember that the bluray edition (taken on kickass) has many jarring audio cuts as well as compression issues (video quality is very poor). I’m really fond of Hal’s version for Episode III, but L8’s take on this one is equally fascinating. The complete reconstructure of Anakin’s fall is great. I’ve read L8 was working on a v2 edition that I would gladly watch when available. He used a few interesting sequences that got entirely cut in Hal’s version (both appartment scenes with Padmé and Anakin) and the sequencing is very clever, making Anakin’s fall a strong choice between Palpatine’s promises and the Jedi blindness of the situation. So for Episodes I & II I would recommand Hal’s versions (which are conservatives editions, with a very few exceptions - Gungan city sequence and the necklace gift to Padmé that I feel are missing a little) and for Episode III it’s a hard choice between Hal’s and L8’s. Hal’s has seamless cuts and higher video quality, so I would suggest to watch his version (besides the non-conservative ending corrects a continuity error between III and VI). For L8’s I would wait for v2 (or there is a better file than the one I took a few months ago ?). The perfect edition of Episode III is somewhere between both versions. Both are strong improvements over the theatrical version, making Episode III a (very) good movie in each case.

Talking about jarring audio cuts, the theatrical (!) version of AOTC has a few during the Coruscant Chase (the energy coupling part), so it’s really a win-win situation to watch a fan edit instead of the original version for this one.

If ANH and TESB are 10/10, ROTJ would still be a solid 8/10, so I concur with imperialscum. ROTJ’s quality is closer to the first two than to any of the other episodes (which would be at most 5/10 in their theatrical versions).

MathUser said:

I heard the 4K versions will have further changes

The only “solid” rumor about a 4K release is an OOT release.

Yeah I know, it’s even weirder.

Smithers said:

They got rid of episode numbers last year when they released the really overpriced digital copies and steelbooks.

Yeah I know, it’s weird.

My bad: I thought he was talking about 70mm negative; I’ve made a mistake with print/negative. The movies were indeed shot in 35mm.

What happened to the 70mm prints ?

4k is currently the max for home cinema, but if they plan to make digital screening in theaters in a near future an 8k restoration would be the way to go. These movies deserve it.

Seems interesting. Obviously each SW fan has his own vision of each film, so I would argue that some changes aren’t necessary while I thing some are missing, such as:

Leia knows how much Han meant to her (Rey) and she (Rey) needed that one person who understood to be there for her

Leia has not clue about that. The hugging scene would basically be the very first thing I would remove if I were to make my own TFA edit 😃

Also not a huge fan of reusing tracks from the OT. The “burning homestead” cue is already awkward enough in the theatrical version IMHO.

Cut first order officer going AWOL, the scene cuts to Hux and Snoke before the officer speaks

This is the second thing I would change: reverse your idea and it’s perfect !

Good luck with your edit !

Thanks again for this edit Hal and everyone else involved in the project (I love your new SFX shots Jackpumpkinhead, great job on these !).

The Aluminum Falcon said:
Seing as how you released a BD50 encode that’s only 29 GB, would it be possible to also release the uncompressed 5.1 PCM? Space, it would seem, is no longer a concern, and AFAIK, Final Cut Pro can output lossless if so instructed.

I believe Hal plans to share it as a side file for those who want it.

They have also got rid of the episode numbers. Still not used by that weird move…

GlastoEls said:

So to summarise the sources:

1. Disney / LFL met with Verta on Legacy

2. Disney / LFL requested LoC copies

3. John Landis said George told him trilogy was coming

4. Poster on Steve Hoffman ‘TheHermit’ has a source indicating they’re coming and were due prior to TFA

And just for fun:

5. Anakin has eyebrows in Rebels!

Anything else?

Hayden’s Anakin Force Ghost was supposed to appear in TFA… ok just joking 😃 (well, who knows… http://dorksideoftheforce.com/2016/06/09/hayden-christensen-would-return-to-star-wars-in-a-heartbeat/)

I’m more convinced now. And if I understand it well, LFL is making a complete restoration from scratch ? They went back to original prints and not to the 1997 restoration ? I bet they aimed (are still aiming ?) at a 8k definition. Would love that as a side job they also update the 2011 SE dated cgi.

So your guess is that’s coming for christmas 2016 ? I would bet on May 2017. Still think the christmas set is a 3D set of the PT.

I can sum up: he’s talking about a ROTJ deleted scene that uses TESB footage so he’s asking Adywan no to use it in TESB:R because this would be an ad for the 2011 Bluray Set. Fact is that Adywan probably never intended to use it in his Revisited cut. And we need to lose the “wool over our eyes” (and “fog of lies”) about this matter.

KumoNin said:

So, uh, something that may or may not have been overlooked, is how at the end, the planet implodes, and I always thought that it ends up looking like a star because it absorbed a star. Now, since you made it fire, shouldn’t it not do that? I always felt that satisfaction at the end, but now it seems like there’s a bunch of energy that just comes from nowhere.

Well, it ends up being a very small star compared to the size of the sun that has been sucked. We can assume there was still enough solar energy emmagazined even after having shot. The SKB is such a bad idea that’s impossible to save everything involving it; this subplot alteration raises less awkwardness about it I think.

Fang Zei said:

MalàStrana said:

Fang Zei said:
Hermit’s post about a source inside LFL is encouraging, assuming the source actually knew this info for certain. Finding out that they were indeed planning on getting the true OT out there before TFA just sets the speculation wheels in motion. Maybe they wanted to keep a hundred percent of the attention on TFA?

GL making peace with Disney these past few weeks

This is the first I’ve heard about this. What exactly happened? Or are you referring to the possibility of GL producing Indy 5?

No, I’ve heard he has been visiting Rogue One shooting stages.

http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1534900/what-happened-when-george-lucas-visited-the-star-wars-rogue-one-set

Fang Zei said:
Hermit’s post about a source inside LFL is encouraging, assuming the source actually knew this info for certain. Finding out that they were indeed planning on getting the true OT out there before TFA just sets the speculation wheels in motion. Maybe they wanted to keep a hundred percent of the attention on TFA?

Yeah you’re right; May 2017 would even be a better release date, 40 years anniversary as well as the bluray release of Rogue One. Even if I wouldn’t agree with it, a box set of the OOT with Rogue One would make more sense than a IV-VII box set of the OOT. I even wonder if GL making peace with Disney these past few weeks wouldn’t mean that a “GL definitive cut” [once and for all !] would be par with the OOT. All we need is an official press announcement…

Over a million ? Hum… ok, I might have underestimated the OOT cult following outside movie addicts forums. But does “over a million” beat “most people” ? Only one way to know… and I’d be glad to have been wrong all along !

nickyd47 said:

CHEWBAKAspelledwrong said:

nickyd47 said:

moviefreakedmind said:
I’m sure that they’d sell at least 5 copies lol

Honestly. I bet there is more demand for the OUT than clones in 3D.

For sure. There’s no doubt about that.

For sure ? I wouldn’t bet. Here, on OT.com ? Yeah, obviously. Out, in the real world, I can tell you that most people don’t really give a damn about the OUT, especially the new generations. The PT in 3D is likely to be a best seller (for the 3D market at least). Even more if you add TFA-3D in the set. ROTS opening scene, AOTC Geonosis battle, TPM pod race… If it sells well, no doubt LF is gonna produce 3D version of the OT as well… if they aren’t already working on it… which could be great news for a OOT release in HD since they would first need to restore the 2011SE prints… and so to go back to the original original prints. But it’s a long process; if LF started 1 year ago, christmas 2017 could be the finished date. Christmas 2016 seems too soon.

If they really cared about George, then they wouldn’t have thrown all his ideas for TFA into the garbage

Instead they have taken all his ideas for the OT 😄

Well, there is a petition to ask GL to direct this last episode… Don’t forget that a challenged GL gave ANH (and the OT as well), so it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Except that GL would never direct a movie with a script he has not writen himself. Even if LF did want to hire GL for the job (which is 99.999999% unlikely) GL would refuse. I would love someone like Del Toro to direct a SW movie. But the guy is too independant to accept that.

Ok, I’ve watched a few sequences to see the edits in HD. Very well done and seamless (there is no way to spot it has been fan-edited), the parallel Han’s death/end of the Republic is solid and adds something the theatrical version is lacking (better emotion ?). I haven’t seen continuity errors during Snoke scenes, but I would say there is an untouched scene that should have been altered: after SKB destruction, when they arrive back to the resistance base, people seem too happy considering the Republic has been destroyed just a few minutes ago. The complete landing scene (including Leia hugging unknown Rey while Chewie is in the background walking…) should have been removed; following shot to be “sad Chewie and the others mourning”.

This aside, your edit is a strong step in the right direction, a slight but needed improvement over the theatrical cut. Many things still need to be changed to make it really watchable to my taste (less “yeah !!!”, “youhou !”; no more Han’s lame entrance “we’re home”; less gratuitous fan-service; less failed humor; less lame Leia/Han interaction; less Finn/Phasma interaction and not funny jokes; less Rathnar; no more last Snoke scene “it is time to complete his training”; etc.), so I hope another skilled fan-editor (I’m not) is going to take it from here and improve TFA the best it can be for people like myself who think TFA is the worst SW movie (and by a long shot…). In the meantime, this is the best version available. Until TK251’s v2 I guess ?

By the way Hal I’ve taken the 21 Go file and I’m surprised by the video quality, which is heavily compressed (it’s really noticeable during “dark scenes” such as Snokes; even with daylight interior scenes); an issue which does not appear on your PT edits (this edit weights roughly the same for a 30 minutes longer cut, resulting in a very lower bitrate). I don’t know if it’s feasible but if you happen to have a less compressed file I would very like to keep it in my SW achives (even if it’s a 30/35 Go file). Thanks in advance.

edit: if anyone happens to see things that can be improved with the subtitles (French or English) let me know (I haven’t got enough time to rewatch the film twice to check everything was fine, so there might be a few template lines that could need modifications).