Matt.F

The ramp being down is like the door being unlocked, and to tell the truth most of those rusty bangers aren’t locked because no one would want to steal them, so that doesn’t bother me.

But the lights being on seems almost like the Falcon is sitting there with its keys turned in the ignition and the engine running. ‘Awakening’ is a theme of the film so don’t you think it would have been neater if the Falcon had seemed to be asleep and was only powered up when Rey reached the cockpit?

“What about that ship?”

“That one’s garbage (KABOOM)… the garbage will do!”

The first appearance of the Falcon is one of the highlights in The Force Awakens, but when Rey and Finn first run onboard was anyone else struck by the fact that all the corridor lights are on and the ship appears primed for take off?

Seeing as the ship is under tarp, like an old banger slowly rusting in a farmers front garden, wouldn’t it be more fitting if the ship was powered down when they first enter and the lights didn’t come on till Rey reached the cockpit?

I know Adywan recently showed off a little fix for ESB Revisited where he made a light that was off appear on - could the reverse be done here or is this too hard a alteration?

Darth Lars said:

Matt.F said:

Snoke, I have to say, is where the movie proverbially ‘shit the bed’. It’s just not good enough fx to pass as authentic, and really shows up as a CG construct.

There are more issues with Snoke’s hologram. According to the script, in the first scene with Snoke the audience is supposed to be led into thinking that Snoke is a real person and not a hologram until the transmission ends. This means that the fidelity of the hologram has been made higher than any hologram in the OT or PT, in order to pull off this trick. Personally, I don’t see the point of that at all.
Also, the hologram room has windows with sunlight shining behind Snoke, and that light should reasonably make the holo-projection suffer, but it doesn’t and that just looks weird.

I think best would be to first reduce the shots of Snoke to a minimum – making him more of a mystery, as the Emperor in ESB.
Second, if possible, lower the fidelity of the hologram – which I think would mask the low quality of the CGI and make the hologram look more like a hologram in Star Wars should look. Mask off Snoke from the background, lower the resolution of the holo by dividing into artificial scanlines, add noise and possibly interference, give it a blue tint and add that onto a new background that does not have a light shining directly into the camera.

I hadn’t considered that, but you are right. The fact that Snoke is represented as a hologram would give a skilled faneditor a bit of ‘wiggle room’ and leeway to tweak what is there and perhaps improve it. The full body shots aren’t too awful but if I recall there is a close up shot of Snoke (head and shoulders) that looks particularly bad and CGI. I haven’t got a copy of the movie yet so I don’t know the dialogue line delivered during that shot but if those few seconds of close up could be snipped that would also help.

We want Star Wars to have that tangible, touchable, textured feel, and it’s frustrating that TFA achieves that so admirably but for this one exception.

I personally was very happy with The Force Awakens, and I dont think it is in need of trimming and reshaping in the same way the prequels are.

For me, I watch the Star Wars movies to be transported to an alien galaxy - but a believable one. The authenticity of what is onscreen - the props, the costumes, the sets, the fx - and the beauty of the cinematography forms a major part of my appreciation.

The elements of The Force Awakens that I enjoyed less are those moments where that authenticity wavered. In particular, the CGI of the Rathtars, Snoke and Maz.

The Rathtars are a bit goofy but I can bear with them. That sequence comes right out of a comic book and is the exact sort of scenario that Han and Chewie would find themselves in week after week on the pages of Marvel.

Maz I would have preferred to have been played by a midget with prosthetics and CGI augmentations, but Lupita Nyong did a good enough job of making her a likable, if not a wholly convincing, character.

Snoke, I have to say, is where the movie proverbially ‘shit the bed’. It’s just not good enough fx to pass as authentic, and really shows up as a CG construct. Particularly disappointing as this character could definitely have been played by an actor in prosthetics, and when you think of all the great veteran actors we have in the UK who could have breathed proper life into Snoke it comes across as a missed opportunity. I did read somewhere that the Snoke fx appear rather better on blu ray than on the cinema screen, so i’ll wait and see once the blu is released, but I would be really pleased if Snoke were played by a live actor in the next movie. Short of a massive Adywan style undertaking to refilm an actor as Snoke and paste him into the TFA scenes then this issue is unfixable.

But those rather small issues aside I felt that TFA did have the requisite sense of place and authenticity. Rewatching Looper as well a few weeks ago I was also taken with how elegant the cinematography and pacing is in that film too, which gives me great hope for Rian Johnson’s take on the next instalment.

adywan said:

Darth Lars said:

The deleted scenes are out there… Timecode confirmed. Effects seem to be finished, but not always good.

Only the Kylo aboard the falcon scene has finished effects. All the others, including the snowspeeder chase have very rough effects, more like an animatic stage. It’s strange seeing the x-wings with red markings instead of the blue. And how the hell did they get aboard the Falcon when the whole one side of the ship outside is seen to be buried? We see Kylo coming up the ramp, but thats blocked

This is why you are Adywan - colour of the X-wings and the buried ramp didn’t even occur to me - you have a good eye for detail!

Have just seen the deleted scenes and overall, yes disappointing. I did however like the short sequence of the X-Wings lifting off and then heading into lightspeed. It gave us a moment to ID some of the individual pilots and also gave us a moment set in space - something which TFA is rather lacking in. I also like the scene of Kylo searching the Falcon and then seeing the X-Wings arrive, I think that sets up the climax well, and also the cinematography and musical score is lovely in this scene (sometimes that is all the justification a moment needs).

I’d like to see a version of TFA that reincorporates these two brief scenes, although with the time counter that may prove impossible, however the other deleted scenes I feel do belong on the cutting room floor.

Thank you for sharing the little clip of ‘Ady in interview’, that was good to see along with a few tantalising glimpses of the Hoth Battle. Even though it was off-topic it was also interesting to read some of Ady’s positive thoughts on TFA, and I know he does not plan to make a Revisited version but it does make me wonder whether one day ‘Chewie Gets A Hug’ will be the new ‘Chewie Gets A Medal’!

Having just seen the new trailer for THE FORCE AWAKENS we are starting to see the 'acting' and performance. The actors already seems so much more alive and emotionally engaged than in the prequels.

It really does bring to the fore how almost every actor performed so poorly in the greenscreen environments, and how wooden and stiff the PT is.

I really do feel for Adywan if he does put years of effort into the PT... it just seems like a no win situation, the balsa wood dead-eyed performances are unsalvageable.

I cant be the only one disappointed that the potentially incredible Return Of The Jedi Revisited (and Star Wars HD Revisited) will be delayed for so many more years because of a fools errand. It's not too late to turn back!

Great trailer! Roll on December, I am looking forward to seeing the final epic edit!

Adywan, I don't think it's fair that you do all the work and self-fund the materials so I've sent a £ donation to help with the resin. Good luck with the project! 

This edit sounds like the best of both worlds, keeping the good elements of the Special Editions whilst removing the bad. I have tried googling around for a torrent link to download it (I do own the blu ray source) and if anyone can help with a PM then that would be really appreciated. I also have to ask - does a semi-despecialized edition exist yet for ESB or ROTJ?

I only saw a non-specific reference to "3 additional discs", although if they were blu-ray they might have trumpeted that. Have you seen them definitely described as DVD discs?

Seems like an utterly redundant re-release - literally just a packaging change with some fugly photoshop pictures on the covers. It would have been easy enough to include an exclusive teaser / tidbit for The Force Awakens to help entice... it's like they're not even trying!

"Given the 2k mastering that went on for AOTC and ROTS, and the DVD-sourced deleted scenes that will likely never be released in higher quality, there isn't really any room to climb. If eventually we get our hands on a 4k version of the films, I couldn't use it because it's be a bridge too far from the SD deleted scenes."

Another chance arises to get those HD deleted scenes... Nov 10th Blu Ray Steelbook set of the saga to be released with 40 hours of extras.

http://www.starwars.com/news/the-star-wars-saga-to-be-enshrined-in-limited-edition-blu-ray-steelbooks

Is Adywan still looking for a Millennium Falcon model? The one/sixth scale Hot Toys Falcon has just been unveiled...

doubleofive said:

Adywan wants to do the prequels, he's putting this on himself. ;-)

 doubleo, you're his friend - can't you stage an intervention?

For me, knowing that it has taken 7+ years to complete ESB Revisited, the idea of encouraging Adywan to work on the prequel trilogy revisited seems akin to handing down a life sentence. Portman and Christensen are such dullard planks of wood at the core of the films, add in the peripheral awful toon characters of Jar Jar, Boss Nass, Grievous, and that Monsters Inc guy from the Diner. Even normally reliable actors Terrence Stamp and Sam L Jackson seem barely awake. Can the prequels be improved, sure. Can they ever be great, no. No they cant, it really is as simple as that - and I think deep down every one of us knows that.

Spending 7-8 weeks cutting together a fan edit is one thing but the effort required and the perfectionism that we all know Ady would put into the PT revisited project... it feels irresponsible to encourage someone to waste possibly 10+ years of their life. The prequels aren't worthy of him.

I'd love to see him complete the Revisited trilogy in HD for Star Wars, Empire and Jedi... and then let him sit back and take a well earned rest - that is service enough to Star Wars, by god it is and we are so thankful! The prequels just seem like such an exhausting amount of work, hours, weeks, days, years - and at the end of it they will still be crap because no matter what you tweak you cant recast Christensen and Portman.

Adywan seems like a really nice guy and he seems up for the challenge, but i'm not sure that I would wish that on anyone. Would you?

The puppet Yoda from Empire and Jedi was such a warm, wise and likeable character.

CG Yoda from the prequels had zero charm, with a permanently constipated 'Watchoo talkin bout Willis' expression.

You could never replace the CG crap with a puppet though because of the spazzed out fight scenes.

Of course you could cut the fight scenes out entirely, but if you start cutting out all the bad stuff from the prequels then... there's not a lot of movie left!

Great clip, thank you for sharing! I have to confess that when watching these I don't 'see' many changes. Partly because the movie is so strong that you enjoy it for the drama rather than playing 'spot the difference' and partly because many of the changes are subtle and well-integrated. But what you do feel is a sense that you are looking at a familiar sequence but with fresh eyes - seeing it like you did for the first time, and that's a great gift for us fans.

Thank you Adywan. I intend to rewatch the Star Wars trilogy with my daughters before The Force Awakens releases in December, in fact I suspect ALOT of fans around the world are going to be rewatching the OT in early December to prepare for it... I think that would be the absolute perfect time to release ESB Revisited for maximum impact and I am crossing my fingers that your masterpiece might be the version we get to see!

Here's a screencap. Uncle Owen (Tommy Lee Jones) celebrates his 30th birthday in the Jungland Wastes...

It's called "Moisture Vaporators: Are they really bad for your skin?", and fills out the family life of the thirty-something couple as they raise young Luke. Starring Tommy Lee Jones as Owen and Dame Maggie Smith as Beru.

Hooterdear said:

I don't know where else to put this but I feel it is relevant.

Over at iCollector, there is an original ADR session for "Rat Face," "Han Solo," and "Luke Skywalker" for sale. It is $500 and it ends tomorrow, but seeing as how Rat Face is hardly seen much less heard, it would be interesting to hear what is on this tape. 

 I'll ask the question - because google yields nothing - who or what is Rat Face?

This scene is worth a watch just for the cornucopia of droids glimpsed in the last few seconds. An R2 with a transparent dome, what appear to be mouse droids shackled together like train carriages, and a gonk droid that bravely blocks Darth Vader's way.

Sounds like a good edit. Asking for feedback so I will add that I would rather the Rancor remains and the "Noooo" does not.

Seeing as you are including deleted scenes then I would reinstate the Endor Bunker shootout, on the grounds that it's a cool action scene, it features a brand new set environment, and it shows a tougher side to Han (which as you noted is lacking rather throughout ROTJ). There have already been restoration jobs done on this sequence (adding laser fx, music and re-editing), which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT-ZsR2P8dU