I would also like to know how one becomes a moderator. They are the best members on this website.
I think you just answered your own question there.
That was a fun ride, SP!
Sherlock’s line sounds good to me. Star Wars to me is best when it doesn’t try to overexplain things, so it might edge out the original line here.
Also, I didn’t realize that Luke said “Well, more wealth than you can imagine!” to Han. I always heard what he said as “Well, more well than you can imagine!”
I would go so far as to say that this was a straight-up bad take by Hamill because I still can only hear ‘well’.
Lightsabers are too bright for a normal observer in the Star Wars galaxy to discern their colors. It is only when a recording is made that the colors become visible. This is why nobody comments on the color of the blades in the films.
That seems like a rather myopic way to view the conversation. The final few statements are broken into three distinct thoughts:
“When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be.”
“The Force runs strong in your family…pass on what you have learned.”
“Luke, there is another Skywalker.”
Each thought builds on the one before it, but it’s important to preserve the order of lines. Luke is being commanded to pass on what he has learned without first knowing that he has another living relative. It could be implied that Luke would pass on his knowledge to his children, or that his knowledge would lead to a ‘return of the Jedi’ in the galaxy like the title implies. Only after this order does Yoda drop the ‘other Skywalker’ bomb on him, so it stands to reason that this other would be among those Luke teaches but almost certainly not the extent of his obligation. I know I’d be pissed as a Force Ghost if my student just trained the secret twin and nobody else because of the letter of the order and not its spirit.
It was Yoda’s dying wish that Luke pass on what he had learned.
I’ve been trying to put into conception the issue I have with Midichlorians since the prequels were released, and I just realized something. Consider Qui-gon’s explanation:
“Midichlorians are a microscopic life form residing within all living cells…And we are symbionts with them. Without the Midichlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll hear them speaking to you.”
Now consider Yoda’s explanation:
“My ally is the Force…and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us…and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship.”
Emphasis mine.
Notice the remarkable difference between these two statements. In the first, the Midichlorians are posited as a requirement for cellular life, essential building blocks that are themselves alive somehow. Logically it’s a contradictory statement to say that a life form is a requirement for the existence of all life forms, but perhaps he’s simply saying that this first life form is a requirement for everything more advanced. In either case, the Midichlorians here serve as an intermediary between the Force and all other life forms. Nowhere is it said that the Midichlorians embody the Force, but they are merely the conduit from energy to matter.
Now take Yoda’s words. He claims that life creates this energy field of the Force and makes it grow. Notice how the causal chain is reversed here. In Qui-gon’s explanation cellular life could not exist without Midichlorians, whereas Yoda claims that the Force could not exist without (presumably cellular) life. So what came first? Did cellular life arise and create the Force, or did the Force ‘create’ Midichlorians which then allowed for the emergence of cellular life? The only reconciliation I can see is that the Midichlorians were the first life form, giving rise to both the Force and cellular life and acting as the mediator between the two. Admittedly it’s a strange explanation.
That’s all well and strange, but now we get at the big difference between these two explanations. In Qui-gon’s world, the Force is a power that you have, accessible through the Midichlorians in your cells. They transmit the will of the Force to you and you transmit your intention for the Force through them. The ‘crude matter’ of a person exerts its will on the immaterial Force through the Midichlorians. Yoda, on the other hand, proclaims that cellular life and the Force are essentially one and the same. ‘Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter’ after all. He tells Luke to feel the Force - not some intermediary transmitting the will of the Force - but the Force itself, and gestures to the environment.
Qui-gon’s explanation of the Force is one of duality; matter and energy, body and soul, mortal and God. A conduit, an intermediary, is required to bridge the gap and allow for a unification. It is a religious doctrine in keeping with the doctrinaire Jedi Order and its stratified system of authority and control.
Yoda dispenses with duality, implying that matter and energy are merely two appearances of the same essence. It is a spiritual teaching aiming at the highest truth, which is that all appearances of form and difference are merely shadows cast from the light of the eternal Force.
Of course one of these explanations will feel more true than the other, which is why so many people discard Midichlorians as merely a tool for control used by the flawed Jedi Order in their final days.
Thank you so much for that review, DrVibble! Glad you enjoyed it so much, it really means a lot. I have added your suggestions to my final checklist. 😃
@ littlev87: PM Sent!
That’s tricky. There are hints in the first scene of TFA where Kylo senses something about Finn, and he even recalls his name afterwards which could imply that Finn had previously shown some sensitivity in his Stormtrooper training which Kylo noticed. Maybe some subtle sound effect could be used when Kylo sees Finn in the village.
In Rey’s vision in TFA she could hear Finn’s voice saying ‘It’s a feeling’ among the other voices.
I haven’t thought about the other films, but I’m sure there could be moments there as well.
Man, it would be nice to have a whole day to revisit that “You were right” line!
Jar Jar, glad you’re stepping in and trying to make improvements!
Hal, maybe the existing line could use some EQ? I remember thinking it might be a little aggressive in the low end, and also a bit loud in the mix. Maybe turning it down would fit better. I agree the delivery is a bit flat!
I’m also not sure if this helps, but I remember back when I was doing it I found a helmeted Kylo line from the very beginning of TFA where he actually says “You are so right” to Max Von Sydow. However, they seem to have changed the filtering so much since TFA (or maybe just that one line) that I couldn’t use it for anything. But I thought I’d mention it since the line is soooo close.
Maybe Kylo changed it based on the helpful feedback of Poe. 😉
The brutal truth here is that I probably couldn’t bear to watch TROS a single more time, let alone how much I’d have to see it to fanedit the damn thing.
The good news is that anyone else could use these ideas or similar ones for their own fanedit, if they were so inclined 😉
PM Sent!
PM Sent!
Has a tentative cutlist been drawn up for this project yet?
I wouldn’t count on anything regarding TROS being worked on anytime soon, if ever. I began the thread when I was still working through potential ideas to salvage the film, but I’ve pretty much landed on the realization that it’s simply unsalvageable, even combined with TLJ into a sort of two-in-one summary cut.
I’d agree with this, while clarifying that Star Wars is at its best when ‘modern’ technologies and techniques are merely inferred rather than showcased. Like, I’m sure the galaxy is brimming with technologists and scientists making advances in their fields, but Star Wars operates in the arena of ancient recontextualized mythology rather than a future-predicting techno-dystopia.
https://i.imgur.com/d7RX7uR.mp4
I just finished reading Light of the Jedi.
It opened strong. I really liked the ‘natural disaster’ scenario, as it shows a different side of the Jedi rather than just the tired good guys vs bad guys story which has been done to death in Star Wars. The Jedi have new but not crazy abilities at times which is always refreshing, and the numerous small personal stories painted a compelling picture of this time period.
Unfortunately, the villains show up after the disaster and the story becomes much less compelling. What doesn’t help matters is that the villains don’t directly meet the heroes until the final few chapters of the book, so there’s basically no drama between them. It’s nowhere near bad enough to ruin the book, but following the wonderful first part is a letdown.
Overall, I’m cautiously optimistic about future stories in this period.
Impressive write-up! This might help separate music from dialogue if you’re interested.
I believe this film really wants to be a meditation on the Force, and it looks like you’re allowing it to get out of its own way. I’m very interested in where this goes.
actual continuity
Imagine acting like the ST has so little continuity
Correct.
Well to be fair Episodes 7 and 8 have pretty good continuity between themselves. It’s just the other two connection points that feel like a drunk man falling down seven flights of stairs and breaking his neck.
The difference is that those aren’t soft reboots that force the world and story to retread the same tired ground for the sake of nostalgia, and in fact those examples derive much of their impact from the accomplishments of the prior movies.
You’re both disqualified.
Great work!
Not particularly related, but I’ve always found the sound of the Porg in the film to be far inferior to the one used in the trailer:
https://youtu.be/Q0CbN8sfihY?t=91
It’s just something about the way the Porg sustains that scream that feels incredibly forced in the film, for whatever reason.
