Snaketibe

OK, here's something everyone can enjoy.  StarWarsArchivesCom have uploaded Michel Parbot's Empire Strikes Back lost documentary excerpts to YouTube.  Here's how they describe it:

Excerpts from the lost 1980 Michel Parbot documentary. It's basically a better quality version of the footage from the Dutch Broadcast combined with the clips I released in 2007. All in the correct order with the main and end titles to make a coherent whole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5aS-HIgvANE

This really is brilliant stuff!  Enjoy :-)

Beautiful work Ady.  Thank you for sharing.

Thanks ImperialFighter.  I'm not surprised this has all been brought up before, given the enormity of this thread, and thanks for the pointer to your most informative previous post, coincidentally also made across a New Year, I note :-)

I feel I ought to have mentioned in my last post why (if my memory is correct) Ady said fixing this might be too difficult.  Again, if my increasingly aged memory has its facts straight, I believe Ady may have been referring to the erasing and repositioning of the insignia to Han's opposite shoulder / breast, rather than the far more straightforward re-flopping (or re-flipping, if you prefer) of the shots.

I only brought up the possibility of adding snow to disguise the insignia - and hence also the fact that the shot is flopped - as a (possibly) easier alternative to repositioning the insignia if re-flopping the shot is not Ady's preference.

My personal preference would be for these two shots to simply be re-flopped as I don't think it would significantly detract from anything by doing so, and it would remove the annoyance of knowing the shot is flopped (once you know they're there, you can't not see them!).  However, quite naturally it should go without saying that this is of course Ady's edit and if he decides he would rather not change anything, I'm hardly going to throw my toys out of the pram ;-)

Happy New Year to one and all!

I decided to bring in the New Year by watching Adywan's Empire theatrical reconstruction (and quite excellent it was too).  In watching, I noticed something that I do not recall being listed as being fixed.  Indeed, if memory serves, I think Adywan might even have mentioned that fixing this might be too difficult to achieve (my apologies if I have that part incorrect).

Anyway, a pet hate of mine is flopped shots.  Adywan has already corrected a couple of these when Han cuts open his tauntaun for Luke, but there are a couple of other shots in the lead up to that scene where flopped shots of Han are still used.  Below I have taken screen grabs of how things currently stand.  I have highlighted Han's macrobinoculars which incorrectly appear on his right-hand side as he rides his tauntaun away from camera, only to then switch back to his left-hand side after he dismounts.  I have also highlighted his rank insignia which incorrectly appears on his right shoulder as he scans the scene from his tauntaun, only to then have it switch back to his left shoulder once he dismounts.

(I really hope the above picture is present, as for some reason in the past when I have tried to include pictures in my posts they have not worked.  Just in case it is missing, I have also uploaded it here: http://www.imagebam.com/image/b79b18229557273 )

Anyway, an obvious potential solution to this problem is to simply flop back the first two shots (Han riding away from camera and him scanning the scene from his tauntaun).  I have knocked up a quick version of how this would look:

(Again, if the above is missing, here is a link to the pic: http://www.imagebam.com/image/46c21c229557286 )

Personally, I don't think this looks too bad at all, although I do appreciate it was flopped in the first place because it makes a little bit more sense visually in keeping Han's direction of travel a little more idiot-proof.  Therefore, if flopping those two shots back again is too unpalatable, how about flopping back just the shot of him riding his tauntaun away from camera (changing that one back seems less controversial to my mind than the other shot), and then 'simply' (I realise this may not be simple to achieve!) covering up his rank insignia with snow so his right shoulder matches his left (a little more snow just above the top of his left pocket might also need adding to cover up where the insignia should be).  There is already a continuity error here as his left shoulder has snow on it, but when he dismounts it's suddenly clean again, so having snow on both shoulders suddenly disappear might not be all that objectionable.  Of course I suppose the snow might have been knocked off him when he dismounted as a possible in-universe solution.  Alternatively, I suppose snow could be added to his shoulders after he dismounts, although naturally that would involve even more work.

Anyway, I have made a quick mock-up of what I am talking about by adding snow to his right and left shoulders whilst on his tauntaun:

(Again, here's a link to the pic: http://www.imagebam.com/image/268abe229557301 )

Anyway, that is my suggestion... for what it's worth!

Well, everyone's entitled to their own opinions of course, but personally, I've never been more excited about seeing ESBR!  The magnificent work done in bringing us ANHR leaves me giddy with anticipation at what ESBR will show us.  Yes of course Empire is a brilliant film to start with, but Ady has already shown how he can not just improve, but significantly improve an already brilliant film with ANH, so his efforts in delivering ESBR will be forever appreciated by true Star Wars fans everywhere.  Is it taking a bit longer than we hoped?  Yes.  But will it be worth the wait?  You better believe it!

That's excellent to hear Ady.  You have always displayed kindness, integrity and intelligence in your posts here and elsewhere, so I am not surprised to learn that you are making the Revisited edits for the right reasons.

Regarding a possible C&D order, as reported above, and as detailed here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tangled-rights-could-tie-up-384541

Fox has indeed retained the rights to the first six films until 2020, when all but the rights to Episode IV (which will remain with Fox in perpetuity) will revert to Disney, so perhaps that C&D order may not come quite as quickly as feared.  Of course Fox themselves might issue one, but I'm not sure Disney can.

Love the clip.  The colour is gorgeous, but my favourite thing about it is easily the new skies / cloud formations.  They not only make a lot more sense than the originals and Special Editions because they make everything consistent, they also look fantastic.  Thank you for posting it and please keep up the excellent work.

Repost from Ady's Facebook page (since no-one else has posted this here yet!):

While things are a little quiet on the Revisited front at the moment due to the break while i move house, i'd like everyone to throw some support behind some of those that have really helped in promoting Revisited and have been very supportive. So first off......

Stephen Stanton (captain Tarkin himself). Let's get his page to at least 3000 likes before the end of next week. If you all help to reach this goal then i will post a brand new completed image from ESB:R. If you manage to get that total to more than 4000, then i will post 2 new images. So, come on everyone, lets show our support and thanks.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Stanton/142208022510169

As I understand it, the ESB Blu-ray is the ultimate source for Ady's ESB:R, and therefore that is why you must own a copy of the ESB Blu-ray in order to own and watch ESB:R in ANY format.  Just because it is subsequently rendered into a lesser format than HD doesn't alter the fact that it was originally sourced from the Blu-rays.

And in any case, Ady has made it VERY clear that ownership of the Blu-rays is a prerequisite for owning ESB:R, so further debate is pointless and in fact actively counter-productive.

If Lucasfilm wanted to it could and most certainly would take a very firm legal line on fan-edits like this, just as it has on countless other areas it feels companies and individuals have illegally profited from its copyrighted material over the years.  Whatever else you may think of George Lucas, be VERY grateful that he tolerates fan edits, otherwise none of us would be able to enjoy them.

Therefore, if you want to watch ESB:R, buy the Blu-rays.  Period.

And (with respect), please stop posting requests for purchasing options for ESB:R (there will NEVER be any), complaints about having to own the Blu-rays, your intentions to own ESB:R but not to own the Blu-rays, or anything else that simply jeopardizes the very existence of ESB:R.

The rules have been made crystal clear.  If you don't intend to abide by them, kindly keep that information to yourself.  The rest of us don't wish to hear about it.

Thanks for the new clip Jaitea.  That's excellent work.  I'll be very interested to hear what Ady thinks.  I hope he can use it.

And thanks too of course to Ady for the stunning Christmas clip (and the still images), which was the best present I received this year :-)

Excellent work!  I hope it's something Ady can use.

I must say that whilst, as is always the case with Ady's changes, I think the addition of the cold breath has been brilliantly realised, in this instance I personally would not add it.  As some other people have already pointed out, whilst watching the new scene, I found myself very distracted by the new breaths, and not concentrating on the dialogue being spoken.

However, at the end of the day it is Ady's edit, and if he likes the new breaths and is happy to put in the doubtless considerable effort to add it throughout the Hoth scene, then more power to his elbow, and I look forward to watching the finished result.  If he chooses not to add it, it won't be an area of the edit that I would view as a missed opportunity.

Dear Ady,

My sincerest condolences on your loss.  I think it speaks volumes about both you and the high regard in which people clearly hold you that so many genuinely heart-felt comments are being left for you on this forum.

Although I did not know your father, I am still moved by the news of his passing, and feel real sorrow for the loss on you and your family.  Life is unkind and unfair at times, but our friends and families and there for us when we need them.  Please remember that we are all your friends and we are here for you.

Sincerely,

Snaketibe

Dear Ady,

Like everyone, I'd like to express my sympathies and support during these extremely difficult times for you and your family.  We're all thinking of you and truly hope for better news very soon.

Although I have never met you, although I have never spoken to you, although I don't know what you look like or sound like, and although I may never get the chance to change any of these things, it remains a remarkable fact that I cannot help regarding you as a friend!  You have already given me a priceless gift in the form of Star Wars Revisited, and you seem stubbornly determined to shower further gifts upon us all in the future, despite enormous inconvenience to yourself.

Thank you!  Thank you from the bottom of my Star Wars-loving heart!  I routinely sing your praises to anyone remotely interested in Star Wars (and many that aren't, but happen to be too polite to tell me to shut up), and I genuinely marvel at your continuing accomplishments on these truly amazing projects.  Where you find your staying-power to complete them simply baffles me!

Your generosity, good grace, intelligence, wit, dedication, and sheer talent shines through everything that you've chosen to share with us.  You, sir, truly astound me!  If life gave us what we actually deserve, then you would not be experiencing any of your current woes.  You deserve better, but even if life doesn't deliver it to you, please believe me when I sincerely say that your countless fans on this forum and around the world think you are amazing, and offer our moral support to you always.

Yours sincerely,

A friend that you've never met.

Ady, your priorities are of course quite correct.  I'm sure we are all thinking of you at this difficult time.  As has been said before, family comes first.

But since the shadows on the Falcon's cockpit window struts don't appear to change for the brief duration of the matte-lined asteroid's passage, could a new larger asteroid be placed over the top of the existing one, AND the Falcon's window struts, and only once that had been done then going back and overlaying the original struts on top of the new matte-free asteroid?  This would certainly save the fiddly work of trying to rotoscope 'behind' the window struts... But then again, I fully concede that I could easily not know what on Earth I'm talking about, as I have no idea if my suggestion is even possible, let alone any easier to accomplish.

Beautiful work, Ady.  As always, the new clip looks fantastic.  Thanks for posting it.

Awesome work, Ady.  Simply stunning!  Thank you so much for taking the time to make and share these fantastic edits.  We can only hope the Blu-rays are even half as good as this looks like being... but I have a strong feeling ESB:R will knock the spots off the Blu-rays!

It's days like this that make visiting this forum a pleasure :-)

Great news about your dad Ady, congrats for the competition win, and thanks for the news about the Blu-ray decision... Oh, and thanks for taking the enormous time and effort to do such splendid edits in the first place.  If I was wearing a hat, I would take it off to you!...  Now to go and buy a hat ;-)

Hi,

Sorry if you are already on top of this, but I think you may have missed my message (post 54) above?  Please could I have an invite too?

Many thanks indeed.

Thank you.

That's great.  Thanks retardedted.  Looking at the options, 'utorrent' seems like a good bet... unless you know different, of course!

Hi,

I'd love an invite too please.  I am (blushes) a bit of a newbie with respect to this sort of thing however, so could someone also point me to some instructions on how to use MySpleen (assuming they aren't on the site anyway)?

Many thanks.

Be very careful if following any of these proxy links.  I did earlier and have just spent the past 5 hours scrubbing various viruses and trojans from my system that infected it from some of the sites offered.  You have been warned.

Now back on topic...

Excellent job on the Hoth Trooper costumes, Ady.  First rate likeness to the movie props.