TheoOdo

Erikstormtrooper said:

Also, I think the beginning of the movie needs to happen much faster. It's too slow as is. What about starting the movie right off with the invasion of Naboo?

In the radical prequel edit thread, I seem to remember seeing a YouTube video in which the whole opening sequence is sped up nicely.

The Republic ship lands in the docking bay, one of the Neimodians orders the controller to fire on it, we cut back to the docking bay to see the ship get blown up, a group of droids approach a shut door, there's a beat and the doors open revealing a room full of smoke, the Jedi leap out of the smoke and attack the droids, we cut back to the control room and the Viceroy is informed that the Jedi escaped the blast. The battle then proceeds as normal until the Jedi stowaway.

That way, we cut through all scenes of the Jedi waiting around and drinking tea, then it's straight to the invasion sequence.

SpenceEdit said:

 Yes on all accounts. Still figuring out exactly how to do all that, but yes. I definitely would like new voice dubs, and a bigger threat. I don't know what that threat is going to be, but it will not be a "tax dispute."

Mainly I'd like it to just be simpler. All the taxation fuckery is just too complicated. It needs to be more of the "This is the Trade Federation, and they are evil" variety.

Good to hear! In that case, I have a few more suggestions, take 'em or leave 'em.

If I were to change the Trade Federation, I would change them into an explicitly expansionist military Federation - a coalition of warlords from badly charted territories outside the control of the Galactic Republic.

Until the events of The Phantom Menace they have been conquering non-Republic worlds one after the other, before being pressed by a mysterious informant to assault the defenceless, pacifistic planet of Naboo Alderaan.

The mysterious figure - as will be explained through altered dialogue - has promised them a place of prominence in the "New Order" he is insidiously creating, all they have to do is press into Republic territory and sow as much chaos as possible (something the warlike Federation is inclined to do anyway).

This can be explained via altered dialogue and a new opening crawl.

Thoughts, anyone?

I've always found the motivations of the Neimodians to be not very credible. If all mention of "trade disputes" could be removed and replaced with some more aggressive motivation (expansionism, a stab at galactic dominance, an attempt to cultivate slave labour etc. etc.), I think the film would mesh more easily with the style of the original trilogy while making the Neimodians more threatening villains.

Would you consider dubbing the Neimodians or using subtitles at all?

How about completely changing the nature of the Federation, their motivations and their origins?

Nice to see the Blu Ray set only has two stars on Amazon.com.

Think it'll hurt sales at all?

bkev said:

"There is a special place in Hell for haters next to the one for child molesters and people who talk obnoxiously in the theatre"

Seriously? And we're the overzealous ones?

Still, sounds like Hell is full of people with good taste in film. Given how much effort Lucas has put into burying them, we'll probably find the theatrical cuts down there too. Sounds like a party.

I wish I had a personal cannon, so I could shoot Lucas into the sun.

hairy_hen said:

If even the gushers are having second thoughts and cancelling their orders, you know something's seriously wrong.

Do we have any evidence that this is happening on a large scale? I know a good many who are cancelling, but I wouldn't call them gushers.

If it does happen, maybe the fans will finally be speaking Lucas's language - cash.

Alright, that's it. I'm no longer a Star Wars fan. I just can't take this abuse any longer.

Have fun, Lucas.

Wait a minute...

So, Frink corrects them on the issue of this supposedly being the first 3-in-1 edit, and only hours later they correct themselves and declare that it's actually the first good 3-in-1 edit?

If they weren't aware of the existence of the other edits until Frink informed them, how could they have possibly gotten access to and made a judgement on the other edits within a few hours?!

I would guess that downloading just one would take some time, and then with the runtime added to that it's unlikely they could have even watched a single one of these edits before declaring them all "lacklustre".

My brain is collapsing in on itself.

That would be too reasonable, Ripplin. Lucas is a bit too...odd on this particular issue, it seems.

rpvee said:

Just unsuccessfully tried to make a Star Wars mix of "Don't You Forget About Me" by matching the Main Title to it.  Sounds awful, but it was worth a try. lol

Oh wow, I gotta' hear this!

How about a website which features an opening crawl style description of the issue? Y'know, "It is a period of turmoil. Cinema lovers everywhere are opposed by the dreaded LUCASFILM EMPIRE, which threatens to keep the original Star Wars trilogy forever locked in secrecy... etc. etc."

Also, if you want to start a blog or site encouraging activity on this issue, you could link to it in public using QR codes like the following:

Slogans could be things like "Join the Rebel Alliance!" and "Save Star Wars - You're Our Only Hope!"

The best way, of course, would be to grab everyone purchasing the BluRays, so maybe even sticking posters like the above next to the shelves would encourage curiosity, though perhaps a url should be included below the QR code for those that don't know how to scan 'em.

This could all be done on top of the sticker campaign, of course.

How about a promotional video featuring Sebastian Shaw's ghost set to Simple Minds "Don't You Forget About Me"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yj0Wzg86H8

Mithrandir said:

I don't think Coruscant should be as lighted in ROTJ as it was back in the republic days

Yeah, it does look a lot creepier if the dark side dominates literally as well as figuratively...

...fits the tone of the Empire better.

I love all the radical ideas in this thread.

The best and most viable, in my opinion, is to include Coruscant (or Had Abbadon or Granicus or whatever other "Imperial home-world" name you want to go with) in Return of the Jedi somehow.

In fact, I think it'd be pretty neat to be able to bill a new edit as including all the features which were eventually removed from the final film - Imperial home-world, Han's death, Leia becoming ruler of her people, Luke metaphorically walking off into the sunset, Wookiees instead of Ewoks etc.

For now, let's stick with Coruscant. Personally, I'd like to see it not under Rebel control just yet. I think the point of it would be to ratchet up the tension further by bringing our heroes into the belly of the beast, the center of Imperial activity and government.

I've done a few very basic mock-ups to show what I mean. If the opening crawl introduces the planet as the Imperial capital, I think seeing the Imperials "at home", not out on the frontier, would help make the stakes seem a lot higher and give a greater sense of tension than the re-introduction of the Death Star.

Incidentally, the blue moon in front of Coruscant could easily be renamed "Endor".

I've always felt weird about that bit in The Empire Strikes Back when 3PO decides to go all Ric Olie on us during the carbonite encasement scene. This is a tense moment where one of our heroes may be dead, and yet 3PO insists on happily spouting explanatory dialogue, the gist of which we've actually already heard...

3PO: What? What's going on? Turn around, Chewbacca, I can't see! Ooh, they've encased him in carbonite! He should be quite well protected, if he survives the freezing process, that is.

Yeah...thanks, 3PO, we've just been given that information a few minutes ago in an exchange between Lando and Vader, and a little less obtusely, if you don't mind my saying. In fact, you sound surprisingly up-beat about all this...

Everybody else is falling apart in mourning, Leia, Chewbacca and even the two-faced Lando, yet you seem to be feeling pretty groovy...

Han's attitude can't have annoyed you that much, right?

Good points, though I think I'll try to disagree just for the sake of it. You seem to want a little dissent, anyway.

Although the Empire would surely have wanted to create a new Death Star, it's perfectly possible that they simply wouldn't have had the time or funding to do so between The Empire Strikes Back and our hypothetical alternate finale.

Although I hate to bring the prequels into it, the Death Star's construction is shown as beginning nineteen years before its completion in Star Wars. Even if the construction process could be accelerated after having been built for the first time, the second Death Star is significantly larger than the original, and yet took only five years (perhaps less) to be built. You could argue that the second Death Star was already in construction by the time of Star Wars, but given the reverence that the Imperials apparently have for the first Death Star, it seems to be something utterly unique, not simply the first on an assembly line. Does it make sense that a new, larger Death Star emerged so quickly?

The Death Star is also spoken of as being as much a psychological weapon as an offensive weapon. However, as powerful and terrifying as the idea of the Death Star might be, its destruction at the hands of a blond pretty boy employed by a gaggle of "insignificant" Rebels would very powerfully disqualify it as a terrifying propaganda symbol. It would have been transformed into an image of humiliation and defeat for the Empire, not of victory or domination. The Death Star would be a reminder of the vulnerability of the Empire, and therefore not an area that a skilled propagandist would want to retread. That may be why the Death Star II is bigger, but that shows a pathetic lack of imagination on the part of the Empire. "So, the Death Star is now no longer as scary as it once seemed...I know! We'll make the next one even bigger!"

And, true to form, the invulnerable, world destroying super-weapon is once again pulverized by an utterly outmatched team of fish people, prune faced weirdos and an oddly masculine sounding woman.

Bad move, Empire.

The most compelling argument against the Death Star II for me, though, is just how dramatic the apparent alternative might have been. Several pieces of Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for the Imperial home world are available around the net, and I think it would have made for a much more exciting and original finale than the second Death Star. The Rebels, who until this point have been dodging the Empire on the frontiers of the galaxy - Yavin, Hoth, the distant outer reaches of the galaxy etc. - would be forced to enter the belly of the beast, to face the architectural embodiment of everything they've been fighting against. To actually see the seat of Imperial government, which has only been spoken of until this point, seems the logical conclusion of a series whose central conflict is against the Imperials. The dark, oppressive skyscrapers would have brought home to us further the wicked and intolerable nature of the Empire, particularly if we get to see our heroes lost among and dwarfed by them. In the words of Henry Jones Senior, "We're pilgrims in an unholy land". It is also quite exciting to imagine Vader and Luke dueling on the parapets of the Emperor's vast palace, rather than in the confines of the second Death Star. Imagine powerful winds rising up and blowing Vader's cloak dramatically as his son faces him, or a sudden gust howling and unsettling Luke's hair as he decides whether or not to spare his defeated father, all with the Imperial city glowing at a distance. It would have been original and, I think, more interesting than the retread of the Death Star.

And just to really labor my argument, I'm going to remind everyone that Gary Kurtz agrees with me! Ya' don't hate Gary Kurtz, do ya'?

Gary Kurtz: One of the problems at that particular moment was it looked to me like Jedi was going to be disappointing – with the change in the story, with all of the story material that I had really resonated with being tossed out, and that whole Ewoks thing, and the new Death Star and the same kind of climax of Star Wars. It was, from a creative challenge point of view, kind of a rehash.

I had written a lengthy concept for an alternate Star Wars prequel series, but I've changed my mind on many of the details.

Just running this by anyone who cares to offer feedback!

Are you focusing on the Clone Wars?

How does the War pertain to them?

Yes. The villain is a clone.

The primary antagonist of the series is a young, calculating Mandalorian leader, Sar Terus. For generations the warlike Mandalorians had kept their conflicts reserved to territorial disputes within their solar system, but when Sar succeeded his father as leader of the largest of the Mandalorian clans, he declared himself Mandalore - ruler of all the Mandalorian clans.

After forming them together as a single empire, he turned his attention outward to the wider galaxy. By forming a coalition with lesser powers - including the criminal Hutts - he began to conquer and subjugate more and more worlds. Eventually, his attention turns to Alderaan. By invading it, he brings himself into conflict with the Galactic Republic in what would later be called "The Clone Wars", which is where the story of Episode I begins.

In Episode II, however, we discover that Sar is not who he seemed to be. After being captured by the Galactic Republic, medical scans of the injured Sar reveal that his genome is that of a clone, not of a "birth born" (a lil' THX-1138 4EB reference there). From this information, the Republic is able to conclude that the Mandalorians have been the victims of an insidious hoax. Their intelligence shows that the original Prince Terus was not a clone, meaning he was likely replaced at some early stage by the current "Sar Terus".

After watching Metropolis, I thought this doppelganger plot worked a little better than an entire clone army.

How does Cloning become irrelevant by the start of Episode 4?

How is cloning limited to the point that the whole story doesn't get consumed by the idea of clones replacing major players?

Creating long-living clones is an extremely invasive and difficult procedure in this universe. The host from which the genetic information is extracted would be forced to undergo repeated - often painful - operations. Anything less than this produces inferior copies with very short lifespans.

As such, cloning is generally not attempted for anything other than medical purposes, such as organs for transplanting. To actually clone a complete, sentient creature is dangerous, cruel and (within the Galactic Republic) illegal.

Is the War 'Symmetrical' (i.e. WWII) or is it 'Asymmetrical' (i.e. Iraq War or the OT Empire vs Rebellion)?

The Mandalorians, along with the coalition they have formed, initially have forces roughly equal to that of the Galactic Republic. Once militarisation of the Galactic Republic begins to take place, however, they are overwhelmed.

Does your story feature "soldiers"?  Who are they?

The Mandalorians employ a diverse range of troops, all of them with a penchant for disintegration weapons. The coalition allied with the Mandalorians has its own troops who vary depending of their planet of origin.

The Galactic Republic also has a standing army of ostensible peacekeepers.

Are the main characters soldiers in the War?  Leia's and Ben's comments seem to indicate that they were.

Yes. Anakin Skywalker is a starpilot operating in the outer-rim before encountering Obi-Wan, a low ranking general in the Republic's military who takes a shine to him.

What are the objectives of both sides in the War?  What are they fighting over?

The Manalorians have a declared expansionist policy which threatens the Republic.

How does the War end?

The trials of the war lead to a transformation of the Republic. These transformations lead to military gains but societal losses. Increased militarisation, lower tolerance of dissent, a military draft, an increasingly ineffectual democratic system etc.

As the society around him changes, so does Anakin's attitude and beliefs. The more dire the war, the more zealous and frustrated the previously idealistic starpilot becomes. All of this, of course, contributes to his fall.

In short, the Republic "wins" by destroying itself.

Do you show Obi-Wan receiving training from Yoda?  

No. Yoda is mentioned but does not appear. Yoda has gone into exile after an earlier Jedi conflict which is alluded to. Obi-Wan is his last apprentice.

Obi-Wan may communicate with Yoda via telepathy after Anakin's fall, but Yoda will never appear on-screen.

Do you show Anakin receiving training from Obi-Wan?

Yes.

Are Obi-Wan and Anakin friends?  When do they have the chance to establish this friendship?

Anakin is roughing it in the outer-rim when Obi-Wan discovers him and recognises his exceptional yet wasted talent. Obi-Wan's adventurous and irreverent attitude proves infectious and helps Anakin escape his rut - which is a feeling of guilt for having left his brother behind in order to follow his principles.

Initially Anakin is skeptical of Obi-Wan's religious beliefs and the mysterious sect he claims to be a member of. After witnessing the power of the Force first-hand (and recognising the influence it has had in his own life), however, his skepticism begins to fade and he cautiously starts down the path of the Jedi way. At the beginning of the relationship, it is clearly one-sided. Obi-Wan has the optimism and the means to achieve their shared goals.

But as their friendship continues, Anakin shows his particular skills (greater pragmatism, in terms of outlook, and saving Obi-Wan's life, in terms of actual events) and the two come to be equals. By the conclusion of Episode I, the two have come to depend on each other.

How many years before Episode 4 does your story take place and how old are the main characters?

I have yet to work out the exact chronology, though I would like to make it so that Obi-Wan is older in Star Wars than the present Lucas chronology suggests.

How will you handle the surprises in the OT?  Will you set out to protect them from a chronological viewer?  Or will you show them happen?

I'm not yet sure.

The story of Darth Vader's fall to the Dark Side seems to me to be the most interesting and meaningful story the prequels could tell, so to not include it seems to be missing out on a major opportunity. However, if you're thinking in terms of the saga generally, it may be worthwhile to preserve the mystery behind Vader's identity.

I have thought about making the saga into seven movies - three prequels, three original films and one epilogue. The three prequels would bear the original films in mind and conceal any important facts while the epilogue would deal with Anakin's fall explicitly.

Will you have surprises in your new PT?

Sar's identity as a clone may surprise some, especially once it is made clear who created him and why. In this I preserve one of the ideas I think worked in the prequels, which is that of the Supreme Chancellor orchestrating events to create the Galactic Empire.

Sar would have been trained by Palpatine and, in the process, developed a filial loyalty to his creator. However, Palpatine would reject his creation once he comes to acknowledge Anakin's greater power, which would drive the disgraced Sar into a furious personal vendetta against Anakin.

How does the Jedi/Dark Jedi/Sith conflict play into the back story of the War, if at all?

Not very much. The history and nature of the Sith would be dealt with briefly in conversations between Anakin and Obi-Wan in a Jedi sanctuary, but only to illustrate the danger of falling to the Dark Side.

When the Chancellor is revealed to be a Sith, we would understand at once what that means. Ideas of "revenge" or "ruling the galaxy once more" wouldn't come into it, though. He would simply be revealed as a power hungry sorcerer.

If it doesn't, then how does Anakin end up falling to the Dark Side and becoming Dark Lord of the Sith?

Having been made to feel desperately powerless during the wars, Anakin would come to desire power. Initially his goals would be pure - greater influence would mean he would have more opportunities to relieve suffering victims and combat aggressors - yet, eventually, power itself would come to be coveted and rigid order his goal.

The Emperor presents himself as representing order and an end to "destructive conflict". Seeking release from his trauma, Anakin would be easily seduced by the Emperor and the idea of absolute stability. Over time, this would transform Anakin into the vindictive character we know from the original trilogy. Anybody who stands against him is seen as perpetuating disorder and therefore prolonging his suffering.

One of the teachings of the Jedi which Anakin forgets is a somewhat Buddhist attitude of "let be". "The more you try to control the universe, the more you antagonise it, the more separate from it you become. The more you try to assert yourself master of reality, the more it rebels against you. You must not feel that you are master or servant of the universe - in truth, you are one."

How many Jedi are we talking about here?  A handful like the OT?  Two-three handfuls like the GPT?  Or a lot a lot?

The Jedi would of course be more numerous now than in the original trilogy, though their numbers would still be few and their order broken. Obi-Wan would allude to a more Arthurian past where the Jedi formed a unified council of great heroes, including Yoda, but those golden days are gone. Now, after a massive conflict, the Jedi are broken up. There remains a central authority, but their power is diminished and many Jedi now go their own way, trying to enact the teachings however they can.

Obi-Wan is one of those Jedi. He decided that the best way he could do good in the galaxy was by joining the Galactic Republic's military and helping to fight injustice. Others follow different paths, acting rather like lone Samurai. In Episode I, he would return to a major Jedi sanctuary and convince a group of orthodox Jedi to defy the council and assist him in liberating Alderaan from its invaders.

What is the Galaxy's general response to Jedi?  Are they all assumed to be heroes?  Or are people more like Han where they think that it's all religious nonsense?

The Jedi are mythic figures, spoken of in awe by some, in fear by others and with cynicism by others still.

Yes, many do doubt their existence.

How do your Jedi dress?  (Please say it's not in "I'm disguised as a hermit" robes.)

How they would dress isn't of much interest to me, though I will say that this idea that Obi-Wan's robes in the original trilogy are a disguise is probably a misconception.

See pic:

Who is the main protagonist in your films?

Tough call. Obi-Wan certainly takes the lead in most respects, though Anakin is more the everyman who develops most as a person.

I'd prefer to think of it as something of a buddy film, but if I had to choose, I'd go with Anakin.

The Aluminum Falcon said:

TheoOdo, interesting idea for retro-fying posters! Yours look pretty good, personally the bottom one looks better to my eyes, but what do you think of a basic background? That could go over well.

Yeah, a new background would work well. I was inspired by the simplicity of the posters below, but something more dynamic would match Star Wars better. Do you have anything in mind?

I had thought about having Anakin's shadow elongate into Darth Vader's silhouette, but I didn't have the time to make it.

It's there. Just read it. Some very good ideas in there. I especially like the idea of giving Windu some depth by having him dissent from the war effort.

Please do, Mithrandir.

I'd love to hear this idea.

I just thew this simple poster together.

I was trying to capture the retro style of 1960s promotional posters. If you imagine the movies being shot chronologically, Revenge of the Sith probably would have been made in this era.

The image is quite basic and incomplete, but I'm sure somebody else can take the idea and do something cool with it.

A guy I know who liked the prequels said that they should put pit-droids in the farmstead to liven it up.

I don't really talk to him anymore...

Bweepibwopibweepipibwop.

Corruscant as we know it (The presentation as shown from 1999-2005) would not have been feasable with the technology of 1981-82. Corruscant would have to have been rendered as an eloborate minature.

But it would have been lifeless(I.E not many flying vehicles ect ect---and therefore reducing it's sense of scale and size) You also have to remember that Blade Runner debuted barely a year before. Too many fans in 83' would have thought that Star Wars was ripping off Blade Runner( I actually thought Corruscant in 99' ripped of Blade Runner!)

You seem to be making an argument for a Coruscant-like city in the same breath that you argue against it. Blade Runner very successfully created a futuristic city with the effects of the time. The reason the Coruscant of the prequels reminds you of Blade Runner is probably because it deliberately rips off several shots and features of the futuristic L.A. The industrial plane with torches shooting flame, the passenger car landing on an apartment building shot from above, holographic advertisements etc.

A futuristic city in the OT would likely have quite a different tone than the noir inspired city of Blade Runner or the political hub of the prequels. The galaxy is under the control of a despot and this is the center of his activities. The tone would probably be like Nazi occupied Berlin. Some sections would house the sympathetic elite and would be resplendent with propaganda, banners and troops while others would be slums, housing the more aggressive of the Empire's enforcers, the poor and disenfranchised and pockets of resistance represented by graffiti and destroyed propaganda posters.

I think it would have been possible to create a city with a style recognised as distinct from that of Blade Runner. Yes, some would accuse them of ripping off Blade Runner, but that always happens in film criticism. The Return of the King was even accused of ripping off Pirates of the Caribbean in some reviews I read for including a shot of the ghost army charging from a ship. On these terms, a successful argument could be made that Blade Runner simply ripped off Metropolis. Doesn't mean they don't stand on their own or do something different with the same idea.

This is all beside the point, anyways, because ripping off others is surely better than lazily attempting to recreate past successes - which is what they did with the Death Star II.

And any "Wookie battle" would have been like a crass combination of the holiday special meeting Planet Of The Apes.

It barely works in 2005 with the battle on Kashyyk.

I think you'd be hard pressed to conceive of something less tasteful than the Ewoks. I don't actually dislike them all that much, I just see that they're corny and cutesy. A Wookiee army could work if treated appropriately, the trouble is that they were treated badly in the prequels. Firstly, they did the Tarzan yell, which was bad in Jedi and was worse in Sith. Secondly, they were facing off against a not very intimidating enemy, the droids - who actually pass close to the screen and shout "charge" in a high-pitched voice. The whole scene is bad. The wookiees don't stand a chance of shining through.

"Crass" is a matter of execution. It could have been done well.

The costumes were certainly done well, even if we weren't given time to care about the characters behind them.

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070120142448/starwars/images/d/d1/WookieeWarriors.jpg

Had Lucas and Kurtz never met ---who would been more successful on an individual basis---I don't know about you but I would wager Lucas would have had greater success.

Now this is really debatable. I honestly think the shoe is on the other foot. What Lucas wanted to do with Star Wars seems quite different from what made it a success. The original drafts are a testament to that and the original cut of ANH is regarded as having been a disaster.

Kurtz has said that he challenged Lucas on several of his decisions, and I think it's this combative partnership which resulted in the movies working as well as they did.

The fact that Kurtz was absent when they made Jedi seems to be further evidence of this. It is generally accepted to be lower quality than the rest of the trilogy, which Kurtz worked closely on. The same can be said of the prequels, which seem to be kept afloat only by the Star Wars brand.

On financial success alone, you may be right, but I'd still disagree. Being good at making money is different from being good at making films.

I saw Jedi in 83 ,aged 9 and none of the kids aspired  for a wookie battle or for Han to have been killed.

Obviously not, but, then, you can hardly aspire for a movie to be a certain way when you have nothing to go on. It'd be pretty crazy to enter a film and say "Gee, I sure hope a major character dies".

We, on the other hand, have had many years to consider this and also interviews, behind the scenes knowledge, drafts and other details to form our opinions on.

Well, I'd probably have gone with what Gary Kurtz had in mind.

Gary Kurtz:

One of the reasons Jedi came out the way it did was because the story outline of how Jedi was going to be seemed to get tossed out, and one of the reasons I was really unhappy was the fact that all of the carefully constructed story structure of characters and things that we did in Empire was going to carry over into Jedi. The resolution of that film was going to be quite bittersweet, with Han Solo being killed, and the princess having to take over as queen of what remained of her people, leaving everybody else. In effect, Luke was left on his own. None of that happened, of course.

It would have been quite sad, and poignant and upbeat at the same time, because they would have won a battle. But the idea of another attack on another Death Star wasn't there at all ... it was a rehash of Star Wars, with better visual effects. And there were no Ewoks ... it was just entirely different. It was much more adult and straightforward, the story.

There's a lot of undercurrent in Star Wars that, if you take it on the surface, a four-year-old can really enjoy it – but there's a lot else going on, under there. In that sense it's multi-layered, and Empire is as well. That's the thing that bothered me a bit about Jedi and certainly about Episode I, is that those layers, those subtexts – they're all gone. They're not there. You accept what's there on the screen – it either works for you as a surface adventure, or it doesn't. But that's all there is. There's nothing to ponder.

Given that we can never get our hands on Kurtz's version of Jedi, though, I'd probably do a version which attempts to live up to his ideas while still using that which is good from the original.

The film would open with the Imperial Planet - a very dark industrial world with the Imperial Palace dominating the skyline. Though we would not see his face until the end of the film (except for a few statues which litter the palace's interior), the Emperor would berate Vader for his failure to capture Skywalker. Vader would play the humble servant, though it would be made clear that he is still plotting against the Emperor. These sequences would be based on unused concept art created by Ralph McQuarrie. I'm sure you've all seen it.

http://lostepisodes.fateback.com/graphics/pictures/conceptart-coruscant1.jpg

http://www.theforce.net/episode2/newspics/rmq-coruscant3.jpg

http://lostepisodes.fateback.com/graphics/pictures/conceptart-coruscant2.jpg

http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/books/art/coruscant1.jpg

Luke's discussion with Yoda, and the build up to their discussion, would be quite different. Rather than simply appear in Yoda's hut for a conversation, Luke would discover his home in disarray and the fragile Yoda in a rapidly deteriorating state. He would light a single torch and begin their conversation, in which Yoda reveals that Vader is indeed his father. Yoda would mention that there is yet hope not just for the Rebellion but for Luke's father, the "other" trapped in the twisted mind of Vader. After Yoda dies and fades away, Luke would look forlornly around the lonely hut and say to himself that he "cannot go on alone".

The disembodied voice of Obi-Wan would respond with "Yoda will always be with you". Coaxed out by the voice, Luke would enter the swamp and see the spirit of Obi-Wan hovering over the water. I always felt that having Obi-Wan sit down for a one-to-one with Luke robbed him of his spiritual mystery. By placing a physical barrier between Luke and the ghost of Obi-Wan, we can emphasise their separateness.

Rather than offer the incredible explanation of "points of view", Obi-Wan would simply admit that he had lied. "When I first knew you, Luke, you were a young man desperate for guidance. I feared that if you knew your father's fate, you would follow him along the dark path. I don't expect you to forgive what I did, but, please, understand it." After Obi-Wan encourages him to defeat Vader, ignoring Yoda's belief that there may yet be hope for him, he would state that he has already overstayed his time in the realm of the living and begin to fade from existence, offering Luke some parting words of advice. Desperate, Luke would hurry to the fading image, even partially submerging himself in the marsh water. However, the ghost would finally fade, leaving Luke to decide his destiny alone.

The impressive puppet of Jabba the Hutt would be kept, though many of the other puppets would be replaced with more credible alien models, some based on more complete versions of the simple masks which appeared in the first film. The pig-like Gamoreans always bothered me. In some of the Rancor concept art, they appear as slightly Orcish creatures. This is the version I'd go with.

http://www.df.lth.se/~ola/Starwars/Return/images/return6.jpg

I'd keep some of the more iconic images from these scenes - bikini, carbonite reveal, Rancor etc. - though I'd remove the failings, such as Salicious Crumb, the death of Boba Fett and the extremely flawed rescue plot.

The finale of the movie would feature an assault on the Imperial Planet. The Rebels reason that the Emperor's increasing centralisation of power (as we hear of in Star Wars, with the dissolution of the senate) is simply part of his authoritarian style, but there's another element to it. All along, the Emperor has been coaxing the Rebels to attempt an assault on his planet, which houses more and more of all the effective members of government. Centralising power was both about control and deliberately placing a target on his head. His plan comes to fruition when details are "leaked" to the Rebels about the present location of the Imperial fleet, which is spread out desperately searching for them. The Rebels calculate that an assault on the palace could be successful before the Imperial Navy could ever descend on them or take notice of the attack. Of course, it's all a trap.

What the Emperor does not count on, however, is that the populace of the Imperial Planet are preparing to turn on him. The oppressed aliens of the lower reaches of the city, who the heroes encounter, prepare for a violent insurrection against the Imperial military at the request of Leia. The aliens include a group of Wookiees, and we learn a little of Han's relationship with Chewbacca, and how Han had initially been an Imperial recruit. After witnessing the brutal repression of aliens first hand, Han defected and started a life of crime. This revelation is difficult for Leia, of course, who has devoted her life to opposing the Empire and its agents. Discovering that Han is not merely a "scoundrel" but possibly a former participant in Imperial crimes drives a wedge between the two.

Driven by a newly awoken sense of guilt, Han throws himself into the battle with reckless passion. In the chaos that follows, the explosive charges for destroying the planetary deflector shield are damaged and can only be rigged manually. Han must choose between self-preservation or sacrificing himself for the cause of the Rebellion. In this moment, the differences between Leia and Han are reconciled. Leia initially prepares to rig the charges herself, but Han inists that Chewbacca bring her to a safe distance while he does the job himself. In this way, Han truly makes the transition from the-guy-who-shot-first to a martyr for the cause of freedom. Obviously it takes on a far more personal dimension, as it could be said that it was more his love of Leia that drove him to perform the necessary sacrifice.

Vader is similarly overcome by his better impulses and destroys the Emperor just as he is about to kill Luke. The redeemed Vader shares a final moment with his son before dying, as in the original. The Rebels infiltrate the planet, fire at the palace reactor and destroy the Imperial Palace. Luke escapes in an Imperial shuttle which passes into Rebel held territory under heavy watch. After a moment of tension, Luke emerges carrying Vader's body. He is then permitted to cremate him. During the cremation Leia reveals Han's death to him and they embrace in front of the pyre.

Bearing the emotional scars of the battle they have endured, Leia and Luke are then comforted by the sight of the celebrating citizens who have risen up and won their freedom. Luke has passed beyond adolescence. Previously, Obi-Wan truly seemed like an infallible being, but now that Luke has reached the same level, he sees his failures, he sees that he was human too. He forgives him for having lied, but having witnessed Vader's redemption, he realises that the clear dichotomies Obi-Wan had offered him were inadequate. He develops his own sense of the Force, of himself and his potential. Leia, on the other hand, must turn away from the man she had loved and accept the burden of forming a new society. Luke, who has been touched most heavily of all by the conflict, cannot follow her on this new journey. They part ways and Luke heads off into the galaxy, to seek understanding and healing for himself.

Not exactly a typical Hollywood ending, but, hey, I think me and Kurtz would have liked it. Thinking about it, though, it'd probably have to be changed so that both Han and the Falcon are destroyed at once, because the two are so caught up with each other. To leave the Falcon lying around when Han is gone seems inappropriate. At least Chewie could form a connection with the Wookiees, the Falcon would simply be inherited by Lando, which would seem to add insult to injury for Han.

Phew. That post went on much longer than I intended. I applaud any person brave enough to plough through it all.