darth_ender

Yeah, I read about this a while back and had high hopes for it.  It's a shame it seems to be permanently stalled.  I honestly hope someone makes use of the various ideas in the many PT edits that seem so promising and now seem dead (i.e. this one, TheCutter's Ep. III edit, Bobgarcia's edit, apparently SSRW had some good stuff, etc.)

^That's an interesting idea.  Instead of a split personality, though, it seems it would be better to somehow label Anakin as Palpatine's secret assassin, going on missions that the Jedi aren't even aware of, and that he uses a code name of Vader, or something like that.  He's already engaging in questionable actions, but the Jedi are unaware, and he still sees himself as a good guy.

Now that I said this, I guess this does nothing to preserve the "I am yo' daddy" surprise, but it perhaps makes his fall more believable and gradual instead of so sudden....

....Perhaps the opening crawl could indicate that Palpatine has begun to unleash several clandestine assassins throughout the galaxy to eliminate dissidents, that there is a rumor of a man named Vader wiping out political opponents, and also mention that Anakin has joined the ranks of his assassins, though the wording implies that the two are different.  Somehow throughout Ep III itself, an editor would have to make some minor allusions to Anakin's secret activities, but it seems a little dubbing might suffice.  Anakin would think he's enforcing order in a galaxy gone mad, then realizes the Emperor is a Sith.  He goes to face him and gets zapped.

But jonathan7, even if we managed to get this far, what would we do to show Palpatine unleashing lightning upon him, explain Palpatine's facial deformity (I wish they never included that in the first place), and explain why Mace never shows up again?  As you mentioned in the other thread, it would be necessary to insert an armored Vader into the fight with Obi-Wan and explain that too.

It's an interesting idea, but I'm still wondering about other parts of it.  I'd hate to lost the Obi-Wan/Anakin fight and the damage he receives because of that fight.  I was thinking maybe some parts of Mustafar could be moved to earlier in the film, maybe even showing Anakin taking out the Separatist leadership as part of his assassin duties before his actual true fall to the dark side, but how would he get back there?  I dunno, maybe I just can't have my cake and eat it too.  But I feel there's a lot of potential to your idea and would hate to give up on it.  Keep brainstorming!

I made no attempt to work out the audio for anything, so there are several hard cuts in audio, the video coloring looks different, and there is that obviously different shooter from the Battle for Endor.  I had the thought that maybe someone could edit in a stormtrooper, but I don't know if it would be easy or even worthwhile.  There was far less than I expected when quickly viewing the Ewoks footage because so many shots showed those cheesy bad guys, took place with an Ewok village in the background, or showed the Ewoks being even sillier than in ROTJ.  I don't know if any of it should be used at all, but maybe a few small clips could be usable (with corrections to the laser bolts and accompanying sound effects).

Yeah, it's a pity to lost the Rebel scum line, but I think it was a minor sacrifice compared to the hopefully more desperate scenario.  By lost Rebels, I assume you mean the deleted space battle stuff?  I agree that it should be inserted as well.  I also would include Jerjerrod debating whether he should truly blow up Endor.  I don't have the blu rays, and it's all deleted from YouTube, so I can't add more at the present.  I don't know how much time I'll have to work on further editing, but I may have more since winter break starts after I take my last final this evening.  I know I will never be much of a real editor though, so all my efforts are simply suggestions to the talented folks.

Thanks again for comments.  Hopefully someone picks up on these ideas and wants to use them.

EDIT: Ah, nuts!  Looks like Vimeo deleted it.  I'll have to think of something else.

The Dark Knight trailer and prologue come out this week.  I'm very excited, though I'll of course be seeing on the internet somewhere rather than in the theater (not a fan of the MI films, unlike the '60s show which I still enjoy).  In case you guys didn't know, I'm a big Batman fan.

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Which-Batman-film-is-your-favorite/topic/13091/

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Which-Batman-film-is-your-favorite/topic/13089/

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Which-Batman-film-is-your-favorite/topic/13090/ 

By the way, which Batman film is your favorite?  ;)

TI agree that some real editing must be done, excising some of the most silly Ewok stuff, repositioning more of their early failures vs. their later success in battle, etc.  This is definitely not my attempt at an edit, but is exactly what ben_danger suggested: an idea to be bounced around for the real talent to consider.  Hopefully it's a good idea.  Thanks for the compliments guys :)  Any specific suggestions for its improvement?

Ah yes, but a rose, by any other name, would smell exactly like snake venom.  Can't you see the dilemma here?

This is a very rough idea of what the Battle of Endor could be like.  I simply used YouTube videos, so much of the footage is flipped and very low quality.  Further changes that could have been made include more extensive commando action (someone would have to film this themselves), more (or no) Ewoks: Battle for Endor shots (I included a couple brief clips, but I'm not sure they're necessary or work well), Han calls, "C'mon Chewie," when the bunker doors open instead of rotoscoping him in there (in order to explain his involvement in subsequent shots), more intervening space battle clips to improve the narrative flow, Ewoks tooting their horns after the generator blows, more successful Ewok battle stuff after that to indicate the Imperial forces are in disarray and the tide has turned, the bunker shootout should probably begin a bit later when the firing has begun, and other changes as well.  However I hope this changes the story enough to make the Endor surface battle more realistic and increases tension.  I'm no editor, so this is simply a submission for a possible alternative.

http://vimeo.com/33503285

Hard to compete with Adywan's awesome video :)

Whoa whoa WHOA!  Davnes, your logic is completely skewed!  What does that even have to do with the price of onion bagels in Djibouti?

I am making a crappy video mock-up of what I'm trying to describe above in all the free time I don't have.  The space battle and Luke/Vader may not make sense narratively because I'm not focusing on them and am mostly just trying to keep cuts (that's not to say I'm not trying to make it make sense, but it's a disclaimer in case I overlook something).  My focus is the surface of Endor.  I'll post it in the next couple of days, but for now I have to stop working on it and get to studying.

Hutts: The Movie--Considering the success of the lovable droids and adorable Ewoks shows, LFL is proud to announce its newest spinoff featuring those jolly creatures whose bellies shake like a bowl full of jelly when they laugh.  Coming just in time for the holidays, and a series to follow next September.

Singing Naked and Unashamed: The Sexy Success Story of Sy Snootles

King George the Nth--Having overthrown all governments and taken over the world by suppressing the OT and revising history, George Lucas will kill anyone who defies his propaganda machine and his LFL-sponsored media outlet.  But one lone man tries to smuggle secret copies of The Secret History of Star Wars and disperse it to as many people as possible.  With the a secret police group of fanatics called The Force chasing after him, led by the mad Ken Krall Lee, will our hero survive to spread the truth and reveal the dark workings of the Lucasian Empire?  Will his efforts lead to a popular revolt and the return of truth and justice?  Or will the dark side prevail?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7v6OapFp9w

No wonder Jabba wanted to keep her in his palace.  He probably hoped she could replace Oola and Sy Snootles one day.

It was clearly a South African conspiracy that led to the death of Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter.  I mean, since the release of the Star Wars blu rays, I don't see how any other conclusion could be made!

The Argument Clinic

If you want to post here, you have to:

1) say something absurd and with passion

OR

2) disagree passionately with any previous poster

OR

3) defend someone else's absurd point

All logic must be silly, fallacious, or nonsensical.  Bingowings, this may be the perfect thread for you ;)

Have fun!

I am trying to imagine how my scenario would work out on the Endor surface.  Han taps the guy on the shoulder.  The commandos break in through the door, and keep the cut to the Death Star and Luke facing the Emperor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1qYEYGkTeU&t=6m58s

After the Emperor says, "Oh, I'm afraid the deflective shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive," we then see our heroes being marched out of the bunker from 3PO's and R2's perspective.  The Ewoks ambush them.  Take out the Ewok horn blowing.  Show Ewok carnage and only use the more depressing shots of the battle.

Here are some potential shots from the Battle for Endor.  There's probably less than I was hoping for, but still this links should give a couple of seconds of useful footage that could slightly expand the Ewok struggle and perhaps make it appear a bit more violent and overwhelming at times for them.  Maybe more could be found, as I just quickly was searching on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAEV_sLEglI&t=3m49s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ5_q7p6WQs&t=3m8s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ5_q7p6WQs&t=4m59s

Also show some of our own filmed commando action.  Make the battle look more bleak for the whole company.  Take out the destruction of the AT-STs at this point.

3PO and R2 head to the bunker, R2 fails to open the door before getting shot.  Han tries to hotwire.  When he says, "I think I got it.  I got it!" show the door opening rather than shutting (shouldn't be too hard for someone with some skills anywhere beyond mine).  The battle continues to rage outside.  Somehow show Chewie and a few commandos near the bunker with Han and Leia to imply that they will enter as well, and include a high quality, well restored version of the following clip (probably shorten the time that Han stands in the hall like an idiot while the troopers realize what's going on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT-ZsR2P8dU&t=0m16s

At about the point where Han says, "Charges, c'mon.  C'mon!" take out Leia's, "Hurry, the fleet will be here any moment," and the rest of that video.  Instead we see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BVEvvCRGy4&t=7m57s

...Han setting up the charges.  The battle continues again showing a desperate Ewok battle, perhaps with a few remaining commandos outside.  Just thinking here...perhaps show some Imperials charging in...maybe even show Han chucking the box at Ben Burt, but as the stormtroopers charge in, show some laser blasts and smoke and cut to the space battle, so we don't really know what happened from there in the bunker.  When we return to the surface of Endor, we see Han yelling, "Move!  Move!"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFp9wXfnvdE&t=0m56s

...with added laser blasts all around to make it still appear like a fire zone, perhaps with some added shots even coming out of the bunker like he is being chased.  The bunker explodes, "The shield is down," yadda yadda.  We then see the happier shots of the Ewoks surprising and beating up stormtroopers, beginning with the horn blowing earlier removed, and particularly shots that make the bad guys look like they're fleeing.  Show Ewok AT-ST traps (maybe remove the double log smasher), and show Chewie commandeering one and taking out troopers and the AT-ST.  The routing of the legion of the Emperor's best troops is far easier to believe when the baddies are in panic after the destruction of their generator.   End our perspective of the land battle with the black Ewok shouting, "Yah haha!"  The audience then assumes that the good guys have the Imperials on the run.

Even though we never see Leia get shot, we'd be okay seeing Han bandage her later, assuming it was just an injury in the heat of battle.

I want to give a few thoughts on the space battle as well, but I will put those into words later.

Is there anything that simply would not work in this scenario?  Anything that should be left in or taken out?  Other suggestions?  Any feedback?

I like the execution idea!  Somebody just brought up the other day that Anakin felt guilt over killing Dooku unarmed, and seeing Mace about to do the same thing would be something of a real important moment for him.  But after all these years of seeing this movie, that never occurred to me.  I feel that some emphasis on Mace and what may appear to be immoral to Anakin would strengthen the reasoning for his turn against the Jedi in my mind.  Perhaps if Mace doesn't say nice things like, "you'll have earned my trust," but instead seems cold after receiving this information from Anakin might strengthen this perception.  If some other Samuel L. Jackson quote could be found that included something like, "I'll take care of this myself," it might help as well.  But still, I wish somehow Anakin's own guilt could be brought more to the fore when handling this, but flashbacks and internal dialogue don't work well in Star Wars.  Perhaps some Hayden Christiansen line could be inserted when talking about how Palpatine should be tried in court, but his filmography is far smaller than Jackson's and it'd be harder to find that sort of a quote I would think.

The Mace/Snape idea is interesting, but I don't know how you'd pull it off given his relatively minor involvement.

If Mace simply doesn't want to waste a moment in arresting Palpatine, he would likely simply rush over there alone.  If his hurry is well-conveyed, I think it's easily passable.

Happy smile.

I'm actually not positive the top picture is legit.  It is a funny pic though.  I remember somewhere on this forum there was a picture of Mark Hammill with the commandos, but I couldn't find it.

Gosh, I really am so sorry to hear that.  I know I was looking forward to it.  Hope you stick around, regardless of the state of your project.

I find your last idea in particular quite interesting with the force lightning.  It still leaves some room for confusion and uncertainty though, as we don't have any indication that Vader was ever Obi-Wan's apprentice, nor why he has a bitter hatred of him at the end fight.  Technically speaking it would take a very talented CGI man and some actor in a costume to pull it off, but it sounds promising.  I still feel that it would be nice to be able to watch the movies 1-6 and not have the Vader/Anakin surprise spoiled, but that may not be possible to pull off effectively.

Apparently, according to Wookieepedia, Sifo Dias deliberately sounded close to Sidious and would later be revealed as the same (in Ep III).  Of course there were far too many loose ends left for ROTS, so that plot thread ended up neglected, and it's my biggest pet peeve.  A novel or comic (can't remember which at the moment) was later created simply to answer this question, and it was just some lame-o new guy who really was named Sifo Dias.  I truly wish that plot thread hadn't left the entire AOTC tapestry so threadbare.  When I do find a set of PT edits that may be my definitive versions (thus far I'm simply open to variants of the tale), it will certainly have no such reference.

As for ben_danger's belief that there should be an obvious villain (something which struck me as odd when I first heard about it, but now is making sense to me), there is an interesting edit in the works, though currently on pause, that seems like it might remedy this situation quite nicely: Episode II: Army of the Republic.

It seems like it could remedy the problem nicely, and his episode I edit looks promising and I'm currently downloading it and hoping to give it a go when this semester is done.

^^ It's true, the rebel commandos all disappear.  What happened?!  This was my biggest gripe with Disney's Mulan...they train a bunch of warriors to battle against the Huns, and by the time they are actually facing them, they realize they are outnumbered!  What a shock, considering 99.4% desertion!  It may sound petty, but that single fact ruined the movie for me because it so completely shattered the drama and suspense--I couldn't stop thinking about how idiotic the main characters must be.

Wow, really digressed there!  Sorry, but back to the point, since no one really cares much what the commandos look like, some doubles who bear even a passing resemblance could be filmed to add to the commando action.  Heck, they must be good to be brought on a mission like this, capable of holding their own against bad odds for a time.

As far as being an "old fashioned European style Socialist," what do you think of my question?  Socialists tend to rely on their government to manage everything, except security I suppose.  I know I am subscribing to a stupid label (and labels are indeed stupid), but why this strange dichotomy?  Feel free to answer in the politics thread, since DoubleKO's giving me a hard time again.  See, DoubleKO is always keeping me in line, and I appreciate it.  My own personal cop :)

Makes sense, but even if he doesn't want to do that, perhaps someone else will.

I made these suggestions in the past, and I still believe they are worthwhile ideas: