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If you could make your own Special Edition of the entire saga, what would you change


RamonAtila
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Unacceptable answer:

 

'I would eliminate every film post ESB/ I would eliminate the PT/no Jar Jar, etc...'

 

I mean gimme what you would change in terms of dialogue edit, sfx and so forth.

 

Here a few of mine to get things going:

 

-spruce up battle of yavin, hoth with new cgi. Make them bigger to fit the rest of the saga.

-reshoot the wide shots of obi-wan/vader fight in ANH. Don't overdo it, because after all it is more a psychological thing rather than an action scene

-make all the lightsaber sounds consistent (tank) I won't change how they look though because I still think the story leaves room for lightsaber modifications)

-update all cgi, especially the PT

 

On the fence:

 

-greedo never shot

-Make a version of the OT where a 70 year old Ewan mcgregor replaces SAG

-all cgi yoda in OT

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-Make a version of the OT where a 70 year old Ewan mcgregor replaces SAG

Oh man, people collectively lost their **** when Hayden Christensen was inserted into ROTJ.

 

I would've just updated all the things that needed fixing, such as the transparent cockpits in the Battle of Hoth. But nothing that didn't need fixing should've been left alone, such as Han shooting first. I don't mind adding previously deleted scenes such as Biggs and Luke meeting up before the Battle of Yavin or Han talking to Jabba in Mos Eisley after killing Greedo. But do it right. In the Biggs scene they altered the shot because Red Leader talks to Luke about knowing his father. They should've done the same with the Jabba scene. Do a quick cut to Chewie or something. Instead they show Han stepping on Jabba's tail. That just looked stupid.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

Leave the OT as they were before 1997.

 

That's it. That's all.

Well, I would want it cleaned up digitally and upscaled to 4K, but this is basically the correct answer. I wish Disney would release the original theatrical versions. I am sure there is a legal reason I don't understand. The Star Wars revisited (adywan versions) fan edits of the OT, were done pretty well, though.

 

As for the PT...wow, where to start. In fact I am not even going to try.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

I know it's cliche but Greedo shooting first does bother me. Even the Bluray version, with Han's head jerking out of the way as he shoots looks unnatural. I'm bothered by the addition of so many CGI creatures in Mos Eisley. I dislike every altered version of Obi Wan impersonating the krate dragon. I also am bothered by some lines being altered or having alternate takes of some minor scenes being added in throughout the OT. I also am bothered by the addition of the shuttle scene in TESB, and the vader no. But the end of ROTJ with the insert of Hayden Christiansen over Sabastian Shaw really bothers me. In fact the only changes I like to the whole OT are changing the Emperor hologram in TESB, and the song change at the end of ROTJ.

 

But really, I hate the fact that if I want a digital theatrical version of the OT, I have to settle for the DVD which is a direct copy of the laser disc version, or a VHS version.

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Oh man, I used to think about this a lot and had long lists back in the day. Let's see if I can recall any of it.

Basically, my personal head canon versions of A New Hope and Empire are the Adywan edits (look them up if you're unfamiliar), to I would build off those:

 

 

Episode IV

 

--Remove Adywan's planet he has the Death Star orbiting, or at least light it on fire and make it look like it's recently been devastated by the superlaser, as has been established in the book Death Star.

--Use CGI on some of the alien faces in the cantina to make them more expressive.

 

--Reshoot some scenes with Obi-Wan and Vader's duel so that it is more consistent with the rest of the saga, but not go overboard. Maybe give Vader a more Maul-like reveal with Obi-Wan opening a blast door and have Vader standing there, since Star Wars is all about repeated imagery.

 

--Clean up, score, and restore Luke's original intro, the scene with his friends, and the scene with Biggs (more for an extended cut).

--Remove the score from Luke's current introduction (because his character would have already been introduced), and possibly the exchange between him and Beru, which served only to prolong the intro and score.

 

--Redo the scene of the TIE Fighters leaving the hanger in CGI so that they don't look like they are all flying out on rails in unrealistic hyper unison.

 

--Extend the Battle of Yavin with CGI. Add bridges and different obstacles to the trench that the X-wings need to dodge, as appears in nearly every video game adaptation of the battle (see Star Wars: Trench Run).

--Film a short scene of Leia putting a medal over Chewie's head, using CGI a la Rogue One.

 

--Put a medal on Chewie in the closing shots via CGI.

 

--Have Anthony Daniels rerecord some ofPO's lines where he sounds hollow and distant, particularly in the desert scenes.

--Possibly have James Earl Jones rerecord most or all of Vader's lines to match the way his mechanical voice sounds in all other films, for the sake of continuity.

--Combine Adywan's Death Star explosion with the original (I like the energy ring, but he removed it).


Episode V

 

--Clean up, recolor, and restore Han and Leia's extended argument.

--Restore the shots of the wampa filmed in 1997 (Adywan removes them).

--Make the wampa's stump look less bloody and more burnt once Luke hacks it off with his lightsaber.

--Clean up and restore some of the wampa scenes in Echo Base, possibly with reshoots if footage is limited.

--Reshoot the scenes inside the exogorth (space slug) with the team wearing full space suits, and hint at low gravity.

--Adywan has completely remade the scene with Palpatine's hologram so that it matches his appearance in Jedi, and it looks great except for one thing: you can't really see the "Sith eyes" anymore. I would make them more pronounced.

 

--Replace the awkward-moving clamation winged creatures on Degobah with better realism via CGI.

--Clean up, add lightsaber special effects, and restore the scene of Luke's lightsaber training on Degobah.

--Restore Temuera Morrison's voice as Boba Fett (Adywan restored the original voice) for continuity.

--Shoot a scene of Temuera Morrison, CGI him to make him appear younger, and put his head on Boba Fett for the scene inside the Slave I. Or just reshoot the scene.

 

--Restore "Bring my shuttle."

--Add Temuera Morrison's and Ian McDiarmid's names to the credits as Boba Fett and Emperor Palpatine, respectively.

 

 

Episode VI (Adywan has not covered this one yet)

--Redo the Aurabesh text on the shuttle screens so that they actually say something instead of just being gibberish.

--Clean up and restore the scene of Luke fine tuning his lightsaber as Vader calls to him through the Force.

 

--Remove the ridiculously widened door to Jabba's Palace in the latest edition. (Why is it not the same size on the inside?)

 

--Use CGI on the faces of the aliens in Jabba's Palace, including Jabba himself, to make them more expressive.

 

--(This is my own little EU nerd thing, only half-serious.) Film a few shots of Shannon McRandle as Mara Jade in disguise as the dancer Arica. :p

--Redo the special effects where Han thaws out so that it looks more realistic. Maybe make it a bit more melty.

--Nit-pick: Remove Leia's stupid elf boots with her slave ensemble.

--Rework the CGI on the sarlacc.

--Add saber scorch marks to the henchmen Luke slashes with his lightsaber, as well as have a few limbs fall off, all accomplished with CGI.

 

--If any quality audio exists, clean up and restore the sandstorm scene and remove the conversation aboard the X-wing. If not, leave it as is.

--Make Vader's severed limb scorched, as well as the hand railing Luke cuts just prior to dismembering his Father.

--Use CGI to stop Dave Prowse from bending his wrist inside his sleeve and totally ruining the effect. Maybe even make the arm a bit shorter to reflect this.

--Remove Sabastian Shaw's eyelashes, and maybe redo his skin so that it looks like he had skin grafts.

 

--Remove the scar from Hayden Christensen's face so that he appears as unblemished lightsider to accompany his Jedi robes and non-severed arm (yes, I want to keep Hayden as Anakin as it makes perfect philosophical sense).

 

--Add Hayden Christensen's name to the credits as Anakin Skywalker.


That's all I've got for the original Trilogy at this time. I'll cover the prequels later.

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In fact the only changes I like to the whole OT are changing the Emperor hologram in TESB, and the song change at the end of ROTJ.

And I don't even like those (hologram + song change), heh.

 

The only things I've ever wanted to change or reshoot were some of the effects shots that were not that great at the time / stand out as not being as good as all of the others, usually anything involving miniature pyrotechnics. There's one shot of a snowspeeder being shot down in ESB (from the side, the back of it explodes) that's bad enough to make me wonder why it was kept in or not redone.

 

But I like old movies and their flaws and believe they should allowed to be of / reflect their time (blame my art history education), so I'm favour of leaving them alone.

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To be honest, I'm not too concerned about "Jedi Rocks" because "Lapti Nek" wasn't too far away as far as the silliness factor goes. Really, I'd like for a hybrid: "Lapti Nek" during the initial scene instead of that generic guitar tune, possibly with added shots to drag it out more, and then into "Jedi Rocks" after Jabba says, "Do that again!"

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Man, Im a Star Wars fan and I think about these movies alot. More than I'd think any person should. But the insignificant stuff people think of that they'd want changed or not changed blows my mind.

 

My thoughts of the SE are this, anything that actually adds time or a scene to the movie they should do away with. Mainly because even 20 years later every time a SE scene is in the movie I still think "new scene". However certain things make sense to keep changed. I think having the attack on DS1 being CG makes sense. I'd be ok if they even redid it again with better CG. In Empire adding windows to the interior shots of Cloud City makes sense, it makes the city seem larger and changes nothing in the story.

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Possibly have James Earl Jones rerecord most or all of Vader's lines to match the way his mechanical voice sounds in all other films, for the sake of continuity.

The problem is then Vader will sound like he did in Rogue One. I found that so distracting.

That's my choice for this thread. In the Rogue One SE get another dude to do the Vader voice; JEJ clearly can't do it anymore.

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Unacceptable answer:

 

'I would eliminate every film post ESB/ I would eliminate the PT/no Jar Jar, etc...'

 

You're tying my hands here, man.

 

If we have to keep everything after 1980, then I'd keep only the scenes set in space and cut everything else, unless the Falcon is in the background.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

 

In fact the only changes I like to the whole OT are changing the Emperor hologram in TESB, and the song change at the end of ROTJ.

And I don't even like those (hologram + song change), heh.

 

The only things I've ever wanted to change or reshoot were some of the effects shots that were not that great at the time / stand out as not being as good as all of the others, usually anything involving miniature pyrotechnics. There's one shot of a snowspeeder being shot down in ESB (from the side, the back of it explodes) that's bad enough to make me wonder why it was kept in or not redone.

 

But I like old movies and their flaws and believe they should allowed to be of / reflect their time (blame my art history education), so I'm favour of leaving them alone.

 

I actually don't mind minor changes if it doesn't detract from the original movie, like upscaling the resolution to sharpen the images, deleting film crew techs that shouldn't have been in the scene int he first place, or like in ANH, recoloring Luke's saber to blue, like it should have, but GL never fixed in the 63687984 versions of Star Wars he released. But other than changes like that, I would much prefer the original versions, including re-inserting the original Emperor in TESB. I liked seeing Ian McDiarmid in TESB with the edited version, but I don't like re-inventing a movie that had been around for 20 years, and acting as if the theatrical version never even existed. Probably the ONLY movie that gets a pass for that is Blade Runner.

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In fact the only changes I like to the whole OT are changing the Emperor hologram in TESB, and the song change at the end of ROTJ.

And I don't even like those (hologram + song change), heh.

 

The only things I've ever wanted to change or reshoot were some of the effects shots that were not that great at the time / stand out as not being as good as all of the others, usually anything involving miniature pyrotechnics. There's one shot of a snowspeeder being shot down in ESB (from the side, the back of it explodes) that's bad enough to make me wonder why it was kept in or not redone.

 

But I like old movies and their flaws and believe they should allowed to be of / reflect their time (blame my art history education), so I'm favour of leaving them alone.

I actually don't mind minor changes if it doesn't detract from the original movie, like upscaling the resolution to sharpen the images, deleting film crew techs that shouldn't have been in the scene int he first place, or like in ANH, recoloring Luke's saber to blue, like it should have, but GL never fixed in the 63687984 versions of Star Wars he released. But other than changes like that, I would much prefer the original versions, including re-inserting the original Emperor in TESB. I liked seeing Ian McDiarmid in TESB with the edited version, but I don't like re-inventing a movie that had been around for 20 years, and acting as if the theatrical version never even existed. Probably the ONLY movie that gets a pass for that is Blade Runner.

This goes back to the question of why future kids will need to love SW. Because it's history. Don't just bring new and scrap the old. Bring new and update the old so that it never went anywhere. Just make it so that we're all here. Why not. It's a new millennium with social media where even though our bodies die our recorded lives don't.

 

Sure, make a digital release of the OT theatrical release for the people who want it. That's not fair to people who DO need to save the story by keeping the cgi relevant. It's weird but some people need it.

 

I don't see it as new replacing the old. I see it as each new generation has their own story and it all goes together.

 

Hell, I would go back and update the old Flash Gordon serials. I'd color them, improve the special effects, do whatever I could. They still hold up today so why not save them! If me, a 28-year-old in the 2010s still cares about Flash Gordon from the 1940s, then I imagine in the 2090s some people are still gonna care about Star Wars.

 

We live in a new time of holographic Tupac Shakurs. You wouldn't even care or even know about like Frankenstein if they didnt adapt it with Bella Lugosi like 50 years after the book.

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-Han shot only.

-CGI Yoda throughout.

-Clean up effects in the OT that need to be cleaned up. I think we know which ones.

-Have Anakin's Sandpeople slaughter a little longer and have him express a little more anger/more emotion. More use of the force. Maybe something to mirror Rogue One.

-After Shmi's death, Anakin should slowly descend into despair. Really never smile again. Like he did in AOTC.

-Padme doesn't die of a broken heart. Stop it. Anakin accidentally kills her. Or, she gets away and lives. So, that's how Leia remembers her.

-CGI the Trade Federation guys. Their mouths look stupid.

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Insert Count Dooku into the Jedi Council in TPM. Show a close up of him looking at Anakin intently when he's being tested by Mace Windu. Maybe even have him rise up and walk out afterward. Then in the scene when Qui Gon and Obi Wan are arguing about defying the Council "again" have Dooku approach Qui Gon and ask him, "Master Qui Gon, a word with you please." Cut the scene there. All this would then set up Dooku for the next two films, particularly when he tells Obi Wan in AOTC he wishes Qui Gon was there to help him.

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