Discussion What is your opinion of the Star Wars Special Editions and other edits?

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

They are mostly OK, but some of them create an uneven tempo in the films which I think are often nearly perfect in pacing...perhaps it is just knowing the rhythm of something and then seeing it in the new context throws me off.

I did and continue to find the outrage over 'George's constant tinkering' to be amusing. Tolkein went back and tinkered with The Hobbit to a near obsessive degree, and very little is mentioned about that. Different era I guess. The internet exagerates everything.

 

[Saija Kwann]

I did like Biggs being put back into the movie, but not Jabba the Hutt. Most of the fan versions I've seen do it like this also. I also like the new entrance to Mos Eisley, the visual setting is worth the extra minute and change; other fan editors remove this scene for pacing issues as well.

One thing I liked to see was correcting something that always annoyed me in ANH; when the Falcon is fleeing the Star Destroyers over Tattooine, Han says "I know a few maneuvers, we'll lose 'em." Then the following shot shows the Falcon flying in a straight line while the nose cannons on the ISD are shooting. Thanks to modern computer FX, it's a simple task to make the Falcon weave and spin a little bit. The most recent fan versions of this I've seen look flawless. IIRC, this is something you don't see on the official re-releases.

 

[Saija Kwann]

While I'm harping on ANH, one of the worst changes was the giant lizard thing that blocks the camera when Luke and Ben are stopped at a checkpoint by Imperial Stormtroopers.

I like the scene with the dewbacks and the troopers in the desert, though it does look a bit dated; you can tell it's all computer FX, much like how they did the clonetroopers in AOTC, but not as refined. I think the special editions were also a testing tool for Lucas to see what he could and could not do with computer FX.

Re: Adywan's fan edit - one of the things I love is that he updated the primitive 1970's looking computer screens with more modern images that match the graphics seen in later films. Once again, after clicking the link there's an option to take it up from 360p to 720p.

Death Star Briefing Scene