The Phantom Edit?

[Crewman6]

While I think it's cool that someone went in to clean up FX and such, the idea of re-editing scenes and replacing music cues sounds stupid and crosses an ethical line in my book.

Star Wars won the Oscar for editing and FX which Lucas (who was not credited with either) changed for the Special Editions. I find it interesting that most people's indignation starts and ends with who has the legal right to do something and not whether the act itself is actually right or not.

I find it interesting that you're making completely erroneous assumptions about me based on nothing.

I strongly disapprove of the Star Wars special editions for a host of reasons, not the least of which is that it disrespects the efforts of the craftsmen and innovators who toiled on the film at the time and created ground-breaking special effects. Much of that work has been callously tossed away.

The resulting film is not a "perfect" version of Star Wars because such a thing could never exist. Lucas and others could keep fucking with the movies every year since every year there are more and more technological advances.

But then the movie ceases being a single piece of art and becomes something cheap and temporary.

I think movies, like other works, should also stand as a testament to the time and place they were created and as a tribute to those who made them at the time.

Sure, we could go back and photoshop the Mona Lisa with modern technolog, but I can't imagine anyone would actually think that was a good idea.

In the case of star wars, the situation is mitigated only SOMEWHAT due to the fact that Lucas was the principle (but not the sole) creative force behind the films.

But what if he decides he no longer likes Harrison Ford's performance and wants to digitally tweak that somehow? No different than erasing old model work with modern (but soon to be outdated) CGI.

 

[Demiurge]

It's about unrealized vision. Lucas wanted to create some scenes in the original that he simply couldn't accomplish with the tech of the time.

The tech exists now (largely because he invented it), it's ridiculously presumptuous to say he can't go back and tinker with it to his heart's content.

I don't get sentimental about the model T because I've got a modern car sitting in my driveway.

As far as the Revisited concept, I find it even that much more impressive because it was a single individual with only his home PC and he was able to accomplish what he did.

Good for him. It's things like that that build careers and hopefully he'll be employed in making the next classic some day.

 

[PsychoPere]

If they can't be bothered to put up an already-corrected .iso file, I can't be bothered watching it.

Odd. I downloaded and burned the .iso to a DVD-R and was able to play it on my Xbox 360 without any issues.

 

[Lindley]

Well, if it works fine, why do they include a folder called "VIDEO_TS fixes"?

Plus I don't have any DVD-9 recordables. I could get some, but I'm not sure if my burner supports that or not.

 

[PsychoPere]

To be honest, I have no clue. I didn't really pay attention to the contents of the .iso file. I just loaded the image into CDBurnerXP and put the DVD into my Xbox once it had finished burning. *shrugs*

 

[Skywalker]

Still haven't gotten around to the Phantom Edit.

However, Andywan's redo of the original Star Wars is simply phenomenal. He actually adds about 15 mins of new content that integrates seamlessly into the original. My favorites are the expansion of the Darth Vader/Obi Wan lightsaber duel and the dogfight above the death star. He also cleans up a lot of nagging little details and reverts the Han Solo vs Greedo scene to the way it should have been. And he includes the music that ties the overal series together - for example the original didn't have Duel of the Fates in it, though it was thematically approrpriate for the ongoing Obi-Wan/Darth Vader conflict, and it didn't even have the Imperial March, which wasn't created until ESB!

Recommend it very highly. Honestly, I think it's better than the Special Edition.

It's not just the extra content that is great. Every frame has been color corrected, sfx have been altered, some scenes are edited differently. It is absolutely amazing that someone on their home PC could accomplish what Lucasfilm could not. I grabbed the dvd 9 version and it has full menus text commentary, deleted scenes and hidden extras. Everything about it screams quality and effort. It has replaced the Special Edition in my DVD collection and i cannot wait until he finishes ESB.

I finally saw this for myself this weekend, and it is amazing. It's still not absolutely perfect, but it's a damn sight better than the Special Edition. Absolutely phenomenal work. Any idea how far along he is with TESB Revisited? It doesn't seem like that one needs as much work as ANH, but it should still be excellent.

Oh, and Demiurge, that wasn't "Duel of the Fates" Adywan inserted into the Obi-Wan/Vader duel, it was "Battle of the Heroes," the song played during Obi-Wan and Anakin's fight on Mustafar. It was a very appropriate addition, and very seamless as well--he timed it perfectly with the duel and what the rest of the heroes were up to. The addition of "The Imperial March" was well done, too.

 

[Gaith]

Yeah, hearing the Imperial March in ANH was weird but cool. However, I almost wish he'd remove some of its appearances in ESB - I re-watched it a few years back, and after hearing it over nearly every transition, was saying, "I get it! Empire on the march! geez!" :-P