Star Wars Woes

I've been thinking about Star Wars and the special editions... there's things I really like in them (like the replacement actor for the emperor) (fixing the blade colors) etc. And there's things I absolutely hate (greedo shot first) (Darth Vader saying NOOOOOOOOooooo)

Neutral changes would be having the replacement actor for anakin at the very end... (I think they should also add Qui-Gon to it)

Short of downloading this version (Star Wars Despecialized) http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Harmys-STAR-WARS-Despecialized-Edition-HD-REMASTERED-is-now-released-If-you-find-any-mistakes-please-PM-me-Posting-in-the-thread-may-ruin-the-experience-for-someone-else/topic/12713/

Does anyone know if there is a version where they just removed the more annoying stuff but left the good changes?

Do you know if the star wars Blu-Ray fixed the "color changing" lightsaber that was on the New Hope DVD. That always annoyed me.

Yes they did. And that would be one of the things im glad was fixed.

If you can DVD-rip, you can get the 2-disc original trilogy movies that have both the old and new editions, rip them both and add the new shots on the old movie. It wouldn't be an "official" version, but it'd be exactly what you liked.
The only things I liked were the stuff you mentioned and the new ending for ROTJ. I always hated the Sesame Street song they sang at the end originally, so I much, much, much preferred the more serious music and I liked seeing celebrations across the planets we know, including (at the time) the first ever shots of Coruscant!
I agree with you, most of the changes were neither better or worse, and there were those wretched changes.
Still, though I see why people don't like them, why do so many fans whine and moan and cry betrayal? Just watch the old movies if you don't like the new versions. I guess I don't see why fans want Blu-rays of the original version AND complain when things get updated. Are these changes needed or wanted? No. Does Lucas have the right to change what he wants to with his own work? Yes. Again, just don't watch the newer versions. People can burn their own DVDs or just buy the theatrical DVDs...I have them, so I know they exist.

Dunadwarf wrote:If you can DVD-rip, you can get the 2-disc original trilogy movies that have both the old and new editions, rip them both and add the new shots on the old movie. It wouldn't be an "official" version, but it'd be exactly what you liked.

I suspect that in the next-gen home entertainment medium for movies, we'll have the ability to do things like this really easily. With the explosion of Youtube and user creativity, it seems natural that the ability to edit and otherwise manipulate our favorite movies will be built-in to the medium at some point.

That or the 3D thing will truly become standard and the next step will be "smell-o-vision". Yikes.

[quote="PaeterI suspect that in the next-gen home entertainment medium for movies, we'll have the ability to do things like this really easily. With the explosion of Youtube and user creativity, it seems natural that the ability to edit and otherwise manipulate our favorite movies will be built-in to the medium at some point.[/quote]
We're already there. I could edit the scenes myself if I could rip the DVDs, and there are lots of setups that already let people do that. I just don't have the means to rip the DVDs, but if Hackmodford can rip them, I'd be willing to edit the scenes as requested.
We've long since crossed that threshold where, with a little ingenuity, anything is possible.

Check Fanedit.org, and look for Phantom Edit and it's related trilogy. Some guy did a masterful editing that removed a lot of the pathetic junk (Jar Jar), and did a nice editing that made for a tighter story line.

Plus he edited all the battle scenes together so that they were continuous, start to finish.

I havent done this myself yet, but reading through the descriptions and rationale, watching the films out of the canonical order using this plan, makes a lot of sense

http://static.nomachetejuggling.com/machete_order.html

cleireac wrote:I havent done this myself yet, but reading through the descriptions and rationale, watching the films out of the canonicla order using this plan, makes a lot of sense

http://static.nomachetejuggling.com/machete_order.html

Cleireac, this is absolutely brilliant! I love this idea! I haven't wanted to watch the Star Wars Saga in quite some time... but now I do!

This is so, so, so good!

Drew.Rub wrote:Plus he edited all the battle scenes together so that they were continuous, start to finish.

So...all of the Queen's story and then all of the Jedi fight and then all of Anakin's or something? If that's it, I'd have to say I think that's a bad idea. These plots were designed to be intercut. It keeps the attention fresh and even helps artistically.
One example of this is in Return of the Jedi. Lucas talked about how, typically, things all go bad together at the same time and also rise at the same time for symmetry. People are so used to this, subconsciously, that when Luke is at his lowest (Palpatine zapping him with lightning), the others' stories are rising (Han and Leia brought down the shield & Lando is going into the Death Star). On an unconscious level, we feel like Luke might die since the action is climaxing while he is at a low point. It makes the story less predictable and the victory more visceral.
Cutting each plotline separately makes them all drag and removes any such dual tensions.

cleireac wrote:I havent done this myself yet, but reading through the descriptions and rationale, watching the films out of the canonicla order using this plan, makes a lot of sense

http://static.nomachetejuggling.com/machete_order.html

Just gave you geek cred for this. Seriously cool!

My oldest will probably be ready for Star Wars within just another year or so, and the Machete version (without Episode 1) looks like a fantastic option. (He can always watch Ep1 later in life if he's a REALLY big fan.)

Thanks for the link!

cleireac wrote:I havent done this myself yet, but reading through the descriptions and rationale, watching the films out of the canonical order using this plan, makes a lot of sense

http://static.nomachetejuggling.com/machete_order.html

Thanks for the link, that sounds like a GREAT viewing order!

Dunadwarf wrote:

Drew.Rub wrote:Plus he edited all the battle scenes together so that they were continuous, start to finish.

So...all of the Queen's story and then all of the Jedi fight and then all of Anakin's or something? If that's it, I'd have to say I think that's a bad idea. These plots were designed to be intercut. It keeps the attention fresh and even helps artistically.

While I agree in part on your point, I must say, the lightsaber battle on Mustafar, or even the Duel of the Fates lightsaber battles, seem much more complete and satisfying when you watch the battle start to finish

Drew.Rub wrote:While I agree in part on your point, I must say, the lightsaber battle on Mustafar, or even the Duel of the Fates lightsaber battles, seem much more complete and satisfying when you watch the battle start to finish

Perhaps as a self-contained fight, but as part of the larger story, it loses momentum and tension. Part of the excitement of intercutting scenes is the suspense of what's going on in the other scenes.