"Star Wars Revisited" rants

I was browsing a website about fan edited movie, better explained as movies edited by their fans which include/exclude scenes, special effects and dialogue between the characters. I have actually been planning for about two years on doing some fan edits on my own and posting them online but since it consumes time and hard drive space, I think it'll be a long time before I make any of them.

So on this website I entered a search for Star Wars to see what edits have been done. I've actually seen some great edits on YouTube of films including Revenge of the Sith though it was wrongly retitled as "Dark Force Rising."

That movie was included amongst many Star Wars edits listed there. But one that caught my interest was "Star Wars Revisited."
It was an edited version of Episode Four A New Hope, a first one in an upcoming re-edited trilogy of the original Star Wars movies.

I viewed the movie on YouTube and I think it was great. Usually with Star Wars and Superman films re-edited I drag through the scenes and feel like I'm watching the exact same thing again even though I'm not.

But with this edit I enjoyed every moment of, especially the final space battle scene. Overall I think i was a great edit and I'd give it four out of five points.

The thing that I disliked was what I'll probably see more of in the upcoming fan edited versions of episodes Five and Six and that is that they contain too much of George Lucas's lame edits.

In the case of A New Hope, too much of the CGI X-Wing fighters were visible. The worst shot was the close up 3D shot of the X-Wings in space after departing the Yavin moon. I don't need to specify what I mean. That itself was the worst shot in the movie I think.

It was just too obvious they are CGI animations and not real life spacecraft like in the original 1977 cut in which real life models are used. The use of models for X-Wing fighters and star destroyers where much more realistic than the lame CGI substitutes especially in episode four.

The other problem was that the edit also unnecessarily put the millennium falcon in light speed after escaping the death star. This made it unrealistic since the death star eventually floated to the Yavin system, ready to destroy the moon and the rebel base on it.

And the last and least most bearable problem was the voice-over of Luke's aunt Beru. That was unnecessary and even if it had to be done, it could have been done with a better tone and fluency. But other than those major significant flaws the edit was awesome.

Despite that I still wouldn't get it on DVD. According to the makers of these fan edits, you have to own an original copy of the film in order to own these DVDs. I would have acquired this and sold my original cut but the mentioned problems don't make it entirely enjoyable or realistic.

I've seen previews of The Empire Strikes Back and some of the coloring looks even worse than the current versions. This only increases my doubts that it will be the perfect fan cut that we all have been looking out for.

Unless you don't have a problem with any of the ridiculous flaws in these "Star Wars Revisits," don't get them on DVD.

No edit of your favorite movie can be perfect unless it's your own cut. While mentioning that, I can't think of a better version of Empire Strikes Back than the 1997 special edition.

If you really want your favorite edition, then like me you'll get on your feet and make your own that you like best. Of course you may need help in creating DVD chapters and a box cover art which you can customly order online, but you can always inquire on those, again online.

The Star Wars Revisits are great improvements but not recommendable substitutes to the current Star Wars movies unless they are made as realistic as possible and reduce the lame changes made by Mr Lucas which actually contribute to this reduction.

And since these edits are available online there is not need to trade in your current cuts until you can get the best edit for yourselves.