IFDB Review: War of the Stars: A New Hope Grindhoused:

[MCP]

Audio/Video Quality: The video quality is intentionally bad in most places, and unintentionally bad in others. This is a limitation of the source material in some cases, and an artistic decision in other cases. The point is for it to look bad, and it succeeds. Visual Editing: The visual editing is quite good. New effects have been added, blood spurts and things of that nature have been integrated, it's great. At one point the "film" burns through the projector and we have a (monty python-esque) moment where the projectionist has to restart the footage. [This leaves a small hole in the narrative, and prevents an otherwise impossibly awkward transition. Think of it the same way you think of the "Missing Reels" in Tarantino's Grindhouse.] Audio Editing: Some of Vader's lines feel very out of place. This works because of the style of the edit. Accept it, move along. None of the overdubbing is distracting enough to prevent you from enjoying the film. Narrative: This is where this particular film wins. Telling a new story in the star wars universe is a feat in and of itself. Telling that story using only footage from the original films (and deleted scenes and fan films) brings us another level of skill. The fact that the new story works so well, and is (probably) closer to what Star Wars would have been if George had cared a little less, is really impressive. Enjoyment:I loved the movie. I love this nature of edit. TMBTM has taken his source material, flipped it on it's head and created something new and other. I want to see more people take this approach (not, necessarily, the grindhouse, but the telling of a new story rather than "fixing" problems with the old story.) There aren't many people in the world who wouldn't benefit from seeing this film. I've personally watched it three times this month, and it grows in impact, rather than shrinking. The premise, that The War of the Stars is just another spaghetti space opera, is beautiful. The editing is beautiful. The ending is a bit of a twist, and all the better for it. This edit is certainly one of my favorites, and really not just one of my favorite edits but one of my favorite films of any kind. The only thing that really beats it to the top (well, aside from Doc Savageetartnished) is its sequel.(That's right, there's a War of the Stars part II, and it's even better.)

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