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Return of the Jedi - Remastered

darthrush

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THIS FANEDIT HAS NOW BEEN FINISHED AND UPLOADED. PM ME FOR A LINK :)
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MAIN PURPOSE OF EDIT:

When it comes to the Star Wars movies, I consider episodes 4 and 5 to be nearly untouchable masterpieces. And if they need be tinkered with, I feel as if Adywan is the only one capable of doing so effectively. The prequels were lacking for myself and many others there is a massive selection of wonderful fan-edits to choose from. Return of the Jedi on the other hand has always stuck out like a sore thumb for me. It was good but disappointing compared to the cinematic heights compared to the previous two in the original trilogy. Han Solo acted completely different and lost all of his swagger. Strangely enough, he was jealous of Luke. The Ewoks presented an illogical solution to the threat of the Empire and they sucked up a lot of the tension in the third act. And there were just a handful of moments that take the viewer out of the experience. Overall, I felt that Return of the Jedi has not been done justice in the fanediting field. I felt it necessary to provide a streamlined experience which mitigates the Ewoks, improves the character of Han Solo and trims the more distracting elements of the film. I hope you all enjoy this fanedit! 

RELEASE INFORMATION:

-720p with 5.1 Surround Sound

CUT LIST:

[THIS WILL ALL BE USING THE THEATRICAL VERSION OF STAR WARS. NO SPECIAL EDITION ELEMENTS ARE RETAINED EXCEPT FOR THE SE MUSIC/CITY CELEBRATIONS AND VADER’s EYEBROWLESS FACE]

-Use retro fox fanfare
-removed 3PO’s captain obvious moment where he says “Oh look, it’s Captain Solo, and he’s still frozen in carbonite.” 
-remove droid screams in droid torture scene. (Lovingly borrowed audio from Ziggy's edit here)
-cut out disintegration of the past protocol droid.
-Both Jedi Rocks and Lapti Nek are very bad, so neither of those survives my edit, but I did retain the nice little musical piece that the harmonica-playing turtle was doing. This also means that Jabba’s servant doesn’t fall down the pit. This makes it more of a surprise when Luke falls into the Rancor pit himself.
-Rescored Chewie’s getting taking away with “Bounty for a Wookie”. (This idea is borrowed from the Dan Edit)
-removed Boba Fett’s nod at Boush.
-We no longer see Lando pull his mask down.
-cut out the frog burping outside of Jabba’s palace
-added force choke sfx when Luke approaches the two Gamorrean guards. (Lovingly borrowed audio from Ziggy's Edit here)

-Trim Luke and Han’s dialogue scene on the skiff so it ends on Han saying “you’re going to die here, you know”
-added music to the scene between Luke and Obi-Wan on Dagobah for improved emotional effect.

-cut Han and Lando's conversation before rebel briefing starts.
-took out Han’s line of “good luck, your gonna need it.”
-took out 3PO’s line of “exciting is hardly the word I would choose.”
-took out the entire scene of Lando and Han talking in the hangar
-removed the beat of Han worrying about the falcon

-cut out Han's "Keep your distance Chewy. But don't make it look like your trying to keep your distance. I don't know, fly casual" during shuttle sequence.
-cut out the useless exposition scene in the throne room where the Emperor tells Vader to go on the executor. It slows down the plot and is not needed.
-remove Leia and Wicket scene
-took out Han saying “I hope she’s all right”. It's far too on the nose.
-cut out Han grabbing Ewok’s spear and his “proper” line. This helps make the Ewok's seem more scary. Han easily manhandling the spear of an ewok greatly reduces any tension that might even be present.
-cut out cutesy shots of Ewoks when 3PO is being floated in the air on his chair

-cut out R2 electrocuting the Ewok.
-Threepios storytelling cuts off at “I was just getting to that”. We cut to Luke outside from there. That god awful laughably delivered line from threepio saying “we are now part of the tribe” and the following celebrations is just so damn SILLY! Watch that part again and you will giggle whether it be on the inside or the outside.
-cut out Han talking to Leia after Luke leaves. This cuts out Han acting jealous of Luke.
-I cut out ATON of the ewoks in the battle. They arrive as an early distraction, then when you see them the rest of the time, they are usually getting there asses handed to them by the Empire.
-Take out Chewie’s tarzan yell
-remove the cringeworthy “I love you—I know you” callback.
-have Vader’s head fade away when he dies. This now is consistent with Obi Wan and Yoda dissapearing when they died.

-Han and Leia’s conversation after the death star explodes, is as follows:
Han- "I’m sure Luke wasn’t on that thing when it blew."
Leia- "He wasn’t…I can feel it."
Han gives a very confused look
Leia- “He’s my brother”

The scene flows REALLY well now, and is a huge improvement over the original. In my edit, there is absolutely no trace of jealousy in Han.
-Thanks to Q2, the ending scene has the SE music (“Victory Celebration”) and it has Sebastian Shaw as Anakin. Also, the "wesa free" line has been removed. I think the SE music is more grand and emotional, I despise the “wesa free” line in the Naboo shot, and I hate hayden’s ghost, so this ending works PERFECTLY for me!
-And I'd also like to add that I have released a version with Yub Nub as the ending music instead of Victory Celebration.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND FEEDBACK THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN! IT MEANS A LOT :)
 

Moe_Syzlak

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I had a chance to watch this late last night. Here are my thoughts. 

The cut of the musical numbers at Jabba's Palace are handled really well. Overall the whole Tatooine thing seems a bit more concise, which is good. I really wish you had done something with Boba Fett's demise. That is a problem I have with this edit. 

I'd like to see the "ask me again sometime@ exchange cut as well. I realize it somewhat establishes a force connection for Leia, but it's awkward and ultimately not worth it IMO. 

I think the edits to Han Solo are particularly effective. His character seemed so off to me. 

The cuts to the Ewok capture work well for me too. They seem like they are captured rather than just allowing the Ewoks to capture them. The only issue (and this existed before as well) is that Leia seems like she was just hanging out getting her hair done. I don't know if there's a way to fix that. I'd also like to see the R2 electrocuting the Ewok removed but that may be just me. 

I'd like to see a deeper cut in the Luke/Leia conversation. I don't like that Leia tells Luke to run. Again this may just be my preference. 

One thing that's irked me is when the Super Star Destroyer goes down.  It crashes into the Death Star, but every shot of that battle previously shows it occurring far from the Death Star. I'd love to see that crash into the Death Star cut. 

The effect of having Anakin disappear works great. I really like that idea and and hadn't seen it done before. 

The Han Solo realization that Leia and Luke are siblings is perfect and something I've wanted to see for a long time. Again excellent work in fundamentally changing the Han Solo character in this movie. 

I have a bit of soft spot for Yub Nub, but honestly I'd rather have the celebration scene scored and not imply the music we're hearing is from the celebration. But if you're going to go with one of the two existing, I'd rather it be Yub Nub. 

Overall this is really excellent. It's the closest thing I've seen to the perfect Jedi edit for me. If a few more changes were made as stated above it'd be a grand slam. As it stands now it's still a home run in my book.
 

darthrush

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K everyone, this is how I will decide on changes for Version 2.0:

On the first post of the thread I will add two new sections. “Confirmed changes for Version 2.0” and “Pending changes”.

For example, If I am testing out a change which I like but might or might not work, then it will go under “pending changes”. And if I know a change will work and I like the suggestion, I will put it under “confirmed changes”. And by the way, any changes on the confirmed list can still be removed if enough people disagree with the change.

Everyone please send in all feedback! All suggested changes will be combined from both this forum and my thread over at originaltrilogy. I will respond to each suggestion and try to hopefully finetune this into a better edit than it was before.


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darthrush said:
All suggested changes will be combined from both this forum and my thread over at fanedit.org.

Lol copy/paste.

I do it too.
 

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Moe_Syzlak said:
I really wish you had done something with Boba Fett's demise. That is a problem I have with this edit. 

Has anyone else done something believable with Fett's demise?
 

darthrush

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Moe_Syzlak said:
I had a chance to watch this late last night. Here are my thoughts. 

The cut of the musical numbers at Jabba's Palace are handled really well. Overall the whole Tatooine thing seems a bit more concise, which is good. I really wish you had done something with Boba Fett's demise. That is a problem I have with this edit. 

I'd like to see the "ask me again sometime@ exchange cut as well. I realize it somewhat establishes a force connection for Leia, but it's awkward and ultimately not worth it IMO. 

I think the edits to Han Solo are particularly effective. His character seemed so off to me. 

The cuts to the Ewok capture work well for me too. They seem like they are captured rather than just allowing the Ewoks to capture them. The only issue (and this existed before as well) is that Leia seems like she was just hanging out getting her hair done. I don't know if there's a way to fix that. I'd also like to see the R2 electrocuting the Ewok removed but that may be just me. 

I'd like to see a deeper cut in the Luke/Leia conversation. I don't like that Leia tells Luke to run. Again this may just be my preference. 

One thing that's irked me is when the Super Star Destroyer goes down.  It crashes into the Death Star, but every shot of that battle previously shows it occurring far from the Death Star. I'd love to see that crash into the Death Star cut. 

The effect of having Anakin disappear works great. I really like that idea and and hadn't seen it done before. 

The Han Solo realization that Leia and Luke are siblings is perfect and something I've wanted to see for a long time. Again excellent work in fundamentally changing the Han Solo character in this movie. 

I have a bit of soft spot for Yub Nub, but honestly I'd rather have the celebration scene scored and not imply the music we're hearing is from the celebration. But if you're going to go with one of the two existing, I'd rather it be Yub Nub. 

Overall this is really excellent. It's the closest thing I've seen to the perfect Jedi edit for me. If a few more changes were made as stated above it'd be a grand slam. As it stands now it's still a home run in my book.


Thank you for all the feedback! It means a lot. I'd like to address your suggestions since I now am beginning work on version 2.0 of the edit.

I like your boba fett idea but it will be quite the challenge. I will put this in pending changes while I test it out.

I feel as if the "ask me again sometime" exchange is necessary since that's when you see Luke come back and say he will join them.

I now will cut R2 electrocuting wicket for Version 2.0. Good idea!

And good news for you is that I will be releasing two versions of this edit for Version 2.0. One with yuh nub and one without.

Again thank you for feedback and contribution to the completion of Version 2.0. Once this is completed my goal is to get it listed here on fanedit.org.




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Moe_Syzlak

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TVs Frink said:
Moe_Syzlak said:
I really wish you had done something with Boba Fett's demise. That is a problem I have with this edit. 

Has anyone else done something believable with Fett's demise?

I believe I've seen it work with Fett cut from the film completely.
 

Moe_Syzlak

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Awesome. Glad I could help and looking forward to the finished product. Any thoughts on these two suggestions?

- cutting  Leia telling Luke to run

- cutting the Star Destroyer crashing into the Death Star



[font=Raleway, sans-serif]I[/font]
 

ssj

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hey, darth. if you're changing the music but not the visuals for the ewok celeb, you could create a second audio track (which can be muxed with the video & primary audio) instead of two entirely separate versions.
 

Moe_Syzlak

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ssj said:
hey, darth. if you're changing the music but not the visuals for the ewok celeb, you could create a second audio track (which can be muxed with the video & primary audio) instead of two entirely separate versions.

Has anyone ever done the ending with a more symphonic score rather than a song? Ther has to be something in JW's body of work that would fit the mood.
 

darthrush

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ssj said:
hey, darth. if you're changing the music but not the visuals for the ewok celeb, you could create a second audio track (which can be muxed with the video & primary audio) instead of two entirely separate versions.

Thank you for the tip :)

Sadly enough though, the one with victory celebration music also has city celebration visuals whereas the one with Yub Nub music does not. But it's not a problem to re-render a slightly different version.

Again, thank you for the advice! It'll come in handy in the future.
 

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Moe_Syzlak said:
ssj said:
hey, darth. if you're changing the music but not the visuals for the ewok celeb, you could create a second audio track (which can be muxed with the video & primary audio) instead of two entirely separate versions.

Has anyone ever done the ending with a more symphonic score rather than a song? Ther has to be something in JW's body of work that would fit the mood.

I have seen this done many times but nothing has ever quite worked for me. I prefer both Yub Nub and Victory Celebration. Yub Nub feels like music that would actually be sung in the moment and Victory Celebration gives the victory a lot of scope and emotion in my opinion.
 

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TVs Frink said:
darthrush said:
All suggested changes will be combined from both this forum and my thread over at fanedit.org.

Lol copy/paste.

I do it too.

Thanks for catching that one  :D
 

darthrush

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Moe_Syzlak said:
Awesome. Glad I could help and looking forward to the finished product. Any thoughts on these two suggestions?

- cutting  Leia telling Luke to run

- cutting the Star Destroyer crashing into the Death Star



[font=Raleway, sans-serif]I[/font]

I am fine with Leia telling Luke to run because it shows that she doesn't understand the situation fully (that Luke wants to turn him back to the light) and it shows that she cares for him.

And I also consider the Star Destroyer crashing into the Death Star to look pretty cinematic. Never had huge issues.

But as always, if more people agree on these suggestions, then I will implement them.
 

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After re-watching the ending of version 1.0, I think I'd like to remove one change I made. I added the death star preparing to fire but the laser dematerializing once they start hitting the reactor but after watching it a few times, a couple clear issues remain:

-When it dematerializes, I have to reverse the video of the laser revving up. In that shot, the Death Star is moving towards Endor. So when I cut to it dematerializing, the Death Star is moving back the opposite direction.
-And after watching this sequence again and again, I realize that the flow of it just doesn't work with the laser inserted. It revvs up and is given far too much time to fire before Lando and Wedge blow the reactor.

Taking this issues into account, I feel it best to revert to the original sequence of Lando and Wedge destroying the reactor which I feel is just as awesome in the original cut.
 

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Got a good sense of the edit after watching, and over I think it's quite good :) Good use of different sources that line up quite nice side by side (albeit a few color differences but nothing serious). Audio and subsequent transitions sounded smooth, as did any musical cue added to the film. I noticed little to no cringe worthy moments (few to begin with) and much better pacing/tone!

If I may though, I might have a few more things that might take this already great edit and make it even better: 

-Possibly remove the star destroyer overhead shot, releasing the shuttle in the beginning. Go from the complete pan down of DS II and straight to the oncoming shuttle with star destroyers in the background.

-Maybe flip the shots of Boba Fett inside Jabba's palace during Leia's bargaining, three in total for continuity.

-Remove some exposition from the discussion between Ben and Luke on Dagobah, primarily where he repeats the point of having to face vader.

-Remove the talk between Han and Lando in the rebel briefing room. This is suggested because at this point, Han should still be angry/if not at least mostly silent towards him after the betrayal. But reinstate Han's "Good Luck" and Lando's reaction afterwards. This is now a bit of sarcasm backed by emotion.

-Remove the exposition scene in the throne room between Vader/the Emperor. All this tells us is where the rebel fleet is (we just spent a few minutes with them) and telling us that vader needs to go to his command ship (we see him in the next scene.)

-And finally remove the exchange with Han and Chewie "I don't know, fly casual... Keep your distance though..." to give some more tension.
 

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ironman23 said:
-And finally remove the exchange with Han and Chewie "I don't know, fly casual... Keep your distance though..." to give some more tension.

maxresdefault.jpg
 

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ironman23 said:
-And finally remove the exchange with Han and Chewie "I don't know, fly casual... Keep your distance though..." to give some more tension.

maxresdefault.jpg
 

darthrush

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ironman23 said:
Got a good sense of the edit after watching, and over I think it's quite good :) Good use of different sources that line up quite nice side by side (albeit a few color differences but nothing serious). Audio and subsequent transitions sounded smooth, as did any musical cue added to the film. I noticed little to no cringe worthy moments (few to begin with) and much better pacing/tone!

If I may though, I might have a few more things that might take this already great edit and make it even better: 

-Possibly remove the star destroyer overhead shot, releasing the shuttle in the beginning. Go from the complete pan down of DS II and straight to the oncoming shuttle with star destroyers in the background.

-Maybe flip the shots of Boba Fett inside Jabba's palace during Leia's bargaining, three in total for continuity.

-Remove some exposition from the discussion between Ben and Luke on Dagobah, primarily where he repeats the point of having to face vader.

-Remove the talk between Han and Lando in the rebel briefing room. This is suggested because at this point, Han should still be angry/if not at least mostly silent towards him after the betrayal. But reinstate Han's "Good Luck" and Lando's reaction afterwards. This is now a bit of sarcasm backed by emotion.

-Remove the exposition scene in the throne room between Vader/the Emperor. All this tells us is where the rebel fleet is (we just spent a few minutes with them) and telling us that vader needs to go to his command ship (we see him in the next scene.)

-And finally remove the exchange with Han and Chewie "I don't know, fly casual... Keep your distance though..." to give some more tension.


Thank you so much for taking the time to review the edit! I'm preparing to start getting Version 2.0 underway once some more reviews come trickling in.

Now to address all your suggestions:

-I really don't see why I should cut the star destroyer overhead shot. I quite like it haha.

-I'm sorry but I really disagree on cutting Obi-Wans reminder to kill Vader. Reason being, that it shows that both of Luke's past masters even think that he shouldn't try to save Vader. It makes Luke's decision to try to save him a little bit more bold and it shows how much faith Luke has in his father.

-If no one else is against this, then I actually am pretty persuaded by your idea about cutting Han and Lando's conversation before the briefing.

-Good call on cutting the exposition scene in the throne room. I will cut this out for Version 2.0 as long as it's a smooth transition.

-I also agree with you on the suggestion about cutting the "fly casual" line. That will be cut out of Version 2.0 also.

Thanks again for helping out! The confirmed changes list has been updated on the first post of the thread.


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