Revenge of the Jedi Redux

[DonkeyKonga]

My goal here is to create a more mature cut of Return of the Jedi and make something more in line with George Lucas' original title: Revenge of the Jedi. It has less sillyness and a better story that fits the first two films.

• Used 4k83 as my only source (the real heroes are those people restoring these films!)
• New opening crawl
• Every cut is seamless. Show this to someone who hasn't seen the original and they won't notice.
• Goal was to make the movie tie as close to the first two in feel as possible. Just like my indiana jones edit was meant to make it fit the series more.
• Removed c3po mentioning of chewbacca disappearing at Jabbas palace. He litterally shows up at jabba AFTER c3po lol. Big plothole.
• Removed every line regarding a gift to jabba.
• Jabba doesnt even listen to luke offer after he realises it's about Han. He seizes the droids. No gifts here, just vile gangster behaviour. (what's Luke's plan anyway? Would he really give away his droids in exchange for Han? What if Jabba agrees with the trade?)
• Luke doesnt tell Jabba to underestimate his powers, because Jabba immediately uses the trap door when Luke tells him he is taking captain Solo anyway. Jabba does NOT fuck around.
• Removed a few small sections of C3po being comedic, but not all of them.
• Boba Fett crashes into the sail barge but we dont see him fall into the pit like an idiot.
• Boba Fett doesnt fire a shot and misses like a blind idiot. Han now hits him on the jetpack before he takes the shot.
• Re structures the entire sail barge fight sequence
• Removed the emperor foreseeing that luke will come, considering he couldnt even sense him on the ship lol.
• Removed the point of view line by Obi Wan
• Removed Luke immediately realising who his sister is
• Removed a few cheesy lines during the briefing, but not all of them.
• Restructures the Han/Lando conversation at the Falcon to feel more mature.
• Leia is found by a mysterious figure (spoiler alert: it's a fucking ewok)
• Removed the ewoks not listening to God C3PO. They now immediately release Leia and she rushes to Han to kiss him
• Removed the entire bedtime story
• Removed a few lines during luke/leias conversation to keep Luke more mysterious
• Leia is upset by the news about being a sister and tells han to go away. He clearly realises she is emotional and doesnt go away. She notices him and asks him to hold her.
• Removed every mention that Vader must obey his master.
• Removed Vader's dumbass 'HEEEEE will come to MEEEE????' line.
• Emperor now says : 'you are now mine' instead of 'you and your father are now mine'
• Removed the star destroyer captain spoiling the emperors surprise like an idiot! Now Lando asks 'why arent they attacking' and we cut to the emperor announcing the operational battle station.
• Reduced the corny ewok battle but still kept a lot of the epic moments like the ropes being tossed around the speeder bikes!
• removed the ATST boobytraps even though it hurt my childhood. The goal is trilogy consistency! Not nostalgia!
• Removed every Han being jealous of Luke moment. Leia litterally declared her love two times already so no need for it.
• Luke isnt at the celebration, he just lost his dad
• Movie ends with Vaders funeral, leaving a far more impactful final image with viewers.

 

[futon88]

Removed every Han being jealous of Luke moment. Leia litterally declared her love two times already so no need for it.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

Hahaha yes. I also removed the scene with Han and Chewie flying casual it now ends with: 'keep your distance though, chewie..' to make it clear that even Han Solo doesn't mess around anymore when it comes to Vader after their last encounter. They really messed up Han's character in a few ways. It was an easy fix, fortunately.

 

[ArtisDead]

This edit does not require approval. You are already an Approved editor.

 

[Gaith]

Solid cutlist. Wondering if you cut/considered cutting Vader's lines with the helmet off?

 

[DonkeyKonga]

Solid cutlist. Wondering if you cut/considered cutting Vader's lines with the helmet off?

Interesting edit, but it's not an improvement for me personally. Cutting the emotional moment here kind of lessens the impact of the funeral imo. So I won't cut it. I also quite like the dialogue of Vader telling Luke he was right about him. It's his moment of redemption for me.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

Small little trailer to highlight a few of the changes.

 

[Gaith]

Interesting edit, but it's not an improvement for me personally. Cutting the emotional moment here kind of lessens the impact of the funeral imo. So I won't cut it. I also quite like the dialogue of Vader telling Luke he was right about him. It's his moment of redemption for me.

Ooh, see, I kinda hate that line most of all. Vader played a key role in killing Leia's parents, Bail and Bail's wife, and he also tortured Leia as well as her boyfriend. Just because Luke and Vader have come to an understanding doesn't give him the right to unilaterally redeem himself in Leia's eyes. But, that's just my certain point of view.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

Ooh, see, I kinda hate that line most of all. Vader played a key role in killing Leia's parents, Bail and Bail's wife, and he also tortured Leia as well as her boyfriend. Just because Luke and Vader have come to an understanding doesn't give him the right to unilaterally redeem himself in Leia's eyes. But, that's just my certain point of view.

Oooh yes that makes sense. I've seen the PT once and quickly forgot it. I never even consider it while watching the OT.

 

[Gaith]

^ Oh, I detest the PT as much as anyone, but I don't dislike that line because it makes me think of Jimmy Smits and however the actress from Obi-Wan was. Just going by what we know from the OT, Leia almost certainly had adopted parents after her "real mother," the one she barely remembered, died. And, no matter who those characters were, assuming they died on Alderaan, that line is incredibly disrespectful to them, not to mention treacly as heck. I don't think Irvin Kershner would have allowed it had he been directing.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

^ Oh, I detest the PT as much as anyone, but I don't dislike that line because it makes me think of Jimmy Smits and however the actress from Obi-Wan was. Just going by what we know from the OT, Leia almost certainly had adopted parents after her "real mother," the one she barely remembered, died. And, no matter who those characters were, assuming they died on Alderaan, that line is incredibly disrespectful to them, not to mention treacly as heck. I don't think Irvin Kershner would have allowed it had he been directing.

Well it depends on a point of view. I never saw it as Vader saying he was good. It was Vader acknowledging that he was conflicted because of his children. A very small fraction of doubt was able to grow within him.

Without Luke he would obviously still be Evil. That's why he said Luke was right about him. It's about his conflict to kill/turn his son, not about his conflict to be evil. Or well that's how I always saw it. A little bit of goodness being able to overcome his evil ness in the end.

On top of that its also the family aspect here that's strong: Vader probably wouldnt overthrow the emperor if Luke wasnt his son. Parental love is a strong thing after all. It's why Palpatine asks if his feelings are clear on the matter. Palpatine knows this too. Likewise Luke probably wouldnt have tried to turn Vader to the good side if he didnt know he was his father. In fact: Luke was trying to kill Vader in Empire before the reveal.

Edit: it's why my edit did remove the force ghost ending. I do think Vader doesnt deserve to stand there alongside Yoda and Obi Wan after all that lol.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

So HUGE shoutout to @Phase3 for making this opening crawl for me! Rendering as we speak! New version will be available tomorrow. The only difference between the old version is a rewrite of the crawl and better colors.
EDIT: Also writing credits for the crawl go to Phase3 lol.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

^ Oh, I detest the PT as much as anyone, but I don't dislike that line because it makes me think of Jimmy Smits and however the actress from Obi-Wan was. Just going by what we know from the OT, Leia almost certainly had adopted parents after her "real mother," the one she barely remembered, died. And, no matter who those characters were, assuming they died on Alderaan, that line is incredibly disrespectful to them, not to mention treacly as heck. I don't think Irvin Kershner would have allowed it had he been directing.

So what you said stuck with me a bit and I believe the 'tell your sister' bit is what throws it off. So I ended up with somewhat of a middle ground between the video you showed and the original. What I ended up doing (it's still rendering atm) is remove the 'tell your sister' line and the other two you were right' lines. (Saying you were right three times is a bit overkill)
It now goes: I have to save you. You already have, Luke. You were right about me. ... He smiles...... *dies*

 

[Gaith]

^ Sounds like a solid improvement over the theatrical scene to me.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

The edit is now 100% done and uploading! Here is the end result of the Vader reveal scene (colors are slightly off compared to the actual HDR version)

 

[Terminator11216]

The edit is now 100% done and uploading! Here is the end result of the Vader reveal scene (colors are slightly off compared to the actual HDR version)

I like the look of it but what I would love to see is someone add flashbacks of Anakin and or add a force ghost face of Anakin that has a fading look

 

[DonkeyKonga]

I like the look of it but what I would love to see is someone add flashbacks of Anakin and or add a force ghost face of Anakin that has a fading look

The aim for this edit is to make it a worthy successor to ANH and ESB first and foremost. Mixing it with the prequels will create a visual incoherence with part 4 and 5. I would always recommend watching 4, 5 and 6 before watching 1, 2 and 3 so Vader retains his mystery for new viewers.

 

[Gaith]

The edit is now 100% done and uploading! Here is the end result of the Vader reveal scene

Hm... I still stand by my prior suggestion. Luke saying "I'll not leave you" sounds incredibly weird and out of character, even if we chalk it up to a young guy trying to sound more mystic and sophisticated than he is. Painting out those distractingly huge eyebrows was probably one of the better changes made to the SE, and the less time they spend onscreen, the better. Also, I can't help but think Vader's human voice should sound more hoarse/cracked/damaged, like a lifetime smoker with throat cancer? I dunno, none of it really works for me. But if you're happy with it, that's what matters most.

 

[DonkeyKonga]

Hm... I still stand by my prior suggestion. Luke saying "I'll not leave you" sounds incredibly weird and out of character, even if we chalk it up to a young guy trying to sound more mystic and sophisticated than he is. Painting out those distractingly huge eyebrows was probably one of the better changes made to the SE, and the less time they spend onscreen, the better. Also, I can't help but think Vader's human voice should sound more hoarse/cracked/damaged, like a lifetime smoker with throat cancer? I dunno, none of it really works for me. But if you're happy with it, that's what matters most.

Yeah the eyebrows are the only thing the SE did right, I agree. And yeah the acting isn't exactly oscar worthy but otherwise the motion of his death doesnt flow quite right. I am happy with it and appreciate the feedback you gave!

 

[Ri~Lei]

Greeting DonkeyKonga, I message to ask: owning a file of your first-edition, I hap' to notice a scene-swipe error within the transition from the Yub-Nub celebration to Vader's torched funeral; did you ever manage to remedy this, within subsequent revisions?

~Waz