Read BEFORE posting Trades & Request
TMBTM said:I still have to watch the third........act!
spence said:By the way, now I've got your Episode III as my go to version, and L8's Episode I, one of you guys needs to make a kickass Episode II!
L8wrtr said:Working on it . I'm looking forward to/nervous about watching this one. I have a workprint for E3 that I made before I came to FE. It's lacking in technical quality (wrong frame rate, 2.0 audio) but has a structure that really works on the issues Spense talks about, but from all the reviews Kerr may have made my edit irrelevant!
In all seriousness though, looking forward to seeing this.
I feel like a moron. I was thinking when I looked this edit up that I’ll just download the compressed version, since it will take so much longer to download the DVD version, plus if I don’t like it, then I’m not saddled with 4 gb of data for it.
Well, that was stupid.
This is freaking awesome. It epitomizes the philosophy that less is indeed more. As many of Anakin’s (and others) horrid lines are removed as possible. Needless exposition and/or restating of plot points by characters are also removed. We see actions and their consequences, consequences, mind you, that seem more logical than they did in the original cut.
No longer is Anakin whining like a baby over everything that happens to him. He is now brooding and confused (for all his lack of acting skill, the one good thing Hayden Christensen can do is look confused). He keeps most of his concerns to himself, letting them simmer in his mind while Palpatine continues to manipulate him. Instead of corny, lovey dovey talk, we see Anakin distancing himself from his wife and she from him as the secrets they keep from one another multiply. All the while, even though it’s a short while, the viewer actually gets to see why Anakin, with all these great things going for him – Jedi hero, loving wife, baby on the way – eventually decides that he can only trust Palpatine. The trust theme becomes so much bigger, even the the time for build-up is smaller. This is truly masterful work.
I also have to put in a special comment about lightsaber battles. Red Letter Media brought up an overarching issue with the Prequels that I agree with wholeheartedly, i.e. the lightsaber battles essentially lack heart. They look and feel over-choreographed, where as Luke’s fights with Vader in the OT look more raw and emotional. I don’t know if Kerr felt the same way, but his edits to the two major lightsaber battles bring back the emotional aspect as best as can be for the prequels. Windu and Palpatine now have a lightsaber battle, not a wire fight/modern dance/gymnastics exhibition. It’s now quicker and more wicked. The other jedi masters, with the exception of smiley braintail guy (there’s naught one can really do about that guy – I’m really OK with just assuming he sucks at lightsaber battling), also appear more surprised by the attack, which has become an essential element in most Episode III edits.
Similarly, Obi Wan’s fight with Anakin is tighter and angrier. These guys are now in a fight, not a video game. They’re not concerned with how good their force push abilities are, just blocking the next strike. There are a few force jumps in there at appropriate points, but now it’s almost as if the first guy who tries to get fancy in the fight gets 3/4 of his limbs cut off. The edit to Obi Wan’s action after attaining the “high ground” (which thankfully he no longer deems it necessary to explain) is also interesting and effective. By removing dialogue, Kerr has still made it look like Obi Wan knows, or as least suspects, Anakin’s next move. The transition between Obi Wan’s (feigned?) move to walk away and his fast move to chop Anakin to pieces is a little rough, but totally forgivable. I also wish that Kerr would have fit Anakin screaming “I hate you!” in there somewhere, but again, that’s totally cool.
As a final nicety, Kerr has said, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” to leaving in any part of James Earl Jones’s “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” We get to see Vader’s birth, and the first trademark breath. That’s it. Simple. Effective. Beautiful. Those three words really sum up the whole of the edit.
I’m giving this a 9.5 out of 10, which rounds up to 10 anyway.
I think it's the issue of length for some people. Why, I don't know. If it makes the movie better, who cares if it's shorter, even by quite a bit? (did they miss all the ships landing and taking off?) People said the same thing with Jorge's edit of "Hulk" because it was only an hour long. That was the point; it was like a TV pilot. But still, people complained. :???:buddythegoon said:I know there have been some that didn't like it.
I'm glad you picked up on this one, since it's a cut that I personally really like, but that I think some people have a problem with. My intention with it was that Obi-Wan is willing to give Anakin one last chance to end the fight before one of them gets killed, but at the same time he knows that Anakin will most likely try to stab him in the back, and is ready to counter-attack.The edit to Obi Wan's action after attaining the "high ground" (which thankfully he no longer deems it necessary to explain) is also interesting and effective. By removing dialogue, Kerr has still made it look like Obi Wan knows, or as least suspects, Anakin's next move.
I think that particular line works well in the original, but doesn't really fit in this version. In the original, Anakin does hate Obi-Wan, which I think isn't the case in this edit, in which they're simply friends who end up on opposing sides in a conflict. In the immolation scene, I wanted to convey that Anakin, instead of hating Obi-Wan, hates himself - he knows he's f*cked up, and that he deserves what he's getting.I also wish that Kerr would have fit Anakin screaming "I hate you!" in there somewhere, but again, that's totally cool.