Star Wars Building Empire

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9.6 (26)
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Star Wars Building Empire
Faneditor Name:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1980
Original Running Time:
127
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
131
Brief Synopsis:
This is a ‘commentary documentary’, combining all of the know behind the scenes footage with audio commentary and text facts.
Intention:
This is a ‘commentary documentary’, combining all of the know behind the scenes footage with audio commentary and text facts.
Release Information:
  • DVD
  • DVD
Special Features
Restored Music Sequences, Alternate Opening Crawl, Trailer, Easter Egg
Editing Details:
RELEASE DETAILS:

DVD Details:
Duration: 2hrs 11m (main doco)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Format: MPEG2 Video, 720 x 576 Anamorphic, PAL UK, 25fps,
DVD: Single Layer 4.7GB
Data Rate: 3509.02 kbits/sec

There also is a similar NTSC version
also correcting the PAL speedup.

Extras: Restored Music Sequences, Alternate Opening Crawl, Trailer, Easter Egg

A List of some of the resources used:
- Empire of Dreams
- Featurettes on 2004 DVD
- SPFX
- Clapperboard: ESB
- Laser Disc Supplementals
- Deleted Magic
- When Star Wars Ruled the World
- AOTC Webdocs (thanks to babyhum for the heads up)
- 20/20 John Williams (thanks ocpmovie!)
- THX Soundtrack
- Story of Album
- ESB Radio Interviews 1980
- Behind the Masks
- The Stars of Star Wars
- Moth3r ESB (PAL)
- Skywalker, BBC Radio 1 programme 1996
- 1979/80 Interviews with cast
- Super 8mm 2 reel Version
Cover art by Boba Feta (DOWNLOAD HERE)
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Cover art by Unknown Artists (DOWNLOAD HERE)
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Cover art by Kurtos (DOWNLOAD HERE)
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Cover art by Besky (DOWNLOAD HERE)
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Cover art by AvP (DOWNLOAD HERE)
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Star Wars - Building Empire

User reviews

26 reviews
 
96%
 
4%
5-7 stars
 
0%
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.2(9)
Audio Editing
 
9.6(9)
Visual Editing
 
9.8(9)
Narrative
 
9.8(9)
Enjoyment
 
9.9(26)
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Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Once again a tour de force on building a fan made doco.

As with the Star Wars Ep IV version, it can get intense, and the styles can throw one, but this is nevertheless a tour de force to be sure.

Having watched these two for a second time, I finally feel I can dive into Jedi.

Excellent work to be sure.
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Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Back in 2006, "Jambe Davdar" (he's listed on IMDB but I'm not sure if it's appropriate to state here) put together this sort of documentary on one of his favorite childhood films, one of the best films of all time, The Empire Strikes Back. I wrote up a full review of how this departs from a traditional doc here: https://letterboxd.com/nottheacademy/film/building-empire-a-filmumentary/
But basically the way this works is that you're watching the old ESB, and then the audio will change to a relevant piece of someone having a pithy interview comment, or the video will switch to behind-the-scenes footage of that sequence. The narrative plays as normal, except a bit longer due to those departures.

The quality of these extra sources varies a lot, and some effort seems to have been made to make them not TOO distracting. Overall, if you're a Star Wars fan, this is a great way to rewatch. You'll probably learn something, as the editor has pulled from really a lot of great sources. And if you're only a casual fan, watching this way as a documentary will be more fun than most docs, and will probably make you appreciate the film more.

User Review

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Yes
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Digital
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
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10.0
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10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
*Copied from my Star Wars Begins review* In the same vein as Roger Ebert's commentary for Citizen Kane, this is essential viewing for any and all cinephiles, regardless of your view on the film itself. If there was anyone competent on the Star Wars side of Disney, this would be on all official releases of the film.

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Yes
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Digital
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
While not quite the mythical and surreal act of filmmaking serendipity that the original Star Wars was, the story of Empire Strikes Back is just as compelling, due to the unlikelihood of the movie actually turning out to be good. Lots of fascinating BTS footage and facts while you still get to enjoy one of the great popcorn flicks of all time. Essential viewing for any and all Star Wars obsessives.

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Yes
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Digital
R
Top 10 Reviewer 156 reviews
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I first watched this when it came out and was blown away by the amount of effort that went into producing it. Definitely one of the best Star Wars documentaries out there.

User Review

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Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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