Heavy Star Wars: Episode IV

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Faneditor Name:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1977
Original Running Time:
121
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
100
Time Cut:
21
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
Star Wars with a rocking soundtrack! Heavy Star Wars takes the existing action and adventure, trimming away unnecessary story/action/bad acting, and replaces the soundtrack with Rock music!
Intention:
My intention was to make a Star Wars movie a bit more easier to watch, especially if you are not a fan. I started with Episode III on a whim, finished Episode I, then II, and now this is the first move into the original trilogy! John Williams' Music is forever tied to the Star Wars movies, but I decided to use music from a completely different genre to not only tell the story, but to add a bit of humor and perhaps some subtle insight as to the motives of the Jedi Knights. I tried to make this movie a bit more mature, by removing some silly scenes, and removed some moments of doubt among the Jedi to make them more assertive and confident. I also added a bit more contrast and a cooler color palette with brighter colors to give it a more comic book feel.
Additional Notes:
I am still getting good at balancing the audio and music. There was a wide dynamic range of audio levels, but I wanted to meet somewhere in the middle so it doesn't get too quiet and then too loud. Hope it works!
Other Sources:
Music in order of Appearance:

Heavy Metal - Sammy Hagar

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Brain Power - Freezepop

Shooting Star - Bad Company

Low Rider - War

Open Arms - Journey

Battle of the Planets - Tatsunoko Productions Company

Get Off - Foxy

Rock the Casbah - The Clash

Crossroads - Cream

Boogie Oogie Oogie - Taste of Honey

Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride) - Don Felder

Ace of Spades - Motorhead

White Wedding - Billy Idol

Black Betty - Ram Jam

When the Music's Over - The Doors

La Grange - ZZ Top

Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

You Spin Me Round - Dear or Alive

Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
Special Thanks:
Special Thanks to George Lucas for truly creating a world that is believable, MatrixGrindhouse for reviewing the film, and JJE-187 for putting together the look of the DVD cover!
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
The inspiration for my approach was the movie Heavy Metal, and also my background in editing music videos helped with creating a hopefully visually interesting narrative.
Cuts and Additions:
MTV music video editing was used in the action scenes, but in the moments where I had to cut down scenes for time and what not, whatever was left and I had to piece together, I edited the movie as close as possible to the pacing set by the original movie.
Cover art by mredthefed (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

Black Betty Preview

User reviews

5 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.2(5)
Audio Editing
 
9.6(5)
Visual Editing
 
9.6(5)
Narrative
 
9.0(5)
Enjoyment
 
10.0(5)
Overall rating
 
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Continuing my ventures through the Heavy Star Wars edits, I arrive at the one and only Episode IV. And I think this might be the best of the Heavy Star Wars edits I've seen so far. I still have to watch the other four edits (five when Heavy Episode IX is around), but this one gets it right on virtually every level for me.

I've constantly gone back and forth on my criticisms of the song choices over the last three edits, but with this one, I think Ed has hit the bullseye! The song selections aren't too soft like they were in Episode II, and they sound like they could've easily been in the 1981 movie, Heavy Metal, which is the goal these edits are aiming for. I also appreciate that most of the songs have a 1970s feel to them. It helps to make this edit of Episode IV stand out from the previous three edits, and the dated song selections fit the 1977 classic like a glove.

If you're looking for a most excellent introduction to the Heavy Star Wars edits, but you're not sure where to begin, I think this is a great place to start. Heavy Star Wars Episode IV gets my vote for the definitive entry in the Heavy saga of edits, and it's the one I'll be judging all other Heavy Star Wars edits from here on out! Ridiculously recommended!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
A very fun way to watch Star Wars. The soundtrack works with the movie. Thanks for the great work looking forward to watching the other titles in this series

User Review

Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: May 07, 2017)
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This edit may now be my preferred way to watch Star Wars. At first, I just thought the soundtrack would be switched out with rock music, but it is so much more than that. The on screen text had me laughing, the occasional zooms and things had me grinning, and the music video had my jaw on the floor. I've been forcing my friends and family to watch this (and its sequels) as much as possible. I highly recommend it!
Q
1 reviews
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
(Updated: March 27, 2017)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Kick-ass!

This was a joy to watch, completely new way of viewing the scenes, especially the action scenes which morph into montage music videos. Some sections worked spectacularly, such as the escape from Tatooine, everything around the Death Star, and the entire final battle. Most other sections were good too, but Comfortably Numb was disappointing because of the placement (way too early for such a dramatic song), and the R2D2 acid trip was weeiirddd.

One point off video quality for using lots of special edition shots, one point off visual editing for the occasionally excessive trippy effects, and two points off narrative because it was a bit choppy. I enjoyed many of the trims (and how they fit the music) but it would have been hard to understand for a first-time viewer.

Overall loved it! Can't watch to watch the rest of the series!!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
T
2 reviews
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
What more can I say? This is Party Star Wars. A nimble, fun version of Star Wars with a great soundtrack. I will never be able to look at R2-D2 playing his message the same way ever again. I'm strongly considering playing this at our Star Wars Party which we'll be having before Rogue One is released in a few months. Hope you do episode V and VI the same way.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
S
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0