Review Detail

9.1 65 10
FanMix May 04, 2013 13660
(Updated: May 06, 2013)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
BOLD.

That was the first word that came to mind after watching this Tarantino-style fan edit of The Empire Strikes Back.

Bold to edit the one Star Wars movie in the entire series most fans agree is close to perfect.

Even more BOLD to then restructure it Pulp Fiction style, replacing the entire soundtrack with music from/or inspired by Quintin Tarantino movies.

Does it work?

More Yes than No.

The non-linear structure works surprisingly well. It is impressive.

NJVC attempts to manipulate the film Tarantino style works for the most part, though for me, I think there was a bit too many slo-mo shots and cross fades.

I loved the Hero montages. Darth Vader's intro was FANTASTIC. The new Death Proof engine sound for the Falcon made me smile endlessly. The Battle of Hoth was Brilliant. The Carbonite scene was very powerful. And the final chapter, Battle Royal is a MASTERPIECE!!! I was riveted throughout Chapter Six. A wonderful piece of editing! BRAVO!

I found the voice replacement of Yoda both good and bad. It was a cool idea, though it was distracting that the editor decided to keep some of Frank Oz's voice like the "hhmphs". Also, there is a very noticeable background buzz whenever the voice replacement is used.

Which brings us the main contention of the edit, the new soundtrack. I enjoyed the majority of the selections and they complimented and enhanced many of the scenes. You could definitely feel the Tarantino vibe! There were times where I thought the new music could have been louder; for example the astroid scene and the scoundrel kiss scene.

But the main issue I had was in many of the scenes you can still faintly hear bits and pieces of the original John Williams soundtrack, particularly underneath many dialogue heavy scenes. NJVC has done an incredible job cutting/removing most of the original soundtrack, I hate to even imagine the number of hours and headaches he went through to get the edit to this point -- I do not envy him. But the fact remains the ghost of John Williams haunts the audio of this edit, and on occasion when it appears it would break my suspension of disbelief.

The video quality is excellent. The skills of the editor are masterful. If Tarantino's had directed The Empire Strikes Back, I can easily imagine it looking something very much what NJVC has accomplished. It is only the frustration of the some the original music overspill which prevents me from giving perfect 10s across the board. But I still highly recommend this edit. If you are jonesing for some exciting Star Wars, forget all those Prequel edits, and check this baby out!

Thumbs Up!

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