Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith [Special Edition]
Updated
User reviews
13 reviews with 9-10 stars
21 reviews
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
9.0(4)
Audio Editing
8.5(4)
Visual Editing
8.6(5)
Narrative
9.0(4)
Enjoyment
8.8(21)
(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Enjoyment
9.0
Review by The_Moseph — August 30, 2010 @ 7:13 am
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
T
(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Overall rating
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Review by amatar — August 29, 2010 @ 11:21 pm
Well, I just finished watching this movie, so I will write myself a li’l review for you.
I am basing this review on the DL DVD version.
I am a huge fan of JasonN’s version of this movie, but I thought I’d DL this just to see if the movie could be improved even more (Episode III is, as everyone seems to think, the best of the PT).
TECHNICAL
WONDERFUL quality! The picture was as crisp as any DVD I’ve seen (I watched it on a 19″ CRT, which I believe have far superior pictures to LCDs). The sound was great (admittedly on my 2.0 PC speakers) with nary a strange cut to be found. Incredibly smooth with and balanced, with no effects or dialogue getting drowning out or intruding on each other at any point.
I noticed but one semi-hard cut in the movie when Obi and Anakin were going to meet with the Chancellor after they “landed” the crippled cruiser, and there was one transition effect I wasn’t terribly fond of (what would make me laugh is if it were an original Lucas transition and I just THOUGHT it was Stankpac’s lol), but these are minor niggles and in no way took me out of the movie.
Overall, the Picture Quality and the sound quality were top notch! – 10/10 Great job!!!
EDITING
Amazing choices overall :) I will go into the detail of the ones that really stood out to me at the time…I wish I had a pen to write them down, because I can’t remember them all lol
THE GOOD
– The buzz droids are gone!!
– The entire first battle was greatly reduced in time…this made it feel MUCH more like Episode IV. Episode IV was a very hurried movie at it”s start.
– Anakin just lops off Dooku’s head without any prompting…I kind of liked a bit of the prompting, but it makes no real difference to the movie and
doesn’t detract from the movie at all (kind of makes Anakin seem like a bastard too lol)
– No dumb-assed R2 slapstick (which I hated with a burning passion)…very smoothly taken out.
– Adding in Droidekas coming in through the door instead of R2 flying through.
– The Boga scenes were trimmed. I really did not mind at all that there were some of his calls in there. It made it seem like a real creature to me.
– No “duh” moment when Obi separates Grevious’s chest armour!
– Adding in the “Birth of the Rebellion” scene really adds to the movie.
– No balcony scene!
– Windu’s fight with Sidious is improved in EVERY way…and the jedi masters don’t go out like a bunch of pussies lol
– The fight between Yoda and Sidious is gone. I didn’t miss it one bit.
– There is no hesitation with Anakin lopping off Windu’s hand.
– No “What have I done?” from Anakin (I liked his lack of remorse. Much more convincing)
– No Wookie battle or cheezy Tarzan scream…all the cuts involving Kashyyk here were for the better.
– Anakin does not turn to the camera with the stupid tear in his eye.
– I absolutely LOVED when Obi looks at the dead Younglings, says “Who could have done this?” and then the movie cuts immediately to Anakin
killing the Separatist leaders…well done!!!
– The lightsaber battle was great!! It is pretty much the same as JasonN’s, which I loved (and I’m glad for the loss of the lightsaber twirling and force
push things…these were stupid, unrealistic – even for Star Wars – and meant as nothing but very lousy-tasting eye candy).
– No Emperor on Mustafar scene. This scene was comprised of entirely weak camera angles and I never liked it.
– Amildala dies as a result of Anakin choking her. No more is heard after she is choked.
* Did you lower the emphasis of Anakin’s voice when he says “MY empire”???? It didn’t seem as annoying as it did before somehow.
– No horrible “Birth of Vader” Scene (I hate it for reasons I previously posted)
– No Vader and Emperor watching the Death Star under construction. I liked the scene in the first place, but it is not missed AT ALL.
– The ending is crisp and concise. Great choices.
– There are more, but I have a family I have to pay attention to and I don’t have the days it would require to write them all down lol
THE “MEH”
– I liked the Grevious/Anakin banter…cheezy, yes, but I like it lol and now it’s gone — Personal Opinion –
– Took out “Another happy landing.” I liked that too –Personal Opinion –
– Obi’s battle with Grevious was oddly silent.
– I would have ended Vader’s Birth at “Yes, my Master.” — Personal Opinion –
– Nothing else that I can remember.
As you can see, the good far, far outweighs the bad in this edit. I really wish Ian MacDermot’s acting would have been better after his battle with Windu, and that Obi actually HAD watched the Younglings get killed on the security vid (which he says he did, but was never shown for some weird reason…Lucas dropped the ball on that one)
Overall editing – 9.5/10 (just due to my personal choices)
I have now watched JasonN’s and Stankpac’s versions of the film, and, overall I think Stankpac’s version is a tiny bit better. I watched the Phantom Editor’s version of Episode II and the movie was completely ruined before it started (because of the opening crawl) and I was forced to delete it from my hard drive. I will keep yous and JasonN’s versions of this movie just for different viewing experiences in the future because they are both great edits.
Your edits to the STORY were perfect! I actually felt bad for Anakin by the end of it, which is a far cry to wishing he had fallen off the edge of a building at the BEGINNING of the movie lol. I hope you come out of your Prequel Trilogy burnout soon, because would kill to see your edits of Episode s I and II!!!
Overall, I give your edit a hugely enthusiastic 10/10. I have my minor niggles, but they are inconsequential in the overall picture. Keep up the wonderful work!!!
Well, I just finished watching this movie, so I will write myself a li’l review for you.
I am basing this review on the DL DVD version.
I am a huge fan of JasonN’s version of this movie, but I thought I’d DL this just to see if the movie could be improved even more (Episode III is, as everyone seems to think, the best of the PT).
TECHNICAL
WONDERFUL quality! The picture was as crisp as any DVD I’ve seen (I watched it on a 19″ CRT, which I believe have far superior pictures to LCDs). The sound was great (admittedly on my 2.0 PC speakers) with nary a strange cut to be found. Incredibly smooth with and balanced, with no effects or dialogue getting drowning out or intruding on each other at any point.
I noticed but one semi-hard cut in the movie when Obi and Anakin were going to meet with the Chancellor after they “landed” the crippled cruiser, and there was one transition effect I wasn’t terribly fond of (what would make me laugh is if it were an original Lucas transition and I just THOUGHT it was Stankpac’s lol), but these are minor niggles and in no way took me out of the movie.
Overall, the Picture Quality and the sound quality were top notch! – 10/10 Great job!!!
EDITING
Amazing choices overall :) I will go into the detail of the ones that really stood out to me at the time…I wish I had a pen to write them down, because I can’t remember them all lol
THE GOOD
– The buzz droids are gone!!
– The entire first battle was greatly reduced in time…this made it feel MUCH more like Episode IV. Episode IV was a very hurried movie at it”s start.
– Anakin just lops off Dooku’s head without any prompting…I kind of liked a bit of the prompting, but it makes no real difference to the movie and
doesn’t detract from the movie at all (kind of makes Anakin seem like a bastard too lol)
– No dumb-assed R2 slapstick (which I hated with a burning passion)…very smoothly taken out.
– Adding in Droidekas coming in through the door instead of R2 flying through.
– The Boga scenes were trimmed. I really did not mind at all that there were some of his calls in there. It made it seem like a real creature to me.
– No “duh” moment when Obi separates Grevious’s chest armour!
– Adding in the “Birth of the Rebellion” scene really adds to the movie.
– No balcony scene!
– Windu’s fight with Sidious is improved in EVERY way…and the jedi masters don’t go out like a bunch of pussies lol
– The fight between Yoda and Sidious is gone. I didn’t miss it one bit.
– There is no hesitation with Anakin lopping off Windu’s hand.
– No “What have I done?” from Anakin (I liked his lack of remorse. Much more convincing)
– No Wookie battle or cheezy Tarzan scream…all the cuts involving Kashyyk here were for the better.
– Anakin does not turn to the camera with the stupid tear in his eye.
– I absolutely LOVED when Obi looks at the dead Younglings, says “Who could have done this?” and then the movie cuts immediately to Anakin
killing the Separatist leaders…well done!!!
– The lightsaber battle was great!! It is pretty much the same as JasonN’s, which I loved (and I’m glad for the loss of the lightsaber twirling and force
push things…these were stupid, unrealistic – even for Star Wars – and meant as nothing but very lousy-tasting eye candy).
– No Emperor on Mustafar scene. This scene was comprised of entirely weak camera angles and I never liked it.
– Amildala dies as a result of Anakin choking her. No more is heard after she is choked.
* Did you lower the emphasis of Anakin’s voice when he says “MY empire”???? It didn’t seem as annoying as it did before somehow.
– No horrible “Birth of Vader” Scene (I hate it for reasons I previously posted)
– No Vader and Emperor watching the Death Star under construction. I liked the scene in the first place, but it is not missed AT ALL.
– The ending is crisp and concise. Great choices.
– There are more, but I have a family I have to pay attention to and I don’t have the days it would require to write them all down lol
THE “MEH”
– I liked the Grevious/Anakin banter…cheezy, yes, but I like it lol and now it’s gone — Personal Opinion –
– Took out “Another happy landing.” I liked that too –Personal Opinion –
– Obi’s battle with Grevious was oddly silent.
– I would have ended Vader’s Birth at “Yes, my Master.” — Personal Opinion –
– Nothing else that I can remember.
As you can see, the good far, far outweighs the bad in this edit. I really wish Ian MacDermot’s acting would have been better after his battle with Windu, and that Obi actually HAD watched the Younglings get killed on the security vid (which he says he did, but was never shown for some weird reason…Lucas dropped the ball on that one)
Overall editing – 9.5/10 (just due to my personal choices)
I have now watched JasonN’s and Stankpac’s versions of the film, and, overall I think Stankpac’s version is a tiny bit better. I watched the Phantom Editor’s version of Episode II and the movie was completely ruined before it started (because of the opening crawl) and I was forced to delete it from my hard drive. I will keep yous and JasonN’s versions of this movie just for different viewing experiences in the future because they are both great edits.
Your edits to the STORY were perfect! I actually felt bad for Anakin by the end of it, which is a far cry to wishing he had fallen off the edge of a building at the BEGINNING of the movie lol. I hope you come out of your Prequel Trilogy burnout soon, because would kill to see your edits of Episode s I and II!!!
Overall, I give your edit a hugely enthusiastic 10/10. I have my minor niggles, but they are inconsequential in the overall picture. Keep up the wonderful work!!!
A
(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Enjoyment
10.0
Review by geminigod — June 26, 2010 @ 7:09 pm
flyboy707 hit it on the head pretty well. I too have watched all or the vast majority of the ROTS edits on this site, to the point where it began to get exhausting. I kept waiting for somebody to get this movie right so I could complete my Star Wars collection. Editors like Spence and JasonN would get certain aspects right but drop the ball in other scenes.
This edit, I believe is as close to perfect as this movie can get. It is a solid, clean edit with no technical problems to speak of (I have watched it twice and watched carefully). The audio and video quality is as good as it gets. But more importantly it takes Lucas’s vision and executes the truest representation of what I believe to be the intended goals of the movie with the footage available to work with.
There are many noteworthy scenes that are much improved from other edits I have seen. The ending is the most fundamental and striking improvement, but there are many more subtle alterations that are brilliant. The Mace-Palpatine fight improved, the Obi-Grevious fight improved, the Anakin-Dooku fight improved. More important though perhaps than any of these major changes is the subtle change in my perception of the characters and story. For the first time ever watching this movie I found myself caring and believing what I was seeing. For the first time ever I was actually able to suspend my disbelief just enough to possibly believe that the Jedi could be perceived as the traitors and that Anakin could turn to the dark side. This change in my perception was unexpected and wonderful.
As it goes in Hollywood, so it goes with Fanedits. There are many people who have mastered the technical aspects of making cinema but so very few who have mastered the art of good storytelling.
Excellent work Stankpac, and thankyou for giving me a version that I can happily put in between the Phantom Edits and Adywan’s Revisited.
flyboy707 hit it on the head pretty well. I too have watched all or the vast majority of the ROTS edits on this site, to the point where it began to get exhausting. I kept waiting for somebody to get this movie right so I could complete my Star Wars collection. Editors like Spence and JasonN would get certain aspects right but drop the ball in other scenes.
This edit, I believe is as close to perfect as this movie can get. It is a solid, clean edit with no technical problems to speak of (I have watched it twice and watched carefully). The audio and video quality is as good as it gets. But more importantly it takes Lucas’s vision and executes the truest representation of what I believe to be the intended goals of the movie with the footage available to work with.
There are many noteworthy scenes that are much improved from other edits I have seen. The ending is the most fundamental and striking improvement, but there are many more subtle alterations that are brilliant. The Mace-Palpatine fight improved, the Obi-Grevious fight improved, the Anakin-Dooku fight improved. More important though perhaps than any of these major changes is the subtle change in my perception of the characters and story. For the first time ever watching this movie I found myself caring and believing what I was seeing. For the first time ever I was actually able to suspend my disbelief just enough to possibly believe that the Jedi could be perceived as the traitors and that Anakin could turn to the dark side. This change in my perception was unexpected and wonderful.
As it goes in Hollywood, so it goes with Fanedits. There are many people who have mastered the technical aspects of making cinema but so very few who have mastered the art of good storytelling.
Excellent work Stankpac, and thankyou for giving me a version that I can happily put in between the Phantom Edits and Adywan’s Revisited.
G
(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Enjoyment
9.0
Review by pizzaguylol — August 14, 2010 @ 6:59 pm
I liked the fact that getting to the ship was trimmed. No more buzz droid silliness. Just a good straight up entrance to Greivous’s command ship. I liked how they got to the observation deck quicker and that the fight with Dooku was more abrupt. I didn’t like how the line about wanting revenge was cut because it makes for an awkward cut “It is only natural” jump cut “Now we must leave… etc.”. A minor gripe, but I am glad the sand people mention was gone, for sure. Really liked how you spliced in the Episode I footage of the destroyer droids coming out. It was pretty seamless and removed R2′s slapstick.
Shortening their conversation seemed a bit unnecessary but I didn’t mind it that much. The other cuts (Jedi conversation and whatnot) are all good. Redundant crap we already know or stuff we don’t need to know.
Loved the Seeds of the Rebellion scene being added. No idea why they cut this scene, it connects to Episode IV very well. Mon Mothma having a bigger part is great. Also liked the other scenes you added in this area. It amazes me they weren’t used but others were. Also removing midi-chlorians… thank you! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! If a fanedit has midi-chlorians in them I just can’t keep it. Thank you very much for removing that godawful pseudo-science crap. Keep the force mysterious!
I liked the cuts on Utapau, although it felt weird to have Obi-wan go so long without saying anything during the Greivous fight. Not saying I don’t like it, but it was odd how he didn’t speak during that entire exchange.
Definitely liked tightening up the whole arrest scene. Always thought that seemed overly long and I HATED Palpatine’s overacting and all of the “no’s” he spouted out when he was about to zap Mace. Very impressive editing of the whole fight scene too, I might add. I liked how Palpatine just immediately killed those two Jedi and made short work of Plo Koon much more quickly. He IS the Dark Lord of the SIth, after all! The whole scene is just much quicker, tighter, and flows better. Anakin’s turn is much quicker and more believable. I do, however, wish you could have cut the “UNLIMITED… POWER!!!!” line from Palpatine. Always hated that. Doesn’t take too much away from the scene, though. Wish there was a way to get rid of some of the bad acting on Christensen’s part but hey you can only do so much. ;)
Cutting the younglings scene… Kind of iffy on this one. I always thought it really cemented just how twisted and evil Anakin had really become. I can live without it, though.
Removing the “Welcome, Lord Vader” line caused a bad jump cut… I know the line isn’t the best but the cut is really obvious. Having said that, was there any way to remove the “The war is over! Lord Sidious promised us peace–” line before Vader ices that guy? Just annoyed me how he didn’t just kill him immediately like the other guys.
Getting rid of Yoda’s saber usage is good. Removing the fight with Palpatine is very good. It was a cool visual but it really made no sense and added nothing of substance to the story.
The Mustafar Duel is now much quicker and better paced. I really liked what you did here. It flows very well. I especially liked how there was no “From my point of view the JEDI are evil!” and “I have the high ground!”. It jumps right from the fight into Anakin’s defeat and incineration. Nicely done.
Cutting the “she has lost the will to live” thing made me happy. Always thought that was a dumb cop out. I would have left in more of the Birth of Darth Vader scene. I really enjoyed that scene as it was the final death of Anakin and the true birth of Darth Vader as he breathes his first breath. That’s one thing I’d really like to see back but it doesn’t hurt my enjoyment at all. Very glad the “NOOOOOO” is gone.
Overall this is my favorite edit of Episode III, and while it isn’t perfect in terms of certain jump cuts sticking out and a few other things, its going to be my definitive Episode III for now. Very well done!
9/10
I liked the fact that getting to the ship was trimmed. No more buzz droid silliness. Just a good straight up entrance to Greivous’s command ship. I liked how they got to the observation deck quicker and that the fight with Dooku was more abrupt. I didn’t like how the line about wanting revenge was cut because it makes for an awkward cut “It is only natural” jump cut “Now we must leave… etc.”. A minor gripe, but I am glad the sand people mention was gone, for sure. Really liked how you spliced in the Episode I footage of the destroyer droids coming out. It was pretty seamless and removed R2′s slapstick.
Shortening their conversation seemed a bit unnecessary but I didn’t mind it that much. The other cuts (Jedi conversation and whatnot) are all good. Redundant crap we already know or stuff we don’t need to know.
Loved the Seeds of the Rebellion scene being added. No idea why they cut this scene, it connects to Episode IV very well. Mon Mothma having a bigger part is great. Also liked the other scenes you added in this area. It amazes me they weren’t used but others were. Also removing midi-chlorians… thank you! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! If a fanedit has midi-chlorians in them I just can’t keep it. Thank you very much for removing that godawful pseudo-science crap. Keep the force mysterious!
I liked the cuts on Utapau, although it felt weird to have Obi-wan go so long without saying anything during the Greivous fight. Not saying I don’t like it, but it was odd how he didn’t speak during that entire exchange.
Definitely liked tightening up the whole arrest scene. Always thought that seemed overly long and I HATED Palpatine’s overacting and all of the “no’s” he spouted out when he was about to zap Mace. Very impressive editing of the whole fight scene too, I might add. I liked how Palpatine just immediately killed those two Jedi and made short work of Plo Koon much more quickly. He IS the Dark Lord of the SIth, after all! The whole scene is just much quicker, tighter, and flows better. Anakin’s turn is much quicker and more believable. I do, however, wish you could have cut the “UNLIMITED… POWER!!!!” line from Palpatine. Always hated that. Doesn’t take too much away from the scene, though. Wish there was a way to get rid of some of the bad acting on Christensen’s part but hey you can only do so much. ;)
Cutting the younglings scene… Kind of iffy on this one. I always thought it really cemented just how twisted and evil Anakin had really become. I can live without it, though.
Removing the “Welcome, Lord Vader” line caused a bad jump cut… I know the line isn’t the best but the cut is really obvious. Having said that, was there any way to remove the “The war is over! Lord Sidious promised us peace–” line before Vader ices that guy? Just annoyed me how he didn’t just kill him immediately like the other guys.
Getting rid of Yoda’s saber usage is good. Removing the fight with Palpatine is very good. It was a cool visual but it really made no sense and added nothing of substance to the story.
The Mustafar Duel is now much quicker and better paced. I really liked what you did here. It flows very well. I especially liked how there was no “From my point of view the JEDI are evil!” and “I have the high ground!”. It jumps right from the fight into Anakin’s defeat and incineration. Nicely done.
Cutting the “she has lost the will to live” thing made me happy. Always thought that was a dumb cop out. I would have left in more of the Birth of Darth Vader scene. I really enjoyed that scene as it was the final death of Anakin and the true birth of Darth Vader as he breathes his first breath. That’s one thing I’d really like to see back but it doesn’t hurt my enjoyment at all. Very glad the “NOOOOOO” is gone.
Overall this is my favorite edit of Episode III, and while it isn’t perfect in terms of certain jump cuts sticking out and a few other things, its going to be my definitive Episode III for now. Very well done!
9/10
P
(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Enjoyment
10.0
Review by zeroxdash - August 11, 2010 @ 9:20 pm
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
Z