Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope - Redux

A New Hope was never my favorite of the saga mostly due to it being overshadowed by its modern contemporaries, this may have been the movie to start the series but its also George Lucas and company figuring out the kinks and with limited budget. I hope I don't sound to negative through my writing cause I do love Star Wars and what Lucas and co were able to make is deserving of all the praise.
Lantern51 Star Wars Redux is a modernized take on New Hope updating it to be more palatable for todays audiences and just what I was looking for.
Going into it if you detest George's special edition with old cgi you won't like this edit, now not all was special Han still shoots first and no Jabba falcon scene thank goodness. its more of the extended speeder scenes and stormtroopers riding those giant lizards in the desert. The real changes here though are the scene 38 light saber fight and the Darth Vader rogue one fight. They both go in pretty smoothly with some clever editing, thanks for limiting Leias bad cgi face, and editing out some of the more gratuitous scenes from 38. Vader throwing his light saber was always a bit much, the real surprise for me was editing out the flashback voices so it keeps with the original intent and doesn't spoil the infamous scene from empire strikes back.
Now for some criticism much as I love the additions keep in mind there's over 40 years between the added scenes and the original movie so the quality is noticeable and might be jarring for some. I also wish you kept in Obi Wan forcing Vader back than picking up the light saber from 38 its a personal opinion but I think the scene flowed better with it in.
One last thing I had to watch my copy on bluray to notice the addition of more music at the final battle. It was welcomed and gave the battle more energy.
Great Quality and great editing this is a wonderful cut of A New Hope and one that comes highly recommended. Well Done

Really solid first-time effort by Lantern51, creating a modernized version of A New Hope which would be, I think, mostly recommended to those who want to watch the saga in episode order. Coming from the prequels, some viewers might feel disappointed by the original film's lack of lightsaber play and the one duel included being kind of stale. So the use of the Vader scene from Rogue One and the SC38 fanfilm does bridge both styles nicely. Those wishing to watch in release or Machete order, or skip the prequels, would probably be better served by either the reconstructed theatrical or Adywan's version, though, since the original opening is so iconic and SC38's camerawork is too different from the rest of the film.

Otherwise, the new scenes were very well integrated. I particularly liked the way the Rogue One Leia scene was cut short: the deepfake only really goes to Hell in the part of the shot that was removed, and the terribly on-the-nose "Hope" moment of fanservice is thankfully gone. The added grain is a very welcome addition that greatly helps the material blend in.

The only downside for me is that it includes quite a bit more Special Edition footage than I would have wished. Fortunately Han shoots first and we're spared the Jabba scene, but those 90s CGI shots are still a complete eyesore for me, not to mention that they feel way more dated than the timeless practical work from twenty years prior. Still, the editor has stated that if the HD version of the Adywan cut had been available he'd have used that as his source, so I won't be holding this against him. And this edit is the one thing remotely similar to the SE that I'd be willing to rewatch anyway.

Great audio and video quality, and just as great technical editing. The Force is definitely strong with this one!

I really enjoyed the addition of the Rogue One hallway scene, the SC 38 Vader vs Obi-Wan duel, and Obi-Wan's flashbacks to the prequels, which really made everything feel more interconnected.

The addition of more music in the third act really livened it up, as I always felt there wasn't enough music there in the original film. Some of the music felt out of place, however, especially the Battle of the Heroes section, which I always associated with Anakin vs Obi-Wan from ROTS.

The visual editing was fantastic, but obviously the sharper quality of the prequel, R1, and SC 38 footage was always going to contrast with the older ANH footage, which does feel a little jarring.

Overall, this is the version of ANH that I'll be going back to from now on, and I highly recommend it.

I will start by what I consider the only "negative" in the movie. My personal preference was to keep the spectacular Vader hallway scene with Rogue One. I love it, but I like it in that movie. I understand why people want it included , but it was not for me. However, the editor did an excellent job integrating the scene seamlessly into the movie.

I note that as according to another forum, it used Adywan's New Hope edit as a base. That is obviously a major bonus - particularly on the visual standpoint. For someone with poor eyesight. The visual changes really help me watch the movie much more smoothly.

I also really liked his slight variation to the SC 38 reimagined. I really wanted this in the movie, but with original dialogue restored. This edit accomplished that. Although it did remove the portion of the dual with Vader and Obi-Wan in the congested hallway, I understood why it was done. It was clearly out of place, but I still would have liked it.

I also agreed with the minor cuts the editor listed as I saw the movie as these extraneous shenanigans were unecessary such as the droids not being hit by fire and overly moronic stormtroopers.

Overall, this was well done. However, there are two nitpicks I do have. In the copy I have, after Vader strikes Obi-Wan and approaches the blast doors, his lightsaber color becomes clear, which by my understanding was how it was in the original theatrical version. I also would have liked a slight change in dialogue from Obi-Wan telling Luke that he ("I") wanted to give him the lightsaber. This would be more appropriate for continuity considering Vader is unaware he even has a child (I know that A New Hope was originally intended to be a standalone movie and Vader was not Anakin initially).

Overall, this is my personal favorite edit of this movie. Job well done by the editor.

Although in general I am a purist when it comes to the OT, if you've trying to do a chronological order viewing, the original lightsaber duel falls pathetically flat in comparison to the insanity of Episode III. This cut amends this with a nuanced blend of the excellent reimagined scene and the original's pacing. The choices were inspired regarding which points of the footage to cut and keep, and I think it works with a minimum of distraction. Very impressive.

A great alternative if you want someone over 10 years old to see the film and not laugh.