Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope - Redux

I do not normally do special edition Star Wars (the original trilogy, anyway) and typically prefer the Despecialized or 4k77 versions if I am going to watch them. This, however, struck my interest, and I have to say this is what the Special Edition SHOULD have been back in 97 or whenever it was that Lucas shat them out. The hallway scene at the beginning started the movie off at a higher energy level, and the new fight scene, while not perfect, is at least much more inline with the rest of the series now, no longer feeling like an embarrassing fossil in an otherwise flawless movie (and, lets be honest, the original fight was made to look bad just a couple of years later in Empire, let alone what the prequels did for saber combat). Its not purist, but its not supposed to be. Its a special edition, after all. Absolutely loved it, but was somewhat surprised that you didn't include the newer Death Star run that was done by some VFX guys on YouTube a few years back (although I don't know if that was ever released as just a full clip without the compassion shots). Regardless, very good, and definitely my go to when I want a special edition version.

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!

This is quite honestly the best way for newbies to get into Star Wars. It's far more appealing and Vader is so menacing here just like he's supposed to be. For recurring fans it's also very interesting.
The hallway scene and the SC 38 Reimagined just made it so much better in my opinion.
The editing is good too, mixes well seamlessly. Everything just falls in place.

There's one small thing I can't seem to shake off. I don't know how should I feel about cutting Vader's force push to Kenobi (SC 38 Footage). On one hand , the force push followed by the lightsaber tactics felt a little off so cutting that makes the whole movie slightly more consistent and it also preserves the integrity and tone of the movie. On the other hand, it looked cool and Vader was relying heavily on the force which he's supposed to do.

Anyway, it's still the best way to watch A New Hope for me. Best fanedit of ANH in my opinion. I'd suggest more people to watch this.

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.

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.