Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi - The Spence Edit

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9.7 (26)
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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2022
Original Running Time:
261
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
145
Time Cut:
116
Time Added:
1
Subtitles Available?
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
The Kenobi show, trimmed down to a movie length. This series started life as a movie script, and the show just feels like a movie stretched to six hours. This keeps most of the main plot point, but makes it fit as an easily digestible Star Wars film.
Intention:
I liked the concept of bringing back Obi-Wan to see what he was up to between Episodes 3 and 4. However, like Falcon and the Winter Soldier, this was clearly originally conceptualized as a movie that was stretched to a 6-part series to provide content for Disney+. As a show, it's disappointing. It's inert and oddly paced, and lacks that swashbuckling adventure vibe that makes Star Wars Star Wars.

By trimming the story down to a more manageable 2 hours and 25 minutes (admittedly still a bit long for a Star Wars film, but cutting it further would've been to the detriment of the project) the story comes to life.
Other Sources:
4K83 (for the opening fanfare and Lucasfilm logos)
Star Wars soundtracks by John Williams
image
Special Thanks:
ArtisDead
Release Information:
Digital
Cuts and Additions:
The big stuff:

- The edit runs roughly 2 hours 25 minutes.
- Reva is still there, but the last we see of her is getting stabbed on Jabim. It’s implied that she’s dead, but left ambiguous enough that she could show up for further adventures. The whole Lars farmstead sequence is excised.
- I cut the training duel flashback, and many other instances of seeing Vader out of the suit. The only time I kept was when he and Kenobi are both in their bacta tanks. I think holding off on showing Anakin makes the broken helmet moment stronger. It also screams of “scene that was cool that we cut that we can now add back in because it’s a series”
- I removed the initial Order 66 flashback, keeping Reva’s motivations less obvious.

Smaller details:
- I didn't keep a detailed cutlist while working on this, but basically every scene has been edited in some way.
- I kept my eye on pacing and making this feel like an actual movie with a three act structure. There are huge chunks cut, but also more subtle changes that just trim a line or even a few seconds from a scene.
- A few, very selective scenes bring in some original Star Wars music. I didn’t want to go too heavy on this, but Leia’s theme, Imperial March, the Force theme, and Battle of the Heroes make appearances.
- Selectively added some Gradient wipes as scene transitions.
- Episode 2 probably gets the most cuts. The entire rooftop sequence is excised, and Reva never puts the bounty out on Kenobi. It can be implied through other dialogue that the Inquisitors put the city on lockdown and have people looking for them. Almost every scene in this section got a little trim.
- The first Vader duel got some trims for pacing, and to minimize the silliness of Kenobi running away a bunch of times.
- The rescue from the castle is also heavily trimmed, and Kenobi does not find the frozen bodies. I thought that was cool, but it doesn’t go anywhere with regard to the rest of the plot.
- Tala’s scene with Reva is also much shorter. She doesn’t try to play the double agent card.
- The battle on Jabim is much tighter. It doesn’t feel like the Stormtroopers miss a million easy shots anymore.
- Kenobi’s decision to leave the rebels and lure Vader happens a bit faster to keep the pace high.
- There are some trims to the big duel. But they were mainly to make the scene flow together well after cutting Reva stuff.
- I added the standard Star Wars end credits music.

User reviews

26 reviews
 
92%
 
8%
5-7 stars
 
0%
3-5 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.8(26)
Audio Editing
 
9.8(26)
Visual Editing
 
9.8(26)
Narrative
 
9.4(26)
Enjoyment
 
9.4(26)
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Great job! Significantly improves on the original show and turns it into what it just should've originally been. Watched it in the middle of a 12-day Star Wars marathon and it feels completely natural in that context. It will likely be a staple of Star Wars viewings going forward.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This is an incredibly easy edit to recommend. As others have noted, this edit really takes the best of the series and turns it into an "all killer, no filler" experience. The narrative is cohesive and coherent, not just in the broad sense of the story arc, but also at the level of a given movement, and even within scenes. This edit shows a really good sensibility for visual storytelling as well, often adopting what feels (to me) like a "just enough" approach to convey a sense of internal logic to the story without sacrificing meaningful cues and information about what is happening at any given moment.

Very nicely done!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
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10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Spence has done an amazing job with this edit! I wasn't totally sure how a six episode tv series could be cut down to movie length, but Spence pulled it off masterfully. The story is more focused on Obi-Wan, Leia and Vader, so a lot things not directly related to them is cut. There were a few things from the series that I missed seeing here, but with the slight refocusing of the story I get why they were cut. All in all, this version of the story is great and I highly recommend checking it out, whether you're a fan of the series or not.

The editing was perfect and I really liked the inclusion of the Fox fanfare and the original Lucasfilm logo! Once again Spence shows why they're one of the best faneditors!
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Absolutely incredible work! This edit makes the series into a movie worth of standing in my Star Wars movie collection. A little over 2 hours of pure Star Wars and enjoyment.
The story is coherent, and even if the bad acting of the Third Sister can't be completely removed, the character is given a pathetic arc that makes it more bearable.
The movie is now much more focused on the relationships between Obi-Wan and Leia, and between Obi-Wan and Vader, and follows a classic Star Wars structure.
Only downside, even in its full quality format (23GB), a lost of noise in dark scenes and posterization.

I can't recommend it enough. Don't bother watching the series, just watch this!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
B
1 reviews
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
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10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Excellent edit, superb quality. The one true way to watch Obi-Wan Kenobi - I now consider this version to be canon.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
W
1 reviews
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