Star Wars: The Darklighter Cut

I admit that I came into this edit with a bias. I believe that the definitive way to experience the original 1977 classic is through Harmy's Despecialized Editions (unless some studio exec finally decides to release the original cuts). Or, if you want that dirty film look, Puggo Grande's 16mm preservations. I'm not a fan of the special editions at all, and I think the original was perfect as is. I'll even go so far as to commit blasphemy and say that Adywan's Revisited saga was still no match for the theatrical version. So I went into this edit with some low expectations. Now that I've seen it, I have to admit that while my heart still belongs to the theatrical, this is the closest an extended version of Episode IV has gotten to changing my mind. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say I might give this one a rewatch!

For those who are too bored to read the description, this is basically the theatrical cut, but with the entire Biggs subplot added back in. And no, I'm not talking about that extra scene in the special edition where Luke reunites with his buddy (although that scene is in here). There are several extra scenes that have been added to the beginning of the film, all involving Luke's friendship with Biggs. The first 15-20 minutes of this edit will give you most of what's new here, but with that said, these extra additions are really good! We learn more about Luke's application to the academy, why his friends are gone, and what role the Empire plays in all of this. All of which expands on Luke's character and gives us a greater understanding of his situation. And yes, the extra insights into Luke's friendship with Biggs give the ending more impact as well.

If I have to be a perfectionistic jerk and point out anything nitpicky about the new additions, I will say that a lot of the new footage is dated. That is to say, it's very much in the 1970s. The theatrical cut of A New Hope has a timeless feel to it that is hard for any film to duplicate. The only way you could really tell it was made in 1977 was mostly the hairstyles. But these extra scenes are pure '70s all the way, baby! Biggs even talks in '70s lingo! So if you want that timeless feel preserved (or you don't like '70's pop culture that much), this one ain't for you. Of course, none of this is the fault of the faneditor. That's just how the subplot was written and shot.

Otherwise, this is a great extension to an already great film. If you always felt like the film needed more insight into Luke Skywalker's character, definitely give this one a watch!

Maybe Bobson's masterwork (so far), this is a great package here, my go-to version of Star Wars in a heartbeat. The Biggs scenes add excellent emotional weight to Luke's character and the overall nature of the Empire vs Rebellion struggle thanks to Biggs' exposition. And you get to find out, crucially, that Luke's nickname is "Wormy" which is both a Dune reference *and* a hilarious bit of business that I wish had re-surfaced whenever Luke shows up on Tatooine again. ("Hey everybody, I'm back and I'm a badass Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force." "lol k wormy")

The little additions like the framing of Luke's viewfinder and dropping Lopti Nek into the power station scene are what really sell the sequences, and they're excellently finished by Bobson here. Does the sequence hurt the pacing of the opening act? Maybe a little, but we've all seen this movie enough times now that it doesn't matter, I'll trade a little momentum for a better understanding of the hero's place in the world. The bonus features are delightfully exhaustive, including a documentary, alternate cuts of a sequence, B-roll footage, script excerpts, and more.

This is my favourite version of Star Wars and one of my favourite fan edits thanks to a simple but hugely consequential fix -- it's Biggs time, baby.

I was hit with a huge wave of nostalgia upon seeing that old Twentieth Century Fox logo and seeing that non special edition footage, really felt like I was reliving some great memories of my childhood though as to the inclusion of the deleted scenes they really help to make Luke’s and Biggs friendship more meaningful and when it comes time for Bigg’s character to be killed of it now hits much harder than it did originally as I can now sympathise with Luke on the joy of being reunited with a close friend again only to experience the pain of having lost that friend again and knowing that this time they won't come back.

Luke also has a little more depth and growth thanks to these scenes accompanying the rest of the movie though I do wish you could have found a way to remove all the visual lines and black crackles that plagued the footage of the deleted scenes though I am aware that there’s only so much editing software can do well at least until better editing software comes out.

It was so big everyone said, May the force be with you. One of the greatest Sf-Fi of all time. I enjoy the scenes added in the movie. You did a good job putting it together. To bad Biggs was cut most of the movie originally, it was nice to know Biggs a little more in this movie. The pace of the movie was not really slow with the deleted scenes, like George Lucas said back then. The audio of the movie was good too. Its good, check it out, if any you guy's did not see it.

If you're new to Star Wars ®, don't watch it first. If you're a geek, definitely recommend!
Bobson did a good job with visual editing. One small con is audio editing. Extended scenes are a little to loud and some of the audio comes from the radio, but he did a nice job with hiding it.