Review Detail

The faneditor's fanedit, this is one that the pros will really appreciate. Sadly, even though I tend to call myself a Star Wars nerd, I noticed probably less than a dozen of the 208 edits made to this film. As near as I can tell, they mostly relate to continuity and visual effects, issues which I'd never really noticed before because I tend to get swept up in the story and not be examining the frames of film.

Even for a rube like me, this is clearly a much better looking and sounding edit than any official release. Everything is crisp and clear and the engines and lighting effects in particular all jump out in a vibrant way. Of the other more obvious changes, there are a few completely new images added, of a swamp creature in Dagobah and of AT-STs in Hoth. A few frames of the improved Special Edition wampa are left out as well. I didn't really need any of these changes, although they do make the scenes feel arguably more intense and ominous. If I'm honest, I think I'd prefer Hoth without "scout" transports. They know the rebels are there, and it's a broad, open field. I suppose if the Empire wanted an all-out assault and had some of them available, why not throw them in the mix? But it just seems to raise unnecessary questions to a scene that had nothing wrong with it.

Overall though, this is a great compromise between the advances of the Special Edition release and the things you love from the Original release. There's no good reason not to have this be your default way to watch ESB, as I think it will be mine.