War of the Stars: A New Hope Grindhoused

I can't say anything new here about this masterpiece.
As this is a grindhouse version, I have to give high quality ratings, as the cheap style was perfectly achieved. Amazing that it is possible to re-cut and re-edit something like Star Wars in such a way that the result looks and feels like a cheap Italian rip-off made in the seventies!
So much fun, when a well-known story twists in ways you never see coming.

Okay, some audio mixing could be better, imho, but, hey ...

Many edits attempt to make a movie better. Reinstating deleted scenes, cutting stuff that didn't quite work, completely obliterating the existence of Jar Jar - good stuff. But this is something truly special. It actively tries to make a great movie worse - and does so in the best possible way. I was amazed as to how well A New Hope works as an exploitation flick. The use of an actual 16mm print of the movie works wonders for the visually aged aspect of the film. The other sources are also convincingly damaged. Visual quality in the presentation of that decay is perfect. The special effects are amusingly cheezy and in no way distract from the viewing experience. There is one brief instance where effects are visible on the letterboxing, which can be distracting - but I suspect that most won't notice. If I'm not mistaken, this has been cropped out and corrected in the AVI version, regardless. The new music is completely appropriate and blends in seamlessly. Hearing disco alongside John Williams is a unique experience, to say the least. But the real brilliance of this edit is how the characters were changed. Grindhouse is more than low budget. Grindhouse is sleaze. It's cheap monetarily - and - ethically. All the iconic characters are now worse people than they were in Lucas's vision. Darth Vader is completely insane (and even cooler thanks to a clever editing tactic). Luke is an idiotic weak-willed farm boy with no great destiny. Leia is a psychotic animal murderer. Obi-Wan is every bit the senile fool that he only pretended to be in the real movie. Artoo's a foul mouthed wise-cracking sidekick. And Han? Han shoots first. Every. Single. Time.

I can't recommend this edit enough. It's a masterpiece,.

This is an exceptional diversion that stands well alone and also enhances my love for the original trilogy. I've watched this and the sequel repeatedly and neither fails to entertain.

It certainly won't hurt your appreciation of the effort if you have a long history of watching B-movies, which I do.

Being relatively new to Fanedits it's difficult to put a finger on every facet that makes them so enjoyable but I do tend to pick up on alterations that actually improve from the source material. Impressively, despite (and sometimes due to) the intentional stylistic degradation, War of the Stars has many moments of genius that arguably outshine or improve on source material.

Fantastic stuff

September 18, 2011 @ 10:53 am

There's a good reason this is one of the best fanedits ever. If it looks like a quick hack job was done to your favorite movie, that's because you weren't paying attention.

Review from 29 March 2010

Wow. What an unusual idea, and what fantastic execution. Yes, I also felt that one or two things didn’t quite work for me – but in every movie there are one or two things that don’t quite gel. (Just FYI Vaders voice changes sometimes got to me and broke the fourth wall so to speak). But when I think of the whole package, the intention of the editor, the story-telling, the entertainment factor – TMBTM absolutely nailed it.
A lot of care and attention went into making this a fun ride for the viewer and fan of ANH – and it shows.
Standing ovation, sir. Well done.
(PS: I’m currently enjoying your Silent editions. Brilliant idea and execution. :) )
I believe this deserves a 10, not because it is flawless, but because it’s just a well-executed good ride, designed with great care.