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43 Review »

1. 

   I have had the privilege of watching a couple of versions of this and I had a lot of fun doing so each time. I think with this edit, it’s definitely a case of going far enough without going too far. The point is to make a massively different version of the movie, and he has succeeded on all fronts. New music, new effects, changes in character traits, etc… The blending of various video sources was successful, too, and not jarring at all. It really reminds me of one of those old Turkish or Italian rip-off films, and that’s a big part of the fun! It is not for everyone, but I do think everyone should give it a chance and see what they think. They may just dig it as much as me!

   As usual, TMBTM has created a product of very high quality and continues to show that he is one of the top faneditors in all the land! I’m going to give it a 9/10 overall, as it is not perfect (I rarely give 10/10 to anything), but a great achievement in so many areas. Highly recommended for anyone who isn’t against change.

   Review by Ripplin — January 7, 2010 @ 7:07 pm

2. 

   Wow! Just wow! This is destined to become a seminal fanedit. Many will hate it, others, like yours truly, will love it for what it is, or tries to be. Above all, it is a breath of fresh air, amidst all the “conservative” FEs already made within the SW franchise. I already loved TMBTM’s SW Dustys, but this takes Star Wars fanediting to another level. It completely transforms the viewing experience, and therein, IMHO, lies its genius.

   The image treatment allowed TMBTM to cut in sequences that, otherwise, would have been impossible to reintegrate seamlessly. That alone takes this SW FE to a different level, and the total grindhouse feel really adds to the viewing pleasure. From the sound cues to R2’s witty dialogue, this FE proves, once more, that fanediting is an endless realm of possibilities, and that someone always comes along and puts forth his or hers slightly askew sensibilities.

   All and all, a great FE, and a must-see, love it or hate it afterwards.

   MILD SPOILER AHEAD!

   “Maybe they need gold…”
   That line alone is reason enough to DL and watch it. Bra-vo TMBTM.

   Review by jjrdias — January 7, 2010 @ 8:47 pm

3. 

   finally – can’t wait to watch this!

   Review by Sunarep — January 7, 2010 @ 9:41 pm

4. 

   *** WARNING *** Before I get to my review, I feel compelled to state that I do not consider any movie to a “sacred cow” – some movies, no matter what, beg for a FE; some others not as much. Others still (like the SW franchise) have had all sorts of treatments. I feel that the very purpose of FE is to either and/or both 1) improve a poor made/edited movie; 2) breath new life into a movie that has been around a long time.

   So….having said that, some viewers of this SW edit will feel like it has gone too far. They may not “recognize” thier beloved “SW Ep 4″ and like what the editor has done with this FE. I am NOT one of those people. I own every incarnation of all 6 SW movies that have been commercially available – like some version more than others. I have been waiting for someone to give one of my most favorite movies of all time some new life.

   I was “wowed” from the very beginning. Great idea, executed very well. At first, the re-size/crop done was a little off-putting, but as the movie progressed and i saw how the editor inserting/blended the deleted scenes etc, i grew to really enjoy the new look. I liked the new effects and music to bott. Again, if you are a “die-hard” SW fan and only want to see “improvements” to A NEW HOPE and have the movie look/sound/feel like you just walked out of a theater, this edit will probably not be for you.

   Technically, this edit is not perfect, there are a few flaws in it that I’m not sure were part of making feel more “grindhouse” or just simple edit/re-cut flaws overlooked. However, none of these minor flaws detract from the viewing.

   Bravo! I hope more movies that have tons of FEs in existence will see some of the originality and daring this one was treated too.

   Review by flyboy707 — January 7, 2010 @ 11:15 pm

5. 

   The War Of The Stars: A New Hope Grindhoused A Review by Mollo

   After the unexpected joy that is JAWS: The Sharksploitation Edit by The Man Behind The Mask, I had high expectations for his grind-house version of Star Wars called The War of the Stars.

   Star Wars is ripe for satire and the possibilities are almost endless. Many others have re-worked the material for comic effect in the form of FanEdits, Fan Films and YouTube skits. The myriad of material out there has obviously influenced TMBTM and his grind-house cut because ideas are liberally borrowed and even Fan Films incorporated into the mix.

   Unfortunately, I have to say that War of the Stars is an unmitigated failure. It is painful to watch with glaring inconsistencies and weak misplaced humour.

   So where to begin?

   The idea of replacing Death Vader’s speaking voice with humorous audio clips from other movies starring James Earl Jones, is a good one. In the case of War of the Stars, the joke is not followed through because before the idea is established Vader’s voice reverts to the original audio. If the joke is that Vader is a jive-talking hoodlum, then it needs to be consistent at least during the same scene. With each subsequent scene, the joke is how will Vader will play it? Reverting to the original audio so quickly, robs the joke of any punch.

   War Of The Stars looks awful. If this is the desired effect then fine but it is absolutely painful on the eyes. For example the opening battle, when the storm troopers are about to invade the rebel ship, bright red fades in and out, which I assume is to suggest an alarm light. The effect looks like what it is, colour balance madness.

   The white credits are missing dust and scratches while the “film stock” looks like is has been dragged across the floor!

   The added blood and gore is fun but it feels a little over done and fake. I would have saved it for an important moment to shock the audience. CGI blood looks fake in multi-million dollar pictures so, in that case it is well done.

   The audio is another problem. It would have been nice for clips that have no ambient sound to have had some added. For example, Luke runs down some exterior stairs with no added ambient sound, not even foot steps and then the original audio cuts in hard when he enters his room and sees his friends inside. This effect is something even a 70’s porn movie would have corrected.

   The added score of seventies jazz and disco funk simply does not work because the music selected is at complete odds with the action portrayed on screen. For example, The Sharksploitation Edit used the music to mirror or comment on the action with often inspired results. Here, with War of the Stars it is a distraction. The use of the original John Williams score only heightens the schism.

   I have to say I could not suffer this to the end. I so wanted to like it but I could not. War of the Stars is a bombardment of grind-house effects and half-evolved ideas yet with some subtlety and moderation, it could have been a very different beast.

   Review by Rock Savage — January 8, 2010 @ 10:36 am

6. 

   I agree with much of Mollo’s review, though I did watch it from beginning to end. The Vader voice thing really threw me off, I couldn’t even tell till I watched the end credits that all were clips of James Earl Jones. I see what TMBTM was going for, but I really could have lived without the voice thing. On the other hand, I didn’t mind R2 ’s subtitles at all, Also, the other effect used for Vader I rather enjoyed. I liked all the deleted footage put back into the film, but wasn’t so crazy about other material being added in. I felt it really stood out visually as being from different sources, as the picture wasn’t degraded/grindhoused to match the rest of the film. Overall, I enjoyed it, though nowhere near as much as the Jaws edit. Far from perfect, but not a total waste of time either, I give this a 7/10.

   Review by jamiemark — January 9, 2010 @ 5:13 am

7. 

   Backbackbackbackbackback……. GONE!

   TMBTM hits ANOTHER one out of the park! Easily 10/10 and I don’t hand those out lightly. In fact, this is only fanedit that “goes to 11″. It’s one higher than the rest.

   I didn’t think it was possible to top Jaws: Sharksploitation, but here it is. In my review of Jaws: Sharksploitaiton, I compared watching it to Eric Clapton’s reaction to seeing Jimi Hendrix play for the first time. After watching The War of the Stars, I’m just speechless. Fanediting is TMBTM’s world. The rest of us just live here.

   Dammit man, this is why fanediting exists. For every hack and slash editor out there (myself included), THIS is how it’s done. Take notes, kids. TMBTM is simply on another level.

   Pretty much every frame of The War of the Stars is brilliant.

   The shot of the twin suns of Tatooine had me howling.

   Genius doesn’t begin to describe the cantina scene. I’m a huge fan of the musician featured (no spoilers) and I loved it.

   The sound effect when the Strom Trooper hits his head – perfect.

   The integration of the deleted and documentary scenes was done brilliantly.

   The music, the James Earl Jones lines, R2’s subtitles, the blood, the Obi-Wan/Vader fight scene, the ending….. I could go on. All genius.

   I only had a few gripes:
   1. The grindhouse effects extend into the black bars in the opening shot. A simple error that should’ve been corrected.
   3. The new music added to the Battle of Yavin (right before the first failed shot) felt horribly out of place
   2. I can’t see any reason to continue fanediting after watching this.

   This is the antithesis to Star Wars: Revisited. If Adywan is the geeky straight-A student who stays home on Saturday night to play with his chemistry set, TMBTM is his cool twin brother who scores the winning touchdown and gets all the girls.

   We may only be a week in to the new year, but the 2010 Fanedit of the Year competition is over. Thanks for playing everyone.

   Why are you still reading this? Go watch it!

   Review by Adabisi — January 9, 2010 @ 9:15 am

8. 

   I was very interested in this edit following the excellent JAWS version that TMBTM offered us. More so for the deleted scenes that were in low quality that could be added to this film given the nature of the grindhousing of the film.

   I, like many others have probably watched ANH a hundred odd times, so, am well aware of missing dialogue or things that have been added.

   The inclusion of the lost/deleted scenes are most welcome. Yea, sure, most of them are badly acted and seem out of place, but not for this edit. They fit well in there. I don’t care that there are missing sound effects and that they turn black and white in places, as that’s what I expect from this kind of film.

   It’s a new experience to see all these early scenes with Biggs to finally understand why Luke has a soft spot for the guy. He’s quite instrumental to why Luke’s desire to leave the planet and we get some idea, very early on as to what the rebellion is all about. Ordinary people want to join.

   There’s quite a bit of dialogue cut from this version – almost random stuff – I assume that this was to make the feature shorter? TMBTM – can you explain this?

   I really wasn’t expecting a scene from Troops to turn up! Really enjoyed the new cantina scene. Seeing Solo chatting up a woman, various new aliens and Neil Young?(Not sure it was him) performing all adds to a new experience of this scene. With the bartender and Greedo using English in, well, English accents made this much grittier and less polished…which again, makes this an interesting experience – but I expect this for this edit.

   The added blood and exploding stormtroopers head made me laugh. A few new lines for Vader doesn’t work quite so well, but Obi Wan describing Mos Eisley in Peter Serafinowicz’s description was another LOL moment. Vader’s new eyes were hilarious.

   New twist on the trench run. Well edited my friend, didn’t see that coming.

   R2’s subtitles – a bit random – perhaps use them a bit more – only some things are subtitled – but I think using the same font as your titles was not a great choice.

   My only criticism was choice of music in two scenes:

   Escape from the Death Star, it feels a little out of place and runs too long. As mentioned by Adabisi, the Battle of Yavin, again, not so good. It feels a little loud in places, drowns out the dialogue.

   However, your choice of score for the end scenes is great. The films final scene – LOL – I wondered if you’d use this somewhere….

   So, gushing muchly, really enjoyed this TMBTM – excellent work. Every Star Wars fan should watch this and not try to take it too seriously. This is fun, like the JAWS edit and I enjoyed much more than I thought I would.

   9/10.

   PS. Just to clarify something. There are scenes on the Death Star that I wasn’t able to place. It shows Vader talking to someone on a communicator and later, two Stormtroopers guarding a lift with one of those sqeaky radio control mini cars on the floor. Where did they come from?

   Review by white43 — January 10, 2010 @ 4:32 am

9. 

   It does not have the appeal of JAWS and maybe the idea is also starting to get old on me. It was ok. So I gave it a 6.

   Review by zackepple — January 10, 2010 @ 2:00 pm

10. 

    **Spoilers in these ramblings**

    I was curious how the Grindhousing of SW would play out. Is it a phucking shithole? Often with fan edits, there’s a concept but it’s not quite followed through or gets muddled in what the creator can accomplish. For me, The Wars of the Stars works. Mostly because the concept is strong. Grindhouse cinema was escapism which had a twisted view point which often became synonymous with graphic depictions of violence, gore, horror and other unappealing aspects of reality. People went to the theaters knowing they were going to see some excapist fantasy played out on the big screen. Why kill someone yourself when you can release those emotions while watching a movie. The Grindhouse cinema of the early/mid 70s latched onto peoples desire for this kind of somewhat pessimistic release.

    …then came Star Wars.

    The movie has been said to have been successful because it did bring back the positive messages people like to say they believe and follow. So then how would TMBTM accomplish twisting one of the quintessential stand up and cheer, happy feeling movies into something more sinister and devious. I was doubtful.

    …and you’re going to have to watch the edit to find out how it was done.

    But for me the pay off works, quick little flicks of a few scenes here are there really modify character development, their actions and the edits in tWotS reinforce and build upon each other. Some might see it as a compilation of viral video moments (and several of them would gain a lot of page views) but the editing choices, film visual manipulation and audio reassignment do add up to a very different movie then where TMBTM started. TMBTM has exploited this tale for his own storytelling legacy.

    Luke’s development arc, is decimated to make the character the dim wit who falls for the waving hand and suggestive phrase. He’s not the winner anymore, or a looser he’s ‘the Used’. All those bad feelings which used to signify the character perceiving something in the future, in tWotS the bad feelings is because something bad DID just happen, and no one seems to care. And this is reinforced in the Awards Ceremony (with lovely new music) still cheery and full of praise but the previous actions hang over the sham spectacle. That’s Grindhousey, you’re cheering for the murderer and sick inside because of it. (and not in the Clerks kind of way, although that does apply) And that pay off is sealed with the R2 subtitles, which I found I would have liked to have seen more of.

    For me tWotS also works because of the stories behind the initial screening of the original SW. GL had shown his circle of the friends Star Wars before special effects were added. (most seemed to not get it, one of those was Brian dePalma was making Carrie at the time, a more grindhouse like film) How close this was to the Lost Edit before the second team started editing the movie, we’ll probably never know. This first edit most likely focused in on Luke’s character growth more with the inclusion of the Tatooine cut scenes to flesh out his circumstances and relationships. The War of the Stars brings them back as setup for the big pay off.

    Even liked the kitsch of the twin sun scene which was moved (and effects added). Great new sequence/storyline created by moving a pertinent scene to a new location where it pulls out an alternative message. Would have thought the rest of Troops would have been shown. The music choice really had that 70s vibe, of slow building significance in the form of a guitar durge. And the lyrical tie in of ’seasons’ resonates the point. tWotS’s Luke lacks many of the gifts as original told. It’s a devious change of character.

    Technically, seeing where TMBTM started out (30s silent edition) this is a great progression of skill development. (missed Sharksploitation Jaws) Enjoyed almost all of the music choices and atmospheric audio additions. (don’t get the new cantina music connection) The musical additions don’t rely on one critic. Some are there for a joke, some for atmosphere, others invoke the grindhouse era.

    The Puggo 16mm restoration starting point is the perfect backdrop for the edit. Some of the other material could have had a few more imperfections to get to the Puggo level. (ie the Interactive Video Board game footage)

    Liked the additional Vader lines, although there’s been at least two short viral videos of other James Earl Jones alternative movie dialogs over DV scenes, these worked well. Was hoping we’d see Vader’s pet somewhere along the way to work one of those lines into an in edit joke. and without all the father stuff, DV comes across as the last mystical jedi user.

    Could have been more gore. (all those Stormtroopers get blood bathed, but Chief Blast doesn’t get added spectacle. missed opportunity to reinforce a point. [Chief Blast is a scene (modified in the Special Editions) which has been cut down to limit the 'violence' level of ANH])

    For those who appreciate lo-fi, there are inclusions of many failed cut scene or blooper shots to keep you chuckling periodically. All about tarnishing the movie people hold up on the Pedestal of Perfectitude.

    Still thinking about how other characters come off in this version, Han and Leia more or less are unchanged while Ben gets reduced.

    It was fun watching the movie to pay attention to what’s been added/subtracted and how that changes your perception. And there’s continuous changes to work your mind around. Would this work as a film without understanding the original Star Wars, maybe not, and that’s why it’s been subtitled ‘A New Hope Grindhoused’. This is probably where the majority of fan edit criticism might rely upon. The need for the final movie to be this magical stand alone object, instead of one which builds upon the past. They are view points in eternal conflict. On the mystical appropriation/reuse scale, tWotS exists somewhere between The Phantom Edit and Jedi Love.

    So thanks to GL and Lucasfilm for the raw materials, and fans preservation communities like OTcom with members like Sluggo and OCPmovie who have preserved, upgraded and compiled along the way, and cheers to TMBTM for putting together an interesting version of an old tale. As someone who’s tired of “”original”" entertainment this is my kind of idea of a good time.

    and I watched the bonus video before watching the movie. pwwwwwt.

    Review by none — January 10, 2010 @ 5:11 pm

11. 

    This edit to my US mind completely has a European (mainly Italian) film feel to it. Let me delve into this a bit more and explain:

    Picture if they brought over some old space movie from Italy (with the usual Italian exploitation rip off of some other major film) or some other European country that did not have a lot of money to produce it. Next, the US distributor decides to add in some minor headache inducing stock Library music (I like Library music, but not the type I found here) for certain parts of the film. Though it has that vibe, you can clearly tell it is too clean sounding to be originally on the film’s soundtrack and added in later. Make sure the film still looks pretty crappy (a plus) and this sums up my mood when watching this feature

    I enjoyed this edit (though on a different level than Jaws) and I like it as a companion piece to TMBTM’s technically fan edit masterpiece of Jaws the Sharkspolitation edit. I can tell you now that this Star Wars grindhouse edition will cater more to fans of this sort of genre and not so much the broader audience appeal that his Jaws edition had.

    I loved the use of Troops and other short features and deleted scenes that appear throughout the feature. The advanced cgi blood and Vader’s glowing red eyes were a nice touch and easily fit the pattern of the edit. I really enjoyed Vader’s psychotic ramblings (used from other films), and I also got a kick out of some of the re-worked and arrangement of scenes (which I will not spoil).

    “Did you miss what he removed?”

    “No, not at all.”

    I like Star Wars (well really the first three produced films), but I do not consider it a holy grail like many do. What many might consider as some sacrilege offense to the integrity of the movie, worked fine for me. More importantly it worked for the type of edit this was presented as.

    The use of the 16mm version is what visually really brought that true grindhouse feel to it and I am glad this move was chosen.

    We have some nice menus and I loved the bonus material, especially the “laisse Tomber, Les filles” made to fit Princess Leia’s guest shot on Saturday Night Live music video.

    In summing it up, I hated some of the stock library music used as it just gave me a headache and fortunately kind of disappeared right before Vader blasts through the rebel ship doors in the beginning. This music should have had some roughness added to it; more so to fit the source material we are being shown. Instead it sticks out like a sore thumb. To be honest if that music persisted throughout the whole feature I would not have been able to watch it.

    Not as great as the previous mentioned Jaws, but still good nonetheless

    This gets an 8.5 from me. The too clean music brought this score down from a 9

    Review by tranzor — January 12, 2010 @ 8:51 am

12. 

    OMG it was so frak’n epic. Best edit I’ve seen in sometime. So say we all.

    Review by MIKEPSYCHE — January 15, 2010 @ 6:58 am

13. 

    Honestly I did not enjoy this grindhoused version of star wars as much as the Jaws version. Though, the main problem of this version is the same as with Jaws’ recut: the lack of consistency in the music. The opening sequence is just amazing. The music, the new cut, the cutscenes added and subtitles for R2. GReat. The 1970s electronic music reminded me of Clockwork orange, I loved it and thought it was going be like this all the way to the end. But very soon, the original soundrack came back.
    The thing with John William’s music is that it is perfect, so it’s impossible to have fun with perfect music. And the inconsistency. You can’t have 1970s electro music and then switch back to Williams’.

    Review by French_Toast — January 16, 2010 @ 11:03 am

14. 

    I want to avoid spoilers, but from the squibs at the beginning, to the storm trooper hitting his head on the door and being told to stay behind and stand guarrd, to the cut scenes with Luke and Wedge, on dpwn to the wonderful 70’s styled ending and sound track…

    …I had the time of my life! I was also surprised to see so much extra content during the credits! I’m amazed that I’ve never seen anyone try to use the cut scenes as you have and apply them to a more “normal” cut of this film, but what you have done with them (be it slap stick or not) was pure genius. This is an excellent way to view an alternate take of the Star Wars universe! Certainly nothing that could fit into cannon (not unlike the crappy movies version of the prequel stories), but a must for any Star Wars junky!

    Anyhow, if you do not go down in history for this, I will certainly be surprised! This is perhaps the best fan edit of Star Wars ever made, standing side by side with Star Wars IV Revisited. One for laughs, and one to fix as many of George Lucas’ flaws as possible, though of course NOTHING compares to reading the novels.

    10 Stars for you my man, I loved it, loved Jaws, and can only anticipate what you will do next! Keep it up!!!!

    Review by Syfo-Dyas — January 19, 2010 @ 12:38 am

15. 

    Err, did I say Wedge, I meant Biggs.

    Still loving this sound track btw!

    Review by Syfo-Dyas — January 19, 2010 @ 1:55 am

16. 

    It is what it is guys. And this edit really works in so many ways in my opinion. If anything it made the cut scenes acceptable. This is a truly brilliant edit, and I want to comment on so much but at the same time, I don’t want to give any of the little surprises away.

    The edit also gives us an idea of what Star Wars could have been as just a stand alone film as plot points that would have taken us to the sequels are removed in this version, and you know what, the film still works and is just as fun without it.

    The Good: Honestly, I love the little things. The tracked blood effects. Wow. Nice work there. It was stuff like that gave Star Wars a good bit more grit. Maybe a little blood in the prequels perhaps, TMBTM?

    The Bad: Not really bad at all, but I would have liked to see more creativity in R2’s subtitles. But like jjrdias said before…”Maybe they need gold.” =)

    Well done, TMBTM.

    Review by mrbenja0618 — January 19, 2010 @ 6:07 pm

17. 

    Imagine if you will, two talented editors.

    The first, Adywan, takes the Star Wars Special Edition and actually makes it special. With the input and support of many others, he fixes color issues, cuts out misplaced humor, re-edits scenes, adds FX, and gives Star Wars fans a new experience to treasure for a lifetime.

    The second, The Man Behind The Mask, is approached by film producer I.M. boon with a difficult task – to improve the original Star Wars. On a shoestring budget and with an insane deadline, TMBTM must fix Star Wars so it can be re-released for mass consumption on boon’s extremely profitable website FE.org. boon requests that TMBTM use an old faded and scratched print of the original movie, as he claims he cannot afford to acquire the 2004 DVD. TMBTM is asked to add better music, add blood, fix Vader and R2, and put scenes back into the film that should never have been removed.

    Working alone, TMBTM does his best, and boon declares on his website that it is the best version of Star Wars that ever was or will be. He even goes so far as to claim that after seeing his version, no one will ever watch Adywan’s version again.

    Imagine boon’s shock and horror when he learns that people love the film, but for all the wrong reasons. They chuckle at the blood. They laugh at Vader and R2. They giggle at the music. They ridicule the film quality. They shake their heads at the usage of a fan film and an interactive VHS game. The film is an unmitigated failure, boon is ruined, and TMBTM goes back to working on horror films.

    In truth, TMBTM is a brilliant faneditor. This movie worked for me on so many levels, I can see watching this many times in the future. I especially loved the music choices and the new Vader, as well as the twists at the end. I find myself thinking of this as an Intentional Unintentional Comedy. My only disappointment is that the ending implies we won’t ever get to see The Striking Back of the Empire…but I say it has to be done. I’m sure a solution could be found – death doesn’t mean anything in a soap opera. Let’s see it, TMBTM!

    Thanks for this. 10/10

    Review by TV's Frink — January 21, 2010 @ 5:08 pm

18. 

    I can’t say much more than what’s already been said but this is a brilliant, brilliant piece of work. I think every single touch is perfect. Even some of the gripes in the reviews I think are silly. Didn’t think the music fit? Uhm, isn’t that kind of the point? I almost wish there was more “grindhoused” stuff but it’s still nearly perfect and I can’t complain about a single thing TMBTM did. There is so much genius overflowing in this work: placement of the two suns scene, the two suns!, the gore in the first part, Vader’s dialogue, R2’s subtitles, what Vader does to Luke at the end, random weird scenes, the music, incredible cantina sequence, just everything is awesome.

    Please, for the love of God, do more “grindhoused” movies. Would certainly love to see The Empire Strikes Back as well but, hey, I won’t lie: I’ll watch anything you do.

    Review by MBison — January 24, 2010 @ 8:53 am

19. 

    I admit that at its release 1 month ago, I didnt have much nagging interest in watching this edit. But the greatness of Jaws Shraksploitation kept gnawing at my brain. With the Jan FEOTM awards poll running I figured I owe it to The Man to give this a go to see if he earns another vote from me. (He does)

    The opening DVD intro made me smile because I remembered what type of film I was about to watch and it really set the mood. By the time we got to the (now) bloody battle on the blockade runner I was sold – This was going to be great!

    Enter Vader “1…2…3…” I almost pissed myself – all the new JEJ lines worked great, so great that I wanted more. I didnt mind the scenes switching in tone when Vaders lines jumped from original, to jive, back to original – as the whole tone of the film was a lighter, low budget action ride now in the tradition of 70’s grindhouse/exploitation films.

    Most of the additions (especially the 16mm source) worked for the better IMO creating an authentic GH feel more so than JAWS (IMO) which felt like a good transfer w/ a grain filter on it) TWotS LOOKS like a real film source that has been played for decades. Kudos sir. If DVD’s could deteriorate with each viewing then this one surely would fall apart after the multiple viewings it will receive from me.

    notable standout scenes for me: !!!SPOILERS!!!

    The blockade runner shootout blood/decapitation
    vader interrogating leia
    the entire cantina sequence
    the disco soundtrack during death star escape
    luke/leia chasm shootout/swing
    vader kills kenobi FX test
    the disco soundtrack during the 1st trench run
    tarkin looking at vader like wtf? when he says “now they will know why they fear the night”
    luke being controlled in trench

    Entertainment – original: 10/10 – grindhoused: 10/10 – this was a pleasure to watch and was very funny and well thoughtout/assembled.

    A/V Editing – 10/10 – there were “errors” but I gather they were intentional and really added to the atmosphere of a GH film. the new soundtrack pushed the limits and was simultaneously cool and funny.

    DVD features – 10/10 – 2 great funny videos and a nice SFX before/after elevate this disc above the usual bare bones releases.

    Final Score – 10/10 – excellent.

    The Empire Wants More…. So do I

    Review by elbarto1 — February 2, 2010 @ 8:18 pm

20. 

    I just have to add a littel bit to the review..I have watched this twice, firstly on my PC then on a 46” screen all within 48 hours, loved it, great! fantastic!!
    it’s just amazing how clever an edit this is……..so that’s a 10/10 from me for around greatness:-)

    Review by chancer127 — February 7, 2010 @ 11:49 am

21. 

    This was great. Though I could have done without the various Darth Vader overdubs, that is a minor point. This movie was so much fun to watch. My God… I laughed so hard at Obiwan’s comment about Mos Eisley, I had to stop playback.

    If you like good cheesy fun, this fan edit is definitely worth the download.

    Review by BigDaveB — February 7, 2010 @ 8:48 pm

22. 

    Finally got to see this and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you so much for all the work that was put into this! But I have to wonder, why wasn’t Tomita’s Star Wars theme used anywhere on this? Tomita was used elsewhere on the soundtrack, and his version of the Star Wars theme is hilarious and would have been perfectly suited to this. On the other hand, maybe Tomita’s Star Wars is a little too hilarious. Anyway it’s definitely worth a view, I’ll give it a 9/10 but it easily could have been a 10/10 with a few more tweaks.

    Review by JohnR — February 14, 2010 @ 4:59 pm

23. 

    OH-MY-GOD…just finished the movie…and what can i say? Just fucking awesome! How you cut out so much things without giving me the feeling there’s something missing (and i know this movie quite well) is just great. Also the stuff you put in…i was pretty sure i knew all the specials and deleted scenes that you can get with the DVDs and so on, but there are some scenes i’m not quite sure about where you got them. Leia handing Luke that beercan is just golden. Overall there’s just so much hilarious stuff added, i was nearly pissing myself sometimes. And not to forget: BEST FINAL BATTLE RE-EDIT EVER!!! ! MORE PLEASE!

    Review by Luggi83 — February 18, 2010 @ 6:02 am

24. 

    I don’t think that this worked as well as a movie as your JAWS did. This did tend to become just that mockery (or tribute!) that I never felt that Jaws came to. This one was a fun ride, but the other one felt more true as a grind house feature. Maybe I’m just being picky.

    I had a lot of fun. I never felt the urge to stop watching, always wondering what was going to hapen next, or what Vader was going to say. Loved the look on Tarkin’s face when Vader goes on about them learning to fear the night…priceless humour right there. Adding the “shithole” line was another one of those things that made me smile, but I had seen it before.

    And the sources used! Clearly a lot of work went into this, and I’m guessing a lot of love. I’d recommend anyone who likes ANH to watch this, mostly for the laughs.

    8 or 9. Great work.

    Review by spelledaren — March 4, 2010 @ 3:33 pm

25. 

    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.

    Review by dangarratt — March 29, 2010 @ 1:02 am

26. 

    Very creative. This is the first fan edit that I have watched. There is not much more I can say that hasn’t been said already, but keep up the good work.

    Review by tjfar67 — April 9, 2010 @ 7:04 pm

27. 

    Incredible. The best fan edit I’ve seen, or at least the most fun. I had a big smile on my face the whole time. Wonderful, genius work.

    If I have any complaint, and it’s a real tiny one (that’s what she said), it’s that I expected to see garbage mattes around the ships in the DS battle. But that’s such a minor nit, I can’t believe I even bothered to mention it.

    Review by ron2112 — May 13, 2010 @ 1:58 am

28. 

    Took me long enough to get to this one…thankfully, it was worth the wait.

    The video quality was…bad, but that’s okay, because it was supposed to be. The only problem I noticed that was an actual error was during the opening sequence where the editor added some extra scratches using whatever program he used for editing. The scratches were visible in the black letterboxes on the top and bottom of the picture. Perhaps this was intentional, perhaps not. At any rate, it was a tiny bit distracting. This could have been fixed by adding new letterboxes to the picture. But of all things, this is a minor complaint. I also noticed a very, very mild case of pixelation during a few scenes…but having not seen the Puggo Grande, these may be a part of the print and unavoidable.

    Audio was decent as well. For a “crappy” audio job, it was fairly well done. There were a few instances where I couldn’t quite understand what Vader was saying. Music selection was completely inappropriate in a few scenes….and again, it was good, I laughed quite a few times.

    Now for the edit itself. (HEAVY SPOILERS): It actually worked quite well. The story was heavily condensed, but it still flowed fairly well. I liked the shifting of the “Binary Sunset” scene to after Owen and Beru’s death. One edit I really, really liked (that would work great in a non-grindhouse style edit) is near the end where Luke just walks away from Han while he is collecting his money. I also liked Vader taking control of Luke during the last stretch of the trench and killing Biggs (and then R2 calling him on it at the ceremony). The alternate takes integrated in well too, though the only way they could really be included, along with the deleted scenes, is in an edit like this where high quality is not necessarily the aim.

    All in all, a great effort and an excellent final product. I think I’m going to download TMBMT’s Jaws edit at some point as well.

    9/10

    Review by Aztek463 — May 21, 2010 @ 8:50 pm

29. 

    For me this was a masterpiece of fanediting. This edit stands alone in the vast warehouse of Star Wars fanedits. It is entirely original, consistently surprising, and 100% rewarding.

    Technical Evaluation
    Audio Quality
    The sound worked well. The levels were consistent and I was never forced to turn it up or down. The new musical sources blended well with original audio elements and I felt that all of the musical choices were fantastic.
    10 out of 10

    Video Quality
    The beauty of this edit is in the thrashing of the quality. this is one of the driving forces behind the feel of the edit which also allowed TMBTM to incorporate many elements that otherwise would never work in a ‘traditional’ edit. Looking beyond the grain and scratch filters (and original source quality) there is no obvious pixelation, no un-intended quality drop-offs. The integration of the lost/deleted footage is particularly impressive given the quality of the original source.Top notch.
    10 out of 10

    Visual Edits
    As a person who has the ANH permanently etched in memory, every new shot, every new angle popped, and the manner in which this was all combined is truly impressive, mixing and matching so many sources so that it feels intentional and by design. There were perhaps 2 cuts that felt hard where the transition from totally original sequences (Cantina for instance) back to the more traditional footage. The transition was so abrupt it was like waking from a really wonderful dream. These were far and few between.
    9 out of 10

    Overall Entertainment
    For me, the best term to describe this edit is; Relentlessly original. This fanedit injected a sense of joy into a movie that I have seen easily over a hundred times, there was a sense of newness that I never expected to feel in a Star Wars film again.
    At the conclusion of every sequence I found myself thinking “Well, that was a good run, but really, from here on out there is NOTHING else that can be done to make this feel as new or fresh as what I just saw” And each time I was wrong. The Man Behind The Mask delivers originality throughout the entire film.
    10 out of 10. The shining moments for me had to be the Cantina sequence (simply amazing and original) and the Death Star Trench run. I did not see that bit coming, and I just about spit soda out my nose when it happened.

    This edit may not be for everyone, but for me this was as perfect as an edit can get; Well executed, 100% original, and 100% entertaining. Thanks TMBTM!!
    Overall Score: 10 out of 10

    Review by L8wrtr — July 9, 2010 @ 12:35 am

30. 

    My wife absolutely HATES anything Star Wars related yet when we watched this she was engrossed and didn’t want it to end. So you succesfully made a person who hates Star Wars like a Star Wars movie. Good job TMBTM

    Review by JJE-187 — August 2, 2010 @ 6:27 am

31. 

    This is pretty damn awesome, loved it and laughed my ass off. The genius part was taking it over to my stoner friends house inside the actual Star Wars case and playing the movie while they were high. The entire time me and my buddies insisted it was the original Star Wars and nothing had been done to it..they were freaking out. Hilarious.

    Review by cinedream — August 31, 2010 @ 11:22 pm

32. 

    What else can I say here? Only that the man behind the mask is a absolute genius, loved it, fell about laughing at some of the scenes, the blood was an
    excellent touch, and adding a scene from the fan movie troops with jawas was hilarious. This is a fan editing masterpiece.
    10/10 from me.

    Review by searcher — September 6, 2010 @ 3:54 pm

33. 

    WOW!!!

    AMAZING!!!

    FRACKING BRILLIANT!!!

    INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!

    Just watched this last night and it is the most FUN I have had in a long time! My wife said I had a crazy goofy grin on my face through the whole thing.

    When it was over, it left me wanting for more!
    More Blood!!! More Jive Talking Darth! More R2D2 Zinger Subtitles! More, more MORE!!!

    AUDIO: Hilarious and awesome! I notice no significant issues. 9/10
    VIDEO: Absolutely horrible! I loved it!!!! 9/10
    VISUAL: Did I mention, MORE BLOOD please! 9/10
    ENTERTAINMENT: Oh yeah baby, it was good time! 10/10

    Grindhouse edits may not be to everyone’s taste, but I LOVED this! It was just silly fun.
    It took a movie I have seen a zillion times, and made it fresh, funny and entertaining again!

    Favorite scenes…..
    The new twist ending of Darth’s use of the dark side on Luke,
    the new RED EYE effects whenever Darth uses the force (totally inspired!!!)
    and most of all,
    R2D2’s comment about Obiwan not remembering him…. I nearly fell out of my seat from laughing so hard!

    THANK YOU for such an entertaining experience!

    Review by bionicbob — September 29, 2010 @ 10:23 pm

34. 

    Watched this last weekend, forgot to add my 2 cents.

    I’ll be brief because so much ahs been said already, loved it from start to finish, though toward the middle it felt liek I was watching a star wars film again.
    I loved mad Vader, so unpreditably random, I think knowing the theatrical film inside-out was what made this better, so much to expect and then wham-bang, something complreely different. The tench run at the end, I was laughing so hard at the ingenious plot device that was invented. And the pause frame ending complete with Bob Dylan.

    Leia’s interrogation scene with the sentry droid, so hmmmm…. yet I laughed.

    This fan-edit deserves an 8/10 for me.

    Review by Omaru1982 — October 20, 2010 @ 1:07 am

35. 

    Simply incredible!

    There probably isn’t much that I could say that hasn’t been said about this.

    So I’ll just chime in that IMO this is the first SW “spoof” to equal Hardware Wars 30 years ago.

    Simply incredible!!!

    Review by robthom — November 8, 2010 @ 12:56 pm

36. 

    the edit started badly for me using an old black scene and a terrible scroll with an prologue that seemed straight out of an edwood movie.the problem i had with the edit was that it goes from action/adventure to goofy comedy then hard core violence. the changing of vaders voice and the inclusion of the fan-made videos may work as youtube clips but when put in a feature length movie just doesn’t work for me. the movie is constantly changing in terms of quality and the deleted scenes just seem added for the sake of being added.

    the edit has some laugh out loud moments especially when luke discovers his auntie and unkle are dead, steering out into sunset their faces appear and with the accompanying music added makes it a great comedy moment. what i loved about that scene was that it played it straight and works better than the forced humor included. r-2 is the star of the edit with his added subtitles it was a shame he didn’t have more lines as there are alot of times he talks but with no titles. the bar scene alone is worth the download i fought it was a shame the scene turned black and white before we entered the bar. vaders new force powers also add to the edit along with the new music added, seeing han and chewey running to a 70’s music back drop brought another laugh out loud moment.

    i feel that star wars is just too big a budget to be recreated as grindhouse film, instead the film felt like the many knock offs that were made after star wars. though it’s a relief to see someone do a star wars fanedit different to the many that have been made before.

    overall 6/10

    Review by leeroy0115 — February 20, 2011 @ 11:50 pm

37. 

    I like this, I like it a lot.

    It works on so many levels for me:

    1. I like to see fan-edits that take a movie and do something really different from the original format of the movie, it’s creative and done well like it is here makes a fun alternative way to view the movie.

    2. In this case it was also a way of inserting some of the unused footage that was originally cut from the movie or never used – so retro’ising the existing footage was a good way of not having the inserted footage stand out too much.

    3. when filmstudios are trying as hard as they can to present flawless picture quality its refreshing to see a good movie emulating an older less polished look – but from an artistic perspective.

    Using other dialogue from Jame Earl Jones was also unexpected! I laughed out loud the first time i heard the changes and still do everytime a watch it – but also Darth Vader is supposed to be evil right? so in this version he is deffinately more pyscho! (sorry, my bad this is a kind of spoiler i guess??)

    Also look out for Obi-Wans off the cuff remark when him and Luke are overlooking Mos Eisley lol

    ok running out of what to say, except:

    overall 10/10!

    Review by cutnshut — March 5, 2011 @ 12:23 am

38. 

    I had way too much fun watching this.

    This is now my favorite version of Star Wars–hands-down more enjoyable than the 1977 theatrical cut. If justice and history could give each other oiled back rubs, the War of the Stars would henceforth be included as a bonus feature on every legitimate release of A New Hope.

    Review by ssj — April 10, 2011 @ 6:50 am

39. 

    THE WAR OF THE STARS by THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

    It seems there’s not much to say about this edit that hasn’t already been said, but I’ll review it anyway as I feel something this good must be. This edit is simply INCREDIBLE. There is so much awesome in this edit that I don’t even know where to begin, but rest assured, TMBTM has done exactly what he set out to do, and its great. I won’t go through everything, for everyone else seems to have already done this, so I’ll stick to my personal reactions.

    There were quite a few laugh out load moments, many during the Death Star battle, but for me the best was the shot of Luke’s landspeeder that accidentally reveals why it needs no wheels. I think the single sequence that best adheres to the Grindhouse idea is the Cantina scene which is simply AWESOME. Actually, almost everything in this edit was awesome.

    Somethings, though, were awesome in the wrong way, in the fact that they were actually awesome. I’m really just referring to any time John Williams music was used. I think it would have been better if the whole movie was completely devoid of Williams because, well, were talking about the greatest film score of all time, something that doesn’t belong in a Grindhouse movie. Also, the picture quality was noticeably not as terrible whenever footage was used that wasn’t actually from the movie (though the inclusion of Troops was great). In addition (though not really a bad thing) the music used in the celebration regurgitated memories that should never be regurgitated, though honestly, good call putting it in.

    Overall, this edit is highly recommended to Star Wars fans. I feel this is THE reason why fan edits exist. This thing is honestly just completely awesome. I think I’ll be watching this again in the very near future, and I feel I’ll continue watching it in the times to come despite its minor flaws. Because of that, I give THE WAR OF THE STARS 9/10.

    Review by DominicCobb — August 23, 2011 @ 1:44 am

40. 

    What’s to say about this that hasn’t been said before?

    Great fanedit. A little bizarre when you start it off – we’re not used to seeing such music being used on a Star Wars film. So the beginning was a mixture of laughs and wtf moments for me. Laughs that were either very intentional or very subtle, depending on the context. Some of it worked, some of it didn’t but after a while I realized that I was being completely entertained and let go of my nitpicking. I just strapped myself to my seat and let myself be taken on a ride my TMBTM’s imagination.

    This is one fanedit that just gets better and better as the running time goes by, and the finale is nothing short of hilarious. This is one of the better fanedits I’ve seen this year despite its “flaws” which are not really flaws but artistic decisions on the editor’s part.

    I give this fanedit 9/10 and hope TMBTM will eventually make a sequel.

    Review by blueyoda — September 26, 2011 @ 1:46 am

41. 

    Without a doubt, I think it’s my favourite fan edit.

    Which I find funny is the title is literal translation of the french title used for Star Wars : ”La Guerre des Etoiles” . Because I am french-canadian, when I was a kid, I grew up watching La Guerre des Etoiles (french title for Star Wars) and I find it very tongue-in-cheek from TMBTM to title the project The War of the Stars.

    I concur with everything positive being written in this thread, I don’t know what else can be added, that when this fan edit was done, I wanted more.

    Hats off to TMBTM.

    Félicitations pour ce travail magnifique! TMBTM! Tu mérites tous les louanges! Bravo encore!

    Review by dubmaster — October 9, 2011 @ 12:01 pm

42. 

    It’s just: WOW!

    I have to give you 10/10 for this amazing, stunning edit!

    I had so much fun watching this!

    What I liked most:
    - It’s trashy.
    - Cool and/or cheesy music added
    - Deleted scenes and spoofy b-roll/making-of scenes are cut-in.
    - It remembers me of the first time watching Star Wars as a kid.

    The only thing I could whine about, if I would, is that R2-D2’s new subtitles are too silly, sometimes. But I do not whine, I just put my two thumbs up.

    Thank you so much!

    Review by Mr.Lovebucket — December 24, 2011 @ 12:42 am

43. 

    I was looking forward to watching this one since it had such great reviews. Unfortunately, it was a little bit of a letdown. There were parts that were brilliant and other parts that just weren’t.
    Technical quality -10/10 –it’s supposed to be poor-ish video quality, so I can’t really comment on this section. All the downgrading of the video was done well though, so I’ll give it a 10.
    Editing -9/10 – of course some of the editing was supposed to be sloppy. The added blood was pretty funny and some of the editing decisions were just amazing and pulled off very well. The music was too loud in a couple parts though.
    Presentation – 10/10 – loved the menu and cover art.
    Entertainment – 7/10 – let me start with what I liked. There were some parts that were just incredible – the cantina scene, the added music, Vader’s glowing red eyes, the deleted scenes, the Troops sequence (so amazing!), Owen and Beru on the twin suns, and best of all, the Death Star scene and ending with Jabba. These were the highlights, but there were other parts that weren’t so good. Half the time I just felt like I was watching the original, except with downgraded video quality. In order for this edit to really, really work, even more things would have to be changed to give it a completely different feel. Also, I didn’t really care for the R2-D2 subtitles.
    Overall – 7/10

    Review by QuickCut — January 23, 2012 @ 9:36 pm

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