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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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!!!

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Still loving this sound track btw!

…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!!!!