Fear and Loathing in The Star Wars Holiday Special

Updated
 
9.4 (3)
 
8.9 (4)
6480 1 3
Fear and Loathing in The Star Wars Holiday Special
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1978
Original Running Time:
97 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
18 minutes
Time Cut:
79 minutes
Synopsis:
This edit is only about a quarter of an hour as it features only the cream of the madness from this notorious TV Show. Including Princess Leia singing, avant-garde alien dance, Wookiee pornography, drinking through the top of your head, a cooking lesson from an alien drag-queen in blackface, a bar of drunken aliens and a Stormtrooper rubbing a ceramic penis.
Intention:
I was scanning through the SW holiday special (Never watched it properly before 'cause I couldn't stand it ) for my Workprint project and noticed that some of it comes off like a terifying acid-trip nightmare. Thus the idea of compiling and remixing only the very trippy-est moments into a short film.
Additional Notes:
Obviously the visual quality is limited by the VHS source material of this never-commercialy-released car-crash TV show.
Other Sources:
Zion's Hybrid Restoration of The Star Wars Holiday Special
A/J/E - Trap (Star Wars Dubstep)
Special Thanks:
Thanks to originaltrilogy.com's darth_ender for suggesting I watch SWHS in the first place. What looked like being a chore, actually turned into a bunch of fun.
Release Information:
Digital
Special Features:
* This edit is only available to stream on my Vimeo page. This is because the source is a low quality VHS and because it is only 18 minutes long.
Editing Details:
It's about 15 minutes (Not including intro and credits) of only the most baffling footage from the SWHS. I suggest pouring yourself beer* (Or something stronger or stranger), turning off the lights and taking a voyage into Director Steve Binder's "Vision" of family entertainment. A vision so trippy and demented that even George Lucas couldn't top it when he came to make his Prequels (God knows he tried!).
Cuts and Additions:
I have...
- In some cases I've re-arranged, cut-up and looped the footage. In most cases it was already mad enough!

I have not...
- Added any sound or visuals (Outside of the opening titles and credit music)
- Added any slow-mo
- Adjust colours
- Re-dubbed any audio
- Or applied any visual FX
... i.e. if it looks crazy here, it looked crazy when it was first broadcast on an unsuspecting public in november 1978.

Obviously the visual quality is limited by the VHS source material of this never-commercialy-released car-crash TV show.
Full Fanedit (Password: fanedit.org)

Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1978
Original Running Time:
97 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
18 minutes
Time Cut:
79 minutes
Synopsis:
This edit is only about a quarter of an hour as it features only the cream of the madness from this notorious TV Show. Including Princess Leia singing, avant-garde alien dance, Wookiee pornography, drinking through the top of your head, a cooking lesson from an alien drag-queen in blackface, a bar of drunken aliens and a Stormtrooper rubbing a ceramic penis.
Intention:
I was scanning through the SW holiday special (Never watched it properly before 'cause I couldn't stand it ) for my Workprint project and noticed that some of it comes off like a terifying acid-trip nightmare. Thus the idea of compiling and remixing only the very trippy-est moments into a short film.
Additional Notes:
Obviously the visual quality is limited by the VHS source material of this never-commercialy-released car-crash TV show.
Other Sources:
Zion's Hybrid Restoration of The Star Wars Holiday Special
A/J/E - Trap (Star Wars Dubstep)
Special Thanks:
Thanks to originaltrilogy.com's darth_ender for suggesting I watch SWHS in the first place. What looked like being a chore, actually turned into a bunch of fun.
Release Information:
Digital
Special Features:
* This edit is only available to stream on my Vimeo page. This is because the source is a low quality VHS and because it is only 18 minutes long.
Editing Details:
It's about 15 minutes (Not including intro and credits) of only the most baffling footage from the SWHS. I suggest pouring yourself beer* (Or something stronger or stranger), turning off the lights and taking a voyage into Director Steve Binder's "Vision" of family entertainment. A vision so trippy and demented that even George Lucas couldn't top it when he came to make his Prequels (God knows he tried!).
Cuts and Additions:
I have...
- In some cases I've re-arranged, cut-up and looped the footage. In most cases it was already mad enough!

I have not...
- Added any sound or visuals (Outside of the opening titles and credit music)
- Added any slow-mo
- Adjust colours
- Re-dubbed any audio
- Or applied any visual FX
... i.e. if it looks crazy here, it looked crazy when it was first broadcast on an unsuspecting public in november 1978.

Obviously the visual quality is limited by the VHS source material of this never-commercialy-released car-crash TV show.
Full Fanedit (Password: fanedit.org)

Trusted Reviewer reviews

3 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0(3)
Audio Editing
 
9.7(3)
Visual Editing
 
9.7(3)
Narrative
 
9.3(3)
Enjoyment
 
9.0(3)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
I have no words...

...other than, well... Is it strange to say that it was over too soon? This stuff is like a drug. Horrible, damaging stuff, but strangely addictive.

Why a 10 for narrative? Because the editor communicated what he aimed to communicate: an utter nightmare extracted from an utter nightmare.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: May 04, 2018)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
Well this is pretty much exactly what it sets out to be--all the crazy shit from the Holiday Special mashed together incoherently. And it’s wonderful.

A/V Quality - 9
Editing - 10
Narrative - uh... a 7 I guess (JEDIT: Upgraded to 8)
Enjoyment - 8 (original 6ish) (JEDIT: Upgraded to 9)

Recommended drink: Kashyyyk ale

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I have a very high tolerance for bad Star Wars. I like the Special Editions (well, besides that musical number...). I like the DVD/Blu-Ray revisions, ghost-Hayden and all. I like the prequels. I saw Attack of the Clones in theaters four times. (Note: at this point I have lost all credibility on everything, forever.)

I've never been able to finish the Holiday Special. It really is that awful. It hurts. It hurts my brain. This is the only way I've ever been able to bring myself to watch it for an extended period of time. TM2YC was struck with some real creativity here, refashioning this... this thing into a drug-induced hallucination. The sights and sounds present fit that description all too well. I found myself laughing hysterically to the point of tears during my first viewing. Now, technically speaking, it still looks like the 70's broadcast recording, blah blah. Until Disney actually gives this thing a legitimate release (i.e. never), this is as good as it can possibly look. Besides - this isn't about picture quality. This is about the experience of watching it. Go do it. It'll change you.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0

User reviews

4 reviews
Overall rating
 
8.9
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.5(4)
Audio Editing
 
9.3(4)
Visual Editing
 
9.0(4)
Narrative
 
8.8(4)
Enjoyment
 
9.8(4)
(Updated: March 02, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
6.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Wow, that was a horrible experience, but somehow I couldn't look away. Of course the A/V quality would low, but everything else gets top marks because the editor succeeded in doing what he set out to do: turn a 97 minute drug trip into an 18 minute drug trip.

Narrative? What narrative? Just an incoherent nightmare. Enjoyment? More like "anti-enjoyment". Self-inflicted torture.... in the best way possible. I recommend this edit because if I had to see it, then everyone else has to see it too!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
Just sneak into your favorite club or Rave and slap this shit on as the background visual-- Loved it, though even at 18mins I still find the Holiday Special an excruciating painful watch, unless you like damaging your cerebrum

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Jeejuss H. Pink Star Woes Floyd. Viewing may lead to cerebrospinal fluid leaking out your nose.

Trip factor: 10 mental aerothrusts.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
(Updated: July 14, 2013)
Overall rating
 
7.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
7.0
Narrative
 
7.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
What a truly horrifying experience. Once I started watching, I couldn't avert my eyes. I became mesmerized by this gratuitous spectacle that is "Fear and Loathing in the Star Wars Holiday Special." The editor called it, when he said this "comes off like a terrifying acid-trip nightmare." No horror movie ever made can do this justice.

Watch at your own risk, however do check your health insurance coverage for psychiatric care before so.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Owner's reply July 15, 2013

Music to my ears. The tone of your review not only suggests you enjoyed it but that you got into the spirit of it too! Now...

"GO CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM!!!"

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0