Pulp Empire

A phenomenal edit that is just a very fun watch. Can't put it into words, really, but if you're a fan of music, Star Wars, and/or Tarantino, I highly recommend checking this out!

Unfortunate that it's in 720p, but other than that everything is great.

This is the reason a category like "FanMix" exists in fan edits, and lordy do I wish there were more of them. What a truly fun and original idea. I watched this with a few friends and some beers, and I have to say I think that's the ideal situation. Much laughter and amusement was had.

A few notes, as the star ratings apply a bit differently to this kind of edit:
A/V quality: as some others have noted, it's hard to do slow mo when they didn't film it in slow mo. You don't have as many frames as you need, and it can look cheap. That said, even though there was a LOT of slow mo used, it didn't distract too much.

Visual Editing: wow, so many bold choices here. The split screens, some new wipes, fades... lots of it amazing. A couple of those slow mo fades went TOO slow and were distractingly cheesy for me, but overall it was great.

Audio Editing: I was not holding this film accountable for replacing every scrap of Williams' score, as Tarantino always mixes in many different styles and crossfades seemed fine to me. As such, no "remaining bits" stuck out to me, unlike what some other viewers have mentioned. I actually have to give njvc a perfect 10 since it's so hard to isolate dialogue from score and re-edit without losing parts.

Narrative: ok, look, the original ESB was not made in a vacuum. You had to have watched the first Star Wars, and ESB basically had no ending, either. I would not expect this edit to "fix" that. It's made for those familiar with the Trilogy, and with Tarantino's films. So don't expect the same kind of narrative flow of other movies. And sorry Tarantino superfans, his movies aren't nearly so "tight" as you think. Tarantino always writes stylish SCENES, and his overall narrative is secondary. He's definitely a director that focuses on style over substance, and in fact most of both his style and his substance is taken from other films and other writers and directors. This film is a perfect mash-up then, because it does to Tarantino exactly what he's done to other filmmakers. Well, except this film actually gives credit to the inspiration. So Tarantino could do that if he re-titled some of his films "Reservoir Dogs in the City on Fire", "The Glorious Dirty Dozen Bastards", or "Game of Killing Bill".. But I digress. For what it's trying to do, essentially give you all the feelings without heavy focus on plot, this film accomplishes its throughline.

Enjoyment: this will depend a lot on what kind of style you enjoy, but the 70's and Tarantino influences are obvious in the choice of music and montages. Neil Young doesn't do much for me, and the extensive use of his song at the end of the film consequently fell flat for me. On the other hand, some people commented they didn't like the way The Ecstasy of Gold was used, but all my friends and I were super into that. Generally, if you like Star Wars and Tarantino films (particularly Kill Bill), then you should enjoy this highly.

The only other thing I'd add is that I think the film could've leaned into the "fun factor" a lot more heavily. Most people have pointed out the character montages (especially Vader's) as a highlight, and I would've liked to have seen a fitting one for Leia, as well as ones for Lando, Tarkin, Chewie, and the ever-crapped-on droids R2 and 3PO. I'd agree that about 50-75% of the way into the film, the narrative gets a little straight and boring. In the original ESB, they use the lulls of the Falcon in the cave and the gang at Cloud City in order to then shock you when the cave moves and Vader shows up. However, this is a different kind of viewing experience, and that 'building tension' doesn't work the same. With about 30 minutes cut out of the film, this is more of a lean action movie, so that late mid section needs to move accordingly. I actually didn't miss much of the cut material (do like the Taun Taun stuffing) except that (as some others have noted) the ending fell a bit flat for me. The previous use of split screen would've been great to have Luke and Vader psychically communicating at the end, and I feel there's a cut of that somewhere that would've added to the sense of poignancy and attempting to avoid fate that njvc was going for.

All in all, a super fun film, and one I'll show to anyone who wants to know what a "fan edit" can be. This defines the field. Thanks njvc!

Finally got around to watching this. Wow! This is edit is right up there with War of the Stars in its creativity and revitalizing of a story that I thought I knew in and out. NJVC has made an oddity of a gem with this one that is sure to capture the attention and inspire the imagination of viewers and fellow faneditors. Since I've never seen a Tarantino film, I've seen clips but just don't care for his stuff and style, this review may miss the reasoning behind some of the editing decisions.

Visual Editing: 9
The editing is top notch. I only took away 1 point due to the excessive use of slowed down footage which after awhile becomes a bit repetitive and taxing. The split screen shots were excellently integrated and fit the presentation.

Audio Editing: 10+
Having done some pretty extensive audio editing on edits I am in awe with how seamlessly NJVC was able to add the new tracks and preserve the pre-existing dialogue without a distracting level of the pre-existing score. This is especially impressive as Star Wars is extremely music centric and difficult to isolate dialogue.

Narrative: 7
For how drastically different the presentation is, it's really similar to the core story, just very fragmented. The mark downs come as I never really knew what I was watching. Was it a story? Was it a montage? Was it a continuous music video? Then it just ends with characters that we haven't spent much time with. This makes it hard to follow. Perhaps this is where I miss out on the presentation due to my lack of Tarantino exposure? I did like the introduction of Vader with the music and the Obi-Wan dialogue.

Enjoyment: 6.5
I really enjoyed the first 30 minutes or so, then the repetition of slow mo/montage scenes kind of got to me. The ending is pretty ambiguous as well and we don't really spend time with characters enough without the visual montage stuff to be able to focus on and care about them so it was hard to sit down and watch this the whole way through in one sitting. That being said, this edit is brilliant in what it achieves and the doors it opens to the possibilities of fanediting especially in terms of Audio editing and presentation. NJVC proves again that they are one of the top faneditors out there. Masterful in skill and not afraid to take chances and make something familiar feel brand new. This edit is a must see for aspiring to expiring editors to see.

A novel concept, executed superbly. The audio editing is nearly flawless, as is the picture editing. The movie really has that Tarantino feel, and still works as a story, which is pretty marvelous. I do think this edit sometimes straddles the line between an earnest pastiche and the sort of "if x director made y movie" parody that you might find on YouTube. Judged in a void, I would say it doesn't totally work, in that I don't know what someone who had never watched Star Wars or a Tarantino movie would get out of it, but with the context of the original Empire Strikes Back and Tarantino's filmography, it's endlessly amusing and clearly a labor of love. Great job.

The opening of this edit really surprised me. Opening a Star Wars movie in medias res is a new one - and it fits the Tarantino style perfectly. I actively felt myself wondering how we got here. Even though we already know, the movie forces you to look at the narrative in a new way. Probably the best opening scene to a fan edit I've seen yet.

The majority of the film is pure QT style. The music choices and editing style are a near perfect match, and provide a take on Empire that's equal parts humorous and legitimately cool. Some portions of the film feature an abundance of slow motion and montage - the purpose appears to be to maintain sync with the musical choices. It may be a tad jarring in places, but the artistry of these sequences is very good. They may disrupt the pacing a but, but in and of themselves, they're quality. The use of title cards and a nonlinear narrative really complete the experience. The way Yoda was handled was nothing short of inspired.

But the real standout of this edit is the ending. The Empire Stikes Back has one of the most powerful endings in the history of cinema. I like this version better. I don't say that lightly. The way in which it is presented here adds a tremendous emotional punch that surpasses the original film. I was amazed. I sat in silence, jaw agape as the credits rolled.

You're doing yourself a disservice if you don't set some time aside to watch Pulp Empire.