Pulp Empire

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.

Yes, I read other reviews before I got this. And no, the slo-mo did not bother or distract me. The multi panel shots were terrific. Battle of Hoth was a standout sequence.
The loose narrative structure applied quite well to grindhouse cinema of the 70s, which is what Tarentino has made built his career aping. The new jumps in plot also kept me on my toes throughout. I did not notice plot holes so much as missing characters. Uhhh ... Wedge? That was acceptable, however, as it kept the focus on lead characters, and a couple supports. Really nice job juicing Boba Fett's role, by the way.
Music was hit n miss. Sorry, but that last song should have been tossed.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and gave nice reviews on several forum boards, including a link for the trailer.
Quality edit.

Let me get a few things out of the way first.

I've watched this fanedit six times. Before it was released I was a previewer and gave njvc private detailed feedback 19 pages long. I've put a lot of thought into reviewing this fanedit. I watched the workprint 5 times and the final cut once.

I am very biased when I watch this edit because I'm a Tarantino fanatic. I can't help but compare it to his films and think "how would Quentin have done that scene?" Is it fair to do that? No.

This is not a positive review but I'm going to try my best to be constructive and compliment the goods as much if not more than the bads.

Lastly, I love njvc to death. He is a great friend, a talented musician and editor and has a beautiful beard.

On with the review!


Audio/Visual Quality: DVD5 was great quality, haven't watched it in HD yet but I'm sure it's all good. 10/10


Visual Editing: First the bad, then the good.

There is an overkill of slow motion. The editor relied on that Twixter plugin way too much. Some of the dissolves/transitions felt out of place. Too much style over substance.

But damn njvc does some cool stuff. A lot of marvelous skill on display here. Some of the hero moments and montages have nicely composed visuals. Great split screen effects. Many wonderful stylistic nods to Tarantino. 8/10


Audio Editing: First the bad, then the good.

I felt that the editor was lazy in his choice of music. There was too much reliance on Tarantino music in my opinion. The genres and styles of music change so often and it lacked an overall theme or throughline to the soundtrack. At times it felt like watching Empire Strikes Back with a Tarantino soundtrack playlist on shuffle playing over it.

There were like 40 different songs in a 90 minute movie. Some of it clashed together, Chapter 5 in particular felt cacophonous. Chapter 2 had the best selection, the different styles worked well there.

But there were many wonderful musical moments all throughout. Chapters 1 & 2 were absolutely perfect musically. Chapter 3 was almost perfect. Chapter 5 had some great moments. Slaughter and L'Arena were my favorite choices.

And despite the fact I previously told njvc that he raped Morricone's Ecstasy of Gold, the audio editing in that Vader fight is fucking awesome.

7/10


Narrative: Great first half, falls apart in second half.

Prologue through Chapter 3 was dope. Pre-credits sequence is best moment. Yoda chapter first was brilliant. The non-linear aspect worked well in the first half.

Chapter 4 was too rushed. The Space Oddity montage ruined pacing for me and felt completely out of place. Chapter 5 felt too long by itself. Chapter 6 starts off nicely but then it gets to the big moment.

Ending was terrible. You fucked up the greatest movie ending ever. Sorry for the bluntness.

5/10


Enjoyment:

Despite all my criticisms there was a lot I enjoyed about it. It's obvious the editor had a blast making this and put a lot of blood sweat and tears into it. It's meant to be a fun remix. I really enjoyed some of it. And others have said how much they love it, I'm in the minority here.

For me this is not a case of the good outweighing the bad. I wanted to see "The Empire Strikes Back directed by Quentin Tarantino". This was not it. I was disappointed, maybe too much hype had built up for it.

My enjoyment is purely based on my own tastes and personal viewpoints about movies.

6/10


Recommend?

For Star Wars fans who don't care for Tarantino or people who think Kill Bill is Tarantino's best.