Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: Dan Edit

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Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: Dan Edit
Faneditor Name:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1983
Original Running Time:
129 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
102 minutes
Time Cut:
27 minutes
Synopsis:
This fan edit trims the final installment of the Star Wars saga into a more economical, focused chapter by removing as much as possible from story elements that don’t support the primary narrative of Luke’s journey to redeem his father.
Intention:
Whenever I watch The Empire Strikes Back I get a hankering to put Jedi on, and whenever I do I’m massively disappointed. The first hour feels largely unnecessary, with the bloated Jabba’s palace sequence feeling like filler, and then of course, there’s the infamous Ewoks. Rather than building an interesting film about Luke coming to terms with his roots, and Leia starting on a path to become a Jedi, Lucas gave Leia nothing to do in the whole film, and until the last half hour disregarded Luke’s emotional struggles.

Unfortunately these problems are much too fundamental for a newbie editor like myself to fix (hopefully Adywan will eventually get round to dealing with them), but by cutting back the Jabba’s palace stuff, and reducing the infantile Ewok behaviour, the film becomes much more enjoyable.
Release Information:
DVD
Cuts and Additions:
- Reduced chat between C-3P0 and Bib Fortuna
- Boba Fett taken out of the whole film!
- Less laughter from Salacious Crumb
- Gave Jabba new dialogue throughout
- Took out entire droid torture scene
- Took out the Jedi Rocks musical number
- Took out beat where Boushh threatens Jabba with thermal detonator
- Reworked whole scene where Chewie is led in, set to ‘Bounty For A Wookiee’ from the soundtrack, rather than the Max Rebo Song
- Took out horrible beat where Lando very slowly and deliberately reveals his face from under the mask
- That frog outside the palace doesn’t burp
- Substantionally reworked Leia and Han being caught by Jabba, taken out bad humour, added tense music from soundtrack
- Took out entire scene between Chewie and Han in the dungeon
- Added new exterior shot of palace for pacing reasons, since the aforementioned scene is gone
- Reworked scene where Luke confronts Jabba, many small cuts and changes to heighten drama
- Tightened up Rancor sequence to take out bad special effects, shots of Fett, and muppetry
- Reworked the ‘sentencing’ scene with tense music, and Han/Luke cheesy dialogue excised
- Many changes to Sarlacc sequence, to take out Fett, Salacious Crumb, and generally to ramp up the drama
- Took out Ben’s lines about "from a certain point of view"
- Took out Lando’s cheesy grin after Han describes him as the respectable one
- Took out Han’s "good luck, you’re gonna need it"
- Took out 3P0′s line "exciting is hardly the word I would choose"
- Took out entire scene between Lando and Han in the ship’s hangar.
- Took out Han worrying about the Falcon.
- Reworked shuttle scene: the intent being to remind the audience of the scene near the end of TESB, where Luke and Vader are communicating while on separate ships; this adds foreboding and tension that Han’s jokes took away from
- Removed Han’s line ‘Hey, it’s me!’
- No longer does Han walk on the twig and the stormtrooper turns round. It always bothered me that Chewie growls a moment earlier. So I made his growl loud enough that the stormtrooper hears, turns, and sees Han.
- Made several small pacing cuts to the speeder bike chase
- After Luke lightsabers the speeder bike and it crashes into the tree it no longer makes that annoying, comic, out-of-control sound
- Whole scene between Leia and Wicket has gone
- Han’s line "I hope she’s all right" has gone – it’s too on the nose
- Small cuts to the gang’s first scene with the Ewoks, fewer Ewok shots and Han’s 'proper?' also taken out
- Several cuts during the scene where they’re going to be cooked for dinner. As much cutesey Ewok stuff as posible edited out
- Threepio’s story telling scene has been tweaked, to reduce Ewok cute stuff and Han’s bad jokes
- The beat outside between Han and Leia now plays out in near silence: He asks her what’s up, she looks sad then says hold me
- When that Ewok (Paploo, or whoever) takes the speeder bike, he zooms away and that’s the end of the scene
- When the Rebel fleet appears and "it’s a trap" the ships fly towards the Empire’s fleet... it cuts to Luke watching the battle
- During the big battle sequence there are many cuts, mostly from the Ewok section, to reduce silliness and build drama between these three fights
- The awful call-back to Empire, where Han says I love you, Leia says I know, has been replaced by tense music
- When Luke is hiding from Vader I made the image slightly darker to make his hiding more plausible – it’s always bothered me
- Took out the humongous exploding shield generator. It seems to wipe out half the forest
- Took out Lando "Yeehaaa" or whatever cheesy line it is, when they escape the Death Star

Then the ending:
- I used a section of the end credits music, it’s an uplifting piece, but with a hint of melancholy, which seems appropriate; most importantly it feels Star Wars, unlike both Yub Nub and the SE music
- The Ewok party is cut right back, I used the Han/Leia/Luke hugging from the GOUT, which is longer, then cut to:
- Sebastian Shaw’s ghost
Rotj_danedit_disc
Rotj_danedit_cover
Faneditor Name:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1983
Original Running Time:
129 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
102 minutes
Time Cut:
27 minutes
Synopsis:
This fan edit trims the final installment of the Star Wars saga into a more economical, focused chapter by removing as much as possible from story elements that don’t support the primary narrative of Luke’s journey to redeem his father.
Intention:
Whenever I watch The Empire Strikes Back I get a hankering to put Jedi on, and whenever I do I’m massively disappointed. The first hour feels largely unnecessary, with the bloated Jabba’s palace sequence feeling like filler, and then of course, there’s the infamous Ewoks. Rather than building an interesting film about Luke coming to terms with his roots, and Leia starting on a path to become a Jedi, Lucas gave Leia nothing to do in the whole film, and until the last half hour disregarded Luke’s emotional struggles.

Unfortunately these problems are much too fundamental for a newbie editor like myself to fix (hopefully Adywan will eventually get round to dealing with them), but by cutting back the Jabba’s palace stuff, and reducing the infantile Ewok behaviour, the film becomes much more enjoyable.
Release Information:
DVD
Cuts and Additions:
- Reduced chat between C-3P0 and Bib Fortuna
- Boba Fett taken out of the whole film!
- Less laughter from Salacious Crumb
- Gave Jabba new dialogue throughout
- Took out entire droid torture scene
- Took out the Jedi Rocks musical number
- Took out beat where Boushh threatens Jabba with thermal detonator
- Reworked whole scene where Chewie is led in, set to ‘Bounty For A Wookiee’ from the soundtrack, rather than the Max Rebo Song
- Took out horrible beat where Lando very slowly and deliberately reveals his face from under the mask
- That frog outside the palace doesn’t burp
- Substantionally reworked Leia and Han being caught by Jabba, taken out bad humour, added tense music from soundtrack
- Took out entire scene between Chewie and Han in the dungeon
- Added new exterior shot of palace for pacing reasons, since the aforementioned scene is gone
- Reworked scene where Luke confronts Jabba, many small cuts and changes to heighten drama
- Tightened up Rancor sequence to take out bad special effects, shots of Fett, and muppetry
- Reworked the ‘sentencing’ scene with tense music, and Han/Luke cheesy dialogue excised
- Many changes to Sarlacc sequence, to take out Fett, Salacious Crumb, and generally to ramp up the drama
- Took out Ben’s lines about "from a certain point of view"
- Took out Lando’s cheesy grin after Han describes him as the respectable one
- Took out Han’s "good luck, you’re gonna need it"
- Took out 3P0′s line "exciting is hardly the word I would choose"
- Took out entire scene between Lando and Han in the ship’s hangar.
- Took out Han worrying about the Falcon.
- Reworked shuttle scene: the intent being to remind the audience of the scene near the end of TESB, where Luke and Vader are communicating while on separate ships; this adds foreboding and tension that Han’s jokes took away from
- Removed Han’s line ‘Hey, it’s me!’
- No longer does Han walk on the twig and the stormtrooper turns round. It always bothered me that Chewie growls a moment earlier. So I made his growl loud enough that the stormtrooper hears, turns, and sees Han.
- Made several small pacing cuts to the speeder bike chase
- After Luke lightsabers the speeder bike and it crashes into the tree it no longer makes that annoying, comic, out-of-control sound
- Whole scene between Leia and Wicket has gone
- Han’s line "I hope she’s all right" has gone – it’s too on the nose
- Small cuts to the gang’s first scene with the Ewoks, fewer Ewok shots and Han’s 'proper?' also taken out
- Several cuts during the scene where they’re going to be cooked for dinner. As much cutesey Ewok stuff as posible edited out
- Threepio’s story telling scene has been tweaked, to reduce Ewok cute stuff and Han’s bad jokes
- The beat outside between Han and Leia now plays out in near silence: He asks her what’s up, she looks sad then says hold me
- When that Ewok (Paploo, or whoever) takes the speeder bike, he zooms away and that’s the end of the scene
- When the Rebel fleet appears and "it’s a trap" the ships fly towards the Empire’s fleet... it cuts to Luke watching the battle
- During the big battle sequence there are many cuts, mostly from the Ewok section, to reduce silliness and build drama between these three fights
- The awful call-back to Empire, where Han says I love you, Leia says I know, has been replaced by tense music
- When Luke is hiding from Vader I made the image slightly darker to make his hiding more plausible – it’s always bothered me
- Took out the humongous exploding shield generator. It seems to wipe out half the forest
- Took out Lando "Yeehaaa" or whatever cheesy line it is, when they escape the Death Star

Then the ending:
- I used a section of the end credits music, it’s an uplifting piece, but with a hint of melancholy, which seems appropriate; most importantly it feels Star Wars, unlike both Yub Nub and the SE music
- The Ewok party is cut right back, I used the Han/Leia/Luke hugging from the GOUT, which is longer, then cut to:
- Sebastian Shaw’s ghost
Cover art by Rogue-theX (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

Trusted Reviewer reviews

3 reviews
Overall rating
 
8.3
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0(1)
Audio Editing
 
8.0(1)
Visual Editing
 
8.0(2)
Narrative
 
9.0(2)
Enjoyment
 
8.3(3)
Overall rating
 
8.3
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
After seeing the Force Awakens teaser trailer I had a renewed interest in the OT (I've come to the conclusion that the PT is beyond saving for me). I decided to watch RotJ, which like many folks, has always felt like a let down and a missed opportunity. I was going to watch Q2's hybrid edit, but discovered this edit was on my hard drive. I honestly don't remember downloading it and don't think I ever watched it. This edit narratively has many things I always wanted in a Jedi edit: no Boba Fett, a Han Solo more in-line with the first two movies, dispensing with the more childish humor, trying to make the Ewoks seem a bit more realistic in battle. Most of this is accomplished and done well. There are definitely areas where this edit could use polishing. I won't go into them in detail as I'm not an editor and they've been well documented by the other reviewers.

The ending is where this edit really intrigued me. The Ewok celebration always bothered me (well okay maybe I like d Yub Nub as a kid) and wanted to see it done with classic Williams score. This works, sort of. Again this is an area where I think it could be polished. I disagree with other reviewers that all dancing needs to be excised. I looked at that as music we, the audience, is not hearing and the score is just that: the score. The dancing takes place in the background so this worked for me. With another pass, I think this could be the best version of Jedi. Nice work.

One final thought. Yads did tighten up the Han/Leia interaction right after the Death Star is destroyed which I was very glad to see. But I think it can be taken further. What if it went like this:

- Leia says "he wasn't. I can feel it."
- Cut to Han looking a little confused buy this statement
- Cut to Leia who simply says "He's my brother."
- Cut to Han as he realizes this and the rest of the scene plays out normally

I never want to hear Han even suggest that a) he might be jealous and not completely trust Leia; and b) volunteer to "not get in the way." I mean this just threw away the great love story of the trilogy. Yads has it close, but a slightly more aggressive cut I think would work.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
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(Updated: September 09, 2012)
Overall rating
 
8.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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8.0
Review by DwightFry78 — December 12, 2010 @ 7:05 am

What a greatly improved version of ROTJ! While still not at ANH/ESB level, this version is a lot less embarrassing and is actually quite enjoyable. Technically the cuts were admirably done, and artistically I agree with everything that was removed… but my criticisms come from what was kept. For my tastes, some further silliness should have been excised (C3PO’s storytelling, or as much of it as possible), as well as some obviousness (“R2, look! Captain Solo! And he’s still frozen in carbonite!” No s–t, Sherlock), some problematic lines (“It is too late for me, son” is a dead giveaway of Vader turning good in the end, and the Emperor’s shooting of his own foot by constantly reminding Luke that his behavioral suggestions are intended to turn him to the Dark Side, no matter he doesn’t! Would you trust me if I told you “Show me your wallet *so I can steal your money*”?), and some ill-fitting character behavior (I think only Jedi knights should use the “May the force be with you/us/whoever” line, and last time I checked Admiral Ackbar wasn’t one) . Still, this cut totally pwns either official one.

And speaking of either official version, here’s my other criticism: this edit is sadly based on the SE rather than the original. I do know that the 2004 SE DVD has better video quality than the GOUT, but I think at least the fugly CGI should have been replaced by the original FX, particularly those cheesy Nintendo desert graphics at the beginning of the Sarlaac sequence. They’re way more dated now that any physical FX in the whole saga. And I still can not believe you left in the PT celebra-toon landscapes in the end! Why oh WHY??? I’d forgive anything else you left in but that! Speaking of the end, the new music kind of works, but you should have removed all shots showing people dancing, incluiding the last one, and end the movie with the shot of the force ghosts. That music just doesn’t invite one to dance.

Overall, despite the flaws, so far this would be my to-go version of ROTJ. Any chance of a DVD release? 8/10.
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(Updated: September 09, 2012)
Overall rating
 
8.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
N/A
Audio Editing
 
N/A
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Review by L8wrtr — November 12, 2010 @ 7:51 pm

Return of the Jedi - The bastard-child of the Original Trilogy franchise. There is so much right with Jedi, yet it is tarnished by what many see as the foreshadowing of Lucas' declining vision and abilities as a filmmaker; needless jokes that fall flat, childish pandering which yes, even I liked as a kid but have soured on over the years. As if a precursor to The Phantom Menace, many good scenes are sidetracked with injected humor that have no purpose.

With his first fanedit, Yads has taken on the challenge of making Return of the Jedi the deserving conclusion to the best space saga of all-time.

This review is intended as an unbiased review of the edit, any comments should be taken as constructive and not personal attacks on the editor.

—————————————————————————————————
Video Quality
Yads was at the time of this review supplied only a 25fps avi so I could only watch this on my 24" monitor. The video quality was in-line with an AVI so it is difficult to evaluate.
No score.

Audio Quality
While I don't have a full 5.1 sound system on my computer, I have a decent audio set-up and the audio sounded good. No harsh or abrupt audio transitions, no omg adjust the volume jumps or drops, but again because of the AVI I can't offer a specific score except to say there were no jarring deficiencies beyond what you'd expect from an AVI.
No score

Editing
Out the gate, this firstling shows great promise. There are no flash-frames, and the edits throughout are fairly seamless. He has made good use of classic Star Wars wipes where appropriate. But more importantly, the edits he has made make sense. There is a visual inconsistency when 3PO suddenly has green slime on his face because the scene of Jabba smacking him is removed. This may be a bit difficult for me to judge because I know this movie back and forth, but there were certain sequences where the audio is technically acceptable with no hard edits and properly timed cross-fades, but a few sequences, the Sarlaac Pit in particular, the audio work would have benefited from work in 5.1 which allows for more continuity in audio. The result is that it feels just a tad choppy, but it still works well and a casual movie-goer may not notice the changes. 8/10

Story
Here is what really matters, how did this edit compare against the original?

Spoilers
Yads is merciless with the failed humor that permeates and Jedi and drags the film down. Some may feel he has gone too far in this particular aspect, but I enjoyed the more serious tone. Gone are trite scenes such as R2 zapping Salacious Crumb and Wicket, Han's constantly interrupting 3PO and other gags that permeate the movie designed for quick laughs but a) don't help the story and b) don't pay off.

More importantly, Yads has trimmed this down and removed many of the WTF? moments such as Leia going off to the Ewok day-spa on the biggest day of the Rebellion. It creates a minor wtf because you have to conclude she was captured by the Ewoks, but I think more is gained than lost.

Where it really worked:
-No droid torture, not missed at all.
-No sly snootles music interlude, Original flavor or SE. Not missed at all, transition is a tiny bit bumpy, but not jarring.
-Slimmed down Chewbacca sequence, and the music used to overlay the conclusion/transition is particularly well done.
-No "Delusions of grandeur" scene between Chewie and Han. Useless exposition that I didn't even notice was gone until I started writing the review.
-No Boba Fett. He brings nothing to the movie and he is not missed in terms of story.
-The Rebel briefing. Cut out some of the more inane and silly moments (no "Look at you, a General!" exchange)
-No awkward exchange between Han and Lando in front of the horrible matte of the Falcon.
- A wonderful piece of editing is the approach of the strike team to the Death Star and Endor on the Imperial Shuttle. By removing Han's dismissal of Luke sensing Vader as well as Han's failed attempts at light humor, the scene now plays tightly between Luke and Vader. It's very subtle but it hugely improves the dynamic between Luke and his father and helps reinforce what the real story of Episode 6 is, or at least should have been.
-Ewoks. I'm jealous here because I have (perhaps had) my own edit of Jedi planned, and it almost directly mirrors Yad’s work here. Rather than try and delete the Ewoks all together, Yads has made them simply realistic. Gone are almost all of the Ewok's miraculously staged traps to take down AT-ST's. For the most part, outside of being the distraction that frees Han and company, the Ewoks are over-run and outmatched by the Storm Troopers. The Ewoks are a vital component of the story and cannot be cut out, but here they are made to be realistic, and the Emperor's finest legion not a bunch of idiots (well, less idiotic at least, they still leave the front door unguarded in the mayhem, defense FAIL)

Where it doesn't quite work for me:
-Losing Bib Fortuna's attempt to get R2 to give him the gift. For me little is gained from cutting it, and it feels like an edit.
-Rancor scene. Yads has shuffled this a bit to make it tighter and to eliminate Boba. While technically sound, it just feels a little choppy. This was one of only sequences where I felt the presence of the editor.
-Barge/Sarlaac Pit. This is a hard one because the changes to this sequence do work overall. Removing Boba Fett forces some structural changes in the sequence, but Yads didn't settle for only removing the Fett. He has tightened the pacing and removed the flat jokes. The result from a pacing standpoint is a tighter, better battle. Most of the edits are paced nicely with only a few feeling a little rushed.
Where it looses points is the inconsistency of the musical score. The music of this sequence is some of my favorite that John Williams has ever scored, and that perhaps is part of the problem for me. Despite proper cross-fading, many changes stand out like a sore thumb to me. This is the only other sequence were I can definitely feel the editor. Ultimately even though I list this in the doesn't quite work section, it can still be seen as an improvement in how Boba has been removed.
-Then we have the finale/conclusion. I greatly admire Yad's intention here, the climax of Return of the Jedi just doesn't have the emotional crecendo that it deserves, and the music, whether Original Flavor or Special Edition is a let-down (though between the two I prefer Nub Nub). Yad's solution is a great idea and in fact comes close, but by mixing two different scores prior to the concluding fanfare, it highlights that this is an edit rather than feeling that this was the natural ending.
-Yads does not mention himself anywhere in the credits, come on man, give yourself some credit!!

So from a story standpoint the overall improvement is high in my opinion. The editor's intentions and designs are great, only held back by some technical limitations. 9/10 for story improvement

Overall:
This edit is held back by a few technical bumps , but more-so by the limited release of a 25fps avi. If this were an NTSC DVD, this would be my go-to version of Return of the Jedi and would cause me to consider abandoning my own plans for an edit.

I hope that Yads returns to this edit, provides some polish and makes the DVD release that this edit deserves. As it stands, looking at the quality of the editing job here I would rate the movie a strong 8.5, but the technical aspects (both avi and some of the rougher edges) pull this down to a 7.5 which for me rounds up to 8/10.
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User reviews

4 reviews
Overall rating
 
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0(3)
Audio Editing
 
8.7(3)
Visual Editing
 
8.3(3)
Narrative
 
8.3(3)
Enjoyment
 
8.3(4)
(Updated: March 11, 2021)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
An interesting different take for ROTJ. Having watched both the radical re-edit and the more simpler fan edit, Dan shows great skill and love for the film in his two attempts at perfecting it. Not always perfect, and I'm not a fan of the PAL 25.0 FPS, but I can't blame the editor for that obviously and it's not a fault per se. The edit does present various really good solutions to some of the superficial problems plaguing the movie - or, in other words, a lot of the fat is trimmed and the experience is a more enjoyable for it.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: August 18, 2014)
Overall rating
 
7.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
7.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
7.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I absolutey love this edit, But unfortunately their were a few weird moments such as when the frog burped and he cut out the audio but not the video and the edit finished before the credits had finished.

The edit itself though is absolutely super, I loved what you did to Han Solo as he is no longer
a moron instead a wise, kind, loving boyfriend. I also loved the change of music in the ending celebration even though it had some technical audio issues. You have cut out most the bad stuff which made the good stuff better. I could go on all day saying just how great this edit is, but the basic message is that its fantastic.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
I must explain my ranking - it's actually a good quality version of the movie. However, the cuts seemed almost undetectable to me and I thought I may as well play my store copy of ROTJ. It just did not seem like there was much done, and without help this is one of my least favorite of the Star Wars series. Just too darn cute.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
No
Format Watched
DVD
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: September 09, 2012)
Overall rating
 
8.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
N/A
Audio Editing
 
N/A
Visual Editing
 
N/A
Narrative
 
N/A
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Review by Christian Scott Back — April 9, 2011 @ 6:45 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*
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