Episode IV: A New Hope – The Darth Editous/ADigitalMan Hybrid Edition


Type................: DVD Movie
Platform............: VIDEO_TS Folder
Burn Tested.........: Yes
Video Format........: DVD/VOB/MPEG2/720x480/16:9/NTSC
Audio Format........: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 Kbps)
Size................: 5.31 GB


RELEASE DETAILS

Genre...............: Fan Produced Fan Edit
Disc Creator........: ADigitalMan
P2P Release by......: Blaksvn-Torrentz


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//Featured Film//
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now a word from the editor...


Episode IV: A New Hope – The Darth Editous/ADigitalMan Hybrid Edition


Darth Editous completed his monster edition of Ep IV right about the time I did
mine, and I quickly realized how much more I preferred his edition; yet, I was
still a fan of a few things in my edition. So I decided to create a hybrid of
the two, so that I could have my own definitive edition that I'd want to watch
every time. Using his video as a base, I re-inserted six sequences from my edit;
namely the extended sandtrooper scene from the SE (I especially liked the music
behind this scene) the Greedo scene (Greedo doesn't shoot in either edit, but
it's handled a bit differently) the Jabba scene (which will immediately
prejudice most of you against this version, I admit) the head bonking scene, the
Biggs scene, and lastly the post-credits scene I concocted. Otherwise, it's all
Darth Editous' work, which was just too painstakingly detailed to mess with.

Then, for the audio, I re-synched my custom 2005 mix throughout (that
straightens out the tie sounds, and then plugged DE's audio back in, keeping
several of DE's corrections. Especially the scenes where he fixed particularly
bad audio with Owen, with Ben, and with Tarkin / Alderaan's destruction. This
created a "best of breed" that took advantages of different corrections we both
made to the audio. It should absolve any issues noted in the Alderaan /
Hyperspace scenes where the subwoofer was overdriven by lopping my edit out at
those points ... 'cept on the Heresy Mix, which really doesn't matter anyway.

I should note that the audio did not need to be recompressed again from our
respective mixes. Because they were both generated at 448kbps, Womble let me
stitch the regions together without recompression. To my ear, they blended quite
seamlessly without the need to rip them apart, crossfade them, and then
re-compress them back into AC3. Thank Womble for small wonders.

As it stood, the Hybrid Edition was only about 4% larger than the length of a SL
disc, so I created two versions. A SL version that is compressed only 4% from
the source, and a DL version that includes the Heresy Mix, resynched. Now that I
think about it, I should probably put the 1997 mix in the DL version as well.
But I'm leaving the 2004 mixes off entirely, even though space permits. They're
just not worth the time.

Anyway, first and formost, the thanks goes primarily to Darth Editous, not only
for making the basis of this project but also being cool enough to agree for me
to let it escape my private collection. I remain appreciative for all of his
help on the prequel and ANH re-edits and wanted to acknowledge him publicly once
again.


Changes made by ADM that appear in this edition:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

A. The DL version contains three audio tracks:
1) 2005 Custom Audio Mix with the following corrections:
a. The surround channels have been leveled out in most scenes to reduce
the effect of the swapped music error.
b. The original Krayt Dragon sound has been restored. It's as you
remember it, folks!
c. The Sound of the stormtrooper's head bonk is greatly reduced to sound
like it did in the O-OT.
d. The missing force fanfare has been restored as the X-Wings move into
attack formation.
e. The "He's your tail" line by Red Leader is restored.

2) The 1997 Special Edition Audio Mix. Thanks to Neil S. Bulk for providing
it! Only availble on the DL version.

3) The Heresy Mix. Enjoy this waste of time. Only available on the DL
version.

B. Han Shot First! Greedo does not shoot at Han! It's as you remember it,
folks!

C. Jabba's scene is left in, but he has been given the option of alternate
subtitles to make his dialogue with Han less redundant and more threatening.

D. There is a post-credits sequence between Vader and The Emperor comprised of
all the incongruous dialogue that was added into ESB. It has been removed from
there and placed here, where it makes sense far more sense conceptually, setting
up "Empire" but without ruining the flow of this film. This actually gives the
Emperor a scene in this film, so he's present throughout the entire saga.


More importantly, changes made by Darth Editous that appear in this edition:

1. The Star Wars logo recedes too quickly. I interpolated new frames to slow it
down to the right speed.
2. Fixed the jump cut after R2 and 3PO cross the corridor (watch the
Stormtroopers in the background)
3. Smoothed a jump cut as R2 starts rolling away from Leia towards 3PO.
4. Smoothed another jump cut as R2 rolls off towards the escape pod.
5. Painted out the flap of white material behind a wall when the Stormtrooper
shoots Leia.
6. Fixed the goof where R2's arm opens the pod door, but disappears in the next
shot.
7. When 3PO and R2 are in the pod, the Star Destroyer recedes into the
background. Unfortunately so do the stars, which is not what they should see.
I've replaced the stars with non-receeding ones.
8. Vader takes a very pantomimish stance when Leia is brought to him -
I've cut that out.
9. Moved the restraining bolt on R2, which appears in the wrong position in one
shot.
10. When 3PO stands up the Sandcrawler, his eyes blink off for half second. I've
fixed that.
11. I've painted out a spurious wire that sprouts from 3PO's head while he waits
in line to be bought.
12. Graphic equalized some of Owen's lines due to poor audio quality.
13. I've painted the reappearing red R5-D4 unit green to fix the continuity
error.
14. There's a bad cut in the music (it completely drops out for a fraction of a
second) when we see the Sandpeople mounting their Bantha - fixed.
15. I've edited out the wall hanging/cloak thing behind Luke to fix a continuity
error (but in a weird way - more on that later).
16. I've morphed Luke and Ben, and adjusted 3PO, so the jump cut is not so
obvious when he turns on the lightsaber (the lightsaber also visibly extends).
17. Mos Eisley. I've painted out (but kept the shot) of the humanoid droid
smacking down the floating droid as the speeder enters Mos Eisley. The shot with
the Ronto throwing its Jawa riders is cut.
18. (This is a really geeky one) I've painted out a small stone that could be
seen rolling across the ground for apparently no reason behind Ben, as he
mind-tricks the Stormtroopers.
19. I've fixed a few frames as the speeder approaches the Cantina, where the
shadows were not correctly painted.
20. In the same scene, a ship in the background flys in front of two moisture
vaporators, which makes it appear to be tiny. I've moved it behind the
vaporators.
21. I've painted out Batboy's transparent eyes.
26. The sync on Ben's line ("If the ship's as fast as he's boasting..." was out
by 600ms (15 frames). It's fixed.
27. I've painted in the missing radar dish on the Falcon as it sits in docking
bay 94 (just before "What a piece of junk!".
28. I've painted out the guy in a green shirt behind Han, in the first shot of
Han in the cockpit after they take off.
29. Before Leia is brought to Tarkin, there's a shot of him and another officer
standing in front of a poorly projected picture of Alderaan. I've replaced the
projection with a shot of Alderaan from later, replicating the original shading
and size.
30. Moff Tarkin's line "...then name the system!" has been graphic equalized to
mask the poor audio quality.
31. The stars behind the Death Star jump (as if a few frames were cut) as the
Death Star fires - I fixed that.
32. Just after Alderaan bites the big one, Luke's lightsaber is green in the
official DVD! Now it's blue again - and I've shortened it because at one point
the tip remains completely out of frame, causing it to appear far too long.
33. I've used reversed footage to fix a horrendous jump cut when Luke turns off
the lightsaber.
34. I've used a morph to fix a bad jump cut when Luke ignites the saber while
wearing the helmet.
35. Vader no longer gestures after finishing his sentence (the shot remains the
same length).
36. When the Falcon enters the DS docking bay, I've fixed the gap in the glow
from the docking bay light.
37. Some of the stars behind Vader, as he walks to the Falcon, show through his
helmet. This is fixed.
39. Using morphs and pastes, I've fixed a few jump cuts and wobbling doors in
the docking bay control room.
40. While our heroes wait for an elevator, a guy goes by first in a light shirt,
then in a dark shirt. Now he just wears a dark shirt.
41. I've painted out a stray hair on Leia's forehead which disappears too
quickly during a cut-away.
42. The line "I had it all under control until you led us down here!" was of
particularly bad quality, so I've replaced it with the same line from the SE LD.
43. After Luke says "It just let go of me and disappeared!" the scene cuts to
Leia, at which point all ambient noise suddenly diminishes. I pasted in some
sounds to make the transition smoother.
45. I morphed R2 as he rolls out of the cupboard to fix a slight jump cut (it
was much worse on the Laserdiscs but still needed touching up).
46. Two overhead shots of Ben at the Tractor Beam Station needed the colours of
the matte painting corrected. The DVD was better than the LD, but there was
still room for improvement.
47. Before the cut-away to Leia ("No wait, they'll hear!", Han's gun emits a
puff of smoke even though he hasn't fired it yet (painted out).
48. Luke says "What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?", runs off
down the corridor, then if you listen closely it sounds like he spits! I cut the
sound out.
49. A morph fixes a jump cut when Leia shuts the door on the approaching
Stormtroopers, leaving her and Luke trapped on the unextended bridge. There was
also a visible squib on the door, which I've painted out.
50. On the DVD, they made a half-hearted effort (a single frame morph) to fix
the jump cut when Ben ignites his lightsaber. I've made this a lot smoother.
51. On the DVD, they claimed to have fixed Ben's unpainted lightsaber (just
before we cut to our heroes getting to the docking bay). All they did was add
the glow, but they forgot to paint the white core. Another shot around this one
had a similar problem for a frame or two.
52. In various shots, I've painted out the power cable that led from Ben's
sleeve to his lightsaber.
53. When Luke sees the duel from a distance, Ben's lightsaber is already raised
and neither saber is painted. The sabers are now painted in the right positions.
54. When Ben gets cut down, I've added in his face so it looks less like an
empty cloak.
55. I've painted Vader's saber red in a few uncoloured scenes (when he's in the
background behind the Stormtroopers).
56. When Han asks "You in kid?" Luke now replies "Yeah," before Han's
"Okay, stay sharp."
57. The Falcon shudders as the TIEs pass, but the shake effect on Han and Luke
is entirely horizontal and shows no motion blur. I've added rotational and
translational movement, and some motion blur.
58. As the TIE makes its first attack, the glow from the Falcon's engine has a
gap in it (from the model's support?) and it flickers. I've smoothed it and
filled in the gap.
59. There's a shot of R2 and 3PO in the curved seat on the Falcon. Look closely
behind Artoo - for a few frames at the end, a head (probably Luke) appears. I've
painted it out.
60. In five or six shots, I've removed the matte boxes from around the TIEs. One
shot was particularly awful.
61. I've desaturated a green-tinted TIE fighter that passes in front of Han, and
a blue-tinted TIE fighter that passes in front of Luke.
62. I've reframed one shot of a TIE approaching the camera which had no stars on
the right 1/5th (or so) of the frame.
63. I've painted out parts of the motion control rig on the falcon that are
briefly visible as the Falcon makes it's final descent towards Yavin IV.
64. I've painted out a tool that a technician knocks off a bench as they take
care of R2.
65. I've fixed the Death Star schematic that appears on the monitor and in the
briefing. The weapon bowl should appear above the equatorial trench, not on it.
66. The clock on the Death Star screen during the attack is now consistent with
the announcements. One shot required colour correction to match all other shots
of the clock.
68. In a couple of scenes, I've painted out some stray hairs that Tarkin forgot
to comb out.
70. In a couple of cockpit shots, I've painted out a speck of white that appears
on the screen (it doesn't move in a way consistent with a distant rebel ship).
71. In two shots of ships pulling out of the trench, I've adjusted the contrast
so that space appears properly black.
72. I've added an X-Wing to the shot where Luke looks down to see Red Leader
bite the dust. It always bugged me that there was an explosion with no visible
cause.
73. I've done my best to correct some bad blue screening, when Luke says "You
can't do any more good back there!".
74. I've reframed the shot of Luke looking back at R2 after he gets shot,
because he clearly wasn't smoking as he was in the shots before and after.
75. I've adjusted the colour of the stars in two trench shots, where black space
appeared blue (probably not noticeable on a TV screen).
76. I've painted out a smudge on the camera, just after Ben is heard
to say "Let go, Luke!"
77. I've copied the second of two identical shots of Vader spinning out of
control over the first, because in the first shot, parts of the motion control
rig were visible.
78. I've painted out Vader's eye in one shot when it is particularly visible
through his mask.
79. As our heroes make their way to get their awards, one rebel in the
background raises his hand just before a cut - I've painted it out. Maybe he
needed the bathroom.
80. Leia's now don't start moving up a few frames before the credits begin.
81. Denis Lawson's name is now spelled correctly in the end credits.


<soapbox>
By the way, I consider all of these to be educational projects. Please don't
support piracy; please obtain a properly-licensed copy to any of the films I do.
It is important for Hollywood to get the message that we're not out to rob them,
but also that digital distribution is not going away just because of the MPAA's
Gestapo tactics and monopolization of distribution through fixed media.
Hollywood needs to find a legitimate way to monetize BitTorrent and similar
technologies, rather than threatening to destroy them like they did Napster.
Clearly, the MPAA learned nothing from the RIAA. But if users of the technology
have properly licensed materials to begin with, then we stand to give Hollywood
little legal ground to stand on about editing and sharing our works.
</soapbox>

- ADigitalMan


Torrent:
http://www.myspleen.net/details.php?id=2640