Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Custom Special Edition) 1080p Hal9000 FanEdit

Hal9000's Custom Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition



If the following strikes you as esoteric, I invite you to peruse the forums of Originaltrilogy.com.

First and foremost, I must give credit Adywan for making this endeavor plausible for me. His ‘Revisited’ and ‘1997 Special Edition Reconstruction’ projects made it a no-brainer for someone like me to cobble them together with ease into a hybrid version. Credit is also due to KK650 for color corrected '11 footage in one scene; CapableMetal, Jetrell1969, and SilverWook for their combined efforts at making the theatrical DTS audio from the 1997 Special Edition available; ChainsawAsh for encoding a DTS mix; and MalàStrana for assisting with subtitles.

Having satiated my restlessness with the Star Wars prequels, I wanted to put together a custom 'Special Edition' of the original trilogy to place on my shelf alongside the original, theatrical versions (currently represented by Harmy's Despecialized Editions). I thought about calling them the "So You've Decided To Watch The Special Edition" version, because they wouldn't be intended as one's sole version of the films. Rather, a companion piece to the original versions, as a Special Edition should be.

I do not consider this a full-blown fan edit, as I am primarily hybridizing existing official versions of the film, keeping changes I can appreciate and excluding those I feel hinder the film. Of course, this is highly subjective, and everyone's perfect blend would be slightly different.

I utilized three video sources for this project: Adywan’s 1997 Special Edition Reconstruction, Adywan’s ESB: Revisited, and KK650's Semi-Specialized Edition. The primary audio source is the 1997 Special Edition theatrical DTS audio, though audio from Revisited was used for a few scenes, and 2011 BluRay audio for one scene.

This project is presented in 1080p BluRay-compliant video, with DTS and AC3 audio tracks, and English and French subtitles.

***Available as a 1080p BR-compliant mkv, 720p mp4, and a DVD5.***

Here follows a list of changes made to the 1997 SE starting point for this project. 

***Video Changes, beginning from Adywan’s 1997 SE Reconstruction:

- Used wampa escape scene from Adywan’s Revisited, which brings enhancements while retaining the pacing (and, indeed, sync) of the original version.
- Used the conversation between Vader and the Emperor from Adywan’s Revisited, as he essentially honored the content of the original version of the scene while realizing the potential the 2004 DVD version presents.
- Used Adywan’s Revisited to avoid a continuity error posed by the Special Edition as an expanded cityscape out a Cloud City window disappears a few shots later.
- Recreated the original pacing of the escape from Cloud City, removing Vader departing for and arriving on his star destroyer, though leaving two brief shots of the shuttle ascending.
- Used color corrected footage from KK650 to include the 2004 alteration of correcting Piett’s and another officer’s badges appearing on the opposite side of their uniforms.

Audio Changes, beginning from the 1997 Special Edition theatrical DTS audio mix:

- Reinstated Luke’s line to R2 of, “You’re lucky you don’t taste very good.”
- Used 2011 BluRay audio to include updated sound design for Slave I during its first appearance to match Episode II.
- Removed Luke’s scream from the 1997 mix as he falls down the Cloud City shaft after his confrontation with Vader.

I'd prefer not to have this project listed at FanEdit.org due to the large dependence it has on the prior work of others and relative ease of production. It's just something for my own enjoyment that others may appreciate.