I recently read an article over at Ars Technica called Untouched is impossible: the story of Star Wars in film. It’s worth a read, but it basically explains that there is no real definitive version of Star Wars–the original film. Between re-releases, special editions, and, most intriguingly, fan edits, an untouched archival copy of the film as we first saw it does not exist. And, more than that: there would be debate as to what version is ‘definitive’ and ‘original’.
I understand George Lucas’s perfectionist streak, if not his revisionism. I’m not going to rehash the whole debate on whether or not Lucas has a right to change his own movies when they’ve existed in the public consciousness for so long. What’s more interesting to me is the idea that fans have taken it upon themselves to nip and tuck and tweak their own ‘definitive’ versions of the movies too. It begs the question: whose movies are they?
The article turned me on to a particular fan edit called Star Wars: Revisited by adywan. I sought it out and watched it last night. This guy has made an impressive list of fixes and improvements. Most of them I liked, some of them I could do without, but it’s all in good fun. Because ultimately, this isn’t ‘official’, right? Maybe not. If not this, then what? The version I watched as a kid doesn’t exist anymore. The 2004 DVD introduced a whole new set of issues, including some questionable color correction throughout all the movies.
Unlike most so-called fan edits, I happen to think this is an all-around better revisionist version of the original Star Wars than George Lucas’s special editions. But what does that mean? What are the implications of that? If anyone can make their own personal ‘improvements’ upon somebody else’s work, whose version is the ‘real’ version? Is there such a thing? Does it matter? Has Star Wars, the original film, become more of an idea than an actual movie?
Whatever the case, I’m looking forward to adywan’s Empire Strikes Back: Revisited:
Pioneer One is a dramatic series that will be distributed, for free, through the VODO network. VODO is an online distribution platform which is able to reach millions of viewers through their relationships with existing BitTorrent communities. Our previous film, ‘The Lionshare‘, was distributed through VODO and was very well-received. Now we’re turning things up a notch.
In the pilot, what first looks like a terrorist act turns out to be a Cold War relic come back to haunt the present. We follow our main characters, a team of Homeland Security agents, as they discover the truth of what’s happened: a forgotten Soviet space mission has returned to Earth, and what it’s brought back will have implications for the entire world. It’s part political drama, part procedural drama, with a tinge of sci-fi. But beyond the initial catalyst, which is fiction, everything has its root in factual events.
Right now we are working on finishing our pilot episode as a proof-of-concept for the series. Once we secure funding for the rest of the season, six more episodes will follow to finish out our 7-episode first season. From there, we have four more seasons’ worth of story we’re waiting to tell. Each new season of stories takes on a new perspective with new characters and situations that will ultimately contribute to a much larger narrative.
The Lionshare is the debut feature from writer/director Josh Bernhard. It was made in the spirit of the independent, do-it-yourself cinema of the Internet age, shot with consumer video cameras at the cost of a few thousand dollars. The latest in a wave of films dubbed “The New Talkies,” its kinetic style and raw performances recall the work of John Cassavetes and the DOGME 95 movement. Relying on naturalistic dialog and a barebones aesthetic to match the bare honesty of its characters, The Lionshare is a personal look at life and love in an increasingly impersonal world.
The movie is a reflection of how we are living now, as we increasingly relate to each other through the music we listen to and the media we consume; where people communicate through internet memes and pop culture references. The Lionshare demonstrates how the medium has truly become the message.
