Vader and Obi-Wan 2.0

I first saw this as a short clip over at Instagram.

Much to my surprise and delight the full video was available online for everyone to see and to marvel at how technology has helped enhance one of my favorite films of all time.

Star Wars opened in the US on May 25, 1977.

It was a film that combined science fiction with the swashbuckling savvy of a Western and punctured by a dose of family drama. The movie earned $461 Million in the US and $314 Million overseas, which brings the earnings to $775 million. A figured unheard of for a film that writer-director George Lucas even had doubts about.

After visiting the set of the Steven Spielberg film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Lucas was sure Close Encounters would outperform the yet-to-be-released Star Wars at the box office. Spielberg disagreed, and believed Star Wars would be the bigger hit. Lucas proposed they trade 2.5% of the profit on each other’s films; Spielberg took the trade, and still receives 2.5% of the profits from Star Wars.

While it surpassed Jaws in 1975, it’s top spot was taken over in 1982 when ET: The Extra Terrestrial opened. But after inflation adjustments, it still ranks as the second highest grossing film in North America and the third highest grossing film all over the world.

Fast forward to today, that one film has spawned 8 more to complete the Skywalker Saga and there are actually three more films in development. This time a brand new trilogy to be written and directed by Last Jedi director, Rian Johnson.

What took the internet recently by surprise was this re-imagined scene, called Scene 38. It is the lightsaber battle between Darth Vader and his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Comparing the original choreographed fight and the highly timed and dynamic lightsaber duels in the prequels, you can’t help but wonder what if the original trilogy was made with the current cinematic technology we have today  and how it would look like.

Well, wonder no further as a youtube channel called, FXitinPost, took it upon itself to do the reimagining for us.

The result has had most if not all Star Wars fans, cheering the updated treatment and wish it were the real change that George Lucas had incorporated back in the 90’s when he redid the original trilogy to be the definitive version that he has always wanted to film and present.

Now compare this to the original lightsaber fight and see what most fans saw back in 1977, although this is taken from the remastered Blu-ray version released in 2011. While the fight remains the same, the color has definitely been highlighted. As you can see the eyes of Vader’s mask is actually Red and not just black. The same enhancement of color was also given to the red and blue blades of their respective lightsabers.

While some purists may have called out foul and guilty of tampering, I on the other hand, feel that it has enhanced my love for the scene and hope that FXitinPost continue to reimagine some lightsaber sequences for us in the hopes that if along the line, George does decide to create another version of the film, he would have this one to form as basis.

But better yet, ask help from these guys manning the channel.

Who says collaboration is merely about a process wherein you keep your creative ego in check. It is also a joint decision between two or more brilliant minds, to come together and subject themselves to the creative process. They do this in the hopes that they come up with a better product; one that will not deter the love from the original source material, but complement it and inspire many a fertile mind. And in doing so mine their own creativity and thus repeat the process once more for a new generation.

Here’s to a fertile and productive imagination. Get in tune with your Creative Process.

May the FORCE be with you…ALWAYS!