CT Does anyone actually prefer the Clive Revill/Elaine Baker Palpatine?

I prefer it. The dialogue is simple and concise. The replacement dialogue and imagery, like several other changes, seems like something altered for a dumbed-down audience. I've never felt the two movies didn't match anymore than I felt confused by seeing Ewan McGregor play Alec Guinness's part.

 

I prefer Ian McDiarmid, but wish they would have made him look more like the elderly, sickly Palpatine in ROTJ rather than the way we saw him in ROTS. At a minimum they should have covered more of his face. Aside from that I like everything about the re-shoot.

 

Bobatron beedubaya I watched ESB again last night on Blu ray and both your posts sum up my feelings for this scene. I like that they added Mcdiarmid for continuitys sake in terms of who played him. However his look doesn't tie up with ROTJ which is a pity. The worst thing about the scene is the dialogue though, it seems stilted and forced, trying to treat the audience like they're simple I feel.

 

Helllllllll NOOOOOOO McDiarmid is Palpatine. Nuff said!

 

not really.

 

Original

 

I also agree that the dialogue seems somewhat rushed. It's not terrible but if they wanted to change it they could have done better. I really think the original dialog would have been fine voiced by McDiarmid.

 

On a slight side note to this, I thought it was a big reveal to get to see the mysterious Emperor in this film. It left me wanting to know more about him.

 

Tough one. There is something very creepy about Clive Revill's Emperor Palpatine, especially knowing how he was created (monkey eyes, old woman wearing a mask). When I was younger the inconsistency really bothered me and I used to think the transmission looked a bit hoaky. Nowadays I appreciate the effect more because of the great performance.

I will ultimately go with Ian McDiarmid, for continuity reasons, even though it bugs me they didn't even try to make his ROTS appearance match that of ROTJ's since that film is in very close proximity to the events occurring in TESB, so logically he should like identical to that. It's mainly the way the cowl drapes over his head (too open where the cheek areas are) and because they lit his face too well (dramatic shadows always work in Sidious favour). In ROTS there are a couple of shots where he very much resembles his ROTJ self. When he first dons the hooded look after Mace Windu is murdered, for example.

One thing I really love about the new scene (I think the same effect might be present in the old one, too) is that even though the hologram moves quite a bit every now and then due to transmission interferences the glowing yellow Sith eyes stay perfectly put. It makes this gaze that much more hypnotizing.

Ideally, this scene gets one final revision in the same manner that Adywan's fan-edit tweaked it. Keep Ian's (full) performance by placing his eyes and mouth onto a holographic head that resembles his older, more haggard ROTJ appearance.

 

Also, there is something I haven't seen anyone mention before, but recently it dawned on me there is a logical goof in this scene:

Vader steps onto the transmission platform, a giant holographic blue head appears. Since this is a somewhat dimly lit room, shouldn't the whole room (and Vader) have been immersed in blue ambient light? It'd give the scene all the more atmosphere.

 

I'm almost bored by the new version of the scene. It just doesn't flow very well and the Emperor looks more toad-like than scary.

 

I love the change in the SE...in fact ESB is the only SE that I like simply because of this, which I felt was a big continuity issue and Lucas was right to fix it....wish his changes were limited to fixes for continuity and not...well, you know....

 

Likewise.

 

Have to say I prefer Adywan's version with the new Palpatine.

 

This has never been said about post-97 Star Wars ever.

 

I remember I thought it was a bit strange that it's wasn't the same person in ESB and ROTJ. Still I strongly prefer the old version. I think a problem with many new films is they serve everything directly. Reading LOTR for example there were these surprises in location, creatures and characters all the time. But then in the films they pretty much show everything and explain everything in the very first film. Putting Ian in that scene makes it less surprising when he really makes his entrance in ROTJ. The old version is also so much more mysterious and cool.

 

No

 

This was a change I liked visually. After seeing Jedi any time I watched ESB I wanted to see McDiarmid in that scene. Not a fan of the new dialogue though.

 

I still prefer the original version myself. The original Emperor seemed more foreboding and less twirling mustache villain. I am not a fan of McDarmid's Palpatine, he never felt evil enough to me, just a slime ball politician.

 

I'm torn on Diarmid Palpatine. There are some things about him that I like and others I don't. I believe he is very overrated as a villain in fandom.

 

I am a fan of Jedi McDiarmid, but not Prequel McDiarmid.

"Gooooood!"
The cackling.
Always love it.

 

I just watched the Adywan Revisited version of the scene. That is perfect. Unaltered dialog compared to the original one was well as McDiarmid with an elderly ROTJ look rather than how we saw him in ROTS. I wonder if Disney can be petitioned to make that change in a future re-release of the OT.

 

When I first saw ROTJ, I didn't like the "new" emperor. In ESB, the emperor had this deep, menacing voice, and conveyed a sense of power. Then, when he showed up in person in ROTJ, he was a cackling old man with a flair for theatrics. I didn't know at the time that it was a different actor, but I did feel the portrayal was very different, and I didn't like it much. So, in that sense, I preferred the original.

Now, though, with McDiarmid being the definitive face/voice of Palpatine, I do appreciate the update that they made in ESB to include him. And, of course, I've grown to like McDiarmid's portrayal quite a bit.

But I agree with a couple of other posters here: Adywan's version of the ESB scene is probably the best, particularly for continuity reasons.

 

But, it's not even McDiarmid in the new version of the scene, it's that horrible CGI-generated zombie from ROTS. Maybe if they had made ESB Palpatine resemble his ROTJ self, that'd be somewhat justifiable, but no they had to use the ROTS Palpatine face. In any case, I think the original was fine...sure the voice and appearance was different than in ROTJ, but we had willing suspension of disbelief for that ever since 1980. And even if there did have to be a change, I have to say that using the ROTS Palpatine face made things worse rather than better.

 

ROTS Palpatine wasn't CGI, it was a genuine mask. It simply wasn't done the same way as it was done in ROTJ. It was designed so he could easily go in and out mask being that for two thirds of the movie he still had his normal face.