Victoria. BC This Cutting Room Floor Has 22 Minutes: an IMAX AOTC discussion thread (WARNING: IMAX spoilers)

I just got back from Vancouver after seeing AOTC on the IMAX screen.

The sound and visual details I'd missed seeing and hearing in the theatres was worth the edit, in my opinion. The "younglings" barely stiffled giggling at Yoda's comment about Obi-Wan losing a planet was worth every absent minute of frolicking in a Naboo pasture. And I'll definitely forgive Lucas his super-condensed ending credits and the snipped audience with the Queen of Naboo for the visible details of the inside of the Jawa sandcrawlers, and the slight quivering of Yoda's ear-tips in the final scenes of the film.

I'm curious about what other people saw/heard/felt for the first time in seeing the IMAX version of AOTC, and how they weigh it against those scenes that were shortened or cut entirely.

- Rani

 

All in all, I loved the IMAX version. It was MUCH better than the original theatrical release.

The speed and pace of the movie never let up for an instant, there were very few "dry spots" left in the movie.

A few things I didn't like:

No introduction for Owen Lars...

No introduction for Count Dooku...

No "playing Jar-Jar for a patsy" scene.

Other than that, everything was perfect as far as I was concerned. They could have made a few MORE cuts... like the "We have R2 to protect us" scene.

And did any of you notice that the final "pan up" of the wedding scene was totally different that original? They DID NOT hold hands before!!!

And I saw (or thought I saw) a few extra seconds of footage in the Coruscant Chase scene, just before Zam fires at the Power Coupling towers... maybe I was just seeing things, I dunno...

All in all, it was a MUCH tighter, much better movie. And you gotta love being able to see the textures on Dex's and Yoda's tongues... as well as the skin textures of the Kimonians.

Indy

 

They DID NOT hold hands before!!!

Actually...they did, but only in the digital release.

 

"Actually...they did, but only in the digital release."

This is correct. There was something like 60-70 minor changes in the DLP cut of AOTC; this was one of them.

[image=http://64.227.26.45/Grilled-Sarlacc/s/i/91.jpg]

 

I recall seeing the holding hands scene, but I did see it at the DLP the last time. Thanks for clarifing that dan, before I embarassed myself in a public forum.

I sure enjoyed the size and scope of the film on the IMAX screen, and the rumble of the sounds through the floor. Even the second time through (the sixth time I've seen it) the Coruscant chase scene was still rivetting.

They did slice up the set-up of Jar Jar as the idiot who brings about Palpatine's supremacy, and that's the only cut I wished hadn't been, as that explained/justified JarJar's whole purpose for existence within the GFFA. Well, it's not like those scenes didn't happen, we just had to recall that they occurred even though they weren't shown. And less is always more where JJB is concerned.

The battle between ObiWan and Jango seemed shorter, but I suspect that was not an edit, but rather the scope of it was so huge on the big screen that you got swept up in it.

In fact all the battles were faster and bigger and well worth the ticket price: seeing the Jedi in action like that made it easier to follow individuals, and to see that they were holding their own against immense odds... in the smaller screen viewings I had attended, it really looked like they were getting slaughtered out of hand, but in the IMAX edit, they look faster and better. Not sure if the scope is really all the difference there, but whatever.

The Kaminoans looked amazing: you could lose yourself in their eyes, and their swaying grace was even more attractive to the eye on the large screen. Indeed, the close-ups and the edits made Anakin far more of a sympathetic figure for me: his expressions were much clearer, and the slicing away of so many of his more pathetic lines only helped him feel more real. I especially enjoyed the morning after the nightmare scene, where he's standing 'at ease' meditating fruitlessly in the dawn light and the translucency of his tunic highlighted his fragility and how torn he was. He actually came across as tormented to me in that scene.

The music seemed to drive the action more, yet remained inobtrusive, which I think was an improvement over the original.

Cuts I noticed: Jocasta Nu: gone completely, which I liked on one hand, as her snippy tone annoyed me (I would hope Archivists, among my favourite characters to explore in fanfic, would be a little more open-minded) but which bothered me on a storytelling front, as her attitude is shown as symptomatic of what is holding the Jedi Order back... they are failing to meet their mandate because they are too hidebound and traditional. I thought Jocasta's reaction to the idea that someone could tamper with the Archives as a perfect symptom of the Jedi Order's reluctance to change.

I still had issues with some of the dialogue, and the creature realisation via CG, but this wasn't a remake or a reshoot, so I have already aired those complaints in the review forum, back in May.

All in all, I hope eventually all of the Star Wars movies are translated into the IMAX format: I'd give anything to sit dead centre and fly down that trench with Luke and the Rogues...

Anyone up for a return trip, maybe in December?

*Derisa*

 

The battle between ObiWan and Jango seemed shorter, but I suspect that was not an edit, but rather the scope of it was so huge on the big screen that you got swept up in it.


That was one of the things that bothered me the most. Originally, it went Obi-Wan talking to Mace and Yoda to Anakin and Padme's talk before they went to Tatooine, to Jango and Obi-Wan's fight to Anakin and Padme's arrival at Tatooine.

The way they did it @ IMAX doesn't work at all!

They switched it around, so that now Obi-Wan talks to Mace and Yoda, then fights Jango, then Anakin and Padme's talk, then they're arrival at Tatooine.

And there were two cuts of major importance:

1. Anakin's dream sequence. (I have to say YAY to that, for very obvious reasons that I won't get into here, but I assume everyone know's what I'm talking about.

2. Boba Fett firing Slave I's cannons, which not only takes some of the tension away IMHO, (I mean, how would you feel if you had a ship blasting at you while dealing with a top notch bounty hunter?) but butchers them music real bad.

IMHO, the music from this scene is one of the best in the whole SW movies period. Hearing it cut to pieces was very distracting for me.

 

Hey all finally amde it over to vancouver my self to see this nagnificent film on what was for a moving experience. I'd forgotten just how huge that screen was and brought to life every detail that you just can't see any where else no other theatre allowed me to see as much of the clones a possible less twenty minutes. Brilliant film Brilliant screen Beautiful experience. I did find a few of the cuts alittle jarring and I missed every scene that was cut but no great thing comes without some sacrifice. So thanks agin george for reminding me why these are my favorite movies.
Kurt
P.s sorry that I couldn't warn any of you (so that you could join me) about my trip over but it just happened at the last minute . Hope you all have a chance to experience this with some friends.

 

Ah, you lucky Canadians.