Thursday, February 08, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
'Returning to Jedi', Reviews:
I promised myself I'd start going to bed before 2am, but finally getting all of Returning to Jedi made be break that rule. I had to see it. Gorgeous! The deleted scene reconstructions and placement of behind the scenes footage was fantastic. I'd say this is on par with the previous volumes, and reminds me just how much I really love the original trilogy, especially this one, as it came out during the peak of my kid years (I was very little when the first two came out). Thank you so much for this Jambe, it really was worth the wait. (review by What.Cobbler?)
------------------------------
Jambe - Just watched RTJ tonight, and thought it was a great watch - certainly the most interesting thing that has been through my dvd player in quite a while!
Interesting, informative & well presented - at times I forgot that this was the work of a talented fan - as it was more like something Lucasfilm themselves had come up with.
Like the 'Building Empire 'documentary before it, RTJ gives a true insight into the sheer dedication, hardwork and fun the crew put into making the film, as well as how films of this magnitude are put together. Am sure they'll be a fair few things in your doc that will surprise even the most ardent of Star Wars fans too.
Kudos to you for getting so much material from all sorts of sources - AND kept thing interesting and moving along nicely throughout the entire documentary.
Top job mate - I can only imagine how painstaking this project must have been to put together - let alone getting it to the high standard that you acheived - well done
ps - really liked the end credits and after too. (Review by oojason)
--------------------------------
I've just watched this. INCREDIBLE, absolutely incredible! God, this brings back the fondness I felt for star wars a long while back. Building Empire fans will love this as it doesn't stray from the formula that made BE just work.
I'm not gonna give things away because you owe it to yourself to see it in the first place. Also let the credits roll because it doesn't quite end there either.
Highlight for me though (i'm on a total high with this) is to see my name in the closing credits of a Star Wars film!!!! You just cant beat that! Whoo! (Review by DarthSolo).
---------------------------
This DVD is everything a SW Fan would want. The way you integrated the extra content was wonderful. You brought lost scenes to life (e.g. the sandstorm) showed more angles and interviews from the 80s, 90s and the 21st century. This is by far (of course next to BE) one of the best things ever to come from the OT.com Forums. I hope you keep up the excellent work and bring us STAR WARS next year, after a short rest... (Review by nix.nux)
---------------------------
Wow! What can I say? "Returning to Jedi" is an absolute must have for any serious Star Wars fan or movie fanatic interested in the making of Geoerge Lucas' epic saga. Culled from numerous sources, "Returning to Jedi" is filled with facts and behind-the-scenes footage which gives you an up-close, insider look into the creative process and decision making behind the final chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy.
As an absolute Star Wars fanatic who thought he knew everything about the making of the Star Wars saga, I was surprised to see so much documentary footage I never knew existed. Additionally, "Returning to Jedi" is filled with all sorts of interesting factoids and observations. I mean who knew that the stage they used to shoot the Death Star hangar in "Return of the Jedi" is now the home of a supermarket?
Jambe Davdar's love of the Star Wars saga is obvious in the amount of effort and attention to detail that went into the making this well crafted documentary. This disc will now take it's rightful place next to official bonus disc of the recently released Star Wars Trilogy on DVD. Star Wars fans, "Returning to Jedi" is an absolute must for your DVD collection.
I just want to say a special "Thank You" to Jambe Davdar for his hard work, and efforts to bring "Returning to Jedi" to life. This project is simply fantastic! I just finished watching it and all I have to say is WOW! "Returning to Jedi" is pretty much the quintessential Bonus Disc with tons of behind the scenes footage I've never seen, and little factoids I never knew... and I'm a HUGE Star Wars geek! Again, great work. (Review by gallandro)
-----------------------------
Finished downloading at about 930pm last night and watched about 1/2 of it--SUPERLATIVE JOB all around!
Thank you for all of the time and effort spent. It is not in vain. As a matter of fact, George Lucas should be ashamed because the effort put out by the people he PAID to do this pales significantly to the labor of love you have produced on your own time with very limited resources. (Review by lito2187)
-----------------------------
Just finished watching - ... I loved it. Brilliantly constructed both in terms of content ("I hope he's included a bit about... he HAS!" ad infinitum) and of technique. The most intriguing aspect of this piece is the very subtle commentary on the Lucas/Marquand relationship. I was surprised to see so much footage of Marquand working fairly autonomously on set, and to hear so many comments from him about his input into the story and events.
Of course, there's plenty that suggests the size of Lucas' role in proceedings, from the effects artists' description of his constant screening of their work, to his own comments on how much he was 'needed' on set. In this context, the gag in the AT-ST cabin is very telling...(Review by Jonno)
------------------------------
So the DVD finished downloading yesterday and I immediately copied the files, threw in the IFO fixes and shrunk it so I could watch it without delay this morning.
But yeah, my thoughts: ...Fantastic! Damn, dude, you really raised the bar with this one. The sandstorm recreation was incredible, as was the footage with the prop saber and the newly unearthed footage. The whole thing was so damned tight and professional, I've gotta add my voice to the chorus saying that Lucas should be paying you do to this kind of a service for the fans. This was really the first time I ever got a sense of Marquand as the director, rather than someone Lucas told exactly what to do. I'm excited to dive into the bonus features and easter egg.
Take a break, sir, it's much deserved, but I eagerly await any future projects you feel like throwing at us. (Review by ReverendBeastly)
------------------------------
Excellent work, once again... you've definitely outdone yourself this time! I was struck with how long it was, and how much material was in there. The footage of the saber that Luke built blew my mind, and the reconstructed sandstorm sequence was well done and a treat to see. This documentary really did make me appreciate more the less-appreciated "weakest chapter" in the original trilogy. Congratulations on another fine project. This is a monumental release, to be certain. (Review by SKot)
------------------------------
It's official....Star Wars no longer holds any mystery for me.
I've gone over the prequels frame by frame till I was blue in the face, I've seen bits of A New Hope I never knew existed thanks to Deleted Magic, I've watched in awe at how an Empire was built and now I've Returned to Jedi. The films I loved as a child, the films that held so much wonder for me, I've seen it all now, there's nothing left....
However, I'm not a child anymore. I'm a fully grown adult who loves behind the scenes footage and 2 discs DVDs just for the extras.... and I fricking LOVE Returning To Jedi!!!
Not that this is any shock. Anyone's who has seen Building Empire (and if you haven't then shame on you) knows what they're gonna get here.....but there's just so much of it. So much stuff that I'd never seen before, soundbites I'd never heard, fantastic recreations of lost scenes. Where the hell did you get it all? I mean, I'm a fully fledged SW geek but I can honestly say that at least 75% of the clips used were new to me!
Favourite bit - the extended, pre-effects, Vader/Luke duel.
Least favourite bit...and this is your own fault really JD....after making a point of pointing out Pruneface in the briefing room, I really couldn't help but notice just how much the Emperor looks like him in some scenes ;)
So, to sum it all up, yet another quality release. Inspiring and informative. We all owe you our thanks JD, if I met you tommorrow I'd buy you a pint!! (Review by Daveytod)
---------------------------
A worthy successor to Building Empire in every way. If there's another millisecond of Slave Bikini B-Roll out there I defy anyone to find it without taking an all-access tour of the Skywalker archives. That Super-8 footage... holy crap. What do you bet Sansweet tries to figure out who shot that? Love the FX breakdowns, especially the match-move on the Imperial Reception painting-- that can't have been easy. Skiff flyby audio, matched to the guy driving an ATC. Cute.
Caught Luke's blue trailersaber in the deck fight, but I never saw that video clip of the hero prop before-- what's that from? My favorite bits are the details that were right under my nose-- has that Hell's Angel stormtrooper really been there all along? Crazy. "Teddy Bears' Picnic": More proof that Harrison Ford was just trying to get fired, always a plus.
(Review by strangelove)
---------------------------
Fist off i have to say AMAZING job you have done here Jambe. Just finished watching it and loved every bit of it. (Comment by Adywan)
------------------------------
Jambe - Just watched RTJ tonight, and thought it was a great watch - certainly the most interesting thing that has been through my dvd player in quite a while!
Interesting, informative & well presented - at times I forgot that this was the work of a talented fan - as it was more like something Lucasfilm themselves had come up with.
Like the 'Building Empire 'documentary before it, RTJ gives a true insight into the sheer dedication, hardwork and fun the crew put into making the film, as well as how films of this magnitude are put together. Am sure they'll be a fair few things in your doc that will surprise even the most ardent of Star Wars fans too.
Kudos to you for getting so much material from all sorts of sources - AND kept thing interesting and moving along nicely throughout the entire documentary.
Top job mate - I can only imagine how painstaking this project must have been to put together - let alone getting it to the high standard that you acheived - well done
ps - really liked the end credits and after too. (Review by oojason)
--------------------------------
I've just watched this. INCREDIBLE, absolutely incredible! God, this brings back the fondness I felt for star wars a long while back. Building Empire fans will love this as it doesn't stray from the formula that made BE just work.
I'm not gonna give things away because you owe it to yourself to see it in the first place. Also let the credits roll because it doesn't quite end there either.
Highlight for me though (i'm on a total high with this) is to see my name in the closing credits of a Star Wars film!!!! You just cant beat that! Whoo! (Review by DarthSolo).
---------------------------
This DVD is everything a SW Fan would want. The way you integrated the extra content was wonderful. You brought lost scenes to life (e.g. the sandstorm) showed more angles and interviews from the 80s, 90s and the 21st century. This is by far (of course next to BE) one of the best things ever to come from the OT.com Forums. I hope you keep up the excellent work and bring us STAR WARS next year, after a short rest... (Review by nix.nux)
---------------------------
Wow! What can I say? "Returning to Jedi" is an absolute must have for any serious Star Wars fan or movie fanatic interested in the making of Geoerge Lucas' epic saga. Culled from numerous sources, "Returning to Jedi" is filled with facts and behind-the-scenes footage which gives you an up-close, insider look into the creative process and decision making behind the final chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy.
As an absolute Star Wars fanatic who thought he knew everything about the making of the Star Wars saga, I was surprised to see so much documentary footage I never knew existed. Additionally, "Returning to Jedi" is filled with all sorts of interesting factoids and observations. I mean who knew that the stage they used to shoot the Death Star hangar in "Return of the Jedi" is now the home of a supermarket?
Jambe Davdar's love of the Star Wars saga is obvious in the amount of effort and attention to detail that went into the making this well crafted documentary. This disc will now take it's rightful place next to official bonus disc of the recently released Star Wars Trilogy on DVD. Star Wars fans, "Returning to Jedi" is an absolute must for your DVD collection.
I just want to say a special "Thank You" to Jambe Davdar for his hard work, and efforts to bring "Returning to Jedi" to life. This project is simply fantastic! I just finished watching it and all I have to say is WOW! "Returning to Jedi" is pretty much the quintessential Bonus Disc with tons of behind the scenes footage I've never seen, and little factoids I never knew... and I'm a HUGE Star Wars geek! Again, great work. (Review by gallandro)
-----------------------------
Finished downloading at about 930pm last night and watched about 1/2 of it--SUPERLATIVE JOB all around!
Thank you for all of the time and effort spent. It is not in vain. As a matter of fact, George Lucas should be ashamed because the effort put out by the people he PAID to do this pales significantly to the labor of love you have produced on your own time with very limited resources. (Review by lito2187)
-----------------------------
Just finished watching - ... I loved it. Brilliantly constructed both in terms of content ("I hope he's included a bit about... he HAS!" ad infinitum) and of technique. The most intriguing aspect of this piece is the very subtle commentary on the Lucas/Marquand relationship. I was surprised to see so much footage of Marquand working fairly autonomously on set, and to hear so many comments from him about his input into the story and events.
Of course, there's plenty that suggests the size of Lucas' role in proceedings, from the effects artists' description of his constant screening of their work, to his own comments on how much he was 'needed' on set. In this context, the gag in the AT-ST cabin is very telling...(Review by Jonno)
------------------------------
So the DVD finished downloading yesterday and I immediately copied the files, threw in the IFO fixes and shrunk it so I could watch it without delay this morning.
But yeah, my thoughts: ...Fantastic! Damn, dude, you really raised the bar with this one. The sandstorm recreation was incredible, as was the footage with the prop saber and the newly unearthed footage. The whole thing was so damned tight and professional, I've gotta add my voice to the chorus saying that Lucas should be paying you do to this kind of a service for the fans. This was really the first time I ever got a sense of Marquand as the director, rather than someone Lucas told exactly what to do. I'm excited to dive into the bonus features and easter egg.
Take a break, sir, it's much deserved, but I eagerly await any future projects you feel like throwing at us. (Review by ReverendBeastly)
------------------------------
Excellent work, once again... you've definitely outdone yourself this time! I was struck with how long it was, and how much material was in there. The footage of the saber that Luke built blew my mind, and the reconstructed sandstorm sequence was well done and a treat to see. This documentary really did make me appreciate more the less-appreciated "weakest chapter" in the original trilogy. Congratulations on another fine project. This is a monumental release, to be certain. (Review by SKot)
------------------------------
It's official....Star Wars no longer holds any mystery for me.
I've gone over the prequels frame by frame till I was blue in the face, I've seen bits of A New Hope I never knew existed thanks to Deleted Magic, I've watched in awe at how an Empire was built and now I've Returned to Jedi. The films I loved as a child, the films that held so much wonder for me, I've seen it all now, there's nothing left....
However, I'm not a child anymore. I'm a fully grown adult who loves behind the scenes footage and 2 discs DVDs just for the extras.... and I fricking LOVE Returning To Jedi!!!
Not that this is any shock. Anyone's who has seen Building Empire (and if you haven't then shame on you) knows what they're gonna get here.....but there's just so much of it. So much stuff that I'd never seen before, soundbites I'd never heard, fantastic recreations of lost scenes. Where the hell did you get it all? I mean, I'm a fully fledged SW geek but I can honestly say that at least 75% of the clips used were new to me!
Favourite bit - the extended, pre-effects, Vader/Luke duel.
Least favourite bit...and this is your own fault really JD....after making a point of pointing out Pruneface in the briefing room, I really couldn't help but notice just how much the Emperor looks like him in some scenes ;)
So, to sum it all up, yet another quality release. Inspiring and informative. We all owe you our thanks JD, if I met you tommorrow I'd buy you a pint!! (Review by Daveytod)
---------------------------
A worthy successor to Building Empire in every way. If there's another millisecond of Slave Bikini B-Roll out there I defy anyone to find it without taking an all-access tour of the Skywalker archives. That Super-8 footage... holy crap. What do you bet Sansweet tries to figure out who shot that? Love the FX breakdowns, especially the match-move on the Imperial Reception painting-- that can't have been easy. Skiff flyby audio, matched to the guy driving an ATC. Cute.
Caught Luke's blue trailersaber in the deck fight, but I never saw that video clip of the hero prop before-- what's that from? My favorite bits are the details that were right under my nose-- has that Hell's Angel stormtrooper really been there all along? Crazy. "Teddy Bears' Picnic": More proof that Harrison Ford was just trying to get fired, always a plus.
(Review by strangelove)
---------------------------
Fist off i have to say AMAZING job you have done here Jambe. Just finished watching it and loved every bit of it. (Comment by Adywan)
Monday, January 22, 2007
'Returning to Jedi Complete!'
I have finally finished 'RTJ'. It's taken the best part of a year to get it done. With an hour here and an hour there, I am very pleased with the final result. So much so that I am going to tackle my own Star Wars project in the same vein over the next year.
To find out all the details of how to obtain a copy of 'RTJ' please visit the thread on www.originaltrilogy.com
JD
I have finally finished 'RTJ'. It's taken the best part of a year to get it done. With an hour here and an hour there, I am very pleased with the final result. So much so that I am going to tackle my own Star Wars project in the same vein over the next year.
To find out all the details of how to obtain a copy of 'RTJ' please visit the thread on www.originaltrilogy.com
JD
Thursday, January 11, 2007
My DVD Cover Design
In anticipation of the completion of 'Returning to Jedi, I put together this DVD cover design.
Bar burning, all I have left to do is render the video (which is going on now in the background) and import it into the waiting track on DVD Studio Pro.
'Returning to Jedi' is a matter of days away.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
'Returning to Jedi' QC Version 0.5 shipping soon.
Despite having some rendering problems on a particular filter in FCP, I have decided to create a version 0.5 for my QC team to look over during the Christmas period.
Below are a couple snaps to wet your appetite (taken from the mid-res FCP window, the final DVD will look sharper that these, I promise!)
Despite having some rendering problems on a particular filter in FCP, I have decided to create a version 0.5 for my QC team to look over during the Christmas period.
Below are a couple snaps to wet your appetite (taken from the mid-res FCP window, the final DVD will look sharper that these, I promise!)
Friday, December 08, 2006
Made some more progress yesterday (8th Dec 2006)
Started on the DVD creation process. Figured I would get the bulk of that done and then return to the main doco for one last look through before I send it out the the QA team. 100% means edited, transcoded and imported into DVD Studio Pro.
- Main Menu Screen (100%)
- Still Sub-menus (80%)
- The full length doco (90% complete, though not transcoded)
- 'Coming October 2006' trailer (100%)
- 'Ugly as Sin' Teaser (100%)
- Restored Music Sequence (100%)
- Rare footage sequence (Remainder of what was not used in the main doco. If there is room) (50%)
- Reconstructed opening crawl (I bet you can guess which one!) (100%)
- Animatics Comparison (100%)
- Easter Egg (100%)
- Cover and Disc Design (0%)
I also managed to hook up with a guy that had some good Mark Hamill commentary. Not a great deal of it, but some good quotes nonetheless. My Yoda pupeteer contact, who I hoped to do an audio interview with is just too busy on location at the moment. So that will not be happening (at least, not for now).
I've also added the 'Restored Music Sequence' to the list about, which I failed to include in my last post. I won't give away the details just yet, but I think its a worth addition to the project.
Started on the DVD creation process. Figured I would get the bulk of that done and then return to the main doco for one last look through before I send it out the the QA team. 100% means edited, transcoded and imported into DVD Studio Pro.
- Main Menu Screen (100%)
- Still Sub-menus (80%)
- The full length doco (90% complete, though not transcoded)
- 'Coming October 2006' trailer (100%)
- 'Ugly as Sin' Teaser (100%)
- Restored Music Sequence (100%)
- Rare footage sequence (Remainder of what was not used in the main doco. If there is room) (50%)
- Reconstructed opening crawl (I bet you can guess which one!) (100%)
- Animatics Comparison (100%)
- Easter Egg (100%)
- Cover and Disc Design (0%)
I also managed to hook up with a guy that had some good Mark Hamill commentary. Not a great deal of it, but some good quotes nonetheless. My Yoda pupeteer contact, who I hoped to do an audio interview with is just too busy on location at the moment. So that will not be happening (at least, not for now).
I've also added the 'Restored Music Sequence' to the list about, which I failed to include in my last post. I won't give away the details just yet, but I think its a worth addition to the project.
Made some more progress yesterday. Started on the DVD creation process. Figured I would get the bulk of that done and then return to the main doco for one last look through before I send it out the the QA team. 100% means edited, transcoded and imported into DVD Studio Pro.
- Main Menu Screen (100%)
- Still Sub-menus (80%)
- The full length doco (90% complete, though not transcoded)
- 'Coming October 2006' trailer (100%)
- 'Ugly as Sin' Teaser (100%)
- Restored Music Sequence (100%)
- Rare footage sequence (Remainder of what was not used in the main doco. If there is room) (50%)
- Reconstructed opening crawl (I bet you can guess which one!) (100%)
- Animatics Comparison (100%)
- Easter Egg (100%)
- Cover and Disc Design (0%)
I also managed to hook up with a guy that had some good Mark Hamill commentary. Not a great deal of it, but some good quotes nonetheless. My Yoda pupeteer contact, who I hoped to do an audio interview with is just too busy on location at the moment. So that will not be happening (at least, not for now).
I've also added the 'Restored Music Sequence' to the list about, which I failed to include in my last post. I won't give away the details just yet, but I think its a worth addition to the project.
- Main Menu Screen (100%)
- Still Sub-menus (80%)
- The full length doco (90% complete, though not transcoded)
- 'Coming October 2006' trailer (100%)
- 'Ugly as Sin' Teaser (100%)
- Restored Music Sequence (100%)
- Rare footage sequence (Remainder of what was not used in the main doco. If there is room) (50%)
- Reconstructed opening crawl (I bet you can guess which one!) (100%)
- Animatics Comparison (100%)
- Easter Egg (100%)
- Cover and Disc Design (0%)
I also managed to hook up with a guy that had some good Mark Hamill commentary. Not a great deal of it, but some good quotes nonetheless. My Yoda pupeteer contact, who I hoped to do an audio interview with is just too busy on location at the moment. So that will not be happening (at least, not for now).
I've also added the 'Restored Music Sequence' to the list about, which I failed to include in my last post. I won't give away the details just yet, but I think its a worth addition to the project.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Building Empire on FanEdited.comThanks to the kind folks over at fanedited.com, Building Empire now has its own page (Under SPECIAL EDITIONS AND PRESERVATIONS.
You can now download cover art for the DVD and find out where to download the film itself. JD
Thursday, August 10, 2006
‘Building Empire’ Bibliography
Video Sources
Mothr3 The Empire Strikes Back
EditDroid The Empire Strikes Back
Classic Edition: The Empire Strikes Back
2004 DVD The Empire Strikes Back
2004 DVD Star Wars Trilogy Supplemental Disc
Deleted Magic
The Phantom Menace Disc 2
Attack of the Clones Disc 2
Empire of Dreams
Laser Disc Supplemental disc
SPFX: The Empire Strikes
Clapperboard: The Empire Strikes Back
Temps X: The Empire Strikes Back
Behind The Masks
VH1: When Star Wars Ruled the World
Classic Creature: Return of the Jedi
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
Super 8mm The Empire Strikes Back
Stars of Star Wars
Audio Sources
The Story Of Album
The Original Soundtrack Anthology
ROTJ Special Edition Soundtrack
Skywalker - BBC Radio 1
Print Sources
The Making of Return of the Jedi – Edited by John Phillip Peecher
A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back – Alan Arnold
The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives
The Star Wars Chronicles
365 Days of Star Wars – John Knolls
4th Draft Script, The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back Comic Novel, Marvel
Starlog magzine, Film Review Magazine,
Web Resources
Starwars.com, Starwarz.com, T’bone’s Star Wars Universe, Starkiller, the Jedi Bendu Script site, Wikipedia.com, Theforce.net, Galactic-voyage.com, Toysrgus.com, Rebelscum.com, Elstreeprops.com, Podcastingnews.com, Imdb.com, I have a bad feeling about this (geocities.com/karloff3/), Bbc.co.uk, bobafettfanclub.com, in70mm.com, davidsdvd.com, markhamill.perm.ru, podcasts.yahoo.com/, piett.org, apartment42.com, apple.com forums, myspleen.net, blogger.com
With Thanks to
Everyone at Originaltrilogy.com for making this a fun and rewarding experience. If I’ve forgotten to add you, please let me know!
TR47, THX, Sluggo, skyjedi2005, Sky, Segaflip, S7en, Russs15, Rowman, Rikter, ReverendBeastly, oojason, ocpmovie, None, Mr Bungle, Move Along, Moth3r, Meedermow, MeBeJedi, Klokwek, Jabberdoo, Ell the Ewok, Digitalfreaknyc, daveytod, Darth Solo, Caligulathegod, brimley, Boba feta, Baby hum, Ash595, Andy_k_250, Adywan
Video Sources
Mothr3 The Empire Strikes Back
EditDroid The Empire Strikes Back
Classic Edition: The Empire Strikes Back
2004 DVD The Empire Strikes Back
2004 DVD Star Wars Trilogy Supplemental Disc
Deleted Magic
The Phantom Menace Disc 2
Attack of the Clones Disc 2
Empire of Dreams
Laser Disc Supplemental disc
SPFX: The Empire Strikes
Clapperboard: The Empire Strikes Back
Temps X: The Empire Strikes Back
Behind The Masks
VH1: When Star Wars Ruled the World
Classic Creature: Return of the Jedi
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
Super 8mm The Empire Strikes Back
Stars of Star Wars
Audio Sources
The Story Of Album
The Original Soundtrack Anthology
ROTJ Special Edition Soundtrack
Skywalker - BBC Radio 1
Print Sources
The Making of Return of the Jedi – Edited by John Phillip Peecher
A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back – Alan Arnold
The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives
The Star Wars Chronicles
365 Days of Star Wars – John Knolls
4th Draft Script, The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back Comic Novel, Marvel
Starlog magzine, Film Review Magazine,
Web Resources
Starwars.com, Starwarz.com, T’bone’s Star Wars Universe, Starkiller, the Jedi Bendu Script site, Wikipedia.com, Theforce.net, Galactic-voyage.com, Toysrgus.com, Rebelscum.com, Elstreeprops.com, Podcastingnews.com, Imdb.com, I have a bad feeling about this (geocities.com/karloff3/), Bbc.co.uk, bobafettfanclub.com, in70mm.com, davidsdvd.com, markhamill.perm.ru, podcasts.yahoo.com/, piett.org, apartment42.com, apple.com forums, myspleen.net, blogger.com
With Thanks to
Everyone at Originaltrilogy.com for making this a fun and rewarding experience. If I’ve forgotten to add you, please let me know!
TR47, THX, Sluggo, skyjedi2005, Sky, Segaflip, S7en, Russs15, Rowman, Rikter, ReverendBeastly, oojason, ocpmovie, None, Mr Bungle, Move Along, Moth3r, Meedermow, MeBeJedi, Klokwek, Jabberdoo, Ell the Ewok, Digitalfreaknyc, daveytod, Darth Solo, Caligulathegod, brimley, Boba feta, Baby hum, Ash595, Andy_k_250, Adywan
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
'Building Empire':A Fan Documentary
'Building Empire' is a documentary created by 'Jambe Davdar'. It combines the feature length film 'The Empire Strikes Back' with behind the scenes video clips, audio from the cast and crew, alternate angles, resconstructed scenes and text facts, taking fans deep inside the process behind the making of the Star Wars sequel.
Here are some reviews:
"Every Star Wars fan owes it to himself to see Jambe Davdar's Building Empire. It's superbly done, impeccably well researched and scholarly, and will teach even the most die hard fan of the film things about Empire that they would never have known otherwise.
Davdar has called this an "Audio/Visual Commentary" for the film, which describes it quite well. It's an edit in the vein of Deleted Magic (and a fine successor to it), in that you're watching the actual film as commentary, making of footage, and reams of information are thrown at you in a highly entertaining and enlightening manner. Davdar does not cut out any scenes from the film - he manages to have something to say about each and every single scene, which is fairly remarkable in and of itself.
The quality of the video is very good...and hasn't lost its quality as Davdar superimposes information over it... The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen, which results in many pan & scan "making of" shots being shrunk and cropped at the top and bottom, and cropped further as subtitles are placed over the bottom of the screen, but this is done tastefully and you never feel like you're missing much important information in the image.
What sets this film apart, and above and beyond any fan production I've seen including my own, is the quality of the research. Davdar just happens to know a lot about the film The Empire Strikes Back, and shares it all in this edit. Of particular interest are the crackly, poor quality sound excerpts from the rarely-seen Super 8mm version of the film, which contain alternate takes of many lines.
This is the ultimate supplemental disc for the Empire Strikes Back. Fire up your PAL-compatible DVD player and show it to all your friends. The film, as a side bonus, stands well alongside the Star Wars disc Deleted Magic, and I'm embarrassed and glad to say that on a technical level it's far superior to my own effort. It deserves to be a part of every fan's collection, displayed just as proudly as your preferred classic edition of the film itself". (review by Ocpmovie, creator of 'Deleted Magic).
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"Building Empire has arrived and is truly superb !
Having seen it at various times through it's gestation I can safely say that Building Empire can proudly sit alongside all other discs that evolve from this forum and others that just amaze me that they are fan based. I truly feel like I did the first time I saw Deleted Magic watching Building Empire. The care and attention gone into this project speaks volumes for the fact that none of the extras on any of the retail Star Wars discs can hold a candle to the sheer sweat and tears that must have gone into this labour of love.
The man that is Jambe can sit on laurels for a while and have a well deserved rest before Returning To Jedi kicks off." (review by Meedermow - Offical QA guy for Building Empire).
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"So, last night I got ready to watch Jambe Davdar's Building Empire. I've already had seen one of the earlier versions to this which I already thought was amazing. Anyway there is so much more work gone it to this that its ridiculous, The menus are amazing and professional, very straight forward easy to use. The extras are a special added bonus which made interesting viewing.
The actually documentary has information that most of us had no clue about. There is so much to take in with the info that it cant be done with just one viewing of this DVD. The music and commentary blend and mix in perfectly.. it just make you thinks that why Lucasfilm don't do this...
Above all simply loved this amazing DVD. Thinking about the work and research that must gone into this gives me a headache!" (review by SKY)
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"This final version was amazing. Everyway an equal to Deleted Magic. I thought I knew everything about the Empire Strikes Back. I thought wrong. The menus were beautiful but simple. The bonus features were great. Nice to see extras that aren't just like every other disc. Well done Jambe. Nine point two stars." (review by Sluggo)
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"I'm a huuuuge ESB fan. It's always been one of my "sacred cow" films, and I've studied it like some peopel study Citizen Kane. So to say that I was looking forward to viewing Building Empire would be a bit of an understatment.
What a great job! All of your clips and choices of information were top notch. I especially liked the care you took in not using the same old interviews that we've heard over and over, but using a lot of the lesser known audio bytes available. The use of comic footage was inspired, and the on screen textual commentary was amazing (I could even have had even more!).
What I was expecting was a nice way to spend my Saturday morning, but what I wished for was a great DVD to proudly display on my Star Wars shelf. My wish was granted LONG LIVE JAMBE!" (review by Brimley)
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