It's said that a movie is written three times: in the screenplay, in the filming, and finally in the editing. This video essay is about how Star Wars — the original 1977 release, that is — was basically recreated in the editing room after the original cut played, well, badly. From adding subtitles to Greedo with different dialogue than the original shoot, to adding tension to the final scene by putting the Rebels at risk (amazingly, in the original cut the Death Star was just out in space waiting to be attacked), you can see why the film received an Academy Award for editing. It also my explain why George Lucas's later re-edits (which reversed some of these original editing decisions) aren't so popular.
On a related note, I was sad to see the wonderful series Every Frame a Painting has ended, but check out the archives for other video essays on editing and other parts of film-making magic.
That's all from us here at the blog for this week. Have a great weekend, and we'll be back on Monday.