Synopsis:

This edit is a follow-up to my previous prequel edits, Faster More Intense and Sanded Down. It's in some ways a bit more conservative than my other two prequel edits, and probably one of the more conservative Revenge of the Sith edits in general. While the first two prequels are movies I don’t enjoy because of their flaws, ROTS is a movie that I enjoy despite it’s flaws, I just wish it could be better.

Intentions:

My overall philosophy with this particular edit was to focus on making a lot of small changes that add up to something greater, rather than radically altering the structure or flow of the film. Like always, Hal9000’s edit was a big influence and a primary source for this edit, but “Another Happy Sanding” diverges from “Labyrinth of Evil” in that it attempts to preserve the original structure of the movie. Like in the original film, Anakin’s fears of Padme’s demise serve as the primary impetus for his fall. While I’ve made some cuts of my own, I’ve also restored some fan-favorite lines and moments of camp, like most of Yoda & Palpatine’s duel. It’s silly, but it’s fun & inventive and I miss its presence in other edits. I hope this edit strikes a good balance for most people. Like the theatrical film, Padme dies at the end of this edit. I went with this ending partially in order to preserve canon, and partially because I feel like it’s the natural conclusion the movie is leading up to. I’m honestly pretty divided on this particular question though, so I may at some point upload an “alternate ending” version that concludes like “Labyrinth of Evil”, with Padme living on Alderaan. Chime in if that’s something you’d like to see.

Change List:

A mostly exhaustive cutlist can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g2NmJYOkNHSzvguMgKMvTYaCcPSQqwOKI6nQNjMoxQM/edit?usp=sharing

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD Deleted scenes Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Blu-Ray Deleted scenes Jumper Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace soundtrack Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith soundtrack Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire soundtrack

Special Thanks:

Other edits that influenced this one are Kerr’s “Dark Force Rising”, L8wrtr’s “Dawn of the Empire”, NFBism’s “New Canon Cut”, and SiliconMaster482’s “Rebalanced” edit. I also borrowed a snippet of video from Bobson Dugnutt’s “expanded edition”, which originally borrowed from my “extended edition”. The circle is now complete, as Anakin would say. Sade1212 provided a visual effects shot that was originally created for Hal’s edit but never used. Keep an eye out for it.