‘Star Wars’ Fans’ Shot-For-Shot Remake Of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ Is Amazing [Video]
Star Wars 7 might seem like light years away, but fans of the space franchise have just been given a fun new way to visit a galaxy far, far away that might hold them over until the next episode hit theaters.
According the The Guardian, creative Star Wars fans have teamed up to create a shot-by-shot remake of The Empire Strikes Back. The video features 15-second clips created by fans that have been pieced together to recreate the 1980 sci-fi film. It took close to 500 of these clips to form the whole movie, and hundreds of die-hard Star Wars fans worked on the multimedia patchwork quilt.
Web developer Casey Pugh sewed all the pieces together. In 2010, Pugh worked on a similar project by editing together a fan-made Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope remake. Pugh’s The Empire Strikes Back: Uncut video was released on the official Star Wars YouTube page.
The Stars Wars fans who provided the video clips were allowed to have fun with the project, and they definitely added their own artistic touches to The Empire Strikes Back: Uncut. The famous opening words are now infused with emoticons, and the opening crawl has been updated to mention the “8-bit Imperial Starfleet” and “claymation Luke Skywalker.”
C-3PO gets some of the most interesting fan makeovers. He’s re-imagined as a man wearing nothing but underwear and gold paint, a few peas stuck on a toothpick (C3-PEA-O), and a real robot. He even gets a sex change.
Some fans spice things up by singing their lines, and others show off their animation skills. There are lots of Lego men, AT-ATs made out of balloons, Lord of the Rings references, and an 8-bit video game Han Solo who collects gold coins. Chewbacca becomes a housecat, Jar Jar Binks makes an appearance, Yoda gets a candy house on Dagobah, and a few Star Trek characters get their space franchises confused.
The Empire Strikes Back: Uncut is an impressive collaborative effort that’s artistic and funny, and it pays tribute to the Star Wars fans who didn’t give up on the franchise after meeting Jar Jar Binks and angsty young Anakin in the last trilogy.
To really show appreciation for the fans (and to get them all hyped up for Star Wars 7), Lucasfilm has announced the return of The Stars Wars Fan Film Awards. Fans can submit Star Wars-inspired short films until the contest closes on January 16, 2015, and the fan-selected winners will be shown at April’s Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California.
What do you think of The Empire Strikes Back: Uncut? Did Star Wars fans make a movie that’s just as entertaining as the original?
