How "How Star Wars was saved in the edit" was saved in the edit (sort of, but not really)

Nerdonymous
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 2 months, 2021–2026
YouTube
446K views · 5 years ago · essay · evergreen

Nerdonymous's long rebuttal of the popular video "How Star Wars was saved in the edit". It argues that the original oversold the story about film editing and the role of Marcia Lucas and others.

HN treats it as a better-sourced correction of the popular editing narrative, though some find the tone grating.

“a really rather thorough (if laborious) rebuttal of the overall picture the original video sought to paint”
Visual storytelling & cinematography
#starwars#filmediting#marcialucas#rebuttal#filmhistory

6 comments from Hacker News

a
@arugulum2021 · in “How Star Wars was saved in the edit (2017) [video]”
If you can tolerate the sometimes insufferable tone, ▶ this video basically tears apart this video and its thesis with significantly better sources, including directly debunking some of the major claims of editor changes, and provides a much more balanced view of what Lucas and his editors contributed to the Star Wars.
RecommendsView on HN
c
@cpcallen2021 · in “Project 4K77”
I would have agreed with you until I saw _How Star Wars was Saved in the Edit_ (link). Maybe George Lucas had _always_ been a teenager with no restraints? EDIT: Of course in the process of looking up the URL for HSWwSitE, I discovered _How "How Star Wars was saved in the edit" was saved in the edit (sort of, but not really)_ (▶ this video) which is a really rather thorough (if laborious) rebuttal of the overall picture the original video sought to paint, and and quite justifiably takes the original video's creators to task for extremely selective reporting (and in several cases fairly woeful research). But boy does it go on at some length (nearly 2h!). If only someone would save _How "How Star Wars was saved in the edit" was saved in the edit (sort of, but not really)_ in the edit.
RecommendsView on HN
l
@leoc2026 · in “Pirating the Pirates”
It doesn't affect the specific point in question here, but it's probably best to treat the RocketJump video with caution: ▶ this video .
CitesView on HN
l
@leoc2026 · in “Pirating the Pirates”
Marcia Lucas along with two other editors won the Film Editing Oscar for Star Wars/ANH/Ep. 4 ( link ): she was no doubt a very good editor. Neither she nor the other two "saved Star Wars in the edit" in the manner often claimed. For example, Marcia Lucas fought to keep the teen-movie version of the opening with Luke meeting Biggs and others at Tosche Station in Tatooine, while George Lucas had always preferred to begin the Tatooine segment with the droids ▶ this video .
CitesView on HN
l
@leoc2026 · in “Pirating the Pirates”
That version of events has been disputed: ▶ this video .
CitesView on HN
l
@layer82026 · in “Oscar-winning Star Wars editor Marcia Lucas dies aged 80”
Also: How "How Star Wars was saved in the edit" was saved in the edit: ▶ this video
CitesView on HN