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Star Wars - Episode II: The Republic Divided by L8wrtr

L8wrtr

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TRD_Poster.jpg

(Cover Art by Rogue-theX)

Original Film: Star Wars Attack of the Clones
Original Run time: 149 minutes
New Run time: 96

Intention: Attack of the Clones is a frustrating film. It looks and feels like a Star Wars film, but there are so many moments that just take me out of the film that I find it hard to watch. Whether it’s Mel’s Couuscant Diner, Obi-Wan’s feeble intellect, Anakin’s explosive whining, or the dumbfounding Droid Factory sequence, anything that is done well in this film is negated by a wave of inexplicable story-telling choices.
As with Shadow of the Sith my goal with The Republic Divided is to trim out the inexplicable story elements, improve the quality of the characters by relieving them of annoying and/or frustration dialog, and in general, improving the tone and pace of the film. When all of this clutter is removed, a respectable movie emerges, with Palpatine quietly setting all the pieces for his master-stroke which unfolds in Episode III.

EDITING DETAILS & CUTLIST:
Similar to Shadow of the Sith, my goal was to:
- Drastically improve the many flawed characters as much as possible.
- Drastically improve the overall tone and pacing of the film
- Simplify the convoluted mystery plot.

The areas that I focused on for major improvements are:

Friendship
We all know that Anakin and Obi-Wan are supposed to be “good friends” so it was quite disjointing to see Obi-Wan be a dick to Anakin throughout the movie, as well as Anakin be a petulant, ungrateful whiner. By cutting out the mutual antagonism we are left with two characters we can believe are friends. The audience wants them to be friends, and by eliminating the obstacles to that, we now can simply accept that we are watching two friends on screen.

We need a Hero
From the first frame, grown up Anakin is annoying. He’s timid and unsure one moment, disrespectful and bitchy the next. Audiences react so negatively to these extreme personality traits that the moments where Ankin is likable or heroic are lost. By carving out his creepy leering at Padme, his whining, and his unexplained outbursts of anger, what remains are glimpses of the hero we want to like and root for, at least as much as can be salvaged with the footage we have at our disposal.

A Love Story
People bash Lucas for the stilted dialog, and this is a fair criticism, however I can forgive that because it is par for the course in the Saga of Star Wars. What is perplexing is how he chose to have them resist their emotions. We all know that they will end up together so the ruse of them resisting is at best distracting, but worse it impedes the progression of the actual story. In addition to eliminating their resistance, it is key to also remove Lucas’ attempt to show how/why they fall in love. He forgot his own brilliant solution to how to tell a love story back from The Empire Strikes Back; don’t show it. We never see why Han and Leia fall in love, we simply have two characters we like who over the course of several scenes admit their love for each other. Fixing Anakin and cutting out the more on-the-nose aspects of the story results in a love story that is far more believable.

Action, Action, Action!
Again like Shadow of the Sith I focused on improving the pacing, particularly in the action sequences. The opening speeder chase is easily cut in half, similar to Attack of the Phantom most of the Obi-Wan/Jengo fist fight is gone, and the asteroid chase benefits from a few nips and tucks. But more importantly, the Droid Factory Rescue is majorly reconstructed to eliminate not only C-3PO’s antics, but flying R2-D2 and Anakin getting trapped in the machinery. The battle of Geonosis is heavily redacted because quite simply, it doesn’t matter. It is robots fighting clones. No character that we are invested in is in danger so the sequence just eats up time. Lastly, the confrontation between Dooku and Yoda loses the saber bit. They fight with the Force only.

Dialog
Also, like Shadow of the Sith Most scenes have some modification which eliminate redundant and/or obvious exposition as well as poorly written and/or delivered dialog. Six scenes were so useless and/or poorly written that they were removed entirely.

Simplify
The Obi-Wan Kenobi mystery hunt reveals a great many questions, most of which not only go unanswered in Episode II, but Episode III as well. Because there is no payoff for the great mysteries of his search, the convoluted plot points are truly useless. I have simplified Obi-Wan’s search for Padme’s assassin so that the story can move swiftly, cleanly and also saving Kenobi for being revealed to have an intellect less than that of a 5 year old Padawan. Relieved of this contrived plotline, the story now moves more cleanly. The illogic of the Jedi accepting the mysterious Clone Army remains, it’s an unavoidable WTF moment, but the rest of the non-sequiturs are removed or toned down.

This is a general list of cuts, order may be slightly off and many are not listed (over 250 edits in total)
- New Title and Crawl establishing Count Dooku as the leader of a Separatist movement threatening Civil War.
- Cut announcing Coruscant inside the Naboo Cruiser
- Cut ‘We made it’ dialog
- Cut Cordé’s dying words
- Cut 1st half of dialog in Chancellor’s office about their not being enough Jedi and the Dark Side clouding everything.
- Trim dialog throughout the Chancellor’s office
- Trim dialog inside elevator
- Cut most of Jar Jar introducing the Jedi
- Trim dialog throughout meeting with Padme, including creepy lines about being beautiful, antagonism between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Anakin’s whining afterwards
- Cut Jengo giving Zam poisonous bugs
- Trim dialog between Anakin and Obi-Wan while bugs are making their way to Padme
- Trim speeder chase in half, Anakin no longer loses his saber
- Cut most dialog outside of nightclub (resolves saber issue, plus more antagonism between Obi-Wan and Anakin)
- Trimmed nightclub sequence, eliminate Anakin POV shot, gratuitous cameo shots.
- Toned down Anakin’s anger while interrogating Zam
- Removed Obi-Wan’s Ric Olié moment “Toxic dart”
- Removed contradictory Yoda line about Padme having to listen to them.
- Cut the entire sequence from Padme giving authority to Jar Jar and Anakin and Padme’s conversation as she packs.
- Cut the entire conversation in skybus between Padme and Dorme.
- Cut ‘we’ve got R2′ joke
- Cut entire Diner sequence and Library sequence
- Insert portion of deleted landing platform scene
- Trim dialog between Padme and Anakin on refugee transport
- Cut entire Yoda/youngling scene
- Cut entire sequence of Anakin and Padme arriving on Naboo and seeing the new Queen
- Insert deleted scene of dinner at Padme’s (with dialog trims)
- Cut Obi-Wan dialog about their missing planet Kamino
- Re-cut Kenobi’s visit on Kamino to support new sequence of Anakin/Padme scenes on Naboo.
- Trimmed conversation with Prime Minister so as to not have Obi-Wan completely give away that he has no clue what is going on.
- Trimmed confrontation between Jengo and Kenobi. No more “I’m just a simple man…”
- Trimmed Obi-Wan’s report to Windu and Yoda, and cut out their discussion after they dismiss Kenobi
- Trim out most of the Jengo/Kenobi fist fight.
- Trim the various scenes between Anakin and Padme to remove both the forced nature of the story-line, as well as their resistance. Also cut the giant tick-cows and of course the conversation at the fireplace (though the opening footage is still used with a new purpose
- Cut creepy shot of Anakin having his nightmare.
- Lightly trim conversation on balcony about his nightmare
- Trim chase through Asteroid belt
- Trim conversation between Wato and Anakin
- Trim conversation between Anakin and 3PO, and Anakin and Owen
- Trim conversation between Anakin and Shmi as she dies
- Cut out ridiculous cartoon voices of varios Separatists as Obi-Wan listens in (nearly cut for cut of Attack of the Phantom)
- Trimmed Yoda and Windu’s conversation about Skywalker in pain
- Trim/restructure Dooku’s interrogation of Kenobi (cut out Darth title)
- Massively restructure Anakin’s break-down in the Lars homestead garage
- Cut R2 receiving message from Kenobi
- Trimmed funeral sequence to focus on Anakin and remove over-the-top dialog/delivery
- Cut Padme’s “R2? What are you doing here?”
- Trim conversation in Chancellor’s office to remove ‘If only Senator Amidala were here…”
- Massively restructure Droid Factory sequence. No flying R2. No 3PO. No trapped Anakin
- Reinsert scene of Padme demanding Kenobi be set free.
- Restructure pre-arena conversation between Anakin and Padme
- HEAVILY recut arena battle, too much to list.
- HEAVILY recut Battle of Geonosis, including entire removal of Geonosian War room
- Cut Nute Gunray leaving from the same hangar bay as Dooku
- Trimmed conversation between Kenobi and Dooku
- Trimmed lightsaber battle between Dooku and Anakin
- Trimmed duel between Dooku and Yoda, including the saber duel (HUGE thank you to BobGarcia for providing special effects shot which removes Dooku’s saber as he runs up the gantry)

Current release is SL NTSC DVD
Future releases will included DL NTSC & MP4
 

elbarto1

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Congrats on completing another chapter in the L8wrtr saga!
 

hebrides

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Congrats, L8! We'll get to that v.2 color correction someday, but for now, I'm just as excited to see you work your magic as everyone else is :)

And for those of you who haven't seen the workprint, you are absolutely in for a treat.
 

LastSurvivor

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Nice on L8 :) As soon as the DL version becomes available, I'll be downloading with eager anticipation.
 

Dwight Fry

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hebrides said:
And for those of you who haven't seen the workprint, you are absolutely in for a treat.

Indeed. It is that good, and I'm convinced it will please about everyone (no "virgin-birth-factor" controversial stuff left in here). I declare it THE Episode II.
 

havok1977

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Well such high praise from the members of the community and the great experience that was SOTS makes this a must watch in my book. Burning it now, and even more congrats for finishing go to L8.
 

geminigod

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LastSurvivor said:
Nice on L8 :) As soon as the DL version becomes available, I'll be downloading with eager anticipation.

^
 

L8wrtr

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Thanks everyone, particularly those who were in the preview audience, for your suggestions helped put the polish on this project. Because the DL will have the additional special features (deleted scene reel + the commentary), it may be a good week or two before it becomes available, but that largely depends on the home-health issues. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress.
 

ZX22

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Incredible, absolutely incredible. You've managed to transform the worst prequel, a movie that I hate strongly, to my favorite of the three. The edit is stronger than SOTS both technically and story-wise. The characters are likable, the love story truly works, the action is exciting. And the pacing, oh my, the pacing is superb. The edit may be short, but it felt like a two hour movie to me.

A few very minor flaws exists of course, particularly the crawl having a three dot ellipsis instead of the signature four dots. Also, when fading out the crawl flickers for a split second at the bottom of the screen. The DVD also has a few spelling errors on the "About this Edit" thing.

But hey, I won't let a few minor things ruin my enjoyment of the edit! All in all, I feel that this edit is the film that George Lucas was trying to make. Undug from a pile of crap, Episode II shines bright. Who could have guessed it was a diamond in the rough?

10/10
 

Omaru1982

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I think I only got the single disc release of Shadow, so I think I owe it to myself to wait for the DL version of this one. I'm guessing there's probably only between 1-2 more minutes cut since the screening version, because most of what was on screen worked well as it was. Looking forward to rewatching this.
 

L8wrtr

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Thank you to ZX22 and Theologyjohn for their very kind reviews!

In the interest making sure credit is given where it's due I thought I should point out where/how other edits played a part in this edit, because compared to my Episode I and III edits, this one by far doesn't exist without other editors blazing a trail before me.

Mike Nichols' Attack of the Phantom was my definitive version of this movie before I found this site (a friend found it and burned me a copy). Prior to starting this edit the only other Episode II edit that I watched all the way through was Diamond Wan's Path to the Darkside - The Diamond Cut, on which I was the approving viewer. Outside of that I have not watched any other E2 edit all the way through.

However, when I faced certain points in the edit, I did survey 5 total edits to get a sampling of ideas. The additional three edits that I consulted were Spence's, Slumberland's and JasonN's edits.

- Using Zam's dying words to shorten the chase was first pioneered by Mike Nichols. I don't know if anyone has used it to cut out as much as I have, but Nichols certainly blazed the trail there.
- My version of the speeder chase was inspired by Spence's version of the chase. I made some additional modifications but his version jump-started mine, and of any sqequnce of edits in the film, this is the one that is most recognizable as following someone else's work.
- The concept of using Anakin to release the foundry bucket in the Droid Factory was pioneered by SSWR from OT.com. I took that concept and then added another layer of improvement (imo) by not having Anakin get trapped in the machinery.
- The first half of the Arena battle borrows from several edits so I can't specifically credit one but I definitely looked to other editors for inspiration on this. Once the Jedi arrive the edits are largely mine. Oddly enough I originally cut Jango's death quite similar to I believe it was Diamond Wan's without knowing it, but I didn't like my execution so I removed it. Frink pointed out that it had been done successfully so I went back and modified my original version with just one tweak based on re-watching that edit, and that one tweak made it pretty much identical.

So, any enjoyment of those areas should recognize the contributions of The Phantom Editor, Diamond-Wan, Spence, Slumberland and JasonN!

Again, thank you for the kind support so far and I hope everyone enjoys the finished product.

General update. My son has turned the corner and is doing quite well now so work has resumed on the deleted reel. DL will hopefully be coming out in about a week'ish.
 

Dwight Fry

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L8wrtr said:
General update. My son has turned the corner and is doing quite well now so work has resumed on the deleted reel. DL will hopefully be coming out in about a week'ish.

Excellent news! :)

As for the edit and other versions out there, the only other Episode II edit (not counting fun variations like Rogue's Super 8 version or TMBTM's silent) I had seen was Attack of the Phantom. And to be fair, it bored me almost as much as the original. I liked some elements of it, but it was just... not enough (it's no secret that I HATE HATE HATE HATE F%$#ING HATE the theatrical version). But L8's version has worked the miracle. I still don't think it's as fun as a Star Wars movie should be, the source material only allows so much, but I found myself quite liking the movie, and unless something that looks really groundbreaking pops up in the future, this will be the last Episode II I watch. Can't be topped.
 

Kolpitz

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Must ... wait ... for ... the ... dual ... layer ... version. It'll be tough but worth it, methinks. With Shadow, I watched the edit and then immediately listened to the commentary. I'd like to do that this time, as well. Plus, better quality is always a plus.
 

lpd

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L8 cant wait to watch, but must resist till I've finished mine. Ahhhhhh!!!!
 

geminigod

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I went and I watched. I'm just not mentally there enough right now to write up a formal review, but I wanted to quickly say there were many great moments in this edit that definitely made it worth watching. I don't know that it replaces Attack of the Phantom for me, but some scenes in yours are unquestionably superior. I had some debatable personal gripes with a couple scenes that were kept. I also had a general feeling that something emotionally was missing, but I just can't quite put my finger on what it is right now without going back and comparing to the original and to the Phantom Editor's. I'm not sure whether it even relates to this edit specifically or is entirely just me having watched this movie too many times and not being engaged enough in my viewing of it.

My favorite scene was definitely the droid factory. That was just brilliant!

My least favorite part from a cutting standpoint was the couple seconds shown of the fireplace scene. The scene either needs to be there or needs to be removed entirely. This flash we get of it really felt awkward to me.

The droid factory scene was so awesome that I rated the movie 8/10.
 

L8wrtr

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The fireside scene is the one moment I knew going in could possibly be controversial for some people, but in discussing the edit overall with various other editors, I was reminded of one guiding principle, make the edit that *I* want to see, don't make sacrifices to satisfywhat other viewers might want to see, if it conflicts with what I wanted in the edit. It's one thing to cut out a droid noise that I personally don't find offensive but something else entirely when talking about a plot point.

The scene is there as the culmination of their growing relationship and a lead-in to the night that they may spend together. Every scene prior to this demonstrates a growing comfort level, familiarity and attraction between Padme and Ankin, and then this scene, though brief, hints at a kiss and definitely suggests a new level intimacy, yet without actually knowing for sure. The next time we see them is the morning after which again strongly suggests that they've spent the night together, but the viewer can make that decision. As this film is cut, and contrary to what I think most editors do, the first actual kiss that we see is just before the arena when they declare their love. I wish that the moment in the fireside scene was longer, this would help the moment, but I think that if you put yourself in the frame of mind of not knowing about the full fireside scene that takes place afterward, if you can unlearn what you have learned about that scene, then this shot works. Theologyjohn noted that the first time he watched it it felt off, yet when he watched it a second time, it clicked into place.

I suppose that this could be to The Republic Divided what the virgin birth was to Shadow of the Sith. In the end, no edit can be everything to everyone, so we continually make edits for ourselves ;). For me, the scene is the culmination of the love story and to cut it out drastically reduces its impact. I'll just have to take my scoring lumps from those for which is just doesn't work :)

I am glad that there were moments you could enjoy Gemini, and to be sure, Episode II is one of those difficult movies that if you've grown tired of, simply no edit may be able to resolve.

Thank you for the feedback, and if you have further notes, I will greatly appreciate them, the flattering as well as the unflattering ;)
 

TV's Frink

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When I watched the workprint and I saw the start of the fireplace scene, I thought, "oh shit, epic fail." But then it cut away, and I was pleasantly surprised.
 

geminigod

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It is great that you made the edit the way you wanted to. As you should. And as did George Lucas, now you shall receive some criticism. :) The good news is your vision is far superior to George's and certainly ranks as one of the best episode 2 edits out there. The bad news is there is an interesting debate to be had here that I am going to make us all suffer through! :oops:

It is interesting to me how there seems to be this sensitivity from some regarding Anakin and Padme having premarital sex. I'm not sure whether this comes from people's own morals and having kids and is more of a censorship issue or if it comes from the story itself and wanting Anakin and Padme to feel more pure as characters.

If it is the former, I feel the need to point out that this was one of the chief criticisms that Lucas received was that he wrote the stories as if he were writing for little kids instead of to the fans of the original trilogy. This has long been my opinion, but I should point out that I don't have any kids of my own. I would like to think that it is possible to make a movie that both kids and adults can enjoy. In truth though, the Star Wars prequels are challenging to make work this way because so many bad things have to happen. There can be no happy ending.

This is where I think Lucas failed. The story demanded that it be more adult themed. There just isn't any way around that, and to this end episode 2 is where the key piece of Anakin's fall from grace occurs. Anakin does have sex with Padme. They do engage in a secret relationship. It does go against the Jedi order (which is a very interesting philosophical component of the Jedi order to explore). It was not Anakin killing the sandpeople that turns him to the darkside. It was his unrestrained passions that were fueled via his secret relations with Padme. And why is that? This is a very interesting topic that is worthy of exploration.

This is where censorship often fails in my opinion. Censorship focuses on the sex scene but fails to observe that the story is a cautionary tale against premarital sex! I get that no parent wants to have to have the birds and the bees conversation with their children, but as an admittedly single adult it just bums me out when editing decisions are made based on censorship ratings instead of story. Sure we want Anakin to be a perfect hero and gentleman, but he just isn't that kind of protagonist. He is a flawed character, and the story needs to be a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

Honestly though, that is not why I criticized the fireside scene. I went with your intent while I was watching the edit. I criticized it simply because I didn't feel that the few seconds we get there contributes anything new emotionally over the previous scene of Anakin touching her. I think if I were watching it for the first time I would have the same reaction. I would say, "what was that? What just happened?"

We are making a bigger deal out of it than it is. At the end of the day it is a minor moment in your overall movie and in no way makes or breaks the movie.
 
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