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Best Star Wars Prequel Trilogy edits

Hi, slyfox! Hopefully the thread that this post has been added to will give you a good head-start. :)

P.S. D'oh! How did I miss the entire extra page in between these posts? Oh, well.

P.P.S. Merry Christmas, everyone!
 
I, too, am new to the fan edit scene. I just watched the Star Wars Neon Noir edit on YouTube with my brother, who is also a big Star Wars fan. It was a fun take on the prequel trilogy. The replacement soundtrack was effective, and the editor's choices of scenes and dialogue to keep or cut worked really well.

There are a couple of jumpy edits and maybe a handful of scenes that transition a bit abruptly (like they could've used a second or two of black before moving into the next scene) but nothing too jarring. There are also some spots, as have been pointed out in other forum posts, where the dialogue is a little hard to hear. It would be nice to have the levels bumped up there. Perhaps they are areas where the original soundtrack/score is louder? I'm sure those kinds of things are always a challenge to editors, since you don't have the isolated dialogue tracks.

At any rate, we enjoyed the Neon Noir version of the prequel trilogy a lot.

I'm hoping to find Hal9000's edits to see his treatments of the individual movies - I hear they're quite good. However, as of this writing, they seem to be offline. I also have octoroxx's Episode I - Faster, More Intense in the wings.
 
[One year later]

What about 3-in-one edits? Reading the first half of this thread, and skimming the second, I didn't see any mention of these. I've acquired a few but haven't gotten around to watching any (I'm a bit of a hoarder). I did watch one I was reviewing for the IFDB, but it was also a pretty heavy FanMix, and had quite a few noticeable moments of editing and cuts.

Empire Begins seems like the one to try out, but I'm still not convinced this sort of thing would work.

Does anybody who has checked a few of these out care to chime in?
 
macmilln said:
[One year later]

What about 3-in-one edits? Reading the first half of this thread, and skimming the second, I didn't see any mention of these. I've acquired a few but haven't gotten around to watching any (I'm a bit of a hoarder). I did watch one I was reviewing for the IFDB, but it was also a pretty heavy FanMix, and had quite a few noticeable moments of editing and cuts.

Empire Begins seems like the one to try out, but I'm still not convinced this sort of thing would work.

Does anybody who has checked a few of these out care to chime in?
Click to expand...

I have an idea for one, but it’s hard to piece together with how jarring the changes in story go and how things jump around in a 3-in-1 edit.
 
musiced921 said:
macmilln said:
[One year later]

What about 3-in-one edits? Reading the first half of this thread, and skimming the second, I didn't see any mention of these. I've acquired a few but haven't gotten around to watching any (I'm a bit of a hoarder). I did watch one I was reviewing for the IFDB, but it was also a pretty heavy FanMix, and had quite a few noticeable moments of editing and cuts.

Empire Begins seems like the one to try out, but I'm still not convinced this sort of thing would work.

Does anybody who has checked a few of these out care to chime in?
Click to expand...

I have an idea for one, but it’s hard to piece together with how jarring the changes in story go and how things jump around in a 3-in-1 edit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this was/is my concern about them, too. I don't know how one could effectively do so without it being jarring purely because of the time jump. Unless they were to really negate the Star Wars 'style', and try something entirely new in terms of storytelling and 'flow'.
 
The best 3 in 1 edit is "The Blackened Mantle". It drastically changes the style and story though.

First off, it uses the Japanese dub so that the dialogue is told through subtitles that have been rewritten.
It's told in a nonlinear format, jumping back and forth between the Plot threads of AotC and RotS, with flashbacks to TPM as well.
Grevious and Maul are now the same character, giving Obi Wan more motivation and giving the Grevious fight more depth.
The Jedi are presented more as Green Lantern esque space cops than a religion.

It makes for an amazing story. You can find it on YouTube.

But if you're looking for something that just condenses the story of the prequels, I can't help you.
 
I enjoyed the Neon Noir 3-in-1. You can find it on Youtube. It's not perfect - there are a couple of abrupt cuts and some audio level issues, but it streamlines the story well and is pretty fun. The idea is to give the trilogy a noir feel along the lines of Blade Runner. The editor replaced a lot of the soundtrack with synth music.
 
Eruorto said:
I enjoyed the Neon Noir 3-in-1. You can find it on Youtube. It's not perfect - there are a couple of abrupt cuts and some audio level issues, but it streamlines the story well and is pretty fun. The idea is to give the trilogy a noir feel along the lines of Blade Runner. The editor replaced a lot of the soundtrack with synth music.
Click to expand...

This is another favorite of mine, would recommend. However, trying to re-watch it again, some elements just happen without exposition or meaning, so you kind of have to be familiar with the plot of the originals.
 
jrWHAG42 said:
This is another favorite of mine, would recommend. However, trying to re-watch it again, some elements just happen without exposition or meaning, so you kind of have to be familiar with the plot of the originals.
Click to expand...

True, it's not really an edit for someone who hasn't seen the prequels before. It's great if you're looking for a new take on the trilogy.
 
As the title implies, what is, in your opinion, the best and/or most transformative edit of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace?
 
Now I feel bad that this is the only response. TBH, I do t have a legitimate recommendation. For me the PT is a lost cause, but I know there are many who enjoy it, so hopefully someone will provide a real recommendation.
 
I have done an edit that removes 40+ minutes, and re-recorded dialogue, plus added some new VFX.
I don't know if that may be of interest to you?
 
DantheMan said:
As the title implies, what is, in your opinion, the best and/or most transformative edit of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace?
Click to expand...
I don't have a definitive opinion on "the best", but as for "most transformative", Andreas's "The Ancient Lore" edit takes the cake:

https://ifdb.fanedit.org/star-wars-episode-i-the-ancient-lore/

As he describes it, it's less of a "fanedit" and more of a "remake": completely transforming the original film from a dull kids' movie into a thrilling, mature adventure. There are a few aspects that took me out of the experience a bit (Andreas says he's going to release a V2, although I highly doubt he will), but overall it's an almost mind-blowing demonstration of the power of fanediting. Just don't expect to be able to follow it up with the other two prequels, it's not canon-compatible in the slightest.
 
Hal9000's Prequel Trilogy edits are in my opinion the best. It isn't perfect but I think they help trim down issues people had with the Prequels like Jar Jar Binks, Midichlorians, and stilted acting to name a few. The opening crawls for The Phantom Menace (renamed to "Cloak of Deception") and Attack of the Clones (renamed to "The Approaching Storm") are superior to the ones used in the actual film.
 
The first fanedit I ever did way back in 2014 was a combination of the Prequels into one movie, titled Star Wars: Rise of the Empire.
I based my edit on notes that I had read from a private screening where Topher Grace had done the same edit. His ran 85 mins. Mine runs 2hrs 45mins. My edit isn't hosted on the site because it is in desperate need of a remaster as I had yet to learn about lossless conversion after ripping the blurays, so it's only in 720p.
Perhaps I'll remaster it someday, but if you are interested in seeing the original version, dm me!
 
Just for Info, for 3-1 Edits i think blackened Mantle takes the crown easily. its been re-released in 1080p and there is a special "black and white" version floating around as well, that looks pretty good. And on original trilogy forums I have found a KURASAWA Edit of Blackened Mantle made by Spoonito. It alters the colors to look like a Kurasawa movie (who was a big inspiration for George Lucas at the time) which is a really nice idea. I think and fits the tone of the edit perfectly. Highly recommended.
 
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Looks like this thread has gotten a 2nd life as many times as Darth Maul! Well, I'm here to pile on, because I still don't think there's a great answer to the question from a few years ago.

Edits of the Prequel Trilogy show no sign of stopping, there's at least a dozen of each of the three films on IFDB alone, much less on OriginalTrilogy or elsewhere. It feels to me like this is ripe for a re-evaluation in modern times.

Most answers here seem to stick with a particular editor's series or combo. Personally, I think different editors have various better takes on different films. So my preferences are mixed. I'm of a differing opinion than most people of my generation that grew up watching the OT. I don't hate the prequels, never have. They're not as good as the OT, but how many other movie series are?? The PT is doing something different, and I respect it on its own merits. What I'm mostly looking for is to add back in most of the deleted scenes, and not to take out whole scenes from the PT, but to take out various lines and sometimes restructure scenes. I'm looking for quality control to strengthen the characters and narrative, not trying to cut everything to the bare minimum necessary for a narrative. WHAT happens in Star Wars is never terribly creative anyway, it's all about HOW it happens.

Episode I- The Phantom Menace Reborn by @TM2YC
  • First and foremost, this uses the Portuguese track for Jar-Jar and rewrites all his subtitles. For this genius recharacterization alone, it would be my pick.
Episode II- I've gone with The Approaching Storm V2 by @Hal9000 , but it's not perfect (for me... this is my least favorite SW movie, well, until the sequels).
  • I have the new release Shroud of the Dark Side by @DsqrDStudio ready for my next rewatch, and it looks really promising!
Episode III- I have historically gone with Revenge of the Sith V2 by @DominicCobb , though the Reborn fanedit by TM2YC is also very good.
  • I have an alternate version of Labyrinth of Evil by HAL9000 ready for my next rewatch and might switch over to that, although the omissions on that are a little more brutal and I do love my RotS (best of the prequels).

So how about it, IFDBers? For those who have watched some of the prequel edits made over the past 5 years, what are your current picks for the "best" ones?
 
My edits didn’t exist when this thread started…but they are all done!

Check out HEAVY STAR WARS! PT, OG, and ST!

Trailer:

P.S.
the Holiday Special is also finished!

Send me a message if anyone is interested!
 
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