Star Wars - Episode I: Shadow of the Sith

I finally sat down to watch this, this afternoon.

I’ve watched a good few TPM edits and JasonN’s Attack of the Federation was my favourite. Well, sorry Jase, but you’ve been pipped.

This is a fantastic edit. It really is, nothing I can really add what hasn’t already been said – but things I did enjoy:

– Jar Jar has like a half dozen words.
– Anakin is an alright kid.
– Padme isn’t whingey.
– Boss matey-boy doesn’t have ticks.
– The dinner scene was really well edited. It all just comes from Ani.
– Pod race was great.
– The final battle was great as well, making it all seemingly hinge on Anakin.
– Droids don’t say much.
– Prefer that ending. Hate the original one.

Colouring did seem to be off on the probe droid section, but I do wonder if this will happen in the DVD version (I watched the MP4). Editing was seemless, crawl was great. I think this is my go-to version now. I missed nothing except Padme & Co got captured, but Anakin saves the day and I kinda missed Padme & Co getting control of the throne room…but nah, you wouldn’t miss it if you knew no better.

I’m excited to watch your Pt2 now, which Attack of the Phantom was currently my go-to version.

Nice one mate.

Shadow of the Sith review

Ok, I just geeked out and watched 3 Phantom Menace fan edits in a row. The Phantom Edit, followed by JasonN’s Attack of the Federation and finally L8wtr’s Shadow of the Sith. For a while I considered Phantom Edit to be the definitive version, but having rewatched it tonight I came to see a lot of the problems that have been previously highlighted by others. I didn’t feel like JasonN’s cuts went nearly far enough, while the emperor’s cloaked face seemed quite clumsy. Finally, I viewed L8wtr’s edit, which I have had on my laptop for a while but never ventured more than 20 minutes into.

Well, blow me away, I now have a definitive Episode 1 for my collection. *But* – and this is a massive but – there are a couple of problems that I feel should not only be highlighted, but if at all possible edited. L8wtr, I hope you’re listening! :P

First and foremost, the ending. I can understand you cutting the celebration: personally I’ve always enjoyed it, I love the music and I think its shot well, it’s a highly enjoyable end to a movie which is as much an old-fashioned adventure as anything else. But I think ending on the funeral also works: it’s a beautiful scene and it also perfectly mirrors the ending to Return of the Jedi… however, the final cut of the film into the credits DOES NOT WORK. It has three major problems.

Firstly, while the scene is good, the final shot of lingering of Palpatine is too heavy handed. The PT is pretty clumsy with its reveals; its not clear at what point the audience is actually supposed to realise that Palpatine is Sidius, but to anyone with the slightest understanding of film language, the pyre scene makes it abundantly obvious. Within the original film I dislike how the shot stops on Palpatine (I feel it’s one of the scenes that should be edited) but at least it is immediately followed with the street celebration scene and the audience is just left with a pretty major hint. But to make it the very last scene of the film is simply too heavy handed in my opinion. The fix to this would be to try and make the shot linger less, or to use a different final shot. (This ties to the third problem, but I will get to that.)

Secondly, the use of the standard star wars music doesn’t work. Somebody else has commented on this, and I see you have provided the option of an alternative score. This would be fine, except for…

The third and final problem, is the cut itself. The timing is too abrupt, and the use of the circular wipe just doesn’t match what is in the frame. I know this is the standard way to end the films, but just as you are willing to change the music, I would strongly suggest you consider a different wipe. In my opinion, the best cut would be simply to either fade or cut straight to black. I know this isn’t very ‘star warsy’, but it does fit the film itself.

I adored your edit from start to (almost) finish, but that last second of film really left a sore taste in my mouth. I would beg of you to consider either tightening it or changing it for a slightly different climax, by changing the final shot, timing or wipe and keeping either Duel of Fates or another score that is different to the original.

Now, I will briefly mention the other (lesser) issues I had with the edit, before moving onto praise.

The opening crawl
The dialogue is good, but the crawl itself isn’t great. There is too much space between the letters and it just looks slightly cheap. The other edits I have seen – including the Phantom Edit – had scores which could be mistaken for the original if it weren’t for the altered text. Also, the timing and speed of “STAR WARS” seemed a bit off.

Within the film itself, one of the droids says “roger roger” as mentioned by another viewer.

The probe droid deleted scene
The colouring is very apparent. I don’t really mind this, but anything that could be done to lesser the contrast between this and the other scenes would be good.

The timing of almost all the subtitles could do with tweaking, they tend to appear too early. Also, perhaps using a smaller font would make them seem more natural.

Things I missed: Padme’s pouty “Well I don’t like it” and “You assume to much”. I don’t mind their absence, but I do like the lines.

Finally, the only other thing I wasn’t a huge fan of (and this is simply an opinion) is the inclusion of the “chosen one” subplot. It could be dropped entirely from the prequels and we would be left with a more grounded tale of a man’s corruption and its terrible consequences. However, its not really a problem and I’m jumping complaining about nothing now. 

Now, this is where the film excelled:

The crawl. Yes, the actual graphics need changing, but the dialogue is probably the best fanedit TPM opening crawl I’ve seen. It’s both concise and interesting, and I for one don’t mind the TPM reference at all.

The dialogue: all of it. You have done excellent editing throughout, although of particular note were:

Boss Nas – I didn’t think I’d like this change as Boss Nas’s ticks are pretty central to his character in the early scenes and I felt the altered dialogue would be too abrupt. However, I feel it works very well and you succeed in your goal of presenting the Gungans as being genuinely dangerous (quite an accomplishment considering the material).

The ship escape – removing all the horrible references to R2 makes these scenes considerably better. No cleaning, no naming of R2, etc.

Anakin’s mother – This is the finest editing I have seen of this entire part of the film. Removing Qui Gon explaining the he couldn’t free his mother adds intelligence and emotion to the scene. Similarly, I have been waiting a long time for somebody to clean up Anakin’s goodbye and remove his reference to “returning to save” his mother. Brilliant stuff.

Also, the dialogue during scene at the dinner table is really well edited. The removal of the horrible “I die everytime…” line is very well done; now all the characters appear stronger and more likable. Again, the emotion you managed to get out of Anakin’s separation from his mother is incredible: I was genuinely moved by his loss. You also highlight a great deal of the humanity lost in the PT, Qui Gon now comes across as a wise, kind and caring – yet still dangerous – individual. Anakin is now a scrappy and slightly volatile yet fundamentally decent kid, which is exactly what he should be. Bravo!

If I continue highlighting dialogue I’ll end up discussing almost every scene in the film, so I will move on.

Anakin’s fight – great inclusion, it works really well, showing a violent side to Anakin that isn’t normally shown. Removal of his friends also improves the Tatooine scenes considerably.

The Pod Race – less is definitely more. I was sad at Jabba’s removal, I like him in TPM, but you manage to present the pod race as a genuinely dangerous and thrilling race. Its shorter length definitely adds to the effect, it feels less like an endurance and more like a no-limits drag race.

The final battle – I questioned your inclusion of making Jar Jar a general. It seems an unnecessary scene, especially as *all* of Jar Jar’s actions in the final battle are horrible slapstick. As it turns out, you didn’t include any of them – which is excellent – although I’m still not sure if making him a general is necessary. I was also unsure about making Anakin’s destruction of the Control Ship the focus when I read it, but you’re right it works perfectly. The sense of loss when *every* plan fails really works. I did miss the conclusion to Padme’s capture, I wondered if the throne room scene could be re-edited, but I suppose its conclusion is easy presumed and I probably miss it most because I’m so used to seeing it.

All in all, this is a truly excellent edit, by far the best TPM I have seen. You manage to capture a sense of danger, excitement and emotions that the film has never shown before. However, I would truly implore you to change – 1) the opening credits to one that looks more official, and 2) the final few seconds which really undermine so much of your good work.

Out of all the prequel fanedits out there I had only seen the Phantom Editor’s version of Episode 1 so the bar for this one was set rather high. However, L8wrtr put a lot of thought and effort into this one and it shows.

This one goes by so fast that it will be over before you realize it. A LOT was cut and the movie now goes at breakneck speed. Gone is all the excessive silliness and horrible lines of dialog; what we get is a leaner and meaner Phantom Menace with little room for breathers. Which is, ironically, the main flaw of this fanedit. Or rather I should say it has the quality of its flaw; as it was a balance between keeping some of the crap and making us cringe every 5 minutes or throwing all of it out the window and giving us a much more serious take on The Phantom Menace. In my opinion L8wrtr cut a little too much out of the movie but those wanting an all-silliness-removed version will be very pleased with this one.

On the technical side of things, the image quality was great throughout. Some of the cuts the editor made were too abrupt for my tastes but by his own admission this was a more drastic take, meant to cut deeply into the film. Some of the audio cuts and transitions could have been smoother but these moments were few and far between over the course of the movie.

As for presentation and bonuses, we get simple but nice menus. The dual-layer version gives us deleted scenes – which help us put a lot of what we just watched into perspective – and a nice commentary track explaining the editor’s views on the movie and the editing choices he made.

I give this fanedit a 7/10, which was almost an 8/10 had some of the cuts not been so abrupt and had the audio issues been smoothed out. Overall, it did get me hyped to see his take on Attack of the Clones because I think his editing style will lend itself beautifully for what is, in my opinion, the worst of the prequels.

If you are new to Star Wars fanedits this is where you need to start. This is the only Ep I edit I have watched all the way through, and I feel no need to continue my search. L8 cuts out the silliness and some bloated scenes but leaves the story intact. From the clips I’ve seen of other edits, it seems the editor’s primary concern was to cut out as much as possible. But, this to me just made the movie feel rushed and not enjoyable to watch. Having watched SotS and seen L8′s work on episodes 2 and 3, I can safely say that his primary concern is story. For example, many are unhappy that he left in the virgin birth and prophecy story line. But, I admire that he left it in, even though it could have easily been cut out, because it was a part of the story that GL gave us. Although it was not really developed, the theme of the virgin birth and prophecy flows through the other two episodes, helping tie the PT together. I say bravo and I am really looking forward to seeing your entire trilogy.

As for video and sound I cannot really comment. I have a laptop and a tiny 10 year old tube TV. All I can say is that SotS sounds and looks as good as any other movie I watch.

I have heard a rumor that L8 may revisit this project after he finishes episode 3 so I’m willing to bet many of the issues people have already brought up will disappear. Here is my primary suggestion. Someone above mentioned that the ending felt strange with the main theme cutting in on such an ominous scene. But, I also feel it is strange to have a Star Wars movie end with anything other than the main theme. First, I have to say I really like the movie ending at the funeral. It sets the tone for the next 2 movies. But, I think what would be best is to have a musical climax as the camera is panning over to Palpatine. Every SW movie has the music ending on a high note before it goes to the main theme. What makes the SotS ending awkward is that the final scene is basically silent so the main theme sounds abrupt. If you find a climactic portion of Duel of the Fates to play while the camera is panning over to Palpatine, I believe this will solve the issue. I hope I described that clearly enough :)

I give this edit 9/10. I only knock a point off for some of the minor issues that I’m sure will be corrected when L8 revisits SotS. But, I feel certain that when L8 finishes his trilogy, once more there will be peace in my Star Wars galaxy. In my mind no other edits will be necessary. Thanks for all your hard work.

L8wrtr inspired me to watch this edit due to a well-argued debate we engaged in, even though I vowed some time ago to not watch anymore star wars edits (at least not until some worth HD efforts). http://www.fanedit.org/forums/showthread.php?2524-The-Two-Sides-of-Every-Movie-An-Essay-by-Gaith/page2

I accepted long ago that it is impossible to make this movie more enjoyable than painful to watch, and thus accepted the Phantom Edit as the definitive version. (Episodes 2 and 3 already have perfect fanedits made in my opinion so I don’t bother with those either.)

It has been so long since I have seen the original theatrical version of this movie that it is pointless to even compare to that. Instead I will compare to my old definitive version, The Phantom Edit, which is more relevant anyway considering most all of the TPM edits are essentially edits of that edit. As revolutionary as the Phantom Edit was, I do agree with many other people’s sentiments that it could have gone much further in its cuts.

Much to my pleasant surprise, L8wrtr, your edit is a tremendous overall improvement of the Phantom Edit. There are small little bits of comedy or drama that I personally feel add to the characters and movie’s charm, however given how much of Lucas’s efforts in this regard fail even in The Phantom Edit, I can see how an editor might overshoot the mark a bit regarding cutting the fluff. The story now moves faster with steady and deliberate pace. The only problem is that I still don’t care about any of the characters or what is happening. I pray for something new and exciting, but of course there isn’t anything new. The best I can hope for is less annoyance and a faster conclusion.

Ironically you almost managed to turn me to the dark side. As I was watching and comparing it to The Phantom Edit I started thinking about even deeper cuts that could be done to yours. I started toying with the idea of doing an edit of your edit of the Phantom Edit. Maybe there is a good hour-long episode yet to be discovered amongst this rubble? Maybe this 4th generation edit of mine might prove to be the magic edit everyone thought was impossible! It was about this time that the characters returned to Naboo. I sobered up.

This edit is a great overall improvement and now my definitive TPM edit, which is a great credit to your skill as an editor, especially when one considers those great editors that have come before you with lesser results. But the movie is still rubbish. At best this movie could be made to work as an average 2-part Clone Wars animated episode. The failures of the story go so far beyond a bit of bad dialogue. There are only a handful of scenes that work and even fewer characters that do, but this is no fault of yours. You took a plate-full of canned cat food and made it almost palatable for human consumption. But I am still eating cat food when I want a steak.

My respect for your edit comes from the many little changes and general pacing. Your biggest change to the story itself didn’t impress me, but it doesn’t make it much worse either. You shift the focus to Anakin being the one who saves the day at the end, which is a cool idea except that you do it by shifting the focus even more onto one of my least favorite scenes in the entire movie where Anakin flies into the hangar bay. (At least you fixed the auto-pilot debacle of him flying out of the Naboo hangar bay!) If a couple torpedoes in a hangar bay can blow up that huge ship, then some engineering company out there had better get ready for a massive law suit from the Trade Federation! (nevermind that the scene visually looks terrible). The much more plausible interesting way for our protagonists to win is the part you cut out with the queen impersonator creating a diversion and capturing the Viceroy. “Everything depends on capturing the Viceroy.” This makes sense to me. We have already established he is a bit cowardly. Capture him and he will cave, call off the attack, and sign a new trade agreement. There is not even a need to have the ship blow up other than for the cool effect. But then again, why is Anakin there at all! Why wouldn’t he be left on Corruscant. It is all absurd, but I digress.

The video quality is much improved over The Phantom Edit.

Biggest technical issue comes at 25:20 where you have a short scene that has a sound glitch followed by a lip synching problem for a few seconds. I also noticed a small sound glitch at 54:53.

Still virgin birth. Ugh.

Pod race much improved! Pacing felt about right, though I wouldn’t have minded you keeping a couple cutsie moments. My recommendations: one sandpeople shot (not at Anakin), Jabba, and the pitstop incident with the little droid that gets sucked through. Maybe the humpty dumpty dude stuck at the starting line simply because there is a shot later that it seems like you need of the pod racers zooming by him on one of their laps. Maybe I spaced out but it seemed like I only saw them cross the starting line once instead of twice for a 3-lap race.

It still seems like there is something missing from the pod race. I noticed for the first time that there is no music in the background. That should make the editing simpler and opens up some potential for some real creativity here that I have yet to see in an edit of the podrace. The whole thing still feels a little hoky and un-intense. Anakin has one too many mishaps and I have a hard time believing that he could ever catch up and win, no matter how awesome his pod racer may theoretically be.

Jar Jar handled well.

As somebody else mentioned. Still a random “roger roger” that is very out of place.

Great improvement to the Obi killing darth maul scene, but still horrible absurdly stupid.

I missed the “I will be watching your career with great interest” line. Presumably this was because you wanted to keep Palpatine’s identity more mysterious? If so I find it hard to believe that anybody watching would not comprehend by this point that there is something ‘insidious’ about this man (what horrible character names!).

Mixed feelings about cutting the celebration at end.

Love the new text crawl at the beginning of the movie. Always hated that the Phantom Editor used that as his place to put a political message.

Overall: Strong work! Still hate the movie but now this is my new official least hated version!
Video: 9/10
Audio:7/10
Technical and story editing: 8/10