Before The Dark Times

I was finally able to sit down and watch this edit, and I'm happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is the most creative and perhaps most effective way I've seen a fan edit tackle the prequels and LieutenantDan has succeeded in his ambitious goals! Only Chapter 1 I felt like didn't work for me and I've explained them below.

For Chapter 1: The beginning just throws you into the story with zero context and has no hook to bring audiences to care. Perhaps an opening text (a la Solo A Star Wars Story) could remedy this? That could also help with starting with the senate scene, which I feel is a stronger start with better exposition than the scene in Palpatine’s office. (Although you see more of Palpatine’s manipulation there.)

It isn’t very interesting to hear about a crisis in the senate and not see it at all. To be fair, this is a problem with the original film as well, but by cutting all of it I feel like it is amplified a bit. Maybe you could show some of the Naboo invasion, like the Neomoidians threatening Sio Bibble? A good recommendation to help accomplish this is looking at the Clone Wars episode Supply Lines, which does a similar thing and serves as a prequel to the liberation of Ryloth arc.

For much of these reasons Chapter I didn’t really work for me. However, I absolutely LOVED every other chapter--I honestly wish the first chapter was more like them somehow.

I have been thinking of a way to squeeze in some of the prequels in between Episodes V and VI a la Machete Order for a first timer--I always felt Revenge of the Sith immediately before Return of the Jedi strengthens that film as you fear more for Luke's potential fall to the dark side--but recently I felt like squeezing in 2/3s of a trilogy just for that feels disjointed and does a disservice to the saga. But this edit is the perfect length and the (almost) perfect thing before Return of the Jedi to squeeze in, and you can still get away with showing the rest of the prequels later whenever they'd like as a sort of expanded edition and precursor to The Clone Wars show.

Furthermore, the vignette style of presenting the Prequels actually benefitted the storytelling in a way I hadn't expected--you see, as everyone knows, the Prequels are not very well known for its subtlety. Cutting it down to this length under NORMAL circumstances, I would say you'd be missing in on a lot of the subtleties and the intricacies of the story. However considering that the Prequels do NOT have those, or at least ultimately fails to synthesize them meaningfully, the "broad stroaks" approach actually strengthens Anakin's fall to the dark side, as a lot of things are still left to the imagination (similar to how Tales of the Jedi handles Dooku's betrayal and turn to the dark side.)

The reason I say this is because in the actual Prequels and most Prequel edits, Anakin's arc is still linear and adds a lot of characterization and exposition--Anakin's fear of loss, Obi-Wan's failure to teach what Anakin actually needs, his anger and hate sourced from his troubled past and mistreatment (first from the slave owners, then from the Jedi), and most importantly, his power hungry nature (which ironically is the thing that the Prequels neglected THE MOST). The films try to keep Anakin optimistic and idealistic until the last second so much that, despite all the setup that the films attempt to do, you never believe that Anakin would destroy everything in his path--especially just to save his wife. I understand that his fear of loss led to his wish to be more powerful, to save the ones he loves, but only saying it does not make it believeable. That's just bad writing. We need to see that his initial noble wish turns to greed, and the films largely gloss over that.

The absolute GENIUS of this edit, then, is to reframe everything so that the vignettes make it feel like they're all happening at a similar pace, unlike the original film where the second act of ROTS has everything so rushed. Now, the "broad strokes" approach gives us the same insights that the prequels give--that his fear of loss lead to greed--however it is edited in a far more elegant and natural way. When the distraction of Padme's imminent death is gone, now it seems like he is purely power hungry. We still see him try to hold on to his initial ideals, but we also saw that, leading to his ultimate betrayal, Anakin was itching to get a taste of the dark side, because of the way that LieutenantDan brilliantly created a montage using his few-and-far-between power hungry moments that the films never succeeded in convincing the audience. So when Anakin said (far more confidently this time) that he can overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy, for the first time when watching these frickin' movies, I actually believed him. This is the highest praise that a Prequel editor can get-- LieutenantDan actually made the Prequels work.

Now above, I said "almost perfect" because one thing I wish all Prequel edits kept, regardless of how the film itself executes it, is Anakin saying "You underestimate my power" because it ties into Luke saying the very same thing in Return of the Jedi to Jabba, adding to many of the things that makes the audience fear that Luke actually might follow in his father's footsteps.

On a personal note, one line I wish you kept was "So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause." Which is my favorite line in all of Star Wars. Furthermore, I missed some things such as Qui-Gon Jinn's importance to Anakin and how different he was to the rest of the Jedi, including Obi-Wan, as he is the only one who understood that attachments and emotion are not dangerous in and of themselves. On the other hand I realize that this is not what the edit is about and that can always be retained in longer edits of the Prequels.

So thank you, Lieutenant Dan, for this quite marvelous edit you've done. I recommend everyone in the community who have felt wronged by the Prequels to give this a shot. Thumbs way up!

AN ASTONISHING ACHIEVEMENT!

Not only is this a technical and narratively ambitious edit, it breaks the mould on what an edit can be.

Blueyoda, amongst others, has certainly been a trailblazer for such creative endeavours, but this edit cements many different techniques to create what I would regard as an ESSAY/DOCUMENTARY style edit, in many ways similar to Prelude to Axanar in its construction.

For those reasons, and others, my scoring may seem to be at odds for some.

AVQ 10
I viewed this edit multiple times as an approver and the final version I watched was a 9GB file, with no issues.
I would encourage all to watch the larger file.

Audio editing 9...but in fact ...I have to say, the majority of it works so well, I am exercising subjective forbearance.
10

There are hundreds of audio transitions, dialogue isolation and even NEW music added to this edit. The sheer volume of work involved is breath-taking so I for one cannot be too harsh in this category. In fact, the piano piece used is just heart wrenchingly painfully effective...

Many of these transitions are deliberately abrupt and that is a stylistic choice, which I won't mark down.
During the approval phase, I pointed out many transitions which could benefit from additional space or timing improvements and the editor made all of the changes suggested...and did so with grace and full engagement.

The many that remain are, for my taste, part of the style of this presentation and add to the quality and creativity of NOT delivering a structure and style that adheres to our expectations and the audio vocabulary that we have all become accustomed to. This edit pushes those boundaries, and I applaud their use and execution.

This will jar on some who watch this, but I am sure that many other viewers will be able to move on from what they have become accustomed to and embrace this way of delivering a new experience in storytelling.

To anyone that thinks there is audio that could be better presented, I'd say, take Any 5 minutes of this edit, and recreate it yourself flawlessly with a perfect delivery...if that is possible, I shall adjust my score to a 9. I for one, given what is available, believe this is the best it can be without access to the filamakers resources.

This is ultimately a piece of art, and art is a very subjective subject....so 10.

Visual editing 10
The TRAILER/ MONTAGE style of this edit again pushes boundaries and expectations.

There are many aggressive cuts, juxtapositions, dialogue /voiceover laid over protagonists NOT speaking and much more. That is the style of this presentation. For me, they work to perfection...and although early versions of this had some exceptionally jarring moments, again...the editor worked on these further to create the piece that has finally been released.

Images are used both conventionally and stylistically to illustrate what is being heard, or to punctuate...in places this is relentless, and the presentation benefits from this although it requires the viewer to literally forget everything you've seen before in regards to the Prequels.

There are also a few uses of a black screen, which for my tastes i really like...I use black screen in a few of my edits...sparingly...but there is and always should be a reason for that. Their placement in this edit is to get your focus back.

There remain a handful of moments that require some forbearance on the viewer’s part, but given the source materials and what the possible solutions might be, these corrective actions would diminish the presentation and the carefully orchestrated ballet that sound, image and narrative that are being juggled at high speed.

Narrative 10
The narrative construction here is a masterpiece of planning, analysis and execution.

I cannot begin to imagine how many times the editor must have viewed the sources in order to extract this smorgasbord of a presentation.

It has managed to do the impossible in my humble opinion...I DETEST the prequels and this presentation has not only made me realise what a tremendous story was hidden within, but it has made me LOVE this telling ...exceeding what I would have believed is possible.

This is NOT for a casual viewing experience. The jumping back and forth in time, the inserting of dialogue, voiceovers and images from disparately distant moments in the source material requires the viewer to PAY ATTENTION. There are no plot holes so to speak, and much of the filler and detritus from the Prequels has been omitted. What is left is a pure distillation of the Greek tragedy that is the Rise and Fall of Anakin/Vader.

In a few select places, additional dialogue has been deployed which is breathtakingly executed. There is also one section (not to be revealed) which originally was quite conventional...with no suggestions other than that observation, the result that came back was again, challenging and incredibly well executed. I leave it to you all to guess which...but I shan’t tell.

This is a truly new and novel way to experience the prequels. You must pay attention though...you will NOT be spoon-fed...but everything you need to know, see or hear, is there...What a pleasure to be treated as an intelligent adult viewer and not be subjected to over exposition, repetition and childish construction so we don't lose our spot... PHEW!

Enjoyment 10+

On my first view, many months ago...I stopped early and walked away thinking this was a mess. I then returned with an open mind...and the reward was a level of enjoyment I have not experienced since Pulp Empire.

I can only hope that there will be more presentations like this from the editor and that it starts a trend in a new way to deliver an experience...which is what this edit is.

I will echo the previous reviewer by saying that I too "highly recommend this edit as it challenges the idea of what a fanedit is and how one can approach the prequels in a new way in a sea of familiarity".

OUTSTANDING

This is a super well-realized, creative edit! I appreciate how the frame structure allowed for the skipping over of the worst bits of the prequels, excising a great deal of cringy dialogue and tedious senatorial stuff, while allowing the strong visuals and strong story concept to remain. I can't say how this edit would work for someone viewing the prequels for the first time, but for me this was/will be a great way to return to the prequels. Highly recommended!

(I don't know how much I can really say about the audio editing, but nothing took me out of the viewing, which I think is a good sign.)

(Intro)

I loved how you used Obi Wan’s voice especially how it was timed as the BEFORE THE DARK TIMES title card came into view, fantastic audio editing there and some great visual editing with the title cards for each of the chapters which appropriately aligned with the voiceovers and subject matters utilised in there respective chapters with the transitioning colours of A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….weaving it’s own little tale of foreshadowing before the dark times arrive.

(Chapter 1)

I like how you intercut the scenes of Palpatine’s explanation to Amidala on the political inadequacy of Coruscant alongside the inadequacy of the senate meeting as it streamlines and delivers the world building in a concise and well contrasted manner that perfectly shows how Palpatine flexes his puppet strings upon those who come to associate themselves with him.

(Chapter 2)

The scenes of the pod race were a bit abruptly cut to start with but once it got to the bit where they were moving through the canyon the rest of the race flowed significantly better from there and the intercutting between the pod race and Qui Gon’s AI speech was fantastic and a great way to get across Young Anakin’s mentality adding a nice sense of introspectiveness to the character, on a side note it’s both amazing and scary how accurate the AI can process and deliver Liam Neeson’s voice.

The dialogue you crafted for him along with the intercutting manages to capture that feeling of anxiety that a child would feel when a life changing opportunity and responsibility is placed upon there minds metaphorical weighing scales, the shortened Podrace scene also brilliantly resonates with Obi Wan’s ‘’He was the best Star Pilot in the galaxy’’ showing very little faults in his piloting and how he can improvise on the fly even when under stress about what path in life he should pursue.

I am more familier with the Old EU (Legends) than I am of the Current EU (Disney Canon) though I am guessing a Searcher is the canon equivalent of Legends ‘’Jedi Recruiter’’ though either way the idea to implement a concept outside of the films into your edit was not only genius but it helped this iteration of the Prequels better align with this particular line in Empire Strikes Back ‘’There you will learn from Yoda the Jedi master who instructed me’’

(Chapter 3)

Great introduction by Yoda which not only explains away Qui Gon’s departure in a natural manner but builds into the nature of Anakin’s childlike and young adult anxieties unifying themselves from the past and future to the present though speaking of Anakin the more well written and better acted aspects of his characterisation have been brought well to the forefront casting a better light on his sense of internal conflict and wavering adult rational as the darkness grows within him, though I did find the cut from his scene with Obi Wan to his scene with Palpatine a little bit on the abrupt side but as for Obi Wan himself he comes of as less overly critical and more like a balanced mix between a friend and a mentor which better aligns with his statement in A New Hope.

‘’And he was a good friend’’ his worrying thoughts of his Padawan now come of less like condescending criticism and more general concern for his apprentice’s well being, that intercut between Yoda’s advice and the death of Shmi Skywalker was beautifully brutal and perfectly built upon Anakin’s growing rage and to some extent implies in the scene with Yoda and Mace that the Grand Jedi Master may very well be regretting his own advice that he gave to the young Padawan, at least that’s how I interpret the scene with the potential new context.

(Chapter 4)

Feels like a direct sequel to Chapter 1 but not in a bad way as the use of powerful imagery and wording conveys just how Palpatine and Dooku’s influence started to push the denizens of the galaxy further into ideological and physical conflict culminating in the irony of the Jedi Order becoming less like peacekeepers and more like higher ranked militia in a sense becoming clones themselves as there very purpose and identity had become tainted by the repetition of war which you have managed to portray as quite hellish thanks to the removal of the battles more quippy exchanges of dialogue between characters.

My only criticism with this chapter is that Dooku’s ‘’It cannot be fixed it is time to start over’’ line is oddly placed as his mouth doesn’t move towards the end of his speech.

(Chapter 5)

I like how the beginning of this flashback sequence started out slow and bleak but than began to ramp up in speed and brutality to the point where it felt like ones head could explode, the idea of Anakin having war related PTSD is thematically brilliant as it makes perfect sense in this iteration of the Prequels why the arduousness of war would begin to push him to more extremist methods of ending said war with his statement later in the chapter on how the war has destroyed the principles of the republic having a lot more weight to it since the scenes leading into it pack more of a punch.

Absolutely brilliant and thematically appropriate idea to use the Emperors theme from Return Of The Jedi as Palpatine attempts to convert Anakin to his side and the intercutting between the anchor of light (Padme) and the anchor of darkness (Palpatine) was a great way to show how the strengths between said anchors weight upon Anakin’s moral compass began to weaken and strengthen respectively, in fact his general build up and transition towards becoming a Sith is a lot more well constructed and given how much more relatable he is in this iteration it makes his gradual turn much more terrifying and heart wrenching.

It was definitely a good call to cut out the lightsaber fight between Palpatine and the rest of the Jedi though as to why I say this it’s because it’s not only more consistent with Return Of The Jedi where he was portrayed as a puppeteer with a strong aptitude in the force but I always felt that given how he’s a Sith Lord and would probably be a Grand Master if he had his own Sith Army utilising a lightsaber would be beneath him, additionally given the situation that Anakin finds Palpatine and Mace in it feels more accurate to Matthew Stover’s Revenge Of The Sith Novelisation where Palpatine was purposely allowing himself to be put in a compromising situation in order to deliver that final push to Anakin becoming his apprentice.

I really love the dramatic slowdown and music utilised in the awakening of Palpatine’s disfigured state and Windu’s electrifying death though I do think the ‘’UNLIMITEEED POWAAAH’’!!! line should have been cut as it slightly diminishes the drama of the scene, the manner in which you manipulated Anakin’s body language to transition from horror to despair to sadistic pleasure at seeing the electrified Windu fly out the window was brilliantly executed and truly showed how the light within him was beginning to dim.

One more thing from Chapter 5 I felt could’ve been cut was Obi Wan shaking his head in disapproval as I feel it doesn’t really work in this cut as Anakin comes of as considerably more mature and reserved in said scene which makes Obi Wan look quite unsympathetic.

(Chapter 6)

I was impressed with how you utilised the AI in this chapter with my personal favourites being how you had Palpatine task Anakin with Sith Trials to prove his loyalty which is a concept from the Old EU that I find brilliantly expands the world building of the Star Wars mythos and illustrates the differing methods of ethical induction between the two differing force users of light and darkness though as for my other favourite example it would have to be the AI used for Qui Gon as the delivery of the dialogue far surpassed that of the original in terms of acting and multi film based continuity.

Though on the subject of Jedi there are few things I feel should have been cut with the first being that one kid Jedi who effortlessly cuts down a group of Clone Troopers as it raises to many questions as to why all these adult Jedi who have trained for years and mastered multiple lightsaber fighting forms and have a better understanding and aptitude of the force are being gunned down so easily by troopers that a kid with limited lightsaber fighting ability and force knowledge can easily dispose of, it’s a violation of common sense and a bit wonky power scaling wise.

Yoda wielding a lightsaber should have been taken out as like with Palpatine the idea of a wise powerful force intuned character flipping about and slicing and dicing the opposition when there mind and understanding is there most powerful tool defeats the purpose of the character, another issue I have with the whole liberation of the Jedi Temple scene is the revelation that Anakin killed children though as to my reasoning of why find it to be an issue it’s mainly because it pushes him to far over that Moral Event Horizon and weakens his final act of redemption in Return of The Jedi.

I like how you intercut the Mustafar battle with the conception and continuation of Order 66 as it truly shows that the pendulum of fate is being swung back and fourth for the galaxy’s future and the aftermath of Anakin & Obi Wan’s duel is a huge step up from the original as the lack of dialogue allows the communication of the actors body language to shine through making for a significantly more powerful and sombre departure between former master and apprentice which is only slightly undercut by Anakin’s screaming declaration of malice.

Additionally I liked the creative choice of the cover art as it gives of that sense of melancholy and fleeting sense of self, as the light of one identity becomes more distant and faded while the darkness of a new persona envelops the mindscape. Truly evocative imagery there.

I think this fan edit is a decent artistic experiment. An experiment to see what you can do if you decide to tell Star Wars, the prequels, as an even more episodic fashion. Some things worked kind of well such as a few prologue sequences as part of the chapter intro. However, the biggest letdown was some of the audio editing. While I can appreciate some of the attempts to add music sequences I felt that some of the sequences were just kind of off from a music editing perspective. Some of this is admittedly difficult but I feel that for something like this to work, you practically need to redub the audio to make this transition work.

A decent watch and I certainly enjoyed seeing this but a few things could have been improved, namely the audio.