Star Wars - Episode I: Shadow of the Sith

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.

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

This is the fanedit that replaces The Phantom Menace in my DVD box. I will not be watching any more versions from this point on. This is it! Thank you L8wtr. And I really enjoyed the commentary track too.

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.

This was the second fanedit that I ever watched, second only to L8wrtr's "Dawn of the Empire". This version of Episode I is now my go-to version of the film. It has a darker and more ominous feel to it. It removes lots of Jar-Jar speak (thank you! thank you!) as wells as many of the needless "humor" that was present. It tells a much better story than the original and does an excellent job of flowing with future SW films. The commentary is a must on this one. L8wrtr does a great job of going through his edits throughout the film and explaining why particular edits were made. It gives real insight into the editing process. The visual edits done very well. This is a definite must-see version of Episode I.