Star Wars - Episode I: Return of the Sith: Revisited Edition

This is now up there with L8WRTR's trilogy. Very impressive. In fact, though I prefer his episode II to yours, I'd say you've got the better episode I. Just so well paced. It made for an easy, entertaining watch that I didn't begin to zone out of. Even with the best Episode I edits, I often have a hard time keeping my mind on the movie for the duration. You have managed to keep my interest focused squarely on the movie.

The obscuring of Palpatine's true identity was a choice I thought I might have a problem with going in, but it turned out to be an improvement. Still not sure why people have a problem with the "Darth" title, it's used all over the expanded universe, hardly exclusive to the prequels.

Cutting out the entire visit to the Gungan city was bold, and brilliant. It wasn't missed at all. I think you've handled Jar Jar as well as can be done, without perhaps altering his voice in a manner similar to JMB's deepening of Katie Holmes' voice in the Batman Begins Dark Cut. Anything to make him sound less like a Jamaican Elmo.

I personally feel Qui-Gon Jinn's funeral makes for a better ending point than the parade, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of this remarkable edit. You should be very proud of what you've achieved with this. You've made Star Wars Episode I a movie I can watch all the way through and actually enjoy. Thank you!

My ratings pretty much some up my review. The edits great and it is the Star Wars Saga intro that we deserved :) Great Job!

For my part, this revisionist take on Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace might be the best version of the film. Right from the new opening crawl, we immediately understand the setting, the stakes, and the players. The recut film moves at a breakneck pace to the point it's occasionally jarring. It's hard to argue with the results, though. With any *other* movie, I'd say this was a problem...but the Phantom Menace really benefits from the adrenaline shot that seciors has given it here. We are on Tatooine by the 15-minute mark!

Almost all the bloat is gone. Most of the best parts are retained and trimmed/recut in places. All the worst parts are cut out where possible. The story beats are light, succinct, and comprehensible on first viewing. Better, seciors' excision of *any* exposition regarding the true mastermind introduces an element of mystery for first-time Star Wars viewers; who was behind the mysterious Sith warrior and why was he assisting the Federation? Something to pay out through subsequent films, of course!

Some debatable decisions: cutting out talk of Anakin's parentage and certainly the 'chosen one' prophecy, but only debatable due to possible continuity issues between different versions of the prequel films. A few deleted scenes are added but one's placement is a little out of context. I think it still works, though.

My opinion is that Hal9000's Phantom Menace fan edit is the best version of the film in the same way that Chris Hartwell's Hobbit edits are the best version of The Hobbit: as a halfway point for theatrical purists. For me though...after my viewing of seciors' edit, it made me wonder if more drastic surgery was *always* required to make this film 'good'.

I had a great time watching 'Return of the Sith'. That's probably the highest praise I can ever give *any* version of The Phantom Menace. Highly Recommended.

Edit: Have watched it again and increased the Narrative score again to a 10 from a 9. Although I never thought of Jar Jar as particularly distracting, I noticed that a side effect of removing most of Jar Jar's scenes/lines means there is no longer any ambiguity on who the main character is (definitely Qui-Gon in this edit). This makes his death at the end of the film a sort of narrative subversion that plays out across the remaining films; really hammers the tragic tone as the Prequels continue (if only he had lived, Anakin wouldn't have turned!). Of course, one can say that this had always been there--but the editing choices here just seem to bring it to focus in a way I had never noticed when watching the film before.

This edit is a treasure. Not to say that I'd put it on the level of 'The Godfather' or anything--just for what it is, it is as close to the best that it can be.

Edit 2:
One last thing I noticed about Jar Jar's dialogue excision. Again, thought Hal9000's approach to editing him to be reasonable (Jar Jar the Everyman stays, Jar Jar the Clown goes)--however, removing most of his dialogue here in Ep. 1 tracks with the *actual* reduced amount of dialogue he has within the next two films. So, oddly enough, it results in a more consistent experience.

Pros:
- Less of the Gungans. Less of JarJar. Less of the bad CGi overall.
- No more cringy "Yippie" or "Oops" from Anakin. Less bad voice acting overall.
- No Midichlorians! This makes the Force way more like the Original Trilogy.
- More in tone with the OT in terms of humor and droid antics.

Cons:
- The added "deleted scenes" are SD/Low Quality. They do add greatly to the story though!
- The final battle vs Darth Maul is re-cut/changed. The battle itself was the best part of The Phantom Menace.

Conclusion:
THE BEST WAY to watch Episode 1 The Phantom Menace hands down! This edit cuts down nearly all the bad stuff from the original movie. It is and stays the Phantom Menace. You can't change that, but this edit comes as close to perfection for the movie from 1999. If this is your first time seeing TPM, or even if it's your 1000th time, i highly recommend this Edit. It's the best version of the movie. Most people tend to skip TPM on re-watching Star Wars. I say no more! Next time you watch Star Wars, do yourself a favor and watch this!

Way, way better than the original. It was actually enjoyable! Thanks and keep up the good work!