Star Wars: Episode I - The Ancient Lore

I very much enjoyed this edit. That isn't to say that it's without its problems. Without going into details (as it's actually possible to spoil this edit), I felt that the musical choices made didn't always work and it certainly sacrifices invisibility for the story. While some of the more jarring edits did take me out of the film, it wasn't enough to keep me from both enjoying and recommending this edit. And to conclude this review let me just say this to the editor, "It could have taken her two minutes to find the blanket." Thank you.

I really loved this edit. Though I have a soft spot to The Phantom Menace, and I prefer some things in the original over The Ancient Lore, TAL is a vast improvement over the original.

I want to talk about the few negatives before I delve into the positives. I’d have to agree with courtlyhades that I wasn’t very fond of all the musical changes. I especially didn’t like the heavy use of Across the Stars. Some references are okay, but it got to the point of replacing Anakin’s Theme which is way more fitting, and the love theme being used for scenes without there being romance was weird.

Technically speaking, at the beginning the pan down after the crawl stutters and skips frames which should be fixed, I remember Obi-Wan’s “We haven’t much time” being out of sync; Count Dooku’s hologram at the beginning of the movie is pretty hard to hear; the Neomoidian subtitles misspell “boycott” as “boycotte”, and I couldn’t make out what Padme says at the end of the ship scene. I think it was “Miss your mother” but its use is very abrupt and odd. Finally I noticed Qui-Gon’s purple lightsaber in the desert looked really fat. But otherwise, I didn’t notice any other technical issue.

Narratively speaking, I loved the changes and additions made; they really made the experience better! I especially loved the added depth to the Neomoidians. Who’d have thought Nute Gunray of all people would be ruthless and threatening, but also sympathetic? I would love to learn more about this guy’s past. The new additions to Darth Maul with the fan film, subtitles, and unused trailer dialogue about fear, Maul becomes even more of an effective villain.

The ultimate fight of oppressive technology vs mother nature, freedom and independence vs corrupt bureaucracy and fascism, has never been so relatable and engaging. Thumbs way up!

Congrats on winning November 2018 Favorite Edit!

Now, time for my thoughts...

It is a refreshing way to watch TPM. Less annoyance from you know who. Changing the lines is an improvement, but my only main issue with this edit is the music, the music cues don't all flow with the scenes; they make me think of the other movies when I'm suppose to think of this movie.

I do recommend others to see this edit, other viewers might enjoy it more than I do.

A refreshing take on Episode I, yet still needs more work.
I really enjoyed watching the new narrative unfold, and think the it is a better story for EP1. The work done with the source material is wonderful, and most offensive and annoying lines were trimmed away. I also like the changes made to the soundtrack and the idea of adding materials from fan films.
However... There is an obvious and jarring drop in quality when using the video from the fan film, which I hope is fixed in V2. Additionally, there were a few lines of new dialogue (in the subtitles) that felt out of place, especially between 1:07:13-1:08:13. Moreover, there are a few out-of-place cuts throughout the edit (such as at 56:23, or at 1:07:13).
All-in-all, I recommend watching this edit. It tells a new and compelling story by using the existing materials, and is enjoyable.

I have to say when i was downloading this edit i tought it was just a cut and cut edit of a prequel
I have never been so wrong in whole my life (Hobbit 1 reference)
I don't want to give any spoilers so the only thing i will say is giving qui gon jinn a purple lightsaber was a epic choice
The edit is fantastic but you could have removed force speed and the this is pod racing line
overall great highly recommenced it