“Episode 1.1” - it was apparently put together by an editor attempting to trim the fat (and Jar Jar) to make a better film. And it seems (from the buzz) that he’s more or less succeeded.
Is anyone out there familiar with this thing? Is this legal? Does the cut look chopped up, anyway?
Here’s a cite.
I haven’t seen it, but I doubt it’s legal. “The Phantom Menace” is a copyrighted work, and I imagine that Lucasfilm wouldn’t take kindly to the idea of others making their own variations on the movie.
Don’t get me wrong…I think “The Phantom Menace” has a number of flaws, but that doesn’t mean that I have any desire to see a hacked version that a fan created just to assuage the anti-Jar Jar masses.
I have seen it. Downloaded from the net. i am pretty sure it’s not legal.
But, I must say, I think it was a far better film. Not only did it trim down Jar-Jar, it cut out many scenes that were just window dressing (the travel through the planet core). And best of all, it made Anakin seem less like a stupid kid, and more like a child who would become one of the most feared men in the galaxy.
I downloaded it and started to watch it, but when I got to the “Ex-squeeze me?” line I realized that this guy either didn’t hate Jar-Jar or didn’t love Star Wars enough and I quit. There’s no reason to leave that line in. If his editorial knife is that dull, he’s not the one to be doing this. I’ll flip through the whole thing eventually to see what he did do, but honestly, it doesn’t take a pro to edit that thing down.
I have to admit that, even though I’ve been a rabid fan since I was 5 years old, and think Lucas made some large mistakes with The Phantom Menace, I’ve never seen The Phantom Edit. I’ve always wanted to. Would one of you be kind enough to email the url to me, assuming it’s still accessible?
It’s not that I hate Jar-Jar so much, but I think he could have been written much more effectively and much less offensively. He’s just way too over-the-top.
Anakin wasn’t so bad, except for a few lines and scenes. The idea that he succeeds in the final battle through Force-manifested luck really bothers me. The fact that he actually says “Yippee!” at one point in the movie (on Tattooine) doesn’t help either. Still, he’s much better than he’s made out to be by the “Mannequin Skywalker” crowd, IMHO.
Keep in mind that there are two versions of TPE floating around. Whether the names reflect their true cities of origin, they’re referred to as the Los Angeles and New York versions. I have a copy of one of 'em, I don’t know which, but haven’t watched it.
Almost has to be better, though, doesn’t it?
What would you have preferred? An ending like the first Star Wars? The kid with a lot of Force potential but little real training fires one shot without aiming and blows up a big round ship, thus winning the entire battle, then everyone gets a medal. That would have been much better than the ending in Phantom Menace.
–John
Which is the “authentic” Phantom Edit - LA or NY?
Regarding the right- or wrongness of this cut…songs already get remixed, photos get edited, and all by thrid parties…seems like this is just another manifestation of that trend. Any other views?
I downloaded and watched it last summer but I have to admit I didn’t notice a difference. The film still sucked. At the time I hadn’t seen TPM since the theatre (about 2 years) so I didn’t really notice specific cuts but there was still way too much Jar-Jar and Annakin for it to be a good film. Not to mention Natalie Portman’s laughable acting skills (and what’s up with that accent she put on? Did Lucas actually tell her to do that or was she just trying to be so serious that she sounded even more stupid?)
I don’t think there’s an “authentic” edit, exactly, though I do believe that the NY version may have come out first (by a matter of days, IIRC).