Fan edit

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A fan edit is a version of a film modified by a viewer, that removes, reorders, or adds material in order to create a new interpretation of the film. This includes the removal of scenes or dialog, replacement of audio and/or visual elements, and adding material from sources such as deleted scenes or even other films. The trend became popular when an individual calling themselves the "Phantom Editor" (later revealed as professional editor Mike J. Nichols) removed elements from George Lucas' Star Wars: The Phantom Menace that he felt detracted from the film, and made minor changes in languages and subtitles to give the film's villains a more menacing tone.^[1] The end result became known as The Phantom Edit, which achieved fame through distribution on VHS, DVD, and other media.

While fan editors originally focused on the Star Wars prequels (which many fans had been disappointed in), the trend spread to the original trilogy after their release on DVD, both because of higher quality source material, and due to further changes by Lucas to the films in 1997 and 2004 (marketed as the "Special Editions"). Many of the fan edits aimed to preserve the pre-"Special Edition" films or correct perceived story flaws.Recently, fan editors have begun editing non-Star Wars films in the same fashion, such as the Matrix series, Pearl Harbor, and others (see below). In addition to the editing of the film, some fan edits feature basic corrections, such as colors or framing, that maintain or restore consistency within the film.

It should be noted that while fan edits may skirt the lines of fair use, their creators emphasize the use of the final product should only be for those who own the source material (often commercial DVDs), and are not to be distributed for profit or other personal gain. Lucasfilm is aware of the existence of Star Wars fan edits, and has stated they will take action when they believe copyright infringement has taken place,^[2] although they have not yet done so.

Other notable fan edits include the following:

The Two Towers: The Purist Edit - removes almost forty-five minutes of plot points that Tolkien purists say deviate too much from the book.
Star Trek: Kirkless Generations - the film Star Trek: Generations with all of Kirk and the original Enterprise crew removed.
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear - cut out the flashback frame story and voiceovers and removed some of the dialogue.
Batman and Robin: De-assified - cut most of the one-liners and the campy, ridiculous dialogue.
The Matrix: Dezionized - combines The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions into one film, mostly by removing most of the storylines centering around Zion.
Pearl Harbor - Strength and Honor Edit - edited out much of the romantic angle, in order to focus on the attack on Pearl Harbor and the pilots.