The Phantom Edit
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Star Wars Episode I.I - The Phantom Edit is a fan edit of the movie Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace, removing elements of the original thought by some to be unsuccessful by critics and adult fans. The purpose of the edit, according to creator Mike J. Nichols, was to make a much stronger version of The Phantom Menace based on the previous execution and philosophies of film storytelling and editing made famous by George Lucas himself.[1] The Phantom Edit was the first unauthorized re-edit of The Phantom Menace to receive major publicity and acclaim for making the film appreciably better, and although many other re-editing attempts followed, the original Phantom Edit is still highly regarded as a successful exercise of professional and artistic narrative film editing.[2]
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[edit] Changes
The changes include:
- removing or re-editing most scenes featuring Jar-Jar Binks
- limiting redundant exposition throughout film
- trimming reiteration of the politics
- re-arranged shots and scenes matching original trilogy presentation style
- removing "Yippee" and "Oops" from young Anakin's dialog in order to make him a stronger character
It was originally circulated to studios in Hollywood in 2000 and 2001, and was followed by worldwide media attention in magazines, television, and especially the Internet. It was acclaimed as providing a more focused and better paced version of the film.
Rumor attributed The Phantom Edit to Kevin Smith, probably because he edits his own films and his films frequently refer to the Star Wars mythos. Smith admitted to having seen the re-edit but denied that he was the editor. The editor was revealed to be Mike J. Nichols of Santa Clarita, California in the September 7, 2001 edition of the Washington Post and the June 1, 2002 edition of the Los Angeles Times.[citation needed]
Illicitly available on VHS and later on DVD, the DVD contains two deleted scenes and a commentary track by the editor as well as a few easter eggs. The DVD version has also been relabeled as Episode I.II (in Roman numerals it is difficult to say whether this means 1.11 or 1.2) has a slightly different podrace from the VHS version, and contains more extensive editing to individual images and sounds that have not been entirely cut. No lawsuits were filed against Nichols, nor did he sell or make any money from the edit, claiming, "I am not a bootlegger!"[citation needed]
[edit] Reviews
Critics and filmmakers have commented on the original Phantom Edit, in most cases providing the approval and recognition which furthered the fan edit movement.
"Smart editing to say the least." — Kevin Smith, Film Director (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy)[3]
"...Materialized from out of nowhere was a good film that had been hidden inside the disappointing original one." — Daniel Kraus, Salon.com (Nov. 5, 2001)[4]
"[Done by] someone with a gift for editing!" — Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune Film Critic (June 18, 2001)[citation needed]
[edit] Other fan edits
In addition to the original Phantom Edit, there have been other fan edit versions of Episode I, as well as Episode II and III fan edits, although none quite achieved the recognition of the original. Among the alternate edits are The Phantom Re-Edit and Episode I: Balance of the Force
[edit] The Phantom Re-Edit
An alternate fan edit of The Phantom Menace is known as The Phantom Re-Edit, in which Jar-Jar Binks' dialogue is re-dubbed and subtitled to make him wise and sensitive to the Force. Additionally, midi-chlorians are removed altogether.
[edit] Episode I: Balance of the Force
Balance of the Force is a re-titled version of The Phantom Menace edited by someone using the name "MagnoliaFan" — a reference to the screenname of a notorious opponent of Jay and Silent Bob in the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.[5] This is a darker version of the film that follows many of the previous fan edits, re-dubbing and subtitling aliens and droids to speak their native language.
Changes to the film include:
- Alternate title and crawl, giving more history on the Jedi, Republic and Trade Federation
- The plot has been altered from revolving around taxation to slave labor
- Jar Jar is dubbed and subtitled. He is now a pompous, Han Solo-like character, who believes he saved Qui-Gon's life by dragging him down and thinks Qui-Gon owes him a life debt
- The Gungans now hate the Naboo because they stole a Gungan relic, the "Kyber crystal", from them, explaining the big glowing globe at the end of the film. The crystal was first mentioned in the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, although it was spelled Kaiburr
- When Qui-Gon tries the mind trick on Watto, Watto becomes much angrier, throwing Qui-Gon out and shouting, "Get lost! Come back when you gotta some money!"
- Also, as Qui-Gon embarrassedly exits Watto's shop, Jar Jar knocks over a bunch of stuff and Watto shouts, "Hey! You break it, you buy it! Eh?!" — a line of Watto's from Star Wars: Episode I Racer
- Many scenes have been resequenced with music from other films, including cantina music from Star Wars, and the Imperial theme from The Empire Strikes Back
[edit] External links
- 'Phantom Edit' Deletes Jar Jar Binks, a Zap2it.com article by Andrew Rodgers, Monday , June 4, 2001
- Mystery of Star Wars phantom edit, BBC News Article, Thursday, June 7, 2001
- All Things Considered, a NPR story, 'Star Wars' - The Phantom Edit, Robert Siegel talks with Andrew Rogers from Zap2it.com, July 16, 2001
- "The Phantom Edit", a Salon.com article by Daniel Kraus, November 5, 2001
- Hollywood Goes Digital, Like It Or Not, a PBS Article by Charles C. Mann, November 22, 2001
[edit] Notes
- ^ "This project began as a personal endeavor when I watched 'The Phantom Menace' as an audience, analyzed it with the care and attention of a Lucas team member, and carefully re-edited it, concentrating on creating the storytelling style that Lucas originally made famous. ... Although I definitely appreciate all the unexpected attention and support, I also respect and understand the discontentment of Lucasfilm Ltd." The Phantom Editor, as quoted in the Salon article
- ^ "The general consensus of fans on the Internet seems to be that the new edit is an improvement on the original version...."If you haven't watched [the original], you don't know," said Jercan. "Whoever did the job did a hell of a job. It's like there's no break. So it had to be a professional. Because two kids can't do this."" Zap2it. "The Phantom Editor had apparently used new, cheap computing power to assemble an alternative, professional-quality movie -- exactly the same kind of new, cheap computing power that had allowed Lucas to make the original film, with its digitally created characters and special effects." PBS.
- ^ http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/news/story/1,1259,---7392,00.html
- ^ http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2001/11/05/phantom_edit/index.html
- ^ http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/movies/reviews/text/0,1259,---8274,00.html
[edit] See also
| Non-canon Star Wars Fan films |
