Synopsis:

This fan edit of George Lucas’s second Star Wars prequel subtly trimms conversations and actions. A lot of babbling has been removed.

Intentions:

I know, I know… another fan edit. It seemed like a good excuse to teach myself Final Cut, and while I’ve heartily enjoyed many of the prequel edits I’ve seen, there would often be something either left in or in some cases added which would leave me scratching my head. I did my edit of Episode II in something of a vacuum, but was amazed to discover I had made some of the exact same choices as others did (i.e. Magfan, The Phantom Editor and even Trooperman). For example, my elevator conversation between Anakin and Obi-Wan is almost exactly like The Phantom Editor’s, though I only recent checked out his version, looking for things to steal, as it were. And in re-shaping the romance of Ep. II, I came to a similar conclusion as Trooperman and went from the telekinetic fruit scene straight into the kiss. My version of the aborted kiss is somewhat like The Phantom Editor’s, but at the risk of sounding smug, I think my musical transitions are better coming out of that scene. Anyway, my primary philosophy going forward with this edit was that if you make everyone talk about half as much, you lose no crucial information and gain lots of needed momentum. So while many of the larger changes will be evident upon watching, there are also many instances where conversations and actions have been subtly trimmed. I always liked the Obi-Wan story in Ep. II, and even have a soft spot in my heart for Dex and his over-accessorized diner (I can hear you navigating away now… just roll with me). My primary beef with this chapter, like so many others, was with the love story between Anakin and Padme. I attempted to make it as simple as possible, so here’s the crux: Anakin loves Padme, and Padme would love Anakin, but she still thinks of him as a kid. That’s it. That’s the whole arc. It’s Padme realizing that the little boy from Tatooine has become an exceptional adult, and their bond is sealed as she watches him suffer through the death of his mother (which is a more internal process for Anakin in my cut, as you’ll see). Of course, that’s tricky, as there was very little of that “exceptional adult” to be seen in the theatrical cut of AOTC, but I think in making him less talkative and focusing on his acts of bravery, you can sort of get there.

Change List:

Here’s a general, but in no way complete, list of changes. This version is about 25 minutes shorter than the theatrical/DVD release: - The Coruscant arrival and assassination attempt are trimmed up. Some shots have been removed, and the handmaiden doesn’t say “I’ve failed you, Senator”, much like most AOTC edits. I did leave in the “I’m sorry”, if only because having her head go limp too quickly doesn’t feel right to me. I don’t know what she’s apologizing for, perhaps not sussing out the assassination plan, perhaps ’cause her super-duper reflective ship blew up, who knows. There are certain things I’ll let go for the sake of rhythm. I also left in Typho’s “I guess there was no danger after all.” I’m aware of The Phantom Editor’s ‘Friday the 13th’ analogy, but just because it’s a stock device doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. When I watched his version, the shot of Typho ambling up breathing heavy without some sort of statement just didn’t feel right to me. Personal choice. I also took out that weird intermediate CU of Padme when Typho tries to get here to leave. It was so obviously shot on a different day. - Palpatine’s office begins right with Palpy talking about systems threatening to secede, into “do you really think it will come to war?” This scene is a lot shorter, with several common changes such as removing Yoda’s excellent but poorly placed line about warm feelings in his heart. Yoda’s rection shot which used to accompany Palp’s finishing of Padme’s sentence not goes over his initial suggestion that Obi-Wan guard her life. He never finishes her sentence here… that always felt off to me. Padme generally puts up less of a fight in this version but voices her complaints later to Obi-Wan. An example of something that’s not really THAT interesting (Padme’s willfullness) that they still felt the need to hammer home four or five times. One and a half does it for me. - No gundarks for Obi-Wan and Ani. This scene is trimmed up quite a bit, with “we will not go through this again” moved up earlier to match the lip movements of and replace Obi’s “we will not exceed our mandate”… stuff like that. The scene wipes away before Anakin can whine to Jar-Jar. - The second attempt on Padme’s life is edited a bit differently. The scene of Zam putting the worms into the probe is cut, though she still receives them from Jango. The muffled dialogue does not carry over to the shots of Padme sleeping, and a bit of the Anakin-Kenobi conversation is placed after the worms arrive, in an attempt to stretch the time and build suspense. - Speeder Chase… no funny aliens yelling at Kenobi, no power couplings, Anakin’s dialogue is trimmed considerably, and Obi-Wan’s chiding of Anakin when they “lose” Zam is a lot shorter. - In the Cantina, the “death sticks” scene is cut. Ahmed and Lucas girl are out. They walk in, look around, then Obi-Wan says “go and find him”. The ‘him’ was taken from a later scene with Obi, Mace and Yoda, then pitch shifted down a touch to match the inflection. They don’t know it’s a she. No shape shifter stuff either. When Zam get the dart in the neck, I had someone do a little ADR for a death croak. I’m tired of huttese curses. - Jedi Council scene is a bit shorter, but no real information lost. - Anakin/Palp’s scene ends after the word “invincible”. I was also tired of people telling other people what kind of Jedi they foresaw they would become, a la Qui-Gon/Kenobi in the swamp in TPM. Show me, don’t tell me. - Padme’s apartment ends after she tells Anakin “you’ve grown up.” - Anakin/Padme begins later, with Obi-Wan promising Padme he’d get to the bottom of it. I kept “at least we have R2 with us”. A harmless little moment of levity between Anakin and Padme. I like it. So sue me. - Yep, I kept Dex’s diner, but it begins with Obi-Wan getting up from the booth to meet Dex, so you lose the lame kiss-my-grits waitress robot, aswell as the reference to whatever juice it was that Obi-Wan was so eager to drink. Sounded like Jamba Juice to me. Obi-Wan says “hello Dex” when his back is to the camera and he’s hugging the foul creature. Their ensuing talk is a bit shorter too. - There’s no scene of Mace, Obi and Yoda talking. No deleted Mace/Obi scene either. If there’s one image from the prequels I got tired of fast, it’s two people in robes walking side by side and talking solemnly. - Yoda and the Younglings remains, but I tightened it up as best I could. Is it just me, or does Liam take forever to answer? Not anymore. I also kept this scene to help set up the slaughter in Ep. III. - The scene where Ani and Padme discuss forbidden love over cafeteria food is gone. One problem I ran into with my choices overall is that the idea of Anakin potentially being expelled for his relationship with Padme is emphasized to a far lesser degree. There’s Obi-Wan’s line before the speeder chase about Anakin’s thoughts betraying him… “you’ve made a commitment to the Jedi Order… a commitment not easily broken” and whatnot

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

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