Synopsis:

The first of the revamped '9000 series', Cloak of Deception delivers a re-crafted perspective on Star Wars Episode I in keeping with the drive of the original trilogy of films. Unnecessary 'galaxy shrinking' cameos from classic characters have been cut down or removed. Anakin is depicted as a more mature and capable figure an audience can identify with. Jar Jar is recast as an everyman caught up in events outside his control who does his part in the fight for freedom, rather than a traitorous clown.

Intentions:

By stripping away extraneous tangents and bolstering attention to character development, this edit seeks to improve the original film. The original trilogy is regarded as the template toward which the prequels strive. The prequels are made to submit to the continuity and drive of the originals to the degree possible.

Change List:

Cuts and Additions (An asterisk, *, signifies a change for V6): Light film grain added throughout, to counter the overapplication of DVNR on the BluRay source. New title crawl, courtesy of Sir Ridley Trimmed Neimoidian dialogue such as, "Are you brain dead?" Cut instruction for the battle droids to "destroy what's left of" the Jedi. Removed all instances of battle droids speaking or gesturing to communicate with one another. They seem to all be on the same 'network.' Trimmed Neimoidian cowardice during the fighting. Trimmed Viceroy's conversation with the Queen via viewscreen to downplay tedious political minutia and portray him as autonomous. Trimmed unnecessary dialogue during throne room scene. Trimmed Jar Jar's dialogue during his introduction. Removed the entire underwater trip to Otah Gungah, along with the tedious Sidious scene caught in the middle. Removed scene descending the steps inside the palace discussing political exposition that we get again later. Cut Qui-Gon's line that dismisses the battle droids as unimportant. Tightened Qui-Gon's knock-knock joke with the battle droid, though kept some of the whimsy. Removed Jar Jar's antics in the droid bay. Jar Jar throughout is portrayed as more of an everyman than a clown. Dialogue trimmed throughout escape from the blockade. Removed the Queen personally thanking R2-D2 by name. Removed line, "No more commands from her highness today." Removed Jar Jar's stepping in poop antic. New subtitles with similar dialogue throughout, formatted to match the theatrical version. Drastically reduced Jar Jar's antics in Watto's shop. Added noises of him causing a ruckus in the background in order to remove it happen onscreen. Trimmed Anakin and Padme's conversation. Removed Watto's line that implies he was immune to the Jedi mind trick merely because of his species. Removed several instances of the line, "Yipee" throughout the film by various children. Removed Jar Jar's handful of, "Muy muy" lines. Removed cartoony sound effect of the frog thing flying through the air as Jar Jar spits it out. Trimmed Jar Jar and Anakin during the introduction scene for Sebulba. Trimmed Anakin's line as he invites them to his home. Trimmed entrance to the Skywalker home, including some of the lines about Threepio. Anakin doesn't state that he is "building" him. A small change, but it allows for the idea that Anakin is merely repairing a previously abandoned Threepio. *New line of dialogue for 3PO gently implies a backstory, culled from ‘The Clone Wars.’ Dinner scene has been trimmed, including mention of slave transmitters, Jar Jar antics with the fruit, and bad child acting. *Jar Jar using his tongue to eat apples has been reinstated. *Anakin defending himself about Watto’s old pod reinstated, including reference to Sebulba flashing him with his vents. *Reinstated a trimmed version of Anakin working on the pod after Qui-Gon and Schmi’s conversation. Removed balcony scene where Qui-Gon checks Anakin's blood. Anakin's racing/"piloting" skills are what prompt Qui-Gon to recruit him, rather than a blood test. *V6 removes the deleted scene previously added for pacing reasons, ‘Dawn Before the Race.’ Removed Jar Jar's grin after Qui-Gon tosses the chance cube. Cut conversation about Anakin never having won a race. *A new line of dialogue from 3PO removes the implication that he has never traveled in space, for consistency with a prior V6 change. Trimmed introduction to the racers to focus on Sebulba and Anakin. Cut pack animal farting in Jar Jar's face (and in most of the audio channels, I'd point out). Altered Sebulba and Anakin's conversation to be less juvenile. Trimmed podracers' engines startup sequece. *Removed previously added musical score to the podrace from the 'Shadows of the Empire' soundtrack and from 'A New Hope.' Two-headed announcer trimmed throughout, along with various other things during the podrace. The sequence overall is similar to the theatrical, pre-DVD version. *Reinstated a deleted scene snippet where Sebulba attempts to flash Anakin with his vents. Trimmed bad child acting during scene where Anakin discovers he has been freed. Trimmed farewell to Schmi. Added deleted probe droid scene to explain why Qui-Gon and Anakin are running to the ship. This scene was color corrected to remove pink tint and better match the surrounding footage. Removed Anakin's line, "Qui-Gon, sir, wait, I'm tired!" Cut Qui-Gon's line, "Tell them to take off!" Anakin doesn't tell them anyway. Removed scene on Naboo where the Viceroy sits on his walking throne because it references the excised underwater trip to Otah Gungah. Lessened Jar Jar's presence in the scene between Anakin and Padme en route to Coruscant. Removed Padme calling for Anakin on the landing platform. Removed Anakin's unassured statement about hopefully starting his training. Removed a reference during the Senate scene to the taxation of trade routes, to comply.

Additional Notes:

The following three goals are held in balance. 1) Bend the prequels to the story continuity of the original trilogy and the impressions it gives. 2) Improve the prequels in and of themselves, as films, through conventional 'FanFix' methodology. The pacing is improved, dialogue trimmed, and characters are developed better. This is the most readily apparent of these three goals that can be seen in The Phantom Edit, for example. The edits should be viable as films on their own. 3) They ought to be functional as replacements for the original versions. This means leaving the film's thoroughly "prequel" nature unaltered, respecting the broad strokes of Star Wars orthodoxy, and avoiding making changes that would betray to the audience that they're watching a fan edit. In other words, none of the other two listed goals should put undue stress on the goal of producing something that would have been suitable to have been released in 1999.

Other Sources:

Shadows of the Empire OST

Special Thanks:

Seciors Hundsdorfex L8wrtr TV's Frink Dominiccobb Kerr Emanswfan OnlyOneKenobi Q2 Sir Ridley.