Remember The Phantom Edit, the controversial recut of Episode I? Well, back in 2005, Mike Nichols took on Attack of the Clones, and blogger Darth Mojo has nothing but raves for his efforts. I’m not convinced, as the edited clip makes Anakin seem like even more of a creepy stalker-type than the original. Nor, honestly, am I really curious enough to download the whole thing. (via)
Clearly both recuts have been around a while – anyone actually made the effort? What did you think?
I thought TPE was pretty well done. I watched it twice, once with the commentary on. I thought the cuts and edits made were very thoughtful and learned and not just fanboy hacking. Attack of the Clones could have been 45 minutes IMO so I’d be interested in seeing it. I haven’t been able to find a complete torrent for it or I’d have seen it already.
Saw the TPE and thought it introduced more problems than it fixed.
As for AOTC, I thought Ben Burtt’s IMAX edit was far superior to the standard version.
I’ve seen both of Mike J’s edits and was very pleased with both. I thought parts of the second one were a little strained… he left tiny holes that you kinda have to fill in for yourself, but it was inbetter than leaving in something really stupid, like Jar Jar talking. The commentary track on the second edit was really insightful. I’m glad I’ve seen these new edits and am able to mentally replace the originals in my head.