A few months ago I stumbled upon some fanedit sites online (fanedit.org, etc) and after watching some previews on youtube I decided to track down and watch a few of these. So far I must say I am pretty amazed at the results. I'm sure there are also tons of bad, unprofessional cuts, but the ones I've seen so far have managed to not only correct flaws in the original films, they even made them noticably better entertainment experiences.
Some recent examples are the MagnoliaFan edits of Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. I started out watching them on youtube until they were removed, and then had to continue watching a slightly less up to date edit from MagnoliaFan. Still, what he has done is quite incredible at times. Not only has he made Jar-Jar significantly less annoying, I actually found him funny (!!) due to some of the new lines of dialogue added in the youtube version. The way he restructures things also allows characters like Qui-Gonn to have a much greater on-screen impact, something which is no doubt deserved.
If that's not enough, the films are much more reminiscent of the old movies, which is great for cohesion and aesthetics, and somehow episode 2 has been transformed into a decent movie (!) with a plot that actually makes sense (!!) and (I kid you not) actual character development (!!!)
Sadly he hasn't released yet a version of episode 3, though he has said he is working on it, but it may never release (allegedly he's working on adding a scene with the ghost of Qui-Gonn). After those two I watched an Aliens 3 re-edit that mixes the two cuts with some deleted scenes to produce a movie that is a much better fit in the Alien series than the 3rd movie turned out to be. Once again pacing and character development are significantly improved.
Lastly, I watched an edit of episode 3 that, while not as great as I believe a MagnoliaFan edit would be, is still masterfully done and manages to produce a significantly better film, especially in terms of having a darker atmosphere and putting much more emphasis on Sidious/Palpatine and his influence on Anakin's fall.
To me, this wave of fan-edits is starting to look like a dream come true! I am finally getting an opportunity to watch classic films in a way that lives up to my original expectations (or goes as close as possible given the source material). I hope this trend gains further acceptance as it could transform the art of cinema like nothing before!
If you're a film buff and aren't familiar with the fan-editing scene, I highly recommend you look into it! Be mindful of copyright, though. This is about re-mastering loved films, the original makers still deserve credit for what they have made.
For those of you who are familiar with the scene, I'm hoping this thread can be a place where we discuss recommended fan-edits as well as share general thoughts on this new trend.
With that said, please post your recommendations! If possible, discuss why or how they improve upon the originals in your opinion.
(Also, keep this discussion piracy-free, please)
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