by FPiX on Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:15 am
I've never heard of the "Peoples Edition". (Not surprising as The Phantom Menace is the film that has been fan-edited the most times.)
The original VHS "Phantom Edit" contains a new introductory scroll to explain the reasons behind the edit and to apologize to George Lucas. It cuts out a lot of the dialogue involving Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker and completely removes the five-minute underwater chase sequence involving the big fish and the submarine.
The Phantom Re-Edit - a.k.a. The Phantom Edit 1.2 or The East Coast Version - used a computer to garble the dialogue of Jar Jar and some of the other aliens. New subtitles were added and the overall meaning of many scenes was changed. In this version, Jar Jar comes across as much more wise and Jedi-like.
Star Wars: Episode I - Balance of the Force is an edit by MagnoliaFan. This is a darker version of the film. The title and crawl have been replaced, with a new crawl shedding additional background on the Jedi and setting up a new alternative motive for the Federation's invasion of Naboo. The plot has been altered from revolving around taxation to slave labor. Jar Jar, The Trade Federation aliens, the Gungans, and the podrace announcer have been re-dubbed into alien dialects and subtitled.
Star Wars: Episode I - A Vergence in the Force is a fan edit by ADigitalMan. Jar Jar speaks English, but his slapstick and Anakin's childishness have been largely removed. Deleted scenes have been restored or partially restored.
These are the most notable fan edits, but there are several others. I did have the Phantom Edit 1.2 but I lost it. I have the ADigitalMan DVD; I was going to get around to ripping it and putting it on ed2k eventually. The MagnoliaFan edition was on Myspleen as an AVI but I never grabbed it, but I heard it may be available in low quality on Youtube.
