Hello all! I have a lot of problems with epI that I feel originates from the story structure, which seems to agree with that infamous video of the editor explain to Lucas why the ending doesn’t work. My edits take place in an alternative time line where someone convinced Lucas to cut his losses and never release The Phantom Menace. Episode 2 is still episode 2, (not one) and it is the edits in Attack of the Clones I would like to explain the reasons behind today.

Before going into this, you should know this should be watched after 4,5, and 6.

Removal of Anakin’s “poetry” to Padmé,
My Reason: Jedi have many stoic straits Anakin’s development through the film is that he struggles with his desires and the Jedi way. Due to his sudden moments of intense disproportionate amount anger that appear in II and III it makes sense that he has difficulty expressing his emotions as that is the main cause of anger issues. However, not only does he talk about his emotional stress, he also has enough clarity to make it sound poetic with a presumably small time to think about it.
Result: most of the romance scenes are shorter and focus more on expression to convey emotions than words.
Removal of unnecessary information.
My reason: sometimes during the movie the characters talk for no other reason then to add world building (I love world building, but from a film making point of view, if it is out of character, clunky, or makes no difference to the narrative, I don’t think it should be there, unfortunately).
Secondly, sometimes conversations play out too realistically. For instance, on Kamino the line “the Prime Minister has been expecting you” is said by a local, then Obi Wan is lead into the building. This sets up we are going to see the Prime Minster. However he then introduces himself a minute later. So we have the same introduction twice. In real life, this would probably happen, but for the narrative, the quicker the exposition is out of the way, the better. It is a commonly held belief that exposition gets in the way of visual story telling, so it must be done in a way you hardly notice, or get it done ASAP. There are a few moments like this throughout the movie.
Result: faster paced scenes with less world building and small talk.

3: Removing actions that directly contradict the characters motives. The main one is Anakin having a long, calm talk with Padme before he rushes off to save his mother.
My reason: He obviously cared about his mother and considering everyone has given up on her, time is of the essence.
Result: more believable characters.

4: Adding an edited version of the Darth Maul fight from the end of episode I to the beginning as a “cold opening.”
My reason: This introduces us to Obi Wan, the colour of his clothes and lightsaber show us he is a Jedi, and Darth Maul is a Sith. Obi Wan’s name is spoken from Qui Gon’s dying lips, and I thought the fact he trained Anakin because it was the dying wish from his friend was important. It also sets Anakin up as “The Chosen One.” which means a much more expostion scene can be cut (the only purpose it serves is to remind people he is The Chosen One, by adding another reminder, it serves no purpose, and can be cut).
Result: Darth Maul!! Bimbumbahm! (That’s his theme music)

5: shortening scenes with returning characters from episode I. Notably, The Leader of the Trade Federation, and Jar Jar.
My reason: lots of these scenes need the first film for context, instead of the main villain from the first film, Trade Federation Guy is just a corrupt businessman, and cutting out the first film actually makes Padmé’s choice to hand Jar Jar her power while she is on Naboo more believable. We know from the first film he is unreliable and silly. If that is cut out, he just looks like a politician. Also, because in this version he is “just a politician” some of his lines are cut… Most of his lines are cut. 😛
Finally, any mention of the Trade Federation being used an a synonym for The Separatists has been removed, since Ep I is the only film that sets that up.

6:Obi Wan goes to Dex, he learns about Kamino,and he finds Kamino.The scenes where Obi Wan can’t find Kamino in the archives ultimately don’t add anything to the narrative other than setting up that Yoda is emotionally attached to younglings, which deepens their desths in the next film. I still think that because it is not epII that the younglings are important in, that their scene should be cut to get the story rolling quicker. (Currently, Obi Wan finds Kamino 8 minutes ealeir than the original cut, even with a five minute Darth Maul fight added to the begging.)

I am also adding J and L cuts to most conversations in the scenes, and trying my hardest to iron out continuity errors. Notably, I have made a life size Yoda-stick that will fix the error of it disparing during the fight between Yoda and Dooku. This still barely scratches the surface of how many edits I have taken. I am considering making a YouTube series comparing the original cut to mine and how and why I have made what changes I have in more detail.
Thank you for reading.