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Let me just get something out of the way first- I love the prequels and generally find them to be very well made, at least as well made as any of Lucas’ other films. So the idea of this thread is not to condemn the reshot version of AotC, but more to wonder… why?
On to the point…
One of the big things I’ve noticed after watching Episode 2 many times and researching the making of the film, is how extensively, through reshoots, Lucas changed the nature of Anakin and Obi Wan’s relationship.
In the script, all the way through the principal photography period, Obi Wan seems much more fed up with Anakin, and there is much less of Obi Wan being kind, or them displaying a sense of brotherhood.
Examples include
-no elevator scene at the beginning
-harsher tone and dialogue outside of the Outlander Club
-tells Mace Windu and Yoda that “I see now what you and Yoda realized from the start. The boy was too old.”
-no “good call my young Padawan” on Geonosis
These and other little moments here and there, ESPECIALLY the “I see now…” line mentioned above, really seems like more than just Lucas softening up the relationship up in reshoots. It seems like him changing the trajectory of the story. It almost seems like, combined with things like the initial version of Episode 3 having Anakin turn sooner and for more political reasons (the AotC script also gives Anakin a line where he is politically annoyed by the Jedi’s deference to the senate by the way), that Lucas had a whole different arc designed that he went back and rejiggered.
Makes me wonder why, and the only reason I can think of is that he thought fans would be mad that Obi and Ani were never really “good friends”. But then why write and shoot it that way initially? And is there any info out there that sheds light on this?
P.S.
I largely think that the version of 2 and 3 that actually exist are improvements, but some of what I have outlined above seems quite interesting if you ignore how it might clash with the OT…