jason:
normally, i never - ever - write anything to any forum, but a) my own nerdism is too stubborn to ignore and b) your edits have made me so happy, i just felt the need to tell you (and the world).
so, for all posterity: thank you very much for the effort. for the first time, i felt something (close to) enjoyment watching these films, the original versions of which i never thought i would want to see again. i tried my luck before with the phantom edit and some of adm´s work, but those don´t come close to your edits (from my pov). now, i know i can go back and watch the prequels without wanting to throw the tv out of the window every 30 seconds. alright: some of the problems remain, since they are embedded in the original movies. but your subtle editing of the whole story arc finally brought to the films what was lacking in the first place: fun, speed, mystery and emotional attachment to the characters, especially anakin. wow. i am truly amazed - and have nothing to say against any of your decisions in the broad sense. this really was a good job!!
however, if you are still interested in making your edit even better (from my pov), i here have some minor nitpicking for you:
## aotf:
- the continuity-error with "ani"/greedo was already mentioned
- i missed the "sign the treaty"-scene, where the queen comes down the stairs, cause the whole "treaty"-business was more or less established here, wasn´t it? (ok: i never got the treaty-thing anyway...)
- is there any way to also cut the only droid in the whole trilgy talking (in the hangar)? i really LOVE the speech-less droids and this one brings back all the bad memories... or maybe scramble his voice a little?
- wasn´t there a line, where one of the trade-feds said (after conversing with sidious) "now there is two of them"? i always found that line nice, cause it has the feds realizing they got more than they bartered for - and this raises the suspense for the audience
- finally: please, cut the celebration. it sucks so heavily... this alone would be enough for lucas to be ashamed about
##totr
- in the bountyhunter-chase, obi-wan refers to a short-cut (you 'short-cut' the line he is referring to...). can it be brought back? by the way: the chase has become SO much better!
- the kamino-issue: i agree with most of what has been said by the others so far. i like your edit, but it is still strange, how obi-wan manages to find the planet.
(everything else, especially with this edit: marvellous. flows smoothly, no fucked-up-dialogue. even the bits-and-bytes-love-story feels almost real - to the point of believeable!)
##rotbk
- opening titles: "passed", not "past" (1st sentence)
- i think the reintroduced scene of the soon-to-be-rebel-senators meeting palpatine can be removed. i felt it to be somewhat confusing, since the next scene has "ani" and "palpi" talking bout the sith-lord-thing... i don´t know. it just felt "one scene too much", since the rebel-thing had aready been established prior. i would propose to put the "obi-wan just told me engaged general g" in place of the padme-and-the-rest-scene. another reason: general g just died - and after that anakin tells palpatine obi-wan just found him?
- just maybe: put palpatine getting anakin from mustafar back in? missed it a little, just for continuity´s sake.
(again: everything is else is pure sugar! especially the "you were my brother"-climax after obi-wan chopped good old "ani" into pieces... there you go. less talk, more emotion. and don´t ever bow to your critics: we don´t need no lightsaber-toting yoda, we don´t need no fucking "chosen one", and: never ever has anyone died of a broken heart or a "lost will to live". and "nooooo!" is not something we want to hear from darth vader - who was apparently lucky enough the sith keep those black suits and helmets in store, just in case someone might get 3rd degree burns...)
to cut a long story short: i will definitely recommend these edits to anyone still griping about the prequels. this truly is great work and should be seen by a lot of people! only question remaining: will there be a dvd-quality-cut?
(please excuse my post being so long. as i said: it is a premiere for me...)