Disclaimer: Fanedits are a legal grey area. While they are made for non-commercial purposes and can be considered fair use, multiple projects have been taken down for copyright reasons. Generally, fan edits are to be used by people that already own the source material. So please refrain from posting any links to fan edits. So with that out of the way...
I recently started getting into fan edits, mostly for films that I loved but were for various reasons not available in their best version. From that I went to films that I didn't enjoy in their original incarnation and were dramatically improved by fan edits. These edits range from restorations and light changes to edits that completely change the feel and narrative of the source material. Here are some that I found enjoyable or at least interesting.
Harmy's Despecialized Editions
by Harmy
Probably one of the more popular fan edits. Considered by many to be the best way to experience the Original Trilogy as it is basically a remaster of the theatrical releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi without all the jarring changes introduced by the 1997 Special Editions. This is a work in progress with the eventual aim being 1080p resolution for the 3.0 versions.
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery
by Dustin Lee
Many people weren't happy with Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy that stretched a pretty straightforward story to three films totalling 9 hours. What remains is still 245 minutes film that is nonetheless more faithful to the book. The most notable changes are that Legolas and Tauriel are almost completely removed and that the entire Dol Guldur subplot has been cut out. All that content is cut into a "companion piece" called Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery.
Man of Tomorrow
by JobWillins
Probably my favourite fan edit so far, simply because it's a great showcase for the magic of editing. The creator calls this a narrative experiment that tries to combine Man of Steel and Batman v Superman into one film. It basically recenters the narrative around Superman's role as symbol of hope and pushes everyone else into a more supporting role. It's a pretty lofty goal and the seams are visible at times but the achievements outweigh those in my opinion: For one, Superman appears as a more heroic figure throughout the movie. Musical cues and the removal of most of the fabricated and pointless conflict with his father make for a way more focused and plausible arc. Furthermore, it manages to almost seamlessly lead from MoS into BvS. Here I obviously have to give a lot of credit to Snyder for the Metropolis destruction scene in BvS that just works incredibly well with the equivalent from MoS. Last but not least, it actually manages to reuse the two most infamous scenes, Pa Kent's death and "Martha!", and transform them into something that actually feels meaningful instead of borderline farcical.
Thor: The Dark World - Hard Forged Edition
by TM2YC
A comparatively lighter edit that further refines the greatest and most defining film of our generation. You can only improve so much on perfection after all. All jokes aside, this is an edit that mainly focuses on streamlining the narrative by cutting down on exposition, repetition and unnecessary subplot (Sif who?). As the creator says, if you hated the theatrical version, you won't magically love this but it makes for a more enjoyable and dramatically more effective viewing.
Prometheus: Giftbearer
by Severian
The only fan edit on my list that is actually longer than the original. This one uses a lot of additional and deleted footage in order to fill plot holes and make character motivations clearer and reduce the stupidity that has become a staple of these Alien prequels. Also addresses that scene.
Memories Alone
by Q2
Haven't seen this myself yet but this is an attempt to combine Black Swan and The Wrestler into one film. If you've seen both movies and thought they were kinda similar, this might be for you.
I recently started getting into fan edits, mostly for films that I loved but were for various reasons not available in their best version. From that I went to films that I didn't enjoy in their original incarnation and were dramatically improved by fan edits. These edits range from restorations and light changes to edits that completely change the feel and narrative of the source material. Here are some that I found enjoyable or at least interesting.
Harmy's Despecialized Editions
by Harmy
Probably one of the more popular fan edits. Considered by many to be the best way to experience the Original Trilogy as it is basically a remaster of the theatrical releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi without all the jarring changes introduced by the 1997 Special Editions. This is a work in progress with the eventual aim being 1080p resolution for the 3.0 versions.
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery
by Dustin Lee
Many people weren't happy with Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy that stretched a pretty straightforward story to three films totalling 9 hours. What remains is still 245 minutes film that is nonetheless more faithful to the book. The most notable changes are that Legolas and Tauriel are almost completely removed and that the entire Dol Guldur subplot has been cut out. All that content is cut into a "companion piece" called Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery.
Man of Tomorrow
by JobWillins
Probably my favourite fan edit so far, simply because it's a great showcase for the magic of editing. The creator calls this a narrative experiment that tries to combine Man of Steel and Batman v Superman into one film. It basically recenters the narrative around Superman's role as symbol of hope and pushes everyone else into a more supporting role. It's a pretty lofty goal and the seams are visible at times but the achievements outweigh those in my opinion: For one, Superman appears as a more heroic figure throughout the movie. Musical cues and the removal of most of the fabricated and pointless conflict with his father make for a way more focused and plausible arc. Furthermore, it manages to almost seamlessly lead from MoS into BvS. Here I obviously have to give a lot of credit to Snyder for the Metropolis destruction scene in BvS that just works incredibly well with the equivalent from MoS. Last but not least, it actually manages to reuse the two most infamous scenes, Pa Kent's death and "Martha!", and transform them into something that actually feels meaningful instead of borderline farcical.
Thor: The Dark World - Hard Forged Edition
by TM2YC
A comparatively lighter edit that further refines the greatest and most defining film of our generation. You can only improve so much on perfection after all. All jokes aside, this is an edit that mainly focuses on streamlining the narrative by cutting down on exposition, repetition and unnecessary subplot (Sif who?). As the creator says, if you hated the theatrical version, you won't magically love this but it makes for a more enjoyable and dramatically more effective viewing.
Prometheus: Giftbearer
by Severian
The only fan edit on my list that is actually longer than the original. This one uses a lot of additional and deleted footage in order to fill plot holes and make character motivations clearer and reduce the stupidity that has become a staple of these Alien prequels. Also addresses that scene.
Memories Alone
by Q2
Haven't seen this myself yet but this is an attempt to combine Black Swan and The Wrestler into one film. If you've seen both movies and thought they were kinda similar, this might be for you.
