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FanEdit Reviews - Post Your Reviews Here — Page 3

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Humans Are Limitless (2001) - BlueYoda

“A space mind trip on the evolution of evil and violence.”
There seems to be two edits here, both stitching Kubrick’s “2001.”
The first half traces physical (and social) violence through hard cutting and emo rock.
The second half is stealthier, technological violence exacted by the emotionless HAL.
Fair point, though the hectic pulse of the early edit ebbs away leaving the second half dull.
I enjoyed by halves, and wish the construction had not been so bipolar.

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In The Mouth Of Event Horizon (In The Mouth Of Madness & Event Horizon) - RollWave

Overview - An inspired concept here. Editing “In The Mouth Of Madness”, and adding sequences from “Event Horizon”. At first thought, one might doubt this combination. Yet both films are major reality disconnects, and the linking focuses primarily on Sam Neill’s characters. Turns out RollWave is onto something.

Video - From smooth transitions to jarring, hard cuts, everything works. A few of the edits were diabolically clever, passageways in particular. Near the end, watch for visual easter eggs. Brilliant.

Audio - Very good work combining two different sound designs. I watched the mkv file and the sound was a detailed 5.1.
Only problem for me were sections of dialogue, particularly Jürgen Prochnow’s mumbling. I dialed the volume up, invariably just before an avalanche of sound. Those with sensitive eared roommates, be forewarned.

Narrative - There is not an equal sharing of movies. The burden of the edit is Carpenter’s movie, which is the stronger film, in intelligence, in plot, in acting. Additional scenes from “Event Horizon” enhance character breakdowns. These are often hard cuts, but character reactions sync perfectly. The story of spiraling descent into derangement, individual and societal, stays on track.

Enjoyment - I did not think I would like this. Wasn’t until I scanned favorable and insightful reviews that I took the plunge. This is not a replacement for Carpenter’s original film, but it is an astounding parallel version. For those who may be turned off by “Event Horizon,” the best scenes seemed to have been used, and inserted judiciously.

Most entertaining, intelligent Horror labyrinth. Superlative effort.

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300: Earth And Water (300 & 300 Rise) - Aztek463

Stroke of genius. Chronologically sequencing events from “300” and “300 Rise” into one edit was doubtless tricky to pull off. Each film has an altogether distinct look. There is the concern that shifting from one film to another will distract. I also wondered if this edit would rely on excessive action at the expense of story.

Video - Sure enough, from Sparta to Athens, the hue swings from reddish to bluish. Yet there were a lot of blacks in both that act to visually cohere the elements. Along with those ever present floating cinders and motes. I don’t know whether this was sheer luck, or if Aztek463 had this planned all along. In any event, visually the films merged.

Audio - Cracking 5.1 sound. Dialogue was never a problem and the bass solid. The only quibble I had came at the very end. The credits. The music jumps abruptly from heroic score to pop song. The aural presence was utterly different, jarring. Catapulted me straight out of the film. Ninety seconds on, I was done.

Narrative - This is where Aztek excels, elevating “300 Rise” almost to the level of “300.” The narrative sleight of hand had me enjoying the sequel much more than I had originally. One gets a clearer idea of the maneuvering and politics involved, not to mention the strategies and combats in chronological order. I still found the heroes of the second film weaker, the villains stronger.

Thanks for doing such tight edit, keeping the running time to under three hours. While this does not eclipse “300” (I doubt that was the intention), I won’t view “300 Rise” again. Earth and Water will be my go to there.

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Under The Terminator’s Skin (The Terminator) - DominicCobb

Initially, I was not (and am still not) sure what Dom’s purpose was with this.
For a straight up experience, this can be a challenge, as stray dialogue is muffled throughout.
The replacement audio predominates, a heavy, slow wash of industrial.
I modified my expectations and began to view this as a film from the Terminator’s POV.
It’s perspective, the soundtrack fellow robots would reference, their priorities which might differ wildly from those of fleshy humans.
If so, then this is audacious, brilliantly original.
Not that there is much in the way of narrative, yet what would an android care about narrative?

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Grindhouse Vol. 2 (Death Proof/Machete) - Leeroy

Only meant to watch one of these, but I got caught up in the spirit and went for the double.
Must have been the curry commercial.
Leeroy has performed grindhouse magic on these two gems.

Deathproof benefited the most, as the structural rearranging tightened the narrative.
(The bar scene still plays out too long, Tarentino not wanting to trim his dialogue.)
Audio was great, video jump edits were OK, too.

Cuts in Machete were spot on.
Immigration talk grew repetitive in the original, so I’m glad Leeroy truncated that.
Losing the notion of Machete as lady killer was fine, too.
Truth to tell, I didn’t notice many trims, which speaks well of the edit.

Video - grindhouse effects were not too noticeable.
Rookies often over apply the damaged look, by turns distracting and intrusive.
Solid job by Leeroy, showing nice restraint.

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This Is Tokyo (Gojira - 1954 and Godzilla, King of the Monsters! - 1956) - G&G-Fan

“History shows again and again, how Nature points up the folly of men.”

What a shrewd idea. Combining the 1954 Japanese version with the 1956 American version.
Meaning all the scenes with Raymond Burr’s character are in English, the rest in Japanese.

Filesize = 5GB. Video = 1920 X 1080p AVC. Audio = 84 kbps, 2 Channels, AAC. Subs, yes.

The narrative bounces back and forth between the Japanese version and the US.
The styles are different. The Japanese mixes action, a weak love story, and ethical concerns.
The US version is akin to a dry documentary, explaining action, strategies and backstories.
While they fit together and complement each other, it is a slightly uneasy marriage.
There were one or two audio bites that could have been excised, though nothing untoward.
All in all, this is an excellent edit, especially for a first one! I hope G&G-Fan does more.
Note: Although the mp4 played in my unit, I eventually converted to mkv for easier control.

This is G&G-Fan’s first edit. I hope OT members give this a view, and provide feedback.
Please encourage promising editors.

This Is Tokyo

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War Of The Worlds: Extinctive Cut (War Of The Worlds - 2005) - CBB

“Its not enough to survive… One has to be worthy of survival. “ Commander William Adama.

Sadly, such concepts are not universal. That might explain the survival of repellent lead characters. After two hours of the original, viewers will likely root for aliens to capture, consume and silence our ordinary fellow humans.
Boon is biting off a lot here, trying to paint lipstick on a cancerous pig, attempting to carve the crap without leaving behind a corpse.

Hit PLAY and you get to choose which version of CBB’s edit, “Extinctive” or “Purist.” In both cuts, once past Chapter 10, resolution grows poorer. More noticeable in “Extinctive”, especially with blacks and deep shadows.

I watched both versions, and both are cohesive. “Extinctive’s” ending held an unexpected surprise. Can’t say that I bought it from a logical point of view. Questions about how long a “future” are we looking at? Food supplies? Water? Politicians? Still, it might be taken as a Hollywood 70’s ending. The “Purist” was better for me and my skeptical nature.

Did someone say extras? Man, Boon is generous with the goodies! Trailer, Deleted Scenes, the shack with and without Robbins, a chunk of CBB edits to boot. Hey, did I mention, the features are subtitled? Boss.

As far as enjoyment, I disliked the original and my dislike for the edit is only marginally less. Blame the source. Characters you want killed. Script and direction both pander. Spielberg had early a history of terrorizing children. Not judging, just saying. There is less of that in this edit, and CBB reimagines Robbie’s path well.

Recommended to fans of the original. Naysayers will still be displeased.

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Star Wars 30’s Serial Edition Part 1 (Star Wars prequels) - TMBTM

Condensation of the prequels into a silent serial.
As others have commented, a really nice edit. All the more so as this negates half of Christensen’s part - his voice.
I watch a lot of serials, and this had the right feel to it.
That said, the black and white version was too clean, and might have been better with more elements of distress.
Dusty might have appeared better. I’m not sure.
All in all, I enjoyed this a lot and would recommend it.

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Star Wars 30’s Serial Edition Part 2 (Star Wars trilogy) - TMBTM

Condensation of the Original Trilogy into a silent serial.
I enjoyed Part 2 slightly less than Part 1.
The editing was fine, but the Dusty, while nicely marred, was sepia toned, and I had trouble adjusting.
Tinting would have been appreciated.
Mind you, I appreciated how this looked, but to me a 30’s serial ought to be B&W.
The sound was great, visual and audio editing flawless.
Can easily recommend this edit, especially if the viewer doesn’t suffer strange prejudices towards sepia.

Afterthought. Going the silent route is a shrewd way to alter dialogue, rearrange narrative, incorporate scenes from other films.
Wondering aloud.

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Game of Thrones: An Honorable Cut by Gotedits11

This is an edit of GOT where the whole series has been broken up into movie sized chunks. The edits made move this along very quickly, without losing anything important to the story. Gotedits11 just went back and upgraded the video quality making it even more enjoyable. This will be my go to when I need a GOT fix.

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  1. A Machete Order Prequel Edit
  2. First Order, Last Jedi
    Both by TriggeredPuppy

Both Prequel & Sequel Star Wars Trilogies are better rewatched as radically reedited 2-in-1’s. TriggeredPuppy is up to task.

For his PT, he judicially reduces TPM to a radically innovative introduction sequence of mainly its grand lightsaber duel (but with better justification than seen in previous 2-in-1s). Beyond this no other broad narrative details are altered. As a single film, this serves as a pulpy and mostly cringeless experience. Nothing cut out except for the omitted infamous/exceptional Darth Plegius tale scene will be missed.

In his ST edit, he’s much more daring using very little TFA and just enough TRoS to structure the film largely around TLJ making Kylo Ren this feature’s irredeemable big bad. With only a few costume and staging inconsistencies that can be overlooked on the strength of the overall stronger and more focused narrative and character arc revisions. This is the go-to for rewatches.

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Man of Tomorrow

Man of Tomorrow by Job Willins.

A combination edit of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Technically 2h38m, but it will feel longer because of the rapid pacing. Version 1.3 is the latest I’m aware of.

I love this movie, and it’s what got me interested in fan edits, despite being a bit messy and bloated, as much of an experiment as a movie (Job Willins has also done some other similar movie+sequel combo edits). Superman and Batman’s respective characters are done far better justice with this edit; Superman feels like a hero instead of mopey murderer, and Batman is more empathetic. The integration of Bruce into what was originally Man of Steel’s plot is impressive, not only in the obvious way of BvS’s opening flashback, but in some other ways through clever editing, and the end of the film’s first half is practically inspirational. With the fat cut off, BvS’s main conflicts now get to shine better as well, with the complete removal of the Africa-bullet-senate plot that nonsensically wasted our time in the original.

What’s more, this is Superman’s story. Clark always felt like he was getting tossed around by fate in the original movies, with Jor-El, Zod, and Bruce taking up far too much screen time in combination with Clark’s generally un-Superman Randian approach to “heroism” (Zack Snyder was basically the worst person who could have made a Superman movie). Here, however, Superman takes center stage as his more heroic nature peeks through Snyder’s dreariness and the side characters are treated as side characters.

Man of Tomorrow goes beyond the typical superhero film formula by being not just an origin story or single notable conflict, but an anthology of Superman’s entire life. Krypton’s explosion, the Kent farm, the Daily Planet, solo heroics, a rogue’s gallery of opponents, rival-turned-ally Batman, a small taste of the League/Trinity, and finally his death at the hands of Doomsday. It’s not unlike an elseworld one-off comic story in that regard, remixing and reinterpreting classic comic material but with a definitive beginning and ending. I recommend it to anyone who saw potential in the DCEU before it began and was disappointed with the results.

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X-Files: Exordium (taken from S01 episodes) - ThrowgnCpr

An excellent introduction to “X-Files,” especially for newcomers.
“X-Files” found an audience readily enough, but finding its narrative footing took longer.
Neither Duchovny nor Anderson seem comfortable in their roles in the Pilot, though by “Deep Throat,” Duchovny had found his Mulder. The “Erlenmeyer Flask” section is by far the strongest, with Anderson secure as Scully.

Video - Grain is to be expected (all my “X-Files” DVDs suffer from it). Cropping to create a widescreen view worsens this, but blacks remain solid and aside from a few pan jitters, the look is fine.
Editing is OK, though it is apparent when one episode concludes and another begins.

Audio - Solid work here, as well. I could do without the final music at the end. Editor’s perogative, I understand.

Narrative - The three episodes selected are wise choices of the earliest views on the “myth” strands of arcs that would be elaborated and explored to dizzying heights in subsequent seasons.
Did this feel like a movie? No. The three stories never transition or connect well.
Best intentions notwithstanding, the resultant edit remains locked in its episodic roots. Not that this is a bad thing. For me, however, the Season 01 pales in comparison with S02, S03 and S04.

Enjoyment - Very much, though, again, I am not a fan of S01. Aside from a handful of episodes, I never view that season. This edit, however, I suspect I will return to numerous times. If nothing else, it is a concise package showing Duchovny and Anderson grow into characters, and spotlights how swiftly the overall writing improved.

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Savage Sword of Conan: Mask of Archeron (Conan The Barbarian) - Agent9

Say what? Which Conan? That 2011 dud?
Nice overhaul of the Jason Momoa reboot, courtesy Agent9.
For a supposedly lite edit, the film has been trimmed a hefty 25% of the running time, the original score replaced with the Poledouris score, and the film recolored.

Still, axe 25% of the narrative, can the plot still make cohesive sense? Well - yes.
C’mon, you ever read any of the Robert E Howard original tales? They pound like a racing cheetah.
As does this edit and is the better for it. Plot is sheer pulp, with few lulls.
Plus, being briefer, I could have loaded up another barbarian quickie.
Ooh, Hundra, maybe.

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Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith-Expanded Edition- Bobson Dognutt

Bobson continues to carve out quite the career for himself, and as is often the case, we continue to watch that career with great interest. This latest in his batch of extended cuts adds plenty to the existing cut, but also adds some original touches too. Some of these touches, while light, are so seamlessly integrated that there’s no sign they weren’t meant to be there to begin with (the Shakk Ti scene and ‘new’ dialogue from Dooku are some choice examples of this).

This is a solid expansion that also does something different, all to create a somewhat new and yet still very familiar movie for a Star Wars fan to experience. This has always been the best of the prequels, and almost everything pieced together for it only helps add to the majesty.

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Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 by steFANedit

I caught Blair Witch at the peak of its hype and was completely underwhelmed.
I avoided the sequel until I saw the DVD in a cut-out bin, paired with BW1, for $1.00.
Later, I kicked myself for wasting a whole dollar.
The film, which I only viewed once and now sits like an diseased barnacle on a lower shelf somewhere, was a complete p.o.s.
Stupid writing, enhanced by inept direction, and apparently edited by a drunken puppy.
So, why did I even get this edit? Because SteFAN made it.

SteFAN resurrected this tosser, and actually made it decent. Ain’t top tier horror, but makes for a watchable late night grind flick.
Characters remain unlikable, shouting, argumentative morons, but that’s what he had to work with and I cannot fault him.
On the technical side, I saw nothing wrong with the video and heard nothing out of kilter on the audio.
If you hated the original BW2, this is much more enjoyable.
Thanks, SteFAN. Come Halloween, this will air on the sheet hanging in my living room window for the begging monsters on my porch.

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Casino Royale: The Big Picture - Problem Eliminator

Overview - Brilliant reboot of the Bond franchise finds James, not only newly promoted to 00 status, but rather inexplicably, newly promoted in general. As if he is a green, rookie lacking experience, viewed skeptically by all in British intelligence.
Problem Eliminator removes all latter suppositions. Bond may have a new license, but chances are he had been a field agent for years, and his promotion well earned.

Video - 1280 X 546p AVC. Solid editing throughout. Once, perhaps twice, I noticed a longish fade to black transition, but never at a point where it interferes with the tempo or mood. The color correction is nicely handled throughout…

Audio - 352 kbps 2 Channel stereo AAC. No subs. I listened to this using headphones. On a few occasions, the dialogue is difficult (almost exclusively these are exchanges between James and Vesper). Generally, the sound is excellent. I did not notice the opening song remix until I reread the editor’s comments after viewing.

Narrative - No complaints here. The story is faithful, despite bits excised here and there. The only sequence I dislike remains the recuperative period after Montenegro and before Bond fields the “where’s the money?” call. I have always found that section mawkish and difficult to believe. As if the British government would not jet in immediately to retrieve £100M… It was in the original film, it is in this edit, and it still causes me to shake my head in disbelief.

Enjoyment - Confession. I went into this rather cold. Owing to techicnal difficulties on my end, I sat on PE’s edit over a year, unable to view. After that time, I forgot what Problem Eliminator’s original intent was. Instead of refreshening my memory, I just loaded the film.

A Bond movie I am quite familiar with, I soon noticed omissions. My reactions ran along lines of, “Oh, he took that out. No loss.” “Good riddance there, that line made Bond look stupid.” “That had been weak, too, as if he couldn’t buy his own clothes.” “Aw, hell, the hospital bit, I hope he cuts this.”

I like this version. Like it a lot, and I wish producers had crafted this excellent 007 film this way.

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Darkest City (Dark City) - Jorge

Dark City was one of the touchstones of the early DVD era.
The film was embraced by the geeks, and derided by them. Likewise, the pacing and the acting.
For all that, Dark City was a showroom demo disc (along with Blade, Matrix, and Blade Runner), and dominated the charts in Video Business Retailer when it came out.
The original was always an excellent example of SciFi Noir.
Jorge’s version is slightly darker, done with trims.
Jorge’s version is outstanding on a technical level.
Video edits are clean and help propel the pace. I did not find the narrative any more mysterious, however.
Audio modifications are noticeable. Sometimes the new scoring works, other times not.
A bit too much for my liking, though chalk that down to personal taste.
Otherwise, highly recommended.

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The Gill Man (The Creature) - Scribbling Man

Effective trim of an already shortish horror film. The editor’s aim was to carve out the slack bits, and thereby boost the pacing. Nicely done.

Video - 1280 X 720p. Audio - 224 Kbps 2-Channel, AAC. No subs. .

Narrative - Tell the truth, I did not notice any change in the narrative. And yes, quit a bit was excised. The story flows fine, I did not notice missing passages. This is a light edit and, because of the brevity, easy to digest. Boy meets girl - boy chases girl - conflict.

Enjoyment - Of all the “classic” Universal monsters, the Creature has always been one of my least favorites. Possibly because there is next to no history or backstory for the guy. He’s existed for thousands of years in his isolated bachelor pad? Is the Creature even a he? If the Creature is actually a “she” then the sequence where it kidnaps Kay has a whole new dimension! Otherwise, the Creature comes across as this lovesick sap. Where were the village maidens? Countless manfish mutant fishpop offspring?

Yeah, kicking a rock, sorry. Nevertheless, compared with the original feature, Scribbling Man’s edit is much preferred. Enjoy with your favorite fish sticks!

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The Gill-man Silent Jaws Edition (The Creature) - Scribbling Man

Whoa! Edit of an edit!

Overview - As kids, my brother and I used to buy 8mm reels of movies. They never had sound, so we put on a movie soundtrack and hoped for the best.
Seeing this reminded me of that time, except Scribe’s selected score is superior.

Filesize - 582 MB !!
Video - 712 X 528p AVC. First off, this is a very sharp print. Thank you for not “damaging” this to make it appear old. The editing is excellent, sticking to the essentials of the story, never losing the thread, keeping the tempo cruising along.
Audio - 320 kbps AAC. 2 Channel stereo. No subs, but Inter-titles, yes! The Inter-titles stayed onscreen long enough to digest, and the font was large and quite readable. Good job! I hate to say this, I found the sound range too dynamic. Quiet to the point of “eh, what?” followed by blaring. I think this would have been well served with compression. Barring that, normalization.

Narrative - Distilled to a compact thirty-one minutes, what really impresses is how smooth, how coherent, the edit is. No plotholes, no logic flaws. Perfect episode for an anthology.

Enjoyment - I enjoyed this edit very much. The film itself, not so much. I always viewed the humans as interlopers. The creature is minding his own business, when these air breathers invade his territory, in all likelihood pee in his lagoon, shoot him, cage him, plan to display him like the Fiji mermaid. Jerks.

Thank you for the B movies you seek out, Scribe.

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First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (Star Wars sequels) - TriggeredPuppy

This will be a future go-to for many, I suspect, packing the arcs and climaxes into one headlong cut.
And yes, this beast rumbles and moves at a vicious pace.

Filesize = 4.1 GB. Video = 1920 X 800p AVC. Audio = 317 kbps, 2 Channels, AAC. No subs.

The quality of the elements, as expected with a Star Wars title, is first rate.
The editing is equally fine. Purists may miss the opening crawl, but TriggeredPuppy explained that in his OT thread, and Mr Herzog’s voice has a purring ease to it.
With so much trimmed on this 3fer, the narrative is fairly jumpy.
Lando Calrission, for example, is just suddenly in the action.
True, everyone knows these films by heart, but you do expect the narrative to be coherent.
Granted, most viewers will shrug at plot leaps, and buckle up for the ride.
And this version is a fantastic ride. Watch it while it is still available.

First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story

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I, Zathius (Babylon 5) - TM2YC

If ever Babylon 5 wanted to go the Doctor Who route, this was the path.
Zathius (whichever 1 of 10) slipped in and out, almost at random, disturbing the timestream.
After a confusing opening five minutes, the narrative settles and this makes a case for logically understanding this odd being’s behavior.
The audio is fine throughout, the video elements show their age.
This is an extended short, and “breathes” better than other Consecutions.
That said, the tone ranges all over the map, from serious to farce to poignant.
Big, big thanks for the ‘in memoriam’ roll near the end. Nice touch.
This was a favorite series of mine for years. Less so now, I’m afraid.

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Eternal Sunshine (Of The Spotless Mind) - Ken Poirier

Distillation of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is hauntingly effective.
It focuses on the breakup / erasure, followed by the all-too-human tendency to cling to cherished memories.
Video quality is scruffy, with too much damage.
The audio is not exactly spotless, either.
The story itself is the hook. A poignant look at how fleeting are relationships.
And how fragile - terribly fragile - is love.
Banned but not forgotten, Mr Poirier was a decent editor and longstanding member of FE.
I remember him being shown the door, though I cannot recall the details.
His presence is missed.

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Episode V: The Overclock Edition (The Empire Strikes Back) – Overclock

Extremely noisy and aggressive fanedit. Straight off, let me declare this ought to be considered a SILENT edit. The entire audio track has been erased. Dialogue, music, effects. Gone, baby, gone. In its place is a fiery thrash power trio, the Overclock Orchestra. If this appeals to you, read no further. Get the edit and crank volume to 11.

Driving 2.0 metal score, well arranged and played. As noted by other reviewers, additional sound effects would have been welcomed. Explosions, blaster fire, crashes, doors, even if relegated to rear surrounds.

The music held my interest for awhile. The Hoth sequence was cleverly done, with a sly nod to the Williams score that had me saying “Cool” out loud. The opening of Part III, Bespin, featured a brooding riff Joe Satriani would have been proud of. Such was fleeting, however. During thoughtful or quiet scenes, such as when Yoda mentors Luke, Overclock members grind away, often with little regard to the visuals.

Z-Rock used to scream, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old!” I hear that.
Nevertheless, the propulsive Overclock attack will bleed your eardrums. γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Full thirty minute edit - Episode V Overclock

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Pet Sematary (2019): The Extended Cut by DEJ-Flounder

The theatrical 2019 film is not perfect by any means but DEJ-Flounder has improved it in a seamless way by adding in the much needed extended scenes and alternate ending which fix this film really as much as it can be. For some films, the extended scenes were deleted because they were fluff-- but here the deleted scenes add to the depth in a good way.

The alternate ending fixes the ridiculous original ending. I won’t post spoilers, just watch this edit.

Because of the incorporation of the deleted scene material which was in stereo, this is a stereo release.

Great job, DEJ-Flounder. This version has replaced my original as the definitive version.

–krausfadr

heil Palpatine!