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FanEdit Reviews - Post Your Reviews Here — Page 6

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The Game (SAW / SAW II) - Maniac

Nope, not that beloved jumble of nonsense by David Fincher. Rather FE badboy Maniac spliced together SAW and SAW II into a carnage free-for-all. Mr Maniac will sometimes give me pause, especially with his rougher cuts. Newcomer alert! Maniac is the very definition of video nasty. The SAW franchise is likewise an equal opportunity slayer. Male female, young old, race whatever. Everyone suffers.

Video - 1920 X 1080p AVC. Editing itself is fine, though scenes tend to ping pong. The tales employ different color palettes and the varying sources are noticeable. Darks remain solid throughout, though the detective sections, especially in the depths, can be grainy. Quibbles aside, Maniac’s editing skills are sharp.

Audio - 128 kbps 2-Channel, AC-3. No subs. Some of the dialogue is murky, and the gamester Jigsaw is not always the clearest. Not that that is a failing in a film like this. I listened through headphones and several passages were mono, probably from the source. The overall sound mix is excellent.

Narrative - Three, maybe three and a half stories tossed together. They do not tie in with each other, nor does this fall into the anthology category. There is a casualness that borders on random in this. As far as “story” proper, there is none, and the narrative is incoherent. Sliced snippets flawed souls in pain.

Enjoyment - Not as much as other Maniac efforts. For such a hard trim, this edit drags. Too much time is given to conversations. One never gives a damn about a single character, so you won’t care about what they have to say. Two of the threads were resolved, the combination octet was not, and the mother daughter miniature felt tacked, then dismissed. Folks who are well familiar with the SAW franchise will enjoy this.

Again - THIS “GAME” IS NOT THE MICHAEL DOUGLAS FILM. Don’t weep later.

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The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie - Gatos

Overlooked, difficult Cassavetes film about seedy nightclub owner who owes the mob large. Slate will be wiped if he performs a small service. Reference title. The film plays like homage to French new wave of Truffaut, Godard, Resnais. Gazzara very much in the Delon mold.

Video - No artifacts or problems. Source material was never glossy or crisp, but the blacks are solid and the afternoon scenes never washed out. There is an awkward transition around the 19 minute mark. Fade to black ought to have been smoother, followed by an abrupt arrival of the mob.

Audio - Sound as good as it gets, which doesn’t say a lot. Plenty of mumbled, garbled dialogue, a shooting that sounds like a backfire, and a poorly miked Gazzarri’s. Can’t fault Gatos for this, and there was nothing worsened by his edit.

Narrative - This edit skews more grindhouse, less arthouse. The pace remains slow, but if you doze you realize you missed a lot. This version is more straight ahead, less contemplative. No nitpicking here, but it seems like a lighter version. Had this been the released film, I suspect it would have done more business, but eventually, Cassavetes fans would have flocked to the longer, director’s cut.
Gatos chopped much from this - quite a bit, actually - but retained the integrity of the story.

Enjoyment - I did enjoy this. More than I thought I would. Over the years, I have viewed The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie numerous times. Watched it at the Nuart every time it screened, later rented the VHS, then bought a copy. This was very much the LA of my late teens and Cassavetes did a haunting job capturing the late, late night.

Note - Gazzarri’s (where the Gazzara character runs his nightclub) was a hugely popular rock club, so every time I watch this I look for street rats I used to see nightly outside Gazzarri’s, the Strip, or on the Boulevard near the Pussy Cat.

Well recommended, with the warning that Gazzara behaves like a normal man caught in a vise. Modern, epic heroics do not apply. Wonderful little film, and Gatos’s edit is a nice way to introduce Cassavetes work to the uninitiated.

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 (Edited)

Jigsaw: A History of Violence (Saw, 2004-17) - Maniac, Zagadka (2020)

This edit presents a cut of the backstory of John Kramer that spans multiple Saw films in the first half, with the second half being a trimmed down version of Saw (2004). I’d recommend watching Saw I-IV before this edit, as it does spoil some things. Overall, the edit is excellently done and is highly imaginative with its choice of scenes spanning half a dozen films. The focus is more on the psychological aspects of Saw and John Kramer’s philosophy rather than the gore. A critique I have of this edit is that the reveal of Saw (2004) is spoiled just before it happens, I would have placed the backstory relating to the reveal to just after Kramer gets up, not before.

A/V quality, editing: There is some audio crackling throughout. Otherwise, very well done, and in good quality.

This is worth watching for the reconstructed backstory, tight editing, and rescore. The first half of this edit in particular is excellent, a completely new narrative. Would like to see a sequel covering Saw II-III or later installments. Which, given the post credits scene, might come one day.

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The Godfather Part II: Extended Edition HD - hal_over_9000 (2016)

Absolutely phenomenal. I have newfound respect for Part II, I think it’s surpassed the first one for me. There was one very brief audio glitch around the 3 hr mark. Other than that, brilliant editing here throughout, I’m honestly unsure of what was added because of how seamless it was. Despite the epic runtime and having already seen the original last year, I was never once bored. There’s a lot more depth to the story and characters now. Part II is an all time classic and it’s only improved upon by this extended edition.

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Lovecraft Actually (The Mist - In The Mouth Of Madness - Deep Rising) - Job Willins

Mr. Willins takes three apocalyptic films, “The Mist,” “In The Mouth Of Madness,” and “Deep Rising,” tosses them into the chopper, and makes a dark homage to “Love Actually.”

Note: This is an m4v, which I modified to mp4 so my system could play.
Some of the edits here are audacious. The jump cuts, in particular, are inspired and jaw-dropping.

Depending on the source material, the audio ranges from good to murky. Much of “The Mist” is a pain to understand, and Sam Neill’s mumblings during “In The Mouth” were not worth replays.

Sorry but this one does not work for me. Three different films that do not link or mirror each other. The tones vary, as do the “look” of each. One is a talkfest, one is an action ride, one is the dark plunge. The Beach Boy numbers do not serve to unify proceedings, either.

Full marks for what the editor attempted. For me a fail, though. A disjointed mess.

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Tales From Hell: Vol. 5 (The Dead Next Door - The Midnight Hour) - Mikedrew87

Another entry in Mike’s ongoing series, this time a twofer.
First source, “The Dead Next Door” remains a bad cheapie, though with heart. None of the smug self awareness of Troma product. Second source, “The Midnight Hour,” is slicker, though more innocent.

The first feature looks shoddier, but that’s OK. No one has mentioned this before, but I really like Mike’s intros. The editing is suitable for both episodes. More abrupt with the first, in keeping with the grindhouse look.

Mayhem in the first one is limited. No crowd scenes of overrun Akron (ha ha ha). The focus on the Zombie Squad and the religious zealots is constrained. To the point, but feels over chopped.
I was too old when “Midnight Hour” aired. No high school, no junior high for that matter, was ever like this. The way students treated each other with civility and decency. Mike has reworked this extensively, though with love and care. It shows. The narrative holds together and is logical. Moreover, the central relationship between Phil and Sandy remains light hearted, romantic, and ultimately poignant.

I did like these, the second more than the first.

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Psychos - Steven Soderbergh

Van Zant famously made a shot for shot of the Hitchcock classic. Mr Soderbergh rendered the 1998 remake into black n white, then interweaved it and the 1960 together.
Source material for the 1960 varies in quality, but is certainly low resolution. The editing was fine. A few scenes had splashes of color, which added nice surprise elements. The 1960 print had a softer look than the 1998, yet the contrast difference was not such as to be jarring.
The editor applied the Herrmann score to layer transitions and multiple image sequences. Smart move and good work.

A few of the jumps from Perkins to Vaughn are peculiar in that the actors portray Norman Bates a bit differently. Perkins is coiled nervous energy, Vaughn more like an immature eight year old.
Included are scenes from each movie that aren’t in the other. That benefits the narrative.

Enjoyment - I have tasked faneditor Soderbergh in previous reviews. Here, he has a clever concept and he executes it well. I really didn’t enjoy this so much as I appreciated it. In all likelihood, I shan’t watch this again. If I want to see “Psycho,” the 1960 original is the one for me.

At 430 MB, this is one of Soderbergh’s smaller files. Be aware that, while available, all of this faneditor’s reworkings require a bit of tinkering to transfer to your drive.

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 (Edited)

Savings Never End! (Batman) - Grievous Angel Draven

Consecution short.
The sheer chutzpah of the concept was lost.
Initially, I thought this was going to be an infomercial for either the Bat Workout or hiring our caped crusaders to do your dirty work.
Nope. (Though a well scripted, and well voiced infomercial could be a howl.)
This is a trainwreck on many levels. Poorly chosen material, haphazard editing, a rambling, pointless voiceover.
I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to fast-forward, or simply stop, but I could not turn away.
Dreadful – or dreadfully funny. Your turn.
Note: Where was the gatekeeper for this Consecution? How did this get included?

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Visions Of The Past (Le Jette) - jsweert123456

An arthouse offering, outstanding!
The original, “Le Jette” seems from another planet, it is so far ahead of its time.
I was stunned by how well the condensed narrative held together, and the emotion punch it still delivers.
Part Noir, part SciFi, of the guinea pig snared in time’s pendulum.
And “Love” as self deception, self betrayal.
Biggest complaint? Too many fade to blacks throughout, and they go on too long. And easy enough to remedy by adding more vintage stills during the voiceover.
I never saw the original, but I can envision Terry Gilliam screening it, jaw dropped.
Extraordinary closer to Disc 01 of the Time Consecution.

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 (Edited)

Haunted (Poltergeist) - Maniac

Overview - Maniac tries to make this more of a Tobe Hooper film, less the cutesy, carnival ride nonsense.

Video - 1280 X 720p AVC. Editing, as expected from Maniac, is solid and efficient. Everything is designed for lightning speed. A lot of shadows in this, and no fragmentation.
Audio - 160 kbps AC3. 2 channel Stereo. No subs. Conversations are clear, even when the score gets ridiculously loud.

Narrative - The new property development is a rollicking success! Even though the land used to be … what did it used to be? Anyway, soon enough the house of our protagonists seems to be haunted.
Enjoyment - eehhh. Too Spielbergy by half. Maniac does what he can, but the film has aged poorly and lacks bite. Definitely worth a watch. Brief, quick moving. Akin to a rough Twilight Zone episode.

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Quantum Of Solace: Bond’s Revenge - Last Survivor

Really enjoyed this.
Much more character focused than the original.
Liked that overlong action sequences were trimmed.
Never bought the Vesper backstory, not in this, nor in the original.
Bond is a sexual predator, he would never get emotional about anyone.
Maybe M.
So when Vesper’s ghost appeared, I crinkled a bit.
That said, the video insets were nicely done. Slick.
To me, QS remains the weakest of the Craig 007s, but I enjoyed this far, far more than the original.

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Apocalypto: The Legend Of Jaguar Paw - Sinbad

Mild trim of Mel Gibson’s naturalistic masterpiece, removing much of the dialogue.

Video - 1280 X 696p AVC. Image is razor sharp, cutting is excellent.

Audio - 512 kbps AAC 2 Channel stereo. Subs, limited. For a film such as this (big action, high adventure) I would have preferred 5.1 sound, I am not editing, however, and most editors choose stereo. Subs are more problematic. Sinbad has cut a swath of them. The film holds, as does the narrative. The remaining subtitles are poorly timed. Most are short, way too short. They should have been given a once-over in something like SubtitleEdit before hard coding.

Narrative - As mentioned earlier, the edit, despite heaving cutting, is coherent and straightforward, especially to those who have watched the original. Most trims passed by unnoticed, save for one at the end.

Enjoyment - Yes, though primarily as watching an exercise. The edit is well done, though I don’t see it as essential, or one that I would watch more than a few times.

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Time Waits For No One (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) - TM2YC

Part of the Time travel Consecution, this is a haunting, at times perplexing, love story.
I watched it three times, to get the feel of the story, because this is rather messy.
Other reviews have suggested this be even shorter, but that might prove a jumble.
This is tucked away on the DVD. Don’t over look it. A small gem, worth your time.

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 (Edited)

Matrix Revolutions: Epic Edition - geminigod

I put off viewing partly because I did not want to waddle through sorry assed Revolutions again.
Then I delayed reviewing because I wanted to listen to Geminigod’s audio commentary.

In a nutshell, the A/V editing was spectacular. I missed glitches and fudges he referenced in the commentary.
Had to go back, and even then they were often hard to catch.
He wisely purged the bulk of the inane bungles from Revolutions.
Also, he made a good argument that the sequel ought to have been one long film, rather than two.
Best, this edit redeemed the franchise (which seems due to revive).

Less compelling, were Geminigod’s prolonged defense for the importance of Zion. I never bought that argument. Zion, to me, represented a separation of humanity into elites and mudbugs. Far as Zion went, if the machines whacked them, fine by me.

Commentaries by their nature are enlightening, thoughtful, and maddening. Geminigod’s was no exception. For every point he addressed, and I thought “Ooh, I hadn’t thought of that,” then he would belabor another cue for five minutes, and I’m going, “Hey, Pilgrim, movie’s rolling, stay on topic.”

This really was a powerhouse job, with a tremendous amount of editing and rearranging, in crafting a true, alternative experience.
And barking aside, I truly appreciated the editor’s words. Most enlightening.

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Saga Of The Apes (Planet Of The Apes) - BionicBob

This was long, but held my interest throughout.
BBob’s editing choices were always inventive, often uncanny.
Excellent pacing, and the sprawling narrative was generally clean.

Saga Of The Apes presupposes the viewer has a working familiarity with the chimp flicks.
Fair enough. Were you going into this cold - you would be going out confused.
Audio fine, with no jarring cuts or volume spikes.
(Note: I love The Carpenters. The shopping and the song? No no no.)

Video work is solid, with no editing errors to my eyes.
That said, I’m not a fan of split screen. Often confusing.
Moreover, the screens themselves seemed smallish.

Third act seemed helter skelter. That could have been me.
Nevertheless, this is highly recommended.
Great job, BBob

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Fury Road (per Mad Max) - Amadi

Overview - An audacious, ballsy effort, removing one of the singular characters from a feature.
Mad Max, without Max. This cannot work. It has “fail” all over it.

Video - 1920 X 800 mov (which my system could not read, so I converted to mp4). Transitions and cuts are cleverly done. Damnit, I kept looking for Max (note, while glimpsed, he is unimportant). There are probably too many fade-to-blacks for my liking, but the editor disguises this with an ongoing audio mix that stitches scenes.

Audio - 1536 kbps LPCM 2-Channel stereo. No subs. Stereo, really? Yes, subs and stereo are my usual nitpicks, especially for high performance flicks. Eh, deal with it, loser. The sound is high octane, with no jarring flaws.

Narrative - None of the Max films are penetrating character observations, nor packed with plot nuances. A full bore action ride, one expects incoherence now and then, compensated with throat stopping stunts. There are a lot of cuts throughout, but this holds together for me. The original film is one I have watched numerous times, however. Someone viewing this cold may be puzzled by motivations.

Enjoyment - I enjoyed this. I appreciated it. I cannot believe how well Amadi pulled this off. While not an edit I would watch repeatedly (it just feels incomplete to me), the editing is a master class. In fact, I envision this editor readily finding work as a Hollywood axe-man. Whenever a star becomes a troublesome prima donna, the studio could hire Amadi the Eraser.

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Pearl Harbor: Strength and Honor Edition - ADigitalMan

Cracking good film!
The original, I hated.
Never fear, this sucker cranks.
As noted in other reviews, the love story is completely excised; the focus is on roaring action.
Visual editing is terrific, and is complemented by a thundering audio mix.
Narrative is on the shallow end, but that was to be expected when there were so many top name actors involved.
The nurses storyline suffered most. They ended up being little more than eye candy with a handful of lines.
Not a complaint, just an observation.
This is an older edit, but one of the better ones. Top job by ADM.

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 (Edited)

Prometheus: Special Edition - Agent9

I enjoyed the theatrical release of this film. Critics or fanboys who bellyached, I shrugged at.
What did they expect? Scott has always been a loose director, permitting plot gaps and unanswered questions. I have no doubt that in time, Prometheus will be regarded as a SciFi classic.
What Agent 9 preformed was an outstanding overhaul.
He threw the yoke of structure onto the film and straightened the narrative. Taut, focused.
Everything he added, I enjoyed. Everything tossed … well … (SPOILER) … I missed the opening Engineer sequence. Mainly because it was so visually arresting. To be honest, however, while cool looking it seemed disconnected from what followed. More parable than plot point. I warmed to the Weyland speech. (END SPOILER)
Other trims were fine, especially the two button heads who, as screened, seemed little more than comic Jar Jars.
I cannot stress how amazing the visual work was. Agent9’s color correction work should inspire new editors.

Early demos had two channel stereo. Agent9 listened to feedback and V2 is 5.1. Well done, and subtitles!
This was one helluva an edit, and I looked forward to A9 repairing Prometheus 2….
….Only that never happened. Agent9 either lost passion for the hobby, or tired of the scuffles, or something else.
By and large, fanediting is a thankless endeavor. Many beg to view, few say thank you. That’s life.
As far as Prometheus 2, such a colossal fail.

Subs = Most of the subs for Agent 9’s edit are machine translated VobSubs. I fixed most timing errors and corrected OCR mangled words. Again, this srt is for Agent 9’s edit. (This srt will work with the 2:07:21 mp4)
https://subscene.com/subtitles/prometheus-special-edition/english/2558041

Trailer -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEGJFGIPQ7c

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Vultural said:

By and large, fanediting is a thankless endeavor. Many beg to view, few say thank you.

A shame to see this seemingly become more prevalent too.

Unfortunately even fewer people leave feedback, constructive criticism - suggestions for improvements, or reviews.

They simply move on and make another public request for a link - not attempting to join in with the community - or even in other discussion topics on here.
 

Hopefully we’ll see this either reversed or remedied - soon.
 

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + FAQs - includes info on how to search for projects and threads on the OT•com

A Project Index for Star Wars Preservations (Harmy’s Despecialized & 4K77/80/83 etc) : A Project Index for Star Wars Fan Edits (adywan & Hal 9000 etc)

… and take your time to look around this site before posting - to get a feel for this place. Don’t just lazily make yet another thread asking for projects.

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The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (The Rise of Skywalker 2019) - Hal9000

The world of fan-edits has always been a fascinating one to me and one that I’ve never really taken the opportunity to dive into really. I’ve dipped my toes a little bit into it for franchises I really like such as Dragon Ball but I’ve never quite gotten so fully invested to check out say a fully fan-edited movie and that even goes for movies I disliked… until now. Now to preface this, I am a life-long diehard Star Wars fan and I’m actually someone who has really LOVED what this new era has brought… until The Rise of Skywalker. The Rise of Skywalker is an odd beast among the Star Wars movies because to be frank, it’s hardly a bad movie. It’s not even the worst Star Wars movie or the worst movie period. On its own, it’s a fun watch and I’m not gonna lie due to how I came into this by watching each of the previous movies in chronological order in the days leading to it? I can even see how this is as an ending to the saga… until I look closer. Then I see its problems like the breakneck pacing, the weird editing, the premise that borderlines on being fanfiction with how bonkers it is and of course, this film’s bizarre need to retcon and rewrite all the things The Last Jedi set up. That being said, the core movie has potential and no version of this has shown that better than The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant.

The best way to describe this version going into it is basically it’s basically the same movie but given a second pass and that second pass REALLY helps it out. Now this edit doesn’t fix every single problem nor does it magically turn The Rise of Skywalker into a perfect finale to the saga. What it does do is in my opinion provide the best possible execution of this story. The pacing has been fixed up considerably, the new VFX shots are integrated so well I had to double check my copy of the original just to make sure my memory wasn’t playing tricks on me. There are tons of little edits that make things feel more coherent and helps to unite every trilogy more as one large whole and for the ones that are just there for the sake of it? A lot of them are so well-handled that I’m hardpressed to care. This isn’t an edit that just goes “BLEGH! SEQUEL BAD! ME FIX!” and throws out everything for pointless fanservice, this feels like it was made by a group of fans who really wanted to make this movie the best it possibly can be. That being said, it’s not without its flaws. There is one scene towards the finale that I read about in the description and was so worried getting into it and… it was almost there. For the most part it was done well, it just maybe could’ve had a shot or two snipped out of it to make it absolutely perfect, it keeps a moment between Ben and Rey that I personally have just never been fond of anyway and the additional effect at the VERY end in an attempt to give that character more payoff just feels a little forced to me. I totally respect and get where the fan-editor was coming from and to give credit where credit is due, it looks phenomenal from a technical standpoint but it just doesn’t sit that right to me. That being said though? Those problems are too minor for me to really care.

All in all, this is a fantastic edit that I feel everyone should give a watch to. It’s not gonna win over everyone certainly but of course really the only way you can achieve something beyond this is if the whole movie was basically redone which is not gonna happen so if this is the best we can make out of this mess? I’m more than glad to say this is above and beyond what I ever could’ve imagined.

9.5/10

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The Rise of Skywalker: Resurgence (The Rise of Skywalker 2019) - krausfadr

In my review of Hal9000’s excellent Ascendant, I noted how that was the same movie that was just given a second pass in the editing room and kind of went into how this meant that not every problem was of course fixed and that it was still largely the same movie overall. Well if that movie was just TROS but given a second pass, Resurgence is something more like a restructuring, an attempt at fixing the movie by reshuffling scenes, trimming some down and even going as far as to create new scenarios while keeping some of the original’s more wild concepts intact. This idea intrigued me immensely and so I knew I had to get a copy for myself and because the original editor has asked for a totally honest review? I’m glad to give it a shot. Warning for those reading though, spoilers are gonna be present but before I get into those, here are my quick, spoiler-free thoughts.

All in all, I really like Resurgence and I think it does a solid job at attempting to rectify some of TROS’ problems with some great ideas, some stellar editing that most of the time was fairly seamless and of course the efforts of the various amazing users on here cannot be understated. That being said though, this has more than its fair share of problems whether its issues that were carried over from the movie or new issues introduced due to editing choices that I personally scratch my head at.

Okay now that we got this out of the way, it’s time to delve into spoilers and right away, I just have to say for the first massive positive, I LOVE the replacement for the Rey Palpatine twist. The idea that Rey’s emotions flared up so much when her family left her that she ultimately killed them in her anger is chilling and dark in all the right ways and the way it’s executed does an amazing job at expanding upon what was in TLJ by having her know exactly what she did and denying the action while dueling Kylo and it even does a great job of calling back to TFA because one can totally understand crying when someone tells you that you know whoever left you on a backwater planet is never coming back if you’re the one who killed your own parents. The one criticism I have is the sentence mixing on Kylo’s lines are a little wonky. Perhaps maybe this could’ve been done better if say someone was gotten to just deliver the line with effects added to blend it in with Adam Driver’s real dialogue but those are limitations you sometimes have to accept with fan-edits. I also am glad to see some of the more wild elements from TROS staying around for this such as the lightspeed skipping which is just a fun concept that I was sad to see missing from Ascendant. I also really like some of the little changes here like having Rey’s attempt at self-exile on Ahch-To taking place at night with her waking up to Luke lifting the X-Wing and I most especially appreciate the added Knights of Ren dialogue. With just a few lines, the Knights of Ren become actual characters which while still ultimately not being in the movie that much are at least far closer to feeling like actual people and not just a group of Boba Fetts and some of the lines they get are menacing at one point even funny.

Though unfortunately, mentioning how one of the lines was funny kind of leads me to one of my criticisms of this edit. It’s a minor criticism mind you but still a criticism. I feel way too much of the humor was chopped out of this movie. Now I know people are kind of divided overall on the ST and most especially on the humor but me personally, I like when Star Wars is quippy and fun and I always felt that while a few line snips were needed in TROS? This kind of takes it a bit too far. For instance, I was missing Finn’s “I was just thinking that.” in the little Falcon battle at the beginning. In fact it felt like quite a bit of his back and forth with Poe was chopped out and often to the movie’s detriment. I loved their banter in TFA and I felt one of the only unfortunate outcomes of TLJ being the way it was was that we missed out on more of that. I also was missing Rey’s “They’re not with me.” which I always felt was pretty funny and a nice way of selling her frustration in a manner that feels distinctly like her and what doesn’t help is often you can tell where line cuts are which makes things very distracting which brings me to another problem. This edit has a great idea with the opening scene instead focusing on Kylo discussing with the First Order about this new fleet before destroying Corellia but execution-wise? I think this is a case where the movie really didn’t provide a lot to truly work with to nail what was needed. In particular, there’s the matter of Kylo reforging his mask which is a good way to transition for sure into the meeting… but here’s the problem I have. The point of the Corellia destruction is to build upon Kylo’s modus operandi from TLJ which was to let the past die which it does but him reforging his mask I feel is a symbol already of him not being willing to let the past die. Now don’t get me wrong, I get the scene has to be here and it would be really, REALLY stupid of me to ask for someone to spend time rotoscoping out a whole helmet to slap an Adam Driver head over the body because that would be ridiculous and would look terrible. I also really do like the added dialogue from a Knight of Ren which implies that he was basically made to do this to continue leading them so really, this is more a problem with what the source material provided and not the editor but still, it did bug me somewhat. What possibly could’ve been avoided was the opening shot of the TIE Fighters still heading to Mustafar which was still a cool shot but it makes it so that once it’s mirrored later when Kylo does head to the planet? It’s immensely distracting, especially since it comes a half-hour into the film. I feel like there could’ve been a way to have an opening shot like this while avoiding problems like this like maybe if it repurposed a shot from TFA with some light new visual effects or something like that. Just something to make this a little less off-putting.

I also admittedly wasn’t big on how the opening went with the restructure and personally still felt it went a bit too fast. You can basically tell that the Palpatine scene was meant to come earlier and see how the meeting scene throws everything out of whack. It feels like I bumped the skip button on my remote and accidentally back and forth between scenes. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s a fan-edit and thus one has to be somewhat mindful that little issues like this will come up when it comes to executing certain concepts but this really was very distracting. Not as bad as how the original movie handled things but still not optimal overall. This edit also included slightly too many of what I’d call “fanservicey” moments. Now I get it, it’s made by fans and therefore fanservice is bound to be present. Especially when considering this is supposed to be Episode IX as in the ultimate end of the saga and in some instances, the fanservice really works. For instance, the quick shots of Han’s death we get from Kylo? Those are brilliant. I also love the imagery of Rey standing up with the Force Ghosts faintly being behind her. That’s fanservice done subtly and cleverly. Having the scene where Han fell into the chasm in Starkiller Base fade in over the destruction of Corellia though? That’s incredibly distracting and I feel takes away from the moment. I get what it’s going for and it’s such a neat idea but execution-wise? It doesn’t really impact me. Same goes for outright getting close-ups of the Force Ghosts and seeing them raise their hands. I get the idea being presented here and it’s a cool one. That being said? I feel this is an instance where less is more. Having the Ghosts be with her faintly appearing is more than enough to establish that the Force is with her. Them doing more kind of disrupts from the fact this is supposed to be Rey’s moment and them watching her end Palpatine I feel is excellent symbolism for the old generation watching as the next generation puts an end to an old enemy of theirs. Them joining in is going just a teensy bit too far for my liking. I also was really not a fan of the addition of “Be with me.” during the trip to Tatooine nor was I really all that big on Yoda’s dialogue from ESB being added. I felt the moment of quiet was best set as that, a moment of quiet and the impact that line’s addition was supposed to have doesn’t really work and instead distracts from it.

As for other issues this had? I will never be a fan of the Ben and Rey kiss so seeing it here really didn’t work for me. I personally felt the cutting of most of Poe’s speech during the scene when the Resistance is gearing up to fly to Exegol really undercuts the vibe it was going for and instead makes what should be a triumphant “Kriff yeah! Our heroes are heading to kick the FO’s teeth in.” feel way too awkward, I really preferred the goofy “Okay!” call from Lando’s driver to the grunt, the loss of Mark Hamill voicing Boolio I didn’t think I was going to miss until I watched it and just felt like it was missing so much personality. I mean I get what it’s going for here and the idea is cool to have an alien grieving for the loss of their child but I’m not too sure with how small it was it was worth the cutting of what I thought at least was a fun performance. Lando… was odd to me. I’m kind of glad the edit cuts out his lines about not wanting to be involved with this fight anymore and overall it resulted in Lando feeling more proactive as a result but on the other hand, it has the weird effect of strangely making it feel like Lando had no place in this movie. Again, most likely this is the source material’s fault but still, it’s something I’ve noticed. Finally, I thought the ending was a little off. The way the scenes were cut, I was confused for a moment. I guess Leia going was meant to symbolize that Ben did become one with the Force instead of us seeing him pass or maybe he did live? Honestly, it was a confusing edit and I would’ve kind of preferred if it was just left to Ben dying onscreen like in the original.

That’s all the issues I have though. Now it’s positive for the rest of this. Once the edit got past its somewhat odd first half, it really, REALLY picks up once we get to Kylo meeting the Emperor and to give props to the creator, good attention to detail on how Kylo never does put his helmet back on from this point forward which does help these scenes to feel like they belong in this order. I also really love seeing the Snoke clones replaced with vats of discarded Palpatines since that is such a nice creepy effect and the removal of some dialogue between Ren and Palpatine helps to sell this as what it is, not an alliance to bring back his granddaughter but rather more an uneasy “You better be telling the truth otherwise I’ll kill you old man.” kind of alliance. I also loved the removal of the insanely awkward dialogue by Maz in most scenes since it helps some of these moments really stand out more in the manner that they were intended to. The removal of Luke and Leia from the ending was something I thought I wasn’t going to like all that much at first but it really did improve upon the scene and helped to make this feel more like an intimate send-off to the franchise rather than some bombastic fanservicey nonsense. I really appreciate the changes done to the scene where Poe reveals what Boolio handed them and how it made it more about the fleet rather than Palpatine. I especially loved the scene of Palpatine tossing Ben aside with no dialogue, I feel the way it’s handled it does such a great job of making it clear that Palpatine is just done with Skywalkers at this point and is just wanting to get on with retaking the galaxy and finally for something very simple, I love the new crawl. It conveys exactly what it needs to, it feels in line with the other crawls of the ST and most importantly, it doesn’t just try to give everything away in one go.

All in all, this edit is solid. It’s not my favorite edit unfortunately because there are so many little annoyances that hold it back for me but the effort cannot be understated. I still have to tip my hat off to the editor and everyone involved because this is still insane. The fact they were able to take a fully finished product and turn it into something that feels almost completely different is nothing short of amazing to me. Definitely request a copy and give this a watch if you haven’t yet.

7.5/10

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The Godfather Extended Edition - hal_over_9000

Stellar work assembling various outtakes and scenes from various editions.

Video - 1920 X 1080 AVC. Odd bit of TV business at 1:16. Fade to blacks seemed longish at some points.

Audio - 317 kbps AAC. 2 Channel stereo. No subs, aside the hard-coded during Italian language sequences. Good use of sound for transitions. Dialogue clear (aside from Brando, and unfair to nitpick for that).

Narrative - This is a rich, immersive experience. It has been a decade since I’ve watched the original. This version has all sorts of extras seamlessly edited in. Everything a Godfather fanatic could desire.

The additions add layers in an already textured quilt. They are not necessarily game changers, but Genco Abbandando gets a respectful farewell and Clemenza … man, any extra scenes featuring Clemenza is great by me.
This is over three hours, so switch off the phone and settle in. Rushing will demean this, a terrific edit.

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Star Trek 10 “Through A Glass Darkly” (Star Trek Nemesis) - BionicBob

This is a great improvement over the original.
I pulled up my copy of Nemesis beforehand and could barely sit through it.
The pacing was deadly, and the narrative was cluttered.
Bionic Bob trimmed out the fat, and this movie goes!
Audio seems fine to my ears. Video edits are smooth. The only “clinker” is the added bit at the end, though it is fun, nevertheless.

I am not a fan of STNG (prefer Voyager), but BBob’s version of Nemesis is a winner, and I can recommend it to fans who tired of the series long ago.

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 (Edited)

Prometheus: Giftbearer - Severian

One of the first released edits trying to “fix” narrative errors.

Video - 854 X 356 AVC. Higher resolution would have been preferred. Good editing nonetheless, shifting some scenes around. Dr. Shaw’s dream time after Holloway’s death is remarkable.

Audio - 128 kbps, AAC, 2 Channel stereo. No subs. (see below) Stereo, really? Dialogue is mostly clear, though garbled during excited moments. I listened through headphones.

This new narrative works well enough, though I can’t see how it replaces the original. It holds together, and remains logical throughout, but the improvements seemed insufficient. Straight off, Holloway continues to be a dick, for reasons poorly explained. Fifield and Millburn persist in being stupid. As characterized, this pair would do better at a space station diner, asking, “Want fries with that?” Finally, the croissant abides.

My enjoyment was hit and miss. Despite being a “favorite”, this does not surpass the A9 version that came out at nearly the same time. I enjoyed Severian’s effort, yet it is not the edit I will return to.

Subtitles: Yes, one of my bears. There actually are some subs available by Aorion. There are random timing problems, and they do not work for all dialogue. I repaired some issues, let others slide. Sorry.
Should you desire – https://subscene.com/subtitles/prometheus-giftbearer

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Schism (Elephant) - Neglify

From the DVD, Neglify Shorts Vol 1, though this can also be found as Part of Consecution Six - Shut Up!
Great job of condensing Van Sant’s underrated (under-viewed) Elephant.

Video - MPEG 720 X 480p. Editing was all first rate. Several scenes could have been extended a beat or two. I’m not complaining, just got caught up in the mood at times and wanted to linger.

Audio - 6 Channel AC3, 448 Kbps. On the sound system, I noticed the immediate shift from 2 channel to 6 channel. Music choices, from Floyd to Tool, blend well and enhance the short.

Incredibly, the narrative holds together and the germ of the story is easily understood.
I did not think I would this, especially since Van Sant is a director I kick at frequently.
Nevertheless, while I may not rewatch often, I liked this…
The short is poignant, brooding, steeped in fatalism.