Fanedit: Game of Thrones - Film V - The Cold of Death
Original: Game of Thrones: Seasons 4-5
Author: Anjohan
Released: 2022
This film-to-tv edit of Game of Thrones covers the end of Season 4 and a large part of Season 5. A/V Editing is good, additional score is added numerous times. Sometimes the audio transitions are too quick or the dialogue is drowned out by the rescore - eg at 2:27:44. But mostly good. Occasionally, the transitions feel rushed, such as during the battle beyond the Wall, but I understand this is too keep the runtime down.
The plot is essentially a heavily streamlined version of the original, there are no major divergences. Season 5 is a pretty weak season of television in my view, which makes sense since it diverges so heavily from the books, so Anjohan did not have the best base to work from. What he does is take the very strongest scenes, and also scenes that are weak but are essential to prevent plotholes, and stitches them together. The focus of this edit is placed on the strongest plotline of Season 5 - the Wall and Hardhome. Dorne is aggressively cut down to barebones, as it should be. Arya appears (material from the end of Season 4) but none of her Season 5 scenes are in this one (maybe in the next one). Sansa’s butchered storyline is made as good as it can possibly be. The S5 Meereen plot, which is very weak, is completely removed and the focus is instead on Tyrion going from King’s Landing to Meereen. The King’s Landing / Sparrow plotline is well refined. Stannis arrives at the Wall, but his conclusion I believe will be in the next film. The highlight of this film is Jon Snow’s election as Lord Commander and (mis)handling of his post, along with the battle at Hardhome. I think Brienne could’ve been cut even further after the fight with the Hound, perhaps entirely.
All in all, I’d say Anjohan makes very good choices in regards to scene selection and makes the best possible film out of the source material. Seeing edits like this makes you wonder what Game of Thrones would’ve been like had it been released in cinemas instead of on television.