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Doc SaLvageD: The Fan-edit of Bronze! (Released)

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After two months and three distinct versions, I have done as much as I believe can be done with this film with existing sources and materials. Here’s a snippet from my NFO file:

<div class=“PostQuote”>Are you a Doc Savage fan or George Pal fan or a hero/superhero fan - or just a
movie fan - that saw the 1975 “Doc Savage” film and came away disappointed?
Well, Have No Fear - “The Doc” is Here! He put his nose to the grindstone for
two months and now is pleased to (noselessly) announce that this movie has
finally gotten the re-edit it has needed for over thirty years…

This is a labor of love from someone who’s long felt that George Pal deserved a
swan song without a cheesy male chorus. Check out the “Changes - by
Chapter.rtf” file for a comprehensive listing of the improvements made to this
version of the film, and ENJOY!</div>

Though I know that most of you guys prefer distributing through torrents or RS, I’m an old Usenet guy, so I’m in the process of posting this to alt.binaries.dvd. It’ll take me a couple of days at my sad <50K/sec upload speed, but hey - that would apply no matter how I 'strib it. Maybe some kind soul will grab it from the newsgroup & seed it? (If not, I will, but again… SLOWWWWWLY…)

I will post my “Changes - by Chapter” file in a reply here for the curious…

Thanks to all of you guys for the inspiration!

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The chapters and chapter titles for this film were gleaned from the LaserDisc release of the film.

Chapter 1 - Opening Logo:
No change.

Chapter 2 - Main Title; Fortress of Solitude:
The first and most important change in this chapter is the replacement of the "Doc Savage March" with the "no vocals" version from "The Fantasy Film Music of George Pal".
The first of three "twinkles" in Doc's eye has been removed. In the first two versions of this re-edit, the offending frames (6 frames for each "twinkle", BTW) were exported to a series of BMPs and an un-twinkling eye was cut and pasted (from a "clean" frame) into each. However, without the twinkle, the close-up is superfluous, so it has been removed in favor of an extension of the medium shot to compensate. A dissolve was added in place of the jump cut from Doc to a snowy horizon which left the viewer with a lingering "after image"; this change also diminishes the obviousness of the backward footage used to accomplish the aforementioned medium shot extension. Also, with the twinkle gone, the corresponding triangle strike in the music seemed unnecessary, so it was removed.
The letters "U", "S", and "A" in the name "JOHN PHILIP SOUSA" have been changed from red, white and blue to yellow. (The task was simplified by the use of a Paint Shop Pro script to act on the series of exported bitmaps. There is no corresponding change to the closing credits as they are presented as a "roll" and a similare approach would be problematic.)
The "Fortress of Solitude" banner over the doorway of Doc's igloo has been cropped out.
The shot of the rocket was shortened to skip the silly "fish" thing.

Chapter 3 - The Fabulous Five:
Long Tom's "short circuit" was removed. To make up (somewhat) for the abruptness of the resulting cut, reverse footage was used.
Doc's minor stumble while rising from the lotus position has been edited out.

Chapter 4 - New York City:
Throughout this chapter and the next two, much effort was made to minimize the fact that the actor portraying the South American Indian assassin is all-too-obviously a blue-eyed Caucasian. His close-ups were eliminated, but some medium shots were problematic to remove so they remain.
Removed close-up insert of Doc's face from scene where he is pulling bullet out of wall and replaced with close up of hand. (Doc's teeth were not clenched in the insert, but they were in the flanking shots!)

Chapter 5 - Bad News for Doc:
Removed Renny's "Hi Doc" line (for cleaner intercutting).
Removed Doc's "I picked up your thought waves..." line.

Chapter 6 - Pursuit of the Gunman:
Removed the assassin turning to fire on Doc, Doc's subsequent duck into the stairwell, and Doc shooting his pistol at the assassin. This was done for cleaner intercutting, NOT to eliminate the one instance in the film of Doc using a gun!

Chapter 7 - Doc's Problem:
Removed Monk's "We know that sound by now" line. Also removed the word "buddies" from Monk's line about fighting together in the trenches.

Chapter 8 - Dogfight:
No change.

Chapter 9 - Somewhere in the Caribbean:
Removed Borden's "rest in pieces" toast and everything from Captain Seas' "I started out in a sideshow..." line to the end of the chapter. Dissolved the end of this chapter into the beginning of the next.

Chapter 10 - Deception of the Deed:
Cut Don Rubio answering and talking on the phone for use in the next chapter.

Chapter 11 - Too Much to Drink:
Removed Don Rubio sitting in giant crib speaking on the phone with Captain Seas and replaced it with the shot of Don Rubio on the phone from the previous chapter. (This shot was reversed for better effect.)

Chapter 12 - Doc's Good Example:
The cook drooling over Doc (after swatting the two young maids for doing the same) has been eliminated.

Chapter 13 - Flying Snakes:
No change.

Chapter 14 - Pleasure Cruise:
Edited out the waiter licking his lips in anticipation of Johnny's drink order. (Replaced this with a shot from a few seconds earlier in the scene.)
Removed Karen's "Chow!" line.

Chapter 15 - The Last Supper:
Removed Monk's hiccup reaction after Seas' informing the men that the meal was their last.

Chapter 16 - Village Stories:
Removed the first of several musical references to "La Cucaracha" (hackneyed if not completely inappropriate).
Removed Doc's second "eye twinkle", using the cut and paste method described under Chapter 2.

Chapter 17 - Jungle Safari:
Removed two shots containing Don Rubio's giant crib.

Chapter 18 - Setting Up Camp:
Removed "hungry as an ape" exchange between Ham and Monk. Also removed Doc whistling "La Cucaracha".
Left intact the singing of "La Cucaracha" in the car: it is less conspicuous in this context and trying to remove it would cause a problem with Mona indicating their approach to her village.
Removed Ham and Monk interacting with the girl in Mona's village.

Chapter 19 - Danger Ahead:
The second of three "Doc Savage March" cues were removed from this chapter. To do so, it was necessary to re-edit (and significantly shorten) the trek to the 'Edge of the World' to fit the available non-vocal musical segment.

Chapter 20 - The Edge of the World:
No change.

Chapter 21 - A Pool of Gold:
Removed Captain Seas' "law of the jungle" line.

Chapter 22 - Elixir of Death:
Removed Monk's exchange with Chief Chaac.
Re-edited so the Fabulous Five untying their hands seems like less of an afterthought.

Chapter 23 - Have No Fear, Doc Savage is Here:
Monk's "Have No Fear, Doc Savage is Here!" (perhaps a bit too energetic for a guy with the life sapping out of him) has been replaced with a quieter acknowledgement of Doc's arrival.
Removed hard subs indicating fighting sytles.
Replaced more musical references to "La Cucaracha" (with mixed results).

Chapter 24 - Nature Seeks Revenge:
Removed Doc's third (and last) "eye twinkle", again using the cut and paste method described under Chapter 2.
Removed medium shot of Don Rubio covered in gold.
Changed/removed some musical cues.

Chapter 25 - Doc Savage Rehabilitation Center:
No change.

Chapter 26 - An Urgent Message:
No change.

Chapter 27 - End Credits:
Replaced the last of the three "Doc Savage March" cues (again, replacing it with the available non-vocal musical segment). For the balance of the credits, a section of the "Doc and the Girl" track (from "The Fantasy Film Music of George Pal") was used.
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Man, I barely remember this film. In fact, the only part I remember was the assasination attempt early in the film, where we find out the penthouse glass makes everyone look like they are standing 2 feet farther left than they really are. Weird stuff.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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i remember seeing this around the same time I saw Buckaroo Banzai because I heard it was a big influence.
There's good in the Original Trilogy, and it's worth fighting for.
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
http://www.myspace.com/harlock415
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Can't wait till I grab this edit

Am downloading it now & will up it to RS later
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Doc Savage is no Buckaroo Bonzai.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Yeah - anyone expecting the coolness factor of BB in Doc Savage - even this edit - will be sorely disappointed. The "Doc Savage and his Amazing Five" *concept* was certainly an influence on Buck and his Hong Kong Cavaliers (the whole "Renaissance man and his buddies" schtick), but that's about as far as it goes, I think...
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Seemed Buckaoo was meant to be more of an homage to the books. But movie wise, they are totally different.
There's good in the Original Trilogy, and it's worth fighting for.
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
http://www.myspace.com/harlock415