Below is a sepia tone test of the Four Passengers section of the edit. I decided to do this in reference to the B&W chapter in Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Nothing about this is final, and the reason I’ve selected this particular scene is because it was the most G-rated scene in the chapter. Feel free to chime in if you wish.
When I first saw The Hateful Eight, I watched it in a theatre (the digital kind, not the 70mm kind, mind you). And like most of Tarantino’s filmography, I loved it. A lot. I had a good time with The Hateful Eight and I had no regrets going in.
However, a lot of other folks didn’t feel the same way, and after giving it a few rewatches (as well as a watch for both of Wraith’s edits of the film), I started to see a few cracks that needed mending. I didn’t feel like going around to try and fanfix a movie that I loved, especially since most people on fanedit.org seemed to enjoy Wraith’s edit of the film enough. However, after playing around and seeing what I could do to make The Hateful Eight a better film, I found that my approach was different enough and have decided to tackle on another fanfix for Tarantino’s 8th time in the director’s chair.
Because I live in the US, no copy of the extended roadshow edition is available, so I decided to resort to Wraith’s extended cut for the extra footage in my edit. I don’t think Wraith will mind if I used it. The rest of the edit will stem from my trusty blu-ray disc of the theatrical cut, and I believe that will suffice.
So, with that out of the way, let’s talk about the stuff I’ve changed.
Wraith’s edit was a very light cut, and the only major change he made was the removal of Tarantino’s voiceover at the beginning of Domergue’s Got a Secret. For him, the voiceover was at the heart of what was wrong with The Hateful Eight. For me, however, my thoughts are more in the vein as Hannibal Lecter. “No, that is incidental.” A lot of that voiceover is classic Tarantino in the style that he goes for. The deeper issue, like in most cases, is in the structure and the way that it’s told.
I have made three major alterations from the norm with this edit to fix the structure and put it back on track. The first thing that I have done is cut out the opening scene in Last Stage to Red Rock. The problem with opening the film with that scene is that it didn’t set up anything for us. At least, anything of importance beyond introducing Russell, Jackson and Leigh. Instead, my edit begins with the close-up shots of the horses set to the Exorcist II music followed by Kurt Russell’s character asking Samuel L. Jackson about how his horse died. It really isn’t important to know how these three ended up together. They’re there, and they’re heading for a fateful encounter at Minnie’s Haberdashery. I found that this was a better way to start the film, and I also decided to move the opening credits to a later point turning what remains of the opening into a prologue of sorts. This gives the exposition more weight, including foreshadowing elements such as the Lincoln letter, “When the hangman catches you, you hang,” etc.
The second major change I’ve made is that I have moved The Four Passengers to the beginning of the film, not the end. In fact, it’s Chapter 1 now. This is the biggest alteration, and changes the film from Agatha Christie mystery into Hitchcockian thriller. Knowing who the villains are almost immediately fixes the longest and most tedious chapter, Minnie’s Haberdashery, because there is tension from the very beginning about what’s going to happen. It also simplifies the ending, as there is no “whodunnit” going on, meaning that everything now hinges on the choices that Chris Mannix has to make at the end of the film.
Another thing that should be noted is that I’ve also changed the color of The Four Passengers section from color to sepia tone, taking a reference from Kill Bill, Vol. 2, and giving it a western flavor. It also gives off a non-linear vibe at the beginning, perfect for a Tarantino film.
The third and final major change I have made is that I have added in as many of the extended roadshow scenes into the edit as I can given the changes that I have made above. The only extended roadshow scenes that didn’t make it into the cut are the ones that focus on O.B. and Warren’s financial negotiation, since the opening scene has been cut. Everything else, however, has been kept. And yes, this does mean that my edit is gonna be long at 3 hours. I’ve even kept the intermission and overture cards from Wraith’s edit, and thrown in some music from the soundtrack during the intermission for good measure too.
It is my hope that these changes create the most complete version of the film, and that they give this film the electrifying experience I had when I first saw this film in theaters back in 2015.
Current restructure
Overture
Prologue: Last Stage to Red Rock, Part II (No title)
Opening Credits
Chapter 1: The Four Passengers
Chapter 2: Last Stage to Red Rock, Part III, Son of a Gun (Titled the latter)
Chapter 3: Minnie’s Haberdashery
Intermission
Chapter 4: Domergue’s Got a Secret
Last Chapter: Black Man, White Hell
Overture/Exit Music
Changes list
– = Deleted
++ = Added
/ = Altered
– Deleted the opening panoramic shots of Wyoming that start the opening credits
– Removed the first scene in Last Stage to Red Rock
/ Opening credit music begins at the point Daisy and John Ruth are punched out of the carriage
/ Opening credits moved to the point when John Ruth tells Daisy “I’m gonna sit back on that wagon wheel, watch, and laugh.”
/ Added “Eyepainter Fanedits presents” over an orange graded still shot of John and Daisy to the start of the opening credits
/ Customized and randomized the fonts and effects for all the chapter cards for a more Tarantino-esque flavor
/ The Four Passengers is now Chapter 1
/ Changed The Four Passengers color scheme from full color to sepia tone
– Deleted the first few shots of The Four Passengers carriage, including the “Earlier that morning” shot due to the change in timeline
++ Added Roadshow extension where Oswaldo and Joe give Daisy the signal that’s she’s in the presence of friends
/ The remainder of Last Stage to Red Rock moved to the beginning of Son of a Gun
++ Added the Roadshow scene where John Ruth speculates on what surprise Daisy has for him
++ Added Roadshow extension where John Ruth forces Marquis to wear handcuffs
– Removed the first version of John and Daisy’s entrance into Minnie’s Haberdashery
/ Substituted the first entrance with the Roadshow extension where Oswaldo and Joe give Daisy the signal that’s she’s in the presence of friends
– Deleted Marquis, O.B., Chris, and Bob taking the horses back and nailing the stakes for the path
++ Added Roadshow extension where John Ruth asks about Joe Gage for the first time
++ Added Roadshow scene where Chris makes a toast to Chester Charles Smithers and the state of Georgia
++ Added Roadshow scene where John Ruth gets mad at Senor Bob over the half plucked chicken
++ Added Roadshow scene where John Ruth sees the shotgun hanging on the wall
++ Added Roadshow audio argument between Mannix and Smithers over the politics of sitting with Marquis
++ Added Roadshow Intermission
/ Added “Apple Blossom” and “Sei Cavalli” to Intermission
/ Changed “Domergue’s Got a Secret” flashback from color to black and white
++ Added Roadshow extension where Marquis asks about why John Ruth made the coffee
++ Added Roadshow extension where Joe Gage attempts to get Mannix to make a deal
++ Added Overture after the end credits as exit music
/ Added “Neve - #3” and “Now You’re All Alone” to exit music
Looking forward to seeing this edit.
Glad to hear. I hope you enjoy it once it comes out.
Currently working on a Paradox changes track showcasing where the edit follows the script and where it doesn’t. Should be exciting.
Now that I’m moving on from the Red Apple Crew, I decided to tackle my longest edit yet. This is one that’s been on my mind for quite a while.
When it comes to feel-good movies, Back to the Future reigns supreme as my favorite and the best in that category. I have probably watched Back to the Future more times than any other film in existence, and it’s my go-to comfort food when I’ve had a bad day.
The sequels, however, are another story. I found Part II to be only half as good as the first film, and Part III even less than that. I decided to rummage around the special features of my DVDs and blu-rays of the trilogy (even going so far as to watch the surviving footage of the defunct “Back to the Future: The Ride” at Universal Studios). One thing that stood out from watching the special features was in how Parts II and III came into existence. Originally, the sequels were one entire film. A lot of the cast and crew loved the script, but there was a major problem. The script was roughly 3 hours in length, and as a continuation of the just-under-2-hour Back to the Future, it was less than ideal to release such a long sequel. So in order to fix this issue, a decision was made to divide the story into two parts, resulting in the trilogy we’ve had since 1990.
But that story behind how the sequels got made left me curious. What would the Back to the Future franchise have been like if Spielberg, Gale, and Zemeckis had decided to shoot the 3-hour long script and took the risk of making a really long comedy sequel? Would it have worked? I decided to look around online for scripts of the original 3-hour long version. I did not find a 180-page script, but I did find a condensed 114-page script, titled “Paradox.” This is the only script on the internet that combines both sequels together (at least, as far as I know). I have provided a link to the script in this post for those who wish to read it in full.
https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/bttf2_3.pdf
Unfortunately, no fanedit can fully replicate everything that is in the Paradox script. Several changes and alterations have been made that are virtually impossible to fix. Clara is arguably the biggest casualty. But what I can do is make a version that is as close to the Paradox script as one can get and/or be faithful to it in spirit. That is what I am attempting for this edit. A roughly 3-hour or so edit of the Back to the Future sequels that attempts to give viewers a taste of what could’ve been, and perhaps a peek at the script that the cast and crew loved so much before it was split in half.
I have added asterisks to the legend to give everyone an idea of which changes stem from the Paradox script and which ones do not.
Changes list
–= deleted
++= added
/= altered
1 Based off the Paradox script
2 Partially based off the Paradox script
++ Quotation from the Paradox script: “The only thing more uncertain than the future is the past. – Soviet proverb”1
Part II changes
– Marty seeing the abandoned crime scene1
++ Deleted scene: Marty finds the burned-out high school1
++ Deleted scene: Marty meets Dave1
/ Extended Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55” during Marty meets Dave deleted scene
– Doc explaining the 1985-A timeline change1
– Doc and Marty’s discussion on the big deal with 1955 and the issues about Jennifer and Einstein’s fates1
– Doc’s conversation with Marty on how to deal with the Biff’s, the other Marty and Doc, and getting some clothes for the time period1
– Biff waking up after being knocked out by Marty
– Biff encountering Marty and stealing the almanac back2
– Marty and Biff’s climactic Part II tunnel confrontation1
– To Be Continued, Part III trailer, and Part II end credits (Obviously)
Part III changes
– 1955 Doc waking up after the events of Part II2
– The mine blast scene
– The library scene introducing the audience to Buford Tannen1
– The McFly farm scene1
– Marty stepping in the horse manure
– ”You did.”
– 1985 Doc’s discovery of being killed by Buford, discussion on who Clara is, falling in love at first sight, and the ice cube joke
– Marshall Strickland and son’s confrontation with Buford at the festival1
– Buford explaining that he hid a gun with one bullet to his gang1
– Marty waking up and Taxi Driver/Dirty Harry references1
– Trimmed the beginning of the breakup scene1
– Deleted Doc walking into the bar after the breakup scene and talk with the romance expert2
– Deleted the “run for fun” joke1
/ Moved Marty hiding from Buford after Doc’s capture just a scene earlier
– Deleted all of Clara getting on the train and discussion with the relationship expert (except for two shots of the train leaving the station to increase the tension of the showdown)
– “That was good.”
– Marty giving Seamus the gun and belt1
– “Stop the train just before you hit the switch track up ahead!”
Credits
/ Custom-made end credits
/ Extended ZZ Top’s “Doubleback” during end credits
/ “Marty’s Letter” is song 2 during end credits
/ “Doc Returns” is song 3 during end credits
/ “Back to the Future Theme” is song 4 during end credits
Running time: 190 minutes
Special thanks
Bobson Dugnutt
The Red Apple Crew
Everyone at fanedit.org
And everyone at originaltrilogy.com
Edit is out now! Send me a PM if you’re interested.
Alright, the trailer is going on too long, so I’m gonna work on releasing the edit instead. I do intend to complete the trailer, but for now, I think the edit is sitting around long enough, waiting to be seen. I’ll update when PMs are ready.
It didn’t go swiftly. My apologies, but the trailer is taking longer to work on than I hoped. I might release the edit before I finish the trailer, but I want to see what I can accomplish first before I release it.
Started work on the trailer today. Here’s hoping it goes swiftly.
In response to Garstazi’s advice over on fanedit.org, I have updated sound isolation test number 3 below to make the transition between music and dialogue smoother. I have also gotten some further advice from VarsityEditor on ways to improve the scene. This clip has entertained quite a few ideas, so if you would like to pitch in and give your two cents, feel free to let me know what you think.
Below is the fourth and what I hope will be the final sound isolation test I will do for this edit. This one’s a bit of a tricky one because on the one hand, the removal of the air supply hiss does make the dialogue more audible, yet on the other hand, when the music comes to a close, the silence seemed a little off. This one’s got me torn, and I could use some feedback on it.
Be warned, though. If you have yet to see 2001 yourself, and don’t want anything spoiled, you might want to watch the movie first before watching the clip.
Back after a long while of work, appointments, and meetings. Here’s a third sound isolation test. I’m not sure if the transitions are the best, but I’ll let the viewers decide.
Below is a revision of the previous sound isolation test I posted above. Under advice from a fanedit.org user named VarsityEditor, I have shortened the soundtrack in the scene and given it a super-long crossfade to get things the way I intended it to be. It doesn’t loop like VarsityEditor suggested, but doing so is hard, and perhaps when I feel up for it, I’ll try Varsity’s suggestion in full. For now though, here’s what I’ve done:
Below is the second sound isolation test I’ve decided to show off. This scene has been one of the more difficult parts of the edit, and making the dialogue easy to hear has been one of many challenges with this scene.
2001 Funkadelic Sound Isolation Test 2
https://youtu.be/pMoBKHNcD7A
The rejection of the song below is arguably the most heartbreaking decision I made for this edit (at least, so far). This was going to be the original song for the scene above, but the problem with it was that James Brown’s voice was either too loud for anyone to hear the dialogue, or the background music was too quiet for anyone to hear. So for those technical reasons, I wasn’t able to use it. I had hoped to use it because the serious parts of the film were the hardest to work on, and finding a funk song that isn’t all sunshine and rainbows is a hard find. I eventually settled on the Bar-Kays “Standing on the Outside” instead, because the vocals and music were balanced well enough that it didn’t intrude on the dialogue in the scene above.
Down and Out in New York City by James Brown
https://youtu.be/YkKxiREGDx4?si=Y1amDre0tlvmY-XH
In the wake of the events that have happened on fanedit.org over sock account ArtisDead, I have re-uploaded my edit of Batman Forever, scratching him off the special thanks list. I have also removed the cover of “Kiss From a Rose” during the end credits of my edit, as that was a suggestion that he forced on me. My apologies to those who liked the song, but I have my reasons for removing it.
Below is the first of what will be quite a few sound isolation tests. I want to offer my thanks to VarsityEditor over at fanedit.org, for sending me his sound isolated work on 2001. I will continue to post more of these as I get around my rather busy work schedule. For now, though, I leave this one as both a demonstration and a teaser.
Below are two color tests I’ve thrown onto the monolith scenes. I felt that these would make more sense for the kind of edit I’m doing, and it makes the film feel even more like something out of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Note: Yes, I’m aware that the song, “Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow” is in both videos. In a lot of ways, that song became the main theme for the monolith, and as such, it is not the only song in the film.
At last. At long last. Stanley Kubrick’s legendary film the way you remember it. Only funkier. Groovier. And far more severely dated. Drug use will be neither confirmed nor denied.
Also Sprach Zarathustra
Eumir Deodato
Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow
Funkadelic
Friday Night, August 14th
Funkadelic
Fantastic Voyage
Lakeside
Standing on the Outside
The Bar-Kays
Funkytown
Lipps, Inc.
Funky Stuff
Kool & The Gang
Galaxy
War
That’s the Way of the World
Earth, Wind & Fire
Contact
Edwin Starr
Slippin’ Into Darkness
War
Mama’s Dead
James Brown
The Boss
James Brown
/ Added film grain, scratches, dust, dirt, and bad, bluish, contrast to severely date the film
Submission approved! Sending PM’s now. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
Submission sent to IFDb. Gonna be working on releasing the edit soon.
Since the process of writing down the subtitles is taking too long, and seeing as I’ve already released a trailer, I think the time to start releasing the edit is sooner rather than later. I will be working on the submission process on fanedit.org over the course of this weekend. Thank you for your patience.
You can expect it to drop right now!
Enjoy!
Already have! Is that a remix of Seal’s Kiss From a Rose? 😃
You are correct. ArtisDead over on fanedit.org found it online and suggested I use it in both the end credits and the trailer. The full version will be in the end credits of my edit.
You can expect it to drop right now!
Enjoy!
Trailer is almost complete! Just gotta check for audio issues before I begin work on uploading it.
Finally shaved that trailer down to 2 minutes and 29 seconds! Now for the audio part. 😬
Will do, Cam! I’ve cut that 25 minutes down to 10 as of the last time I posted. I’ll probably begin assembling it the next time I boot up DaVinci Resolve.