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12 Review »

1. 

   I’ve been coming to fanedit.org for almost two years now and this is by far the best fan edit ever on this site. Seemless editting, great sound, and the need for this edit is beyond measure. You have given us geeks, nerds, and fanboys something we have long for since Anchor Bay’s Bootleg Edition came out. SHOP SMART, SHOP S-MART! HAIL TO THE KING OF FANEDITS!

   Review by track100 — March 15, 2008 @ 10:29 pm

2. 

   review by tranzor:

   a fan edit by Ridgeshark

   The amount of work that must have went into this would give anyone a run for their money. A super nice job was done in putting roughly all known versions together on one disc via seamless branch (not true seamless, read on)

   VIDEO: For the most part the picture is pristine. You can see some video issues with the footage used from whatever source it was taken from. This is not the editors fault, and he did the best he could with what he had to work with.

   RESTORATION: this is where things really come into play regarding picture quality. For a lot of the scenes a massive digital cleanup was exercised. Scratches or other film debris were digitally removed. A phenomenal job was performed on this.

   AUDIO
   audio was great though I do not have a 5.1 setup. Sounded fine on 2.0. However one scene from the TV version literally sounded like it was recorded from the television speaker itself. This is when Ash tries to persuade Henry the Red to join him and fight the deadites. Not distracting, but just odd. Other than that, the audio mixed well with all the versions and no volume issues from the various sources arose

   TECH:
   OK the goal of this was to use a seamless branch to put three versions of the film on one dvd. This is somewhat successful. However dvd lab pro (and like the older DVD Maestro) cannot do a true seamless branch. This is more of pgc jumping in the same vts title. This means the disc stops for less than a micro of a second (like a DL layer break) before it switches to whatever version you are watching. You would think this would be distracting after a while but I found that it did not hamper the viewing experience in the slightest, which is funny considering I am pretty picky with things like that. Perhaps playing this off your PC hard drive it would actually work seamlessly?

   MENU: generic kind of menu that lets you choose which version you want. Sadly they are not given real details, so you kind of have to guess (ex: one is called “overdose with original ending”) which version you are getting and what footage is linked to it.

   each version of the film starts off with a short info piece on what dvds/sources were used and some of the work that went into this. This short is actually part of each movie.

   All in all I am giving this dvd a 4 out of 5 stars. Mainly because it is not a true seamless branch. Still a really good job was done and I highly recommend this edit.

   Review by boon23 — March 20, 2008 @ 6:36 pm

3. 

   Despite not being quote-unquote “perfect,” I rated this fanedit a 5/5. It deserves this score and another couple personal points because for a BIG fan of Army of Darkness, it comes close to being the Perfect Cut that has eluded my DVD collection.

   The problem with this awesome film is that it’s been edited into about 6 different versions since it was first released. There is a fair amount of material missing from the most widely seen U.S. Theatrical Cut – deleted scenes, essentially, but I think the U.S. theatrical cut was too severe in places, removing some worthwhile bits of comedy and narrative (the windmill scene especially!). Some of this material was added to the Director’s Cut released awhile back, but that cut also removed or replaced parts that fans had come to love (especially Ash’s poetic “Good, bad… I’m the one with the gun” line) The Director’s Cut also traded the theatrical S-Mart beginning and ending for those initially screened to test-audiences, who found them depressing, for good reason. As if that weren’t enough, the cuts of AoD aired on television contain yet another set of changes, omissions, and replacements.

   To add to this confusion of versions, the only decent video transfer of Army of Darkness is the MGM Region 3 Director’s Cut DVD. Every other edition of AoD suffers from one kind of problem or another. The Anchor Bay releases are murky but have truer colors, the Universal releases have had the saturation boosted artificially, giving people odd skin tones. Both suffer from compression artifacts and have had some of the image cropped from the sides. Even the recent HD-DVD release is a poorly-transferred, artifacted affair with boosted colors and blown out shadows.

   Ridgeshark delivers with this fanedit something I never thought we’d see! With this one DVD, you get:

   1. An extended edition of Army of Darkness, with every bit of extra footage from all 6 different versions woven seamlessly into the film. Once you see how these deleted scenes work in the context of the story, the Theatrical Cut will seem lacking.

   2. The best picture quality of any Army of Darkness release. Well, for 90% of the time, that is. Some of the deleted material does not exist in the same quality as the R3 Director’s Cut, unfortunately, but the quality never drops low enough that I lost enjoyment. In fact, it even adds to the overall cheapness of the film in a way, which is a lot of its appeal. Ridgeshark spent a lot of time improving this material as much as he could, and it shows.

   3. Both openings and endings are available by choosing one of the menu options. “Overdose” uses the theatrical S-Mart beginning and ending, “Follow the Doctor’s Orders (Basically)” uses the S-Mart beginning and the Director’s Cut ending, and “Overdose with the Original Formula” uses the Director’s Cut beginnings and endings.

   For me, “Overdose” represents the best cut of Army of Darkness available on DVD. Despite some video quality issues inherent in the project, this is a perfect release. Rumor has it that Ridgeshark is working on a version 2. I for one can’t wait to be one of the first to own it!

   Review by asterisk8 — September 22, 2008 @ 10:02 am

4. 

   Where do I start? This edit is masterfully done. The deleted scenes are inserterd back in so masterfully, if I hadn’t seen the movie before I wouldn’t know what was new. Sometimes the picture quality is a little grainy, but that is to be expected and, I think, adds to the experience. The three options to watch the movie are handy. though the only thing I would like to see added would be the ability to watch the movie with the Directors cut begining and the s mart ending. All in all, a great job. 5 stars.

   Review by saturnicus — January 12, 2009 @ 10:44 pm

5. 

   …pretty much the greatest thing that army of darkness will ever see. perfect. 5/5

   Review by joebshmoe — February 13, 2009 @ 11:21 pm

6. 

   Wow! Just…..wow! After buying NUMEROUS versions in the hunt for the perfect edit, I stumbled across this site and this fan edit. I never even knew fan edits existed! Anyway, the “Follow The Doctor’s Orders (Basically)” edit is the one I’ve been looking for, although I was confused by an earlier review that said that “Overdose” used the S-Mart opening and closing. The download I got only the “Follow” edit had the S-Mart opening and closing.

   Anyway, I am forever grateful that you took the time and care to do this. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars as well……with one personal wistful observation: I would have preferred that the scene where he goes to enlist Henry the Red be left out for several reasons. First of all, it was not needed to improve the storyline. In fact, the mystery of whether Henry would come to the aid was actually lessened by the scene, since Henry acknowledged that he “owed” Ash. Second, it’s the only scene that is so vastly different than the rest in quality that it really stands out from the rest of the movie. Lastly, before the scene Ash was standing on the wall at night, addressing the troops. Then it cuts to day when he is riding for Henry’s help. Then it goes back to Ash standing on the wall at night, still addressing the troops. If you EVER attempt a re-edit, the “Follow” edit minus this scene would have been the perfect movie, IMHO.

   Thank you so much for all your hard work!!!!

   Review by dcpmark — April 18, 2009 @ 5:03 am

7. 

   Follow up to my previous post:

   I took Rideshark’s edit to a custom video shop, and for a few bucks, they removed the scene where Ash goes to meet Henry the Red. He also removed the Ridgeshark’s initial “warning” chapter, as well as stripping out the two edits I didn’t care about. I now have Rideshark’s masterful “Follow the Doctor’s Orders (Basically)” edit, minus the Ash visits Henry scene, on a DVD, and I am positively giddy!

   I’m not quite done playing with “Follow” edit, though, and I’d like everyone’s help:

   1) During the scene where Ash is on the castle wall telling the troops that they should “stay and fight it out,” he is wearing his blue shirt. In my new edit, we then go the scene where the Evil Ash introduces his new evil girlfriend, and now that I removed the daytime scene of Ash riding to see Henry, we go right back to the castle wall where Ash tells them that they can beat the Deadites……”with science.” I thought this would look much better, and it does. The problem is that the second time on the castle wall Ash is now wearing armor over the blue shirt. The following scene he is wearing just the blue shirt again as he prepares for the battle. Clearly the “with science” scene was shot AFTER the battle preparation segment, and was supposed to be happening just before the actual battle. Can anyone think of a better place for the “with science” scene?

   2) when Arther gets up off the ground and hits Ash after Ash tells him to “just leave it be”, there is no sound effect for the hit to his face. Might have to add it in…..what should it sound like?

   Review by dcpmark — April 24, 2009 @ 11:20 pm

8. 

   Amazing, the best version of AOD ! Thanks !

   Review by fyte87 — May 24, 2009 @ 3:20 pm

9. 

   I am an extended edition buff and have a big collection of original ones and all the fanedits from here.
   Many extended editions do not add anything to the movie, just add more useless scenes. I will rate the ones here.
   Rating criteria: image quality, sound quality, 3x improvement, overall.
   Image Quality: 9 of 10
   Sound Quality: 9 of 10
   Improvement: 10 of 10
   Overall: 10 of 10

   Review by col.hutty — July 30, 2009 @ 4:21 pm

10. 

    Brilliant restoration. 10/10. Shame about the quality of the video and sound in the scene where Ash recruits Henry but it’s clear that the source is to blame. And as mentioned by dcpmark the following scene with Ash doesn’t sit quite right but I think it’s because it’s too short as opposed to misplaced in the sequence. Visiting Henry makes sense because the deadites are two days’ ride away. Hopefully some footage to flesh out the “with science” scene exists and will turn up to tweak any future release, not that this one really needs any improving.

    Review by latenights — October 23, 2009 @ 4:59 pm

11. 

    This is likely as good as it will ever get. I did notice multiple odd pauses during the film, but maybe that was the supposed seamless branching? Regardless of that, the restoration quality is impressive. I don’t think anyone has ever put this much exhaustive effort into the release of “Army Of Darkness.” Everything is presented in the best quality possible considering the source material. I hadn’t watched the movie in many years before this because no version ever felt particularly all that satisfying to me. This is what I will watch from now on, and enjoy it thoroughly each and every time. Thank you for all your efforts!

    -NJM

    Review by Nick Michalak — June 27, 2010 @ 4:20 am

12. 

    Sorry, I just now noticed 2 years later that in my excitement after watching this edit, I mixed up the order of the versions in my review. Sorry dcpmark and whoever else this confused.

    Here the are, correct and in the order they appear on the DVD:

    “Overdose” features the S-Mart beginning and Director’s Cut ending
    “Follow the Doctor’s Orders (Basically)” uses the S-Mart beginning and ending
    “Overdose With the Original Formula” uses the Director’s Cut beginning and ending

    It’s a weird order to put them in, but there it is. I prefer “Follow the Doctor’s Orders (Basically)” because, although the DC stuff fun for an alternate take, I think the S-Mart beginning and ending are the best.

    Review by asterisk8 — August 23, 2010 @ 6:46 am

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