Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Q2 Edition

[Q2_]

For my first FE I decided to take on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. When I started work on it there was no FE of this film available. (To give credit where credit is due Jorge did beat me by a week.)

My goal with this project was to trim the fat and streamline the story. In so doing I've cut 14 minutes from the film, reducing the original run time of 122 minutes to 108 minutes.

The big cuts include the prairie dogs, the nuclear test scene and Mutt's Tarzan bit through the jungle. Also cut is excessive dialog, trimming shots, down playing the psychic ability of Spalko (now she comes across as just crazy). Marian also doesn't come across as just a goofy character. I replaced Indy's dialog "Not as easy as it used to be" and "Part time" with the version from the previews. Thought the delivery was better.

Special thanks to hebrides for linking to ANTMAN'S version of the wedding. I did a variation on it.

Finally, I desaturated the film and added a little grain to the picture to give it a little more of a film quality.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: The Essential Edition isn't listed on this site yet but it has been submitted. Hopefully they will provide the details soon. It's currently available on RapidShare.

The DVD is a R0 NTSC anamorphic DVD with 5.1 sound. For this release there are no menus. I felt it pointless since there are no special features to speak of. This is a bare-bones release. Also, I have no graphic design ability so if there is anyone interested in designing covers and what not I'd be very appreciative.

I hope this cut of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull makes the film a bit more enjoyable for fans of the series.

 

[white43]

Is this available?

 

[boon23]

yes, soonish on fanedit.info.

 

[Guest]

I cannot wait for this! Will it be available this evening?

 

[boon23]

It already is for almost 2 days now.

But where? I searched everywhere and could not find it!

No you did not search everywhere.

I looked at fanedit.info, I swear.

No you, didn't.

Ah, don't give me that crap. I assure you, I checked it, I even checked under extended editions and Star Wars. It's not there.

Did you check the unapproved section (because that's what it is, buddy)?

Oooops...

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

and whats the password? I can't find it anywhere!!!!

 

[Q2_]

Here is a detailed rundown of the changes:

- prairie dogs have been cut
- Indy's line "Not as easy as it used to be" has been replaced with the version from the trailer
- Spalko's psychic abilities have been cut, including her opening the warehouse door
- warehouse scene has been trimmed
- nuclear test scene has been cut
- motorcycle chase has been trimmed (no library sequence)
- Indy's line "Part time" has been replaced with the version from the trailer
- CGI scorpions have been cut
- Tarzan sequence has been cut
- giant fire ants have been reduced
- Marion isn't a walking grin anymore
- Mutt's emotional outbursts have been cut
- the aliens are now aliens and not inter-dimensional beings
- unnecessary dialog has been cut
- wedding sequence has been re-mixed
- picture has been desaturated and a film grain added

 

[hebrides]

Here is a detailed rundown of the changes:

- prairie dogs have been cut
- Indy's line "Not as easy as it used to be" has been replaced with the version from the trailer
- Spalko's psychic abilities have been cut, including her opening the warehouse door
- warehouse scene has been trimmed
- nuclear test scene has been cut
- motorcycle chase has been trimmed (no library sequence)
- Indy's line "Part time" has been replaced with the version from the trailer
- CGI scorpions have been cut
- Tarzan sequence has been cut
- giant fire ants have been reduced
- Marion isn't a walking grin anymore
- Mutt's emotional outbursts have been cut
- the aliens are now aliens and not inter-dimensional beings
- unnecessary dialog has been cut
- wedding sequence has been re-mixed
- picture has been desaturated and a film grain added

Sounds promising. I'll definitely add it to the list of KOTCS edits I have to check out when I finally finish mine

 

[elbarto1]

- Indy's line "Part time" has been replaced with the version from the trailer

nice, I hated the films version, the trailer had it spot on.

 

[Q2_]

- Indy's line "Part time" has been replaced with the version from the trailer

nice, I hated the films version, the trailer had it spot on.

I had to mask the music in the trailer. Thankfully the scene involves a storm. A little thunder sound effect did a nice job covering up the music.

 

[elbarto1]

I'll definitely give this a watch, but not soon - I recently watched 2 other indy4 edits and I can only take so much - although yours does sound in sync with my ''mental cutlist''.

 

[Q2_]

I'm currently putting together a DVD-DL version (NTSC) as well as a smaller, H.264 MOV version. The DVD will now have menus, a higher video bitrate plus three deleted scenes. I might include a text commentary as well pointing out the changes.

 

[Q2_]

The DVD-DL and H264 versions are up on RS.

The DVD-DL includes:

- higher res version of the Essential Edition
- menus
- 3 deleted scenes (nuclear test, library chase, Tarzan)
- text commentary pointing out the changes

I'm looking forward to hearing comments about my cut from those that have or will be watching it.

 

[ImperialFighter]

Aaargh! I just grabbed your Single Layer version the other day....but would have waited for the Dual Layer version had I known.... :lol:

Anyway, I'll now have to get that sometime for the higher res quality (very important to me), and other goodies. Although I have my own ideas on how exactly I'd ideally like several scenes to be re-done, I'm very interested to see all the choices you've come up with.....as I know this seems to be a more 'purist' edit than some of the others being undertaken at the moment.

 

[Molasar]

I have posted a firstling review on fanedit.org. Check it out.

-Molasar

 

[boon23]

FanEdit Review by Molasar

Title/FanEditor: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - The Essential Edition by Thunderclap.

Prologue: When I heard that a new Indiana Jones flick was coming, I was stoked. I had read a few of the treatments and scripts that Lucas had commissioned by various writers in the years since The Last Crusade came out and they were more of the same: Indy in an exotic locale, finding antiquities, barely escaping death, intrigue, sex, etc. I heard that Frank Darabont was commissioned to write the latest installment and I was very excited. He worked on it for a year. After turning it in, these were the reactions: Steven Spielberg loved it. Harrison Ford loved it. George Lucas hated it. Lucas then asked Spielberg to bring the various scripts (by Darabont, Jeffrey Boam, Jeb Stuart & a lot more) to his go-to screenwriter David Koepp to have him try his hand at cobbling together the different scripts that all had what Lucas wanted - aliens, the Soviets, and our favorite archaeologist. (Google Frank Darabont's take - it's awesome.) Anyway, long story short, it's no wonder that the film was released to mixed reviews. I like parts of it but overall I found it to be a lazy, weak installment. When approached by Thunderclap for a firstling review, I was intrigued and though "why not?" Let's see if there is any hope for this flawed film.

The Edit: The one good thing going for this fanedit is it is apparent that Thunderclap is quite adept at editing a film. The cuts are seamless. It is very well done. Bravo. My problem is with what he chose to remove. The Nuclear Bomb Test, while not necessary for the narrative, was one of my favorite parts of the film. I also enjoyed the full chase through the college, including the library sequence. Having said that, the removal of the cutesy stuff like the prairie dogs and Tarzan sequence, gleaming CGI-heavy sequences, along with a lot of dumb, pointless dialogue, are fine by me and the film moves right along. I didn't miss any of it. I particularly enjoyed the wedding sequence. It is very clever in this form. The movie has a lot of problems and this cut helps a good part of them. It's clean and Thunderclap's heart is in the right place. ****/*****

Image Quality: The film has been "desaturated and grained" (to coin a phrase) so it looks more film like. It helps in the "video game sequence" near the climax especially - the CGI does not stick out like a sore thumb. (Fans of the film know what I'm talking about.) The picture is vivid, clean and clear. It looks great. *****/*****

Audio Quality: The film makes good use of the surrounds — the sound field is enveloping with musical score, dialog and panning, directional sound effects. I did not notice any LFE. To be honest, I can't remember if it had a lot to begin with. I love films that rumble my basement, though. It could have used a punch on the low end. Overall, it sounded pretty good on my set-up. ****/*****

The DVD: The disc features two static menus with poster art: Main Menu (Play, Play with deleted scene subtitles and Deleted Scenes (Nuclear Bomb Test, Library Chase, and Tarzan). Let's talk about the deleted scene subtitles. This is the first fanedit I have reviewed that included such a clever feature. I loved it. It really showcased thunderclap's ability when it comes to cutting a film. I have to admit that it took me out of the film so I would suggest that fans turn the subtitles off to enjoy this incarnation of the film. As a reviewer, I found it very helpful. *****/*****

Overall Rating: ****/***** (not an average). I would have graded it higher if the two sequences mentioned above were left intact.

Epilogue: This is a hard film to edit into something that's good. I was not a fan of this installment before and this cut didn't change my mind. That being said, it's a great attempt at making KOTCS a better film. If you're a fan, or just interested in seeing a bad film made a bit better, give this a go. I only wish that we could have seen Darabont's vision. It blows this piecemeal effort to smithereens.

Molasar has spoken.

Reviewed using Sony 51" 16×9 RPTV, Panasonic DMP-BD80 Blu-Ray disc player and Onkyo 650 Watt 5.1 surround sound.

since it is an approval it should also be posted here.
Thank you, Molasar. As usual a very detailed and nice read. People should use your review service a lot more often.

 

[Ironman]

A very good edit Thunderclap, you've certainly erased most of the things that irritated me.

Some nice edits too, the only one that I found to be a bit 'obvious' was the waterfall sequence, namely the last waterfall - everyone falls to the bottom and all too rapidly they are at the shore. Not a major issue, just mentioning it.

It's a pity that the 'hotrod' sequence remains at the start, it would be nice to see the film begin with the Russians pulling up to the US checkpoint, but then you would lose all of the start credits. Still, at least you got rid of that damn prairie dog!

Nice one though, well done.

 

[Q2_]

Some nice edits too, the only one that I found to be a bit 'obvious' was the waterfall sequence, namely the last waterfall - everyone falls to the bottom and all too rapidly they are at the shore. Not a major issue, just mentioning it.

Yeah... I was hoping people wouldn't pick up on it. Oh well. That was a battle because I wanted to get rid of Marion's stupid action of holding the steering wheel and acting like a moron. In my mind that was worse then the cut.

It's a pity that the 'hotrod' sequence remains at the start, it would be nice to see the film begin with the Russians pulling up to the US checkpoint, but then you would lose all of the start credits. Still, at least you got rid of that damn prairie dog!

I considered following Jorge's lead in his edit and cutting the hotrod sequence, but then I realized that it never really bothered me. Plus I didn't want to redo all the credits. :lol:

 

[TV's Frink]

I did a quick preview just to make sure my burn was good. I noticed there are two chapter stops.

:?

I've seen 50 chapter stops, I've seen 10, I've seen none. But two seems so...strange.

Anyway, video and sound all seem spot on and I love the idea of the text commentary (I do wish for a bit more detail on the notes, but I suppose it's poor form to complain about such a great bonus feature). Looking forward to watching this!

 

[Q2_]

I did a quick preview just to make sure my burn was good. I noticed there are two chapter stops.

:?

I've seen 50 chapter stops, I've seen 10, I've seen none. But two seems so...strange.

The first chapter is the start of the film. The second is the layer change. I think DVD Studio Pro automatically makes the layer change its own chapter.

Hope you like the cut!