SKY CAPTAIN

[bionicbob]

THRILLS!

CHILLS!

SUSPENSE! DANGER! ADVENTURE! CLIFFHANGERS!


Ahhh.... the good old chapter serial.... when I was a kid my local television station used to air these (Flash Gordon, Rocketman, Buck Rogers etc) every early morning before I rushed out the door to catch the school bus. I used to love these daring escapades from yesteryear. When SKY CAPTAIN was first released a few years ago, I was very excited by all the promos and hype. Unfortunatley, I found myself somewhat disappointed with the released product. The movie was very faithfull to the old chapter serials (loaded with lots of hidden easter eggs for the old time fanboys) and that was both its strength and weakness. The storyline and characters were iconic chiffhanger material, the visual effects were breathtaking but the pacing was incredibilily slow and the acting was wooden and unemotional at times (a curse of many heavy CGI movies these days) leaving me as an audience member at times both bored and disconnected with what was happening up on the silver screen.


But here comes Jorges remix of SKY CAPTAIN and all that has changed. His edits on SKY CAPTAIN I found to be masterful and smooth. A really great fan edit to me is when you watch it and don't notice anything is missing. Jorge has succeeded in doing this for the most part. The story is completely intact (amazing when I believe he edited out over 20 (???) minutes of the original movie) but moves at a much faster pace, the lead characters come across much more likeable, and all the unnecessary exposition or awkward character moments have been removed, making for a much more enjoyable movie experience!

If I had to quibble, the only shot I missed from the entire movie was the "Calling Sky Captain"/radio tower emitting signal waves sequence. While it does nothing to move along the plot, I always thought it was a really cool sequence and connected it nicely back to its old time cliffhanger roots.

But that aside, I can not recomment Jorges remix of SKY CAPTAIN highly enough.... it is an excellent and entertaining fan edit!!!

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

Thank you soooo much. I agonized over the "calling Sky Captain" moment... but decided to stay with the fast paced action.
And I think SKY CAPTAIN was so cool looking that it definetly deserved a second shot.

 

[bionicbob]

You are most welcome!

I almost forgot to mention, I also LOVED the surprise ending after the end credits. Very clever!

Just curious though, did you ever consider making this new ending Black & White instead of leaving it colour? Either way, still a great and nifty cliffhanger surprise!

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

LOL! The surprise ending! The footage already had a dreamy quality that I liked, so I left it colour. The only thing I refrained from doing was putting a big THE END? at the end.
How did you like the remixed track for the credits? It's from THE TRANSPORTER and a little bit of SKY CAPTAIN.

 

[bionicbob]

..."The End?".... oooooo, that would have been a neat cliffhanger touch, but you may be right, maybe it would have been a bit too over the top.

The closing credit music was very nice. I was wondering about that, I had just assumed maybe it was from the soundtrack album... but you actually mixed that yourself?!?! Very cool!

I hope to watch your HELLBLAZER edit tomorrow. If it is anywhere near as half as good as your KILL BILL and SKY CAPTAIN edits, it should prove to be very entertaining. I am also very curious and looking forward to what you are going to do with your HULK SMASH edit.

Keep up the great work!

 

[Zebedee]

Tempted to give this a try now. Can?t say I liked the original one bit (Although visually interesting). But as the saying go's - never say never.

 

[phaota]

Great fan edit. Really enjoyed it. Where did you get the footage for the surprise ending? Superb editing job. There were only one or two spots where I noticed a cut. I like the addition of the torture chamber in Shangri-La. Makes the story segment flow better. Awesome credit music mix. That must have taken awhile to layout.

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

Thank you so much phaota. I'm so sorry you spotted some cuts. I will try better next time.
Yes, the torture chamber was an awesome addition.
The music mix was just fun.
And the surprice ending? alas, it must remain a secret.
Try HELLBLAZER, SPECTRES FROM SPACE DUEL and DARKEST CITY next.

 

[phaota]

No, no, the visible cuts were not bad at all. Barely noticeable, though obvious where a scene was taken out. Not much can be done in that regard. On the whole, the edit was excellent. Still can't figure out how the android got onto the rocket ship though. Big plot hole. Another is, how did Frankie know about the island's undersea vent opening if she didn't know about the place or its underwater ruins until the main characters got there? Reminds me of the HUGE plot hole in "Jurassic Park" concerning the location of the goat pen in the T-rex paddock being the same location of the deep chasm that jeep falls into.

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

Yes, the plot holes/logic jumps. sadly, some things are beyond even my humble efforts. But maybe this might help:

- The android summoned those flying droids and they whisked her to the secret entrance to the rocket.

- Frankie's dirigible had additinal sensors that made the location of the vent easy to spot.

- They really fucked up "Jurassic Park"

 

[Philfrog]

I must say, I tried to watch Sky Captain about a year ago (I bought it) and we couldn't make it more than a third through, then forgot about it. The pacing in this edit, however, was excellent. Having just finished all THREE HOURS of Pirates 3 in the theaters before seeing this at home, I welcomed seeing a movie that was able to say what it needed to in UNDER 90 minutes! My only true quibble was the disappearing/reappearing music just before Jude Law collapses in the snow (before the Shangri-La scene). Otherwise, you're golden with this. I like what I've seen so far of Hellblazer, too.

 

[Foster on Film]

Slow and steady, I'm reviewing the fan edits. This time it's Jorge's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Remixed. Take a look at http://www.fosteronfilm.com/fanedits/skycaptainfe.htm.

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

Curse you, Red Baron!!!
Nah, I'm only kidding. Lovely review.
I know all too well the shortcomings of the film and the fanedit.
And yes, there is not much that fanediting can do with unspiring performances and missing chemistry.
As for the stuff that you pointed out, well, they didnt work work for me.
My attempt was for a roller-coaster action ride, not ackward, lame jokes.
For that, they have the original.
Keep those reviews coming.

 

[DragonAngel]

Watched the movie, watched the fan edit, read the Foster review (in that order). Foster said everything I felt about the two movie watching experiences that I couldn't have put into words. It's no te fan editor's fault that the edit doesn't work, it's the original film. The characters just don't work.

 

[Philfrog]

I liked watching the edit, but perhaps the review is right, and its comments might contribute to a nice v2 somewhere down the line (if undertaken by Jorge, or just by someone who wants a best possible edit for their Angelina Jolie collection). That said, Jorge's Sky Captain may still get my vote for Fan Edit of the month (I'll decide that once I've compared it to another edit on the nominees list that I've not finished downloading yet....No I won't say whose, that's not nice).

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

I started doing some promos for my edits to include in the dvds.
Hope you enjoy.

[youtube]

 

[JasonN]

Do I hear the Johnny Quest theme music? :smile:

 

[Remixed by Jorge]

It is Jonny Quest. What fun! and I edited the promo to match Jonny's opening.

 

[AvP]

by Jorge
What is it about? This was made to bring the ol' Cap to the new millennium. Tighter pacing, jettison what doesn't work or slows down the movie and torpedo glaring logic holes, painful romantic chemistry and humor that falls flat.

Film studio: Paramount Pictures
Original Film Released: September 17, 2004
Date Funedit Released: February 2007
Original Runtime: 1 hour 46 mins. DVD version
Funedit Runtime: 1 hour 9 mins.
Amount of time Cut/Added: You do the math.

CONCEPT
The visual success of this film deserves that first time Director Kerry Conran be showered with all manner of accolades, but the most important things that make a movie great are missing.

Half of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is a film of breathtaking vision and craftsmanship, a work of art that both summarizes the early history of cinema and takes it brilliantly, shimmeringly forward.
The other half is not. Ultimately the movie is immensely stylish, fantastically retro-looking, and an utter bore.

Cuts removed/added/extended:

* - Moved the opening titles to the end. Now the film starts quiet and mysterious.
* - Deleted The hand crossing out names. Who is that? Totenkopf's mysterious oriental agent is a robot. She needs a list?
* - Deleted Sky Captain holding a gun on Polly. If you're going to point a gun at somebody, you better shoot.
* - Deleted Polly being a klutz, always doing the wrong thing. Now she's a competent reporter.
* - Deleted the bickering and snipping that was supposed to pass for romantic chemistry.
* - Deleted scenes of Dex for pacing.
* - Deleted any dialogue meant to be funny that wasn't.
* - Deleted any dialogue were a character says "I'm going to do..." Now they just do it.
* - Kaji has a mind of his own. He speaks without being prompted by Sky Captain.
* - Added scenes from original 6 min. movie into robot sequence. 15 secs. Added tint.
* - Added deleted scene "Totenkopf's Torture Room" with music from "The Ring" 1 min. 6 secs.
* - Reworked the end credits. New end credit sound track also RemiXed by Jorge.
* - Added surprise ending after the end credits. You must watch till the last frame.

DVD - Features:
Menus
Bonus
Scene Selection Menus
presented in 1:85:1
No subs.

Conceptual improvements/advancements of edit over original: "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is based on the popular serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Written and Directed by Kerry Conran, This homage to serials is far too faithful to its origins. Conran gleefully adopts the logic holes, adolescent romantic attitudes, discontinuities and plot conveniences that were standard in movie serials because of low budgets, fast shooting schedules, simplistic scripts and the nature of their intended audience. So we get gorgeous special effects, cliffhanger action sequences as well as stilted dialogue, flat script, negligible plot, missing details, inaccuracies and a lack of continuity.
Sky Captain started in the very best way a movie can: with a vision and a passion. Kerry had been making this movie for 6 years, in his computer, all CG. And he was making it all on his own. I find that kind of dedication admirable. I always want people like this to succeed with their projects, for the results of their up-late-at-night-after-work machinations to become interesting, wonderful movies. It's too bad this one falls short of the mark.

TOMB RAIDERS OF THE OZ SPACE ARK vs THE MAD SCIENTIST'S DEADLY ROBOTS ON MONSTER ISLAND! Although the movie had high box office expectations, opening at #1 on its September release date, the movie was a flop at the box office grossing only about $37 million in the United States from a reported $70+ million budget. Critical reviews, while largely positive, still didn't drive audiences to the theatre. The film garnered positive reviews with 73% of national film critics praising the film. I guess audiences weren't really clamoring for a painfully authentic and derivative movie serial from the 1930's, no matter what the critics said.

SCHEDULE
planning: Thought about it a lot.
editing: 3 weeks
sound editing: as I went along.
trailer: 3 days
DVD layout and features: 1 week
The Unexpected: Compression and audio challenges 1 week.
persons involved: Just me.

Maybe downloadable from Fanedit.info

 

[Gaith]

Editing Akator has made keen on revisiting this movie... in fanedited form, naturally!

That said, I did love the cartoonish shot of the radio tower, the newspapers and Shangri-La in the original version, and therefore have my doubts about this one... and rock/dance music over the end credits? Hm... still, I'll probably check it out in the not-too-distant future.