Phase IV: The Evolution Cut

Who would have thought 8 minutes of insects going about their business would be such a meditative experience...me neither . For a time there i was ensconsed.
I bought the bluray on the premise of watching Last Survivor's edit after I viewed the original. I had an inkling that I'd seen Phase IV in my younger days but it turned out I hadn't. I'm so pleased the editors passion for the project drove me to explore some horror/sci-fi in all its 70's glory. The film was great but this Evolution cut has turned the dial up another level. The new music is nuance -bordering on native to the original, as if it has always been there under the surface like the movies ant-agonists ...Last Survivor enticed the separate audio channel out for us to enjoy for the rest of our days or at least until the ants takeover.
I wholly agree with the disposal of the unneeded narration ..let the visuals do the talking. Some fine sound FX replacement was carried out, so kudos to the editor for his undertaking.
Now for the crowning glory , the reinsertion of the original Saul Bass ending...im so pleased this become available - its a thing of retro beauty - tinges of 007 opening credits, historic cigarette & perfume commercials, a real experience of the time period and kitsch as kitsch can be - a visual and musical crescendo of the 80mins of celluloid that came before it, heightened by the rescoring.

I have no technical issues with the edit but I would have made one dialogue edit, when Kendra wakes up and Michael asks her if she remembers him - this is a personal choice.

This edit is one of the strongest i've seen - as strong as an ant

In all honesty, this was effective enough that I had to go back and familiarize myself with the original audio. Which means that although my appreciation for Gascoine's original score has now since been refreshed to a degree, I'm even more impressed with the audio decisions in this fan edit - As they don't ignore the timbre and emotive tonal motif in the moments that are re-scored and even where they might differ in attitude, it has been obviously contrasted and compared with thought and intuition. The narrative changes that Last Survivor made overall were with a disciplined hand and were spot on. The removal of some of the weaker acting/directing moments raise it's game more than you might expect for how slight they are for the most part and the removal of all narration really opens this film up to an interpretive degree, not to mention the improved atmosphere in which it can be enjoyed. First class editing to help the final piece step up a notch - And to have Bass' original ending to work with also, makes the final touches by LS so worthwhile.

I never just blow smoke etc, so I do have to say I miss the ponderous, characterful bass lines in Gascoines' opening score as we follow our first character through their world (in fact those bass lines were very reminiscent of 'Fantastic Planet' if I remember right - find it if you haven't seen it) But I don't fault the replacement audio here at all. It works very well. It all works very well, including of course all the smaller cues that segue less dynamic moments nicely and populate the soundscape of the laboratory further, alongside existing blips and hums. Whilst not routinely psychedelic, the replacement score retains the required intensity of cumulative moments that are completely in step with the visuals, which at times definitely are psychedelic.

So, a film that was originally subject to tone deaf marketing posters in the cinemas and is in fact a style of feature far closer to the likes of 'The Andromeda Strain' than it is to the giant ant film 'Them', now fits even more comfortably in place alongside more "respectable" science fiction. Highly recommended.

(I didn't realize there was a commentary track by Last Survivor, which I should have checked out before now really, but I wanted to get this down. I will be sure to do that)

Superb re-scoring and narration removal Last Survivor achieved here with this Bass oddball feature, giving more contemplative atmosphere to unique cinematography. I've seen the original long ago and Gascoigne's score is somewhat faded from memory, but the new score feels quite organic to the visuals and LS made the addition of Bass' pre-theatrical ending seamless more than the material allows. Having seen this fanedit second time with informative audio commentary I must say LS deserves high praise. Get it, dig it, and all hail our new antlords!