Thunderball: Warhead Edition

Updated
 
9.3 (5)
 
9.1 (7)
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thunderball-warhead_front.jpg
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1965
Original Running Time:
130 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
99 minutes
Time Cut:
31 minutes
Available in HD:
Synopsis:
Thunderball really is Connery's last great performance as 007 before he completely checked out of the role. It's the last one where he really owns the film and proves why he is still regarded as the best actor to ever play 007. It's also full of exotic location shots, great music and one of the most famous villain plots in the series, involving stolen nuclear warheads but the film itself has always been criticized, mainly due to a plodding pace, the bulk of which is due to some overlong underwater sequences.

Thunderball failed to become the "best bond ever" as its theatrical tagline promises because it almost feels rushed, as if the editing was unfinished in certain instances. Well, now the editing is finished. Almost no major scenes or sequences have been removed but almost every scene has been trimmed for pacing, resulting in a faster film with an enhanced narrative.
Intention:
This was a great lean film trapped in a bulky narrative and I wanted to tell the core story without any of the excess. By making numerous trims, Thunderball is now a spy thriller worthy of its urgent premise. I think you'll enjoy this Bond adventure if you're open to watching something different from the theatrical cut.
Other Sources:
Thunderball soundtrack by John Barry
Special Thanks:
Fanedit
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
Edited source Thunderball bluray using Adobe Premiere Pro
Cuts and Additions:
--quickened pacing of opening fight by slight trims. Also got rid of most jarring jump cuts in original
--faneditor credit in title sequence
--trimmed shots of Largo entering Specter front
--cut out "Mr Angelo" subplot at the spa (this only needlessly convolutes the plot early on. Lippe's attempt to kill Bond on the rack is due to Bond's snooping around his apartment and Lippe's Specter affiliation)
--rack torture scene trimmed (BOnd does not scream out for help here)
--scene rearranged so that Bond discovering Duvall's body occurs immediately following scene of Duvalls murder and before the jet hijack
--Entire Angelo/jet sequence grouped together and trimmed for pacing. Underwater sequences trimmed to be relevant
--Scene rearranged so that Bond traps Lippe in the heat treatment before he leaves Shrublands spa.
--Extra gunshots added to car chase. Continuity error from original fixed (the motorcycle speeds by on the wrong side of the Aston Martin)
--Trims throughout Nassau sequences to focus on characters
--The tape recorder in the bible device is removed (seemed too impractical). In this version, Bond sees the bathroom door open as well as a noise from inside and decides to investigate
--Bond and Felix scouting Disco Volante by boat cut
--Bond discovers the missing bombs on their first flight around Nassau--the flow works well, as it is now more important than ever to get the information out of Largo/Domino
--Junkanoo scenes trimmed.
--Scene rearranged so that Bond meets Domino underwater after Junkanoo scene
--Color correction/grading to turn day to night in the scene Bond sneaks up on Largo's diving gang
--Cut Largo attempting to force himself on Domino before being interrupted by the scientist
--Trimmed helicopter rescue
--Trimmed and rearranged underwater fight sequences
--Disco Volante firefight trimmed for tighter action
--The Peter Hunt jump cuts in the final fistfight in the cabin were too numerous to eliminate, so they are retained
--fixed continuity error of gunshot wound to Bond's leg switching legs several times during mardi gras scene
--James Bond theme in the end replaced with the original Thunderball end credits from the soundtrack
thunderball-warhead_disc
thunderball-warhead_cover_art
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1965
Original Running Time:
130 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
99 minutes
Time Cut:
31 minutes
Available in HD:
Synopsis:
Thunderball really is Connery's last great performance as 007 before he completely checked out of the role. It's the last one where he really owns the film and proves why he is still regarded as the best actor to ever play 007. It's also full of exotic location shots, great music and one of the most famous villain plots in the series, involving stolen nuclear warheads but the film itself has always been criticized, mainly due to a plodding pace, the bulk of which is due to some overlong underwater sequences.

Thunderball failed to become the "best bond ever" as its theatrical tagline promises because it almost feels rushed, as if the editing was unfinished in certain instances. Well, now the editing is finished. Almost no major scenes or sequences have been removed but almost every scene has been trimmed for pacing, resulting in a faster film with an enhanced narrative.
Intention:
This was a great lean film trapped in a bulky narrative and I wanted to tell the core story without any of the excess. By making numerous trims, Thunderball is now a spy thriller worthy of its urgent premise. I think you'll enjoy this Bond adventure if you're open to watching something different from the theatrical cut.
Other Sources:
Thunderball soundtrack by John Barry
Special Thanks:
Fanedit
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
Edited source Thunderball bluray using Adobe Premiere Pro
Cuts and Additions:
--quickened pacing of opening fight by slight trims. Also got rid of most jarring jump cuts in original
--faneditor credit in title sequence
--trimmed shots of Largo entering Specter front
--cut out "Mr Angelo" subplot at the spa (this only needlessly convolutes the plot early on. Lippe's attempt to kill Bond on the rack is due to Bond's snooping around his apartment and Lippe's Specter affiliation)
--rack torture scene trimmed (BOnd does not scream out for help here)
--scene rearranged so that Bond discovering Duvall's body occurs immediately following scene of Duvalls murder and before the jet hijack
--Entire Angelo/jet sequence grouped together and trimmed for pacing. Underwater sequences trimmed to be relevant
--Scene rearranged so that Bond traps Lippe in the heat treatment before he leaves Shrublands spa.
--Extra gunshots added to car chase. Continuity error from original fixed (the motorcycle speeds by on the wrong side of the Aston Martin)
--Trims throughout Nassau sequences to focus on characters
--The tape recorder in the bible device is removed (seemed too impractical). In this version, Bond sees the bathroom door open as well as a noise from inside and decides to investigate
--Bond and Felix scouting Disco Volante by boat cut
--Bond discovers the missing bombs on their first flight around Nassau--the flow works well, as it is now more important than ever to get the information out of Largo/Domino
--Junkanoo scenes trimmed.
--Scene rearranged so that Bond meets Domino underwater after Junkanoo scene
--Color correction/grading to turn day to night in the scene Bond sneaks up on Largo's diving gang
--Cut Largo attempting to force himself on Domino before being interrupted by the scientist
--Trimmed helicopter rescue
--Trimmed and rearranged underwater fight sequences
--Disco Volante firefight trimmed for tighter action
--The Peter Hunt jump cuts in the final fistfight in the cabin were too numerous to eliminate, so they are retained
--fixed continuity error of gunshot wound to Bond's leg switching legs several times during mardi gras scene
--James Bond theme in the end replaced with the original Thunderball end credits from the soundtrack
Cover art by ranger613 (DOWNLOAD HERE) image

Trusted Reviewer reviews

5 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.6(5)
Audio Editing
 
9.8(5)
Visual Editing
 
9.4(5)
Narrative
 
8.4(5)
Enjoyment
 
8.4(5)
Overall rating
 
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
If any Bond film is asking for a fan edit, it's this one (and I myself have been asking for an edit of it for quite some time). Not a bad movie by any means, but one that I just find less and less appealing on each subsequent viewing. It's gotten to the point where this is possibly my least favorite Connery, which is a shame because it's pretty cool. Still, lots of room for improvement, which thankfully is done here.

First of all, the movie is way over bloated. This is definitely helped. Overlong sequences are trimmed (underwater battle I'm very much looking at you) and the pacing is all the better for it. The second issue is that Thunderball is kind of stupid. This is helped a bit, but there's only so much that can be done. I personally would have went even further with the cuts (especially in the first act) but this isn't too bad.

It's not everything that I'd do but it is most of it, which is enough for me. I can safely say that this will be my new Thunderball from now on, which is much appreciated. Recommended.
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Overall rating
 
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
If ever there's a Connery Bond film ripe for fanediting, it's Thunderball. One could argue Diamonds are Forever, but Thunderball would seem to be the more worthwhile cause, as underneath the sluggish pacing there's a good film in there, not to mention this is Connery's last performance as Bond where he looks like he gives a damn. Diamonds, well... I'm not sure anyone could save that one.

I even looked at performing an edit of this with a fellow faneditor, but hey, now Ranger has taken a stab at this, when I settled down to watch his Warhead edition, I was hoping he'd done everything to save us the trouble!

Reading the cutlist, the only thing which bothered me somewhat was the attempts to change Peter Hunt's editing style. Being a huge fan of Hunt's jump-cut approach to editing, I was dubious about this, but the way in which Ranger has executed this is both stylish and considerate.

Other than that, I really couldn't fault this edit. It now feels like a spy story with purpose and a sense of urgency; in particular the trimming of the underwater scenes is a godsend. I only wish there had been some way around the incredibly speeded-up footage which plagues the finale... as much as I’m a fan of Hunt’s editing style, those scenes are just too sped up for my liking and take one out of the film a little. I suppose you could try and slow them down, but it would involve significant sound replacement work ;)

The streamlining of the health farm scenes works a treat too, even if I would have personally trimmed a little more of Connery’s one-liners, but that’s just personal taste.

Picture quality and audio are excellent, and the fanediting itself is pretty seamless.

Overall Ranger deserves huge credit here. A really solid Bond edit which is significantly better than the theatrical cut and needless to say will be my “go to” version from now on... indeed, I am especially grateful as you've saved me the trouble of embarking on another Bond edit. Highly recommended.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Another fast-paced Ranger redux! If you're a Bond fan, add this to your marathons.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Overview - Thunderball was a fine followup to Goldfinger. The style and tone of the film were peerless, and it was the last Bond in which Connery seemed committed. Over the years, there were complaints of sluggish pacing. In Thunderball Warhead, Rangerkris cut the reruns and the redundant, and jolted the tempo. The result is a brisk moving spy op.

Video - Nice editing here, and good flow from scene to scene. Noticed noise or artifacts in background sky while Emilio Largo and Fiona Volpe were skeet shooting (58.47). No idea. Checked in my DVD, not there. Did not catch anything else like that.

Audio - More quality work here. No rapid crossfades, no hard cuts. Sound was good quality, two channel stereo. The stereo seemed non-existent except during action and climaxes, then the range was loud and wide. So dynamic, in fact, that headphones came out to spare non audience members of the room. The mix was so boisterous at times that I wondered if it was LPCM, but no, just a rousing AAC.

Narrative - As designed, Thunderball Warhead propels ahead like Fiona’s blue Mustang. Plot held together, but first time viewers might have assumed there were goofs. When Domino first calls 007, James Bond, there was no introduction before that. Later, Felix and Bond took barely one minute of screen time to locate the missing Vulcan bomber. The climactic underwater battle was wisely trimmed, while staying coherent.

Enjoyment - A bit uneasy here. Thunderball is easily one of my favorite Bond movies. I saw it at the theater when it was released, owned it on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD. Connery was superb in this. The pacing was lethargic at times, which I chalked up to rush release and padded script. Rangerkris’s removals of spa scenes, the Nassau hotel, and the hunt for the Vulcan definitely accelerated the story, but also cast a movie-of-the-week feel.
Not to confuse anyone, I did enjoy this edit, and it was well crafted. Easily recommended to action fans, Bond buffs, especially to those who normally punch the fast-forward button. You won’t do that it this one.

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Yes
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(Updated: July 21, 2014)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Ok, so this is a tricky one for me to review.

I own the entire Bond Collection, some I have watched more than others, but Thunderball I have never taken the time to pop the dvd into the old player. Why? I dunno. Maybe because I have heard too many poor reviews or watched Never Say Never too many times and assumed (wrongly, it turns out) that it would the same movie. So my review is basically on the fan edit itself, and not as a comparison to the original.

Firstly, is a beautiful looking movie. The video quality was excellent and the audio was crisp and clear. The only scene that looked odd to me was when Bond was sneaking in to the beach house at night. According to RangerKiss's cutlist, this was originally a daytime scene he converted to night! Very cool idea. But to me, it looked a bit too nighttime dark blue? The scene is brief, but when compared to the brilliant video quality of the rest of the movie, it stood out to me.

This may be the fastest paced Bond movie I have watched and for the most part it works really well and my understanding of the original, one of the biggest complaints is its plodding pace. So there is definitely no plodding in this version, though occasionally the pacing felt a bit too modern to me. One of charming aspects of the original Bond movies was the travelogue elements... in this cut, I never really got a true feel of where I was... the movie never really takes a moment to breath... it is pure rollercoaster from start to finish. And this is not entirely a negative thing, as I riveted throughout, but at the same time it did not quite feel like a classic Bond film to me and some of the characters felts either underdeveloped or not introduced properly.

The narrative works, though there are many plot holes, but based upon what I read I am assuming these are issues of the original that can not be corrected. As Anarchemist pointed out, why bring the dead guy back to the spa? And hey, what happened to Domino's rescuer after jumping off the boat? Did he drown? LOL! But the most noticeable thing to me (and I don't know if this a continuity error from the original or if the editor rearranged the scenes) is the intro of Felix. You see him twice before in the background, once directly beside Bond, but they don't actually meet til Bond's hotel room but it does not sound like a first time meeting. Also Bond is wearing the same outfit from the previous day scene. I dunno, it just did not play right for me.

All in all, a fun, fast paced, action filled fan edit. Very entertaining and well worth watching. I think it could have been slightly slower paced and wish some of the narrative had been a bit more polished but it is a solid piece of editing.

Thumbs Up. :)

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Yes
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Digital
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User reviews

7 reviews
 
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29%
5-7 stars
 
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Overall rating
 
9.1
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0(7)
Audio Editing
 
9.2(7)
Visual Editing
 
9.3(7)
Narrative
 
8.9(7)
Enjoyment
 
8.4(7)
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Overall rating
 
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
Thunderball has always been among my favorites of the franchise. But some sequences have always kind of dragged. This edit addresses almost all of that.

The trims to the scenes all work well. There's still plenty of underwater shots to get the point across, but now we don't dwell on them so long. The spa sequence is improved, but still felt overlong to me; that could probably have been cut even more.

Overall I really enjoyed the edit and this will probably be my default to watch now. Well done!

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Yes
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Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
I personally hate Thunderball, it's boring, too long and has horrible editing. This version is much better, but it could still be improved. Removing the entire spa scene would be good, as it just gives away Spectre's plan, leaving Bond to play catch up for the rest of the film, finding information that the audience already knows. Also, it is possible to remove the jump cuts during the finale, it would just take a re-sound.

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Yes
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Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
8.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
7.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
I thought this was a good improvement on the original and it moved at a good brisk pace. When I previewed it prior to release, I thought some things felt a little disjointed, but with this viewing, it all seemed to make sense. As I said in my preview notes, the transition point to the spa was very well timed and it appears that Bond was on assignment and not just stumbling into a plot. All audio and video cuts and fades seemed well executed. I didn't detect any problems in that area. Also, the conversion of the daytime scene to nighttime worked for me.

Couple of nitpicks:

As other reviewers pointed out, it no longer makes sense for the bad guys to be bringing the body of the pilot to the spa.

I watched this again on the big screen TV and thought the picture quality wasn't the best. I noticed a lot of blurring when the Mustang is speeding through the countryside and in some other spots.

When Q is handing out some gadgets, he turns away and it is obvious he isn't talking but there is dialog. (Not sure if this is on the original)

Very well executed edit by the ranger.

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Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
7.7
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
7.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
....and so here we go....THUNDERBORE...as I used to call it when I was growing up.
This was my first cinematic bond movie ...and for a 5 year old...it almost killed the franchise stone cold for me.

There have been many bond edits but none as ambitious I think as this. The Never Say Never edit was a tonal question... was a more a PLEAS STOP BEING BORING issue...and for the most part it succeeds.

After getting over Connery's eyebrows on this, this is a vas improvement on the material as originally presented. I think that of all the bond outings this is the one that could do with a real trim and RANGER613 has not held back.

Pacing was generally fine. There were a few points where I felt something had gone but I could not glean what. I have seen this bond many time but not for at least 6 or 7 years, ideal.

What did shock me is how some of the sexist misogynist Bond swagger grated on me in this truncated form...to that extent I think leaving in a bit more of those sequences might have dulled that. I note that Thundeball is full of plot holes even before this got pruned..and the is some improvement n that respect.

Audio...I being a bit of a fascist here since I own all the score so I notice a few things...But there are some nice score enhancements (I have not checked on the cutlist) which work really well. Agree with the below...you have to watch this properly to gain the feel of it. I did enjoy and not only recommend it but will burn to disc and am grateful for the coverart that matches the DVD discs in my 007 Briefecase.

The video wipes were well executed and apart from some compression artefact...generally good (but would love a1080p version)

Overall, this is my least favourite bond and enjoyment would be 4/5 for the uncut version, so a 7 is a vast improvement (6 would be too harsh).

Well done...sir. A Brave edit IMO.
W

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Yes
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Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
i love all the Sean Connery bonds as well as Daniel Craig's bonds both are so bad ass shoot first type bonds but thunder ball is the weakest bond by Sean Connery.
i was hoping this edit only cut out some of the bloat that plaged this film and that is exactly did.
i love the choices made for this edit as i was afraid it would be overly hacked(its not)
the pace it fast and works perfectly.

Video Editing: 10/10
Audio Editing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9/10

highly recommended to all James bond fans

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Yes
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