300: Earth and Water

Really fantastic edit by Aztek, been waiting for this one a while and it does not disappoint. Cutting together the two films is a bold venture but it works perfectly here. The narrative flows well and the action is just great from wall to wall. All the slow bits from 300 are gone and the weaker parts from the sequel have been similarly excised. I think this a must-watch for all 300 fans.

Audio visually splendid, with a lot of care apparent in the grading. Highest recommendations!
Amazing work my friend

Kris

Wow. I'm really impressed with this edit. Mashing both the 300 movies together and cutting away the fat was always going to be gold, but nothing could prepare me for how emotionally engrossing a 2+ hour movie that's wall to wall combat could be. The finer points of both flicks are excised but I didn't miss any of it at all, I was fully entrenched in the story of the war being fought on two fronts, expertly intercut by the editor so you always knew exactly who you were following. I enjoyed this a lot. The only possible way I could see to improve it would be to somehow include a few more scenes with Eva Green unteathered breasts, but even without that this is still an edit that I'll be returning to again and again. It's an epic in every sense of the word.

Fantastic edit. Aztek463 has pumped up the epic into the original 300. The original 300 was more intimate than its sequel. By combining 300 with 300 Rise of the Empire, Aztek463 has given the story a 3 ACT structure that not only gives the original story more context but adds more spectacle, more violence more sex and more depth. Flawless integration of the 2 films. This is the must go version of these 2 films. This edit should also win the award of the best film edit of this month. Kudos to Aztek463!

The editing here is superb, and the quality of chopping these 2 films together is top notch.

Unfortunately, the weak spots of the film are from the prequel. I hated 300 Rise of an Empire completely. Outside of the origin of Xerxes, the prequel was just garbage...and sadly, while the editing and pacing here was really well done, I still had zero interest in the 300 Rise characters or plotlines. The original 300 bits are still equally as good as they ever were, but it's obvious where the shift in tone and color scheme take place when switching between films, and I just didn't give a crap when the Rise parts came into play.

I was just hoping that the Rise portions would be minimal, which they weren't. I feel like the Spartan story took a backseat to the sub-par Rise bits in this edit. We never really got to know the Spartans before the war, although we got history on the main characters from Rise. It's a shame because the quality difference between 300 and Rise is huge. I feel like Rise is better off a secondary supplementary material than being a focus.

If anything I would have cut the stupid sex fight between Eva Green and whats-his-face from Rise. That was just dumb. I was hoping at a minimum, this edit would omit it, but alas it was still there.

I can't knock the quality of this edit though. Technically, it's a very professional edit. I just was hoping to much less Rise and retain the majority of 300. And the majority of my 7/10 score for enjoyment here goes to the original 300 bits.

Overview - Stroke of genius, this edit. Chronologically sequencing events from 300 and 300 Rise into one edit was a well conceived, though doubtless very tricky concept to pull off. Each film has their own, altogether distinct, look, and there is the concern that shifting from one film to another would distract from enjoyment. In addition, elsewhere I had rated the individual 300's 7/10 and 5/10, mostly for narrative issues, and I wondered if this edit would rely on excessive action at the expense of story.

Video - Sure enough, from Sparta to Athens, the hue swings from reddish to bluish. Yet there were a lot of blacks in both that acted to visual cohere the elements. Along with those ever present floating cinders and motes. I don’t know whether this was sheer luck, or if Aztek463 had this planned all along. In any event, visually the films merged.

The editing I thought smooth, and the choices smart.

Audio - Cracking 5.1 sound. Dialogue was never a problem and the bass solid. The only quibble I had came at the very end. The credits. The music jumped abruptly from heroic score to pop song. The aural presence was utterly different. It was jarring and catapulted me straight out of the film. Ninety seconds on, I was done. The Pumpkins should have wailed later, or been cross-faded. That’s just me.

Narrative - This is where Aztek excelled, elevating 300 Rise almost to the level of 300. The narrative sleight of hand had me enjoying the sequel much more than I had originally. I still found the heroes of the second film weaker, the villains stronger. Xerxes not as dominant as remembered, perhaps by design.

Enjoyment - Oh yeah. Thank you for doing such tight edit, that you kept the running time to under three hours. I won’t view 300 Rise again. Fire and Water will be my go to there. Does not eclipse 300, though I doubt that was the intention. Action binge fest, and a fun one at that.