Amleth's Saga

Quite a treat here! I saw this on the big screen and was quite blown away by the picturesque shooting and sound engineering, and these I hazard to say were hinged upon the emotional opening and flowing story. This being true, it also works really well like this. One does love the interlude screens. For the sake of argument, Im going to say this is best version for home viewing, and the theatrical cut best for cinema audiences. I rate down the audio and visual editing as really it was already perfect and just feel like these scores are somewhat irrelevant on the whole. Its a great contribution that offers a novel experience and a good excuse to watch this film again!!!

Let me start by saying I LOVED The Northman. I had small quibbles with it here and there, but nothing major. Well I think Fran Garcia was reading my mind because he made some small adjustments that perfectly adjusted everything I thought about!!!

The reordering of a few parts, such as starting with Amleth on his journey then showing his youth as a flashaback, worked great! As did the Chapters formatting, making it more like a play! I mean, great stuff there alone.

Oh and let's not forget FIXING THE COLORING!! I thought the original movie looked amazed but always a bit muted. Well Fran cleaned that up with a more lush color setting throughout. Less of the dull green tint. Dark when it needs to be dark. Bright when it needs to be bright.

THIS is my definitive version of The Northman now!

A truly fascinating watch.

While I enjoyed the theatrical version, I must be honest, even though I never could quite put my finger on it, I found it somewhat plodding at times.

And yet, Fran's fan edit, which does not trim a lot. In fact, Fran adds even more to the film, played far more engaging for me. Perhaps it is the purposeful Hamlet 5 act structure -- which I really appreciated -- or the rearranging of scenes, making the connection to the character and story much more visceral. Or perhaps, it is because where trims are made, they are artistically done in a way that reinforces the mythological underpinnings of the story. Again, I can not quite put into words why this version connected with me on a much stronger level, only that it does. And it does it masterfully.

I watched the smaller 9G MKV file, and the picture quality was excellent. The new soundtrack additions and cues are all pitch perfect. And the deleted scenes are seamlessly integrated.

This is the type of film and fan edit that stirs a lot of dark emotions, and so I can not claim "I love it" or would be eager to re-watch it in the immediate future, but I can acknowledge it as a fantastic piece of fan editing and storytelling.

Thumbs Up!

The Northman was my favorite movie of the year, and this edit is the best version we can get of it. Amleth's Saga or how to sublimate a masterpiece. First of all, the gorgeous new color grading, getting rid of that green tint brings out the beauty of the scenery and landscapes. Secondly, the reinsertion of the deleted scenes fleshes out the characters' superstitions, reinforcing the mythological aspect of this cut. Thirdly, the insistence on, you get it, the mythological and prophetic aspect of the story, the recut of the Mount Dweller scene is the perfect example of that. I also loved the new order of the events, keeping Prince Amleth's past for the second chapter and starting the edit with the Berserkers' attack works on point and sets the tone of the film.
The localization map was a great addition, it gives more authenticity to the overall film. Your time and effort paid off.

Finally, Thank you for mentioning me in the credits, it means a lot!