Batman: Descent Into Mystery

Burton's Batman and its sequel were AMAZING back in the day. I remember seeing them both in theater and enjoying them a lot.
But, as for most of Burton's movies, they aged poorly, IMO. They are still watchable, they have nice settings, cool actors numbers
and all, but I don't know... I fall asleep each time I want to see them now. I'm afraid I find them... dated.

Dwight Fry's version of Batman (89) was a refreshing way to revisit this movie.
It's Still Batman (89) but the pace is better, it flows well. I did not fall asleep this time, lol.
Even if it looks like I'm the only man alive to still have a soft spot for Kim Basinger I did not mind some of her scenes being removed. She's still there, but enough to still be part of the story without slowing down the pace.

The Joker not being the killer of Bruce's dad an mom is well done, but I guess I so have the original movie version in mind that I found
something was missing... (maybe removing completely the scene could have also worked?)
But really, for someone who would never have seen the original I think Dwight Fry's version would work very well.

All the transitions, the music replacement at times, and all the cuts are impeccable.

My hat off to Fry for his work and patience during the long making of this fanedit. The result is very professional.

There's a phrase which DwightFry said once in a thread on the forum... something which has stuck with me ever since. It was something along the lines of ... "You never complete an edit; you abandon it". How true that is. Indeed, DwightFry worked on his first edit for more than 2 years and looking at the thread in the "In the Works COMPLETED archive" it appears that he started before I even began work on my first edit (and I've now released 5 edits)! So, the anticipation for this edit was pretty high.

Now, I hadn't seen the original 1989 version of Batman for a long time. Probably not for a good 10 years at least. So, when I settled down to watch the blu ray a week or so before DwightFry's fanedit, I was taken aback a little at how dated the movie looked. I suppose in my mind Burton's movie had all the edge and darkness of Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, but truth be told, the director's visions are a world apart. However, at the same time I still greatly enjoyed Burton's movie. It's fun, has tremendous production design and an iconic music score from Danny Elfman - but most of all, it has Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Undoubtedly his character and performance completely dominate the movie and It's not surprising that the impact of Keaton's Batman is so overlooked. Overall then, I would still rank the movie very highly; and yet the main aspect which is addressed by DwightFry's Descent Into Mystery fanedit, is certainly the one area which cries out for fixing - that rather paper thin and ineffective romance between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne.

It doesn't take long to be impressed by DF's first foray into fanediting. Even though I had watched the theatrical version only a week or so before, the cuts which are made here are totally invisible. Not only that, but I can whole heartedly say that I didn't miss one of the scenes which had DF's editing scissors applied to them.

Not surprisingly, the edit's biggest plus point is in scrubbing the aforementioned romance between Vicki and Bruce. It genuinely improves the movie's central character, in that suddenly there is more mystery and intrigue surrounding Bruce Wayne and the Batman. True, it still doesn't redress the balance properly, as Burton's Batman remains very much geared towards Nicholson's Joker, even in this edit. However, it certainly enhances the pace and feel of the movie and somehow brings more substance to the story.

The concept of not having the Joker be responsible for Bruce's parent's death is a wise move for me. I prefer keeping that as a mystery, even if it admittedly carried some dramatic effect in the original theatrical version. Personal preference I'm sure, as I can see from other reviews that it's split people's opinions quite a bit.
As for not having Prince's music playing when the Joker arrives to meet Vicki Vale and thereby denying us the twisted pleasure of seeing many valuable paintings being defaced? Well, DF certainly edits it very well, but it was a scene which I quite enjoyed in the original version as it fits Nicholson's interpretation of the character nicely, so I can go either way with that one. It's not really missed, but it was a fun scene.

Technically, DF has done a fine job, with a subtle colour correction applied which particularly improves the blacks, giving a deeper, less flat feel to the film. Sonically speaking, everything sounded spot-on to me. No harsh cuts or audio drop outs to speak of at all.

On top of this, there's a very cool short edit entitled The Killing Joke, expertly edited as always by blueyoda (even if seeing Bale's fantastic portrayal of Batman made Keaton's look very weak in comparison), plus a nice little colour correction comparison scene, not to mention an interesting About The Edit piece.

Overall then, this is quite excellent work from DwightFry. Whereas in the past I never really believed Burton's film needed fanediting, having seen Descent Into Mystery, I stand corrected. Burton 8/10... DF 9/10.

BATMAN DESCENT INTO MYSTERY

I had the extreme honor of watching this fan edit yesterday, and after ages of anticipation,
I can honestly say, I was not disappointed.

This is a solid, entertaining edit.

Dwightfry set out with a list of specific goals for this edit, I believe has achieved each one very successfully.

The color correction work is very nice, the colors are deeper, cleaner and richer. The video quality is excellent.

The audio work is strong and professional. Considering Dwight had a couple of really tricky scene transitions with little or inappropriate audio cues to work with, the end result is surprising, clever and masterful.

The menu design is simple and functional. There are some nice bonus items, including a Joker (Heath Ledger) short by BluYoda.

As for the edit itself, it works wonderfully.

The two main objectives narrative wise were to remove the Vicky Vale/Bruce Wayne romance and to trim Batman's actions so they are more in line with the accepted traditional comic book version.

Dwight is highly successful in both objectives. The new narrative flows smoothly, I did not even realized certain scenes were missing until after the edit was over and I started thinking about what I saw or did not see. So that is a fantastic testament to Dwight's storytelling ability! Great work!

The story stays focused on the Joker and Batman, keeping the tension level high. Though the one downside of no romance story, is there is even less Bruce Wayne, making the movie feel even more about Jack and less about the Bat. But at the same time, it creates more of an air of mystery around Bruce and Batman. He feels almost more like a Force of Nature, than just a man.

Which leads nicely into Dwight's second objective, making Batman closer to his comic book origins and removing the gun wielding Batman element. As every Bat Fan knows, Batman abhors guns! He would never use one. He certainly would not mount them on his Batmobile or Batwing and fire them into a crowd of people. This is the one element of the Tim Burton films I hated the most, and Dwight has masterfully removed them. Thank You! There are many other little tweaks and trims throughout that bring this movie Batman closer to his graphic novel counterpart that I think Batfans will catch and enjoy.

As I said before, this is an excellent edit. It engages and entertains. The new story works and it is technically solid.

I recommend it to all Batman Fans.

THUMBS UP!

Thanks for the great show Dwight!

I was obsessed with this movie when it came out. I was never really into comic books, so my only real exposure at the time to Batman was from reruns of the 60s live action show and the Super Friends animated show. Needless to say, Burton's Batman was the antithesis of what I knew Batman to be. And it was awesome. I watched it several times in the theatre, had all the action figures and even collected the trading cards. My VHS copy was heavily worn. Somewhere along the line I became a teenager and mostly forgot the childhood obsession I had with the movie. I've probably only watched it a handful of times in the last 20+ years. There have been a few of fanedits of this film in the past and, for the most part, they weren't very well done. Suffice it to say, I was a little skeptical with this edit, but I gave it a shot. And I'm glad I did.

A/V Quality: Perfect.

Visual Editing: I didn't notice the colour correction. This is a good thing. The before and after shots in the bonus features were really eye opening.

Audio editing: Perfect.

Narrative: This film is so ingrained in my mind that any changes feel odd, but not necessarily in a bad way. Removing a forced romance is almost always a good move and it is not missed one bit. But, you also lose a lot of the Bruce Wayne scenes in the process and subsequently, you get the feeling that you don't really know much about the character. Yes, it adds to the mystery, but that's not necessarily a good thing. I'd say the end justifies the means in order to get rid of the romance. I liked pretty much all the cuts that were made except for one: the reveal of Jack as Bruce's parents' killer. As I said, I'm not into comic books, so getting the movie closer to the source material does nothing for me. From a storytelling perspective, it's a great twist and makes the hero/villain relationship go beyond the basic good vs evil and brings it down to a personal level. I think removing it hurt the narrative. Other than that, I loved the cutting done to the bell tower scene, but I think you went a bit too far. Now, instead of being the ultimate climax to the film, it plays out almost like just another action sequence.

Enjoyment: Despite my small criticisms above, I thoroughly enjoyed this edit. The technical aspects are perfect and it was a great way to experience the film again. Some aspects are better than the original and some are not. I don't think it will replace the original, but a worthy alternative version. I'd highly recommend to any Batman fan.

Bonus Features: Including a blueyoda short along with this was a bold move. Blueyoda is a master, and his short is great. I almost enjoyed it more than the main feature. If this was included with Batman Consecution, it would easily be one of the best edits on the disc. As I said before, the colour correction comparison was really eye opening and incredibly well done. And the alternate Joker reveal was really interesting, but you made the right choice in not including it.

As a fan of the comics, the intent of the cut is obvious, but the editor ends up tearing the heart from the original movie and creates a sterile watch.

Firstly, there is no compelling reason to cut the Bruce Wayne / Vickie Vale relationship. Without it, Bruce becomes a one-dimensional character with little development. Without Vickie providing a background to it in her investigation, the death of his parents is utterly without place within the context of the story. The absence of a romantic relationship also creates an oddness in the edit's continuity at times (Vicki goes to the museum and waits for nobody in particular, for example). Alfred is almost pointless if he cannot coax Bruce to pursue Vickie, as is Knox (as the "other" man).

Secondly, the Batman / Joker relationship in this story is shallow without the parent connection, even if that connection is distasteful to a comics purist. Batman passionately beats the hell out of the Joker in the climactic scene in the belfry, with no dialogue in a jarring manner. Without that verbal back and forth, the scene lacks tension. There is little to underpin Bruce's obvious anger aimed towards him.

The editor tries to paint Batman as an invincible monolith, as he sometimes is shown in the comics, but I would argue Batman's best interpretations show him as vulnerable and human. Even when Batman is brought crashing down in the Batwing, we are not allowed to see his injuries as per the original cut, nor his struggle against the Joker's goons in the belfry. There is never any fear that this Batman might fail, which in combination with Bruce's stunted character development, makes him uninteresting.

Besides this, the cut is impeccable in terms of the visual cuts, though the edit is not stellar in terms of visual quality (the blacks were at times pixelated), and the audio transitions on occasion were too sudden, such as when Bruce remembers his parents' death from the preceding scene. The volume of the cut seemed very low.