Batman: Descent Into Mystery

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.

Dwight Fry's Batman: Descent into Mystery, more than two years in the making, is one of the best fanedits I've ever had the pleasure of viewing, and hands down my new favorite Batman film! The amount of effort put into this really shows, and at no point did this feel like a fanedit. Great work!

The audio and visual editing are top notch. Nothing was out of place and the audio work is very professional. The new color correction is remarkable and very film noirish.

The fact that you removed the romance element of the film while simultaneously improving the narrative proves just how pointless and unneeded it really was. Batman is now not only the main focus of the film (Which is one of the main problems with the original), but he is also more faithful to the comics. The intercutting between Batman's and Joker's origins works very well. The removal of Prince's music and out of character moments makes for a much improved movie!

The extra features were very intriguing, particularly Bluyoda's surreal The Killing Joke short. The color correction comparison and black and white reveal looked great, and overall the presentation is wonderful!

I can gladly say this is not only the best Batman movie ever, but also one of my new favorite movies, and will earn a place on my shelf. Thank you for a very enjoyable birthday evening Dwight! Now you definitely have do to Batman Returns!

Audio/Video Quality: 10/10
Visual Editing: 10/10
Audio Editing: 10/10
Narrative: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall Rating: 10/10

This was brilliant! I am a big lover of Batman 89, despite its flaws. I've been following Dwight's progress for the last year and the end result was well worth the wait.

No more "You made me, I made you." Less Vale. Less Prince. Batman is more Batman. Bruce Wayne is more mysterious. I loved it.

The bonuses were a nice touch. Blueyoda's short was very interesting and the other two featurettes (Color Correction and Alternate Joker Reveal) were awesome.

Thunderous applause for this edit.

All the traditional film tropes they crammed in the original film for mass-appeal created a huge tonal contrast to the comic book hyper reality, which made the film a frustrating slog for me. This cut now feels like a serious attempt to make a film adaptation of the source material for adult fans that grew up watching the Adam West TV series -- a fun Batman/Joker story in big-budget film format. I only noticed about four edits, though I know there were many more. This version I find pretty much ideal.. In the past I got so lost in the jumble of weird scenes and Hollywood fluff that I never really registered the Batman/Joker story underneath it all. I honestly feel like I just watched the film for the first time.

I enjoyed this a lot. The Vicky Vale romance was a always a bit contrived and distracting; likewise Alfred letting her into the Batcave; the removal of the=is subplot was much appreciated and worked well. I did however miss the Jack Napier/ Joker/ Wayne murders link more than I thought I would, and perhaps keeping this -- while ditching the Vale/ Wayne romance -- would make this really good fanedit a great one. Technically, its top-notch: edits are smooth and seamless. Thanks again!