Review Detail
9.2 20 10
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
9.0
This is an absolutely fascinating fan edit.
An update of the very popular Scaperat fan edit The Red Book Edition. An edit I remember thoroughly loving when it was initially released 15 years ago... wow, where has the time gone? But with the passage of time, would an updated version hold the same magic?
I can happily say YES.
What Inightmares has done here is truly interesting on a technical level. His approach was not to rebuild this edit from scratch using new HD sources, but instead used the original fan edit file and UPSCALED it to Hight Definition. He then corrected the added deleted scenes to the proper aspect ratio (even rebuilding the audio for many of these scenes) and gave the edit a new colour grading... removing much of blues and oranges, while highlighting the Reds.
The new colour scheme is immediately very engaging, and even gorgeous in many scenes. It has a very definite Sin City style vibe at times. Though on a personal level, I wish it had been a bit more visually consistent and even. An example is the Circus scene which starts out in multi-colours but then switches halfway through to a very desaturated, almost Black & White look. But this is subjective and a creative choice by editor which I can respect and does not overly detract from the enjoyment factor.
Another interesting observation, even though the main objective of this project was to create an HD version of the original fan edit, this new version has a decidedly Standard Definition look. The use of high grain, diluted colours and deleted scenes (as Topaz can only do so much, it is not a miracle worker) evokes the feel of times gone by. And this is not a negative knock. For me, it feels wholly appropriate as an love letter to the original. But if viewers are going into this edit expecting a crisp, clean, sharp, bright MODERN experience, they might be disappointed.
This was clearly a passion project for the editor and it shows in every frame.
A wonderful tribute and update of a fan edit classic.
Well worth the watch!
Thumbs Up!
An update of the very popular Scaperat fan edit The Red Book Edition. An edit I remember thoroughly loving when it was initially released 15 years ago... wow, where has the time gone? But with the passage of time, would an updated version hold the same magic?
I can happily say YES.
What Inightmares has done here is truly interesting on a technical level. His approach was not to rebuild this edit from scratch using new HD sources, but instead used the original fan edit file and UPSCALED it to Hight Definition. He then corrected the added deleted scenes to the proper aspect ratio (even rebuilding the audio for many of these scenes) and gave the edit a new colour grading... removing much of blues and oranges, while highlighting the Reds.
The new colour scheme is immediately very engaging, and even gorgeous in many scenes. It has a very definite Sin City style vibe at times. Though on a personal level, I wish it had been a bit more visually consistent and even. An example is the Circus scene which starts out in multi-colours but then switches halfway through to a very desaturated, almost Black & White look. But this is subjective and a creative choice by editor which I can respect and does not overly detract from the enjoyment factor.
Another interesting observation, even though the main objective of this project was to create an HD version of the original fan edit, this new version has a decidedly Standard Definition look. The use of high grain, diluted colours and deleted scenes (as Topaz can only do so much, it is not a miracle worker) evokes the feel of times gone by. And this is not a negative knock. For me, it feels wholly appropriate as an love letter to the original. But if viewers are going into this edit expecting a crisp, clean, sharp, bright MODERN experience, they might be disappointed.
This was clearly a passion project for the editor and it shows in every frame.
A wonderful tribute and update of a fan edit classic.
Well worth the watch!
Thumbs Up!
B