Batman Forever: Red Book Edition

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Batman Forever: Red Book Edition
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1995
Original Running Time:
121
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
120
Time Cut:
11
Time Added:
10
Brief Synopsis:
Batman Forever is a great movie, but there are things in it that definitely ruin the experience. Tim Burton’s absence wasn’t the problem.
Intention:
Imagine seeing Bruce suffering from sadness, guilt and loads of other psychological problems. Then he turns around and shows us his ass. It just doesn’t work for me. Two face was another problem; he’s supposed to be brain damaged not retarded. Why is he acting like the joker? I also muted the colors to the point where some scenes look black and white with color mixed in. As for Chase and Bruce. Their relationship is pointless and they both know this deep down. The new ending emphasizes this. The action sequences were also a little hokey so I recut those as well. I didn’t try to make this into a Tim Burton film by adding Elfman’s scores from the 1st two films. Instead I kept Goldenthal’s score and added some more of his work. The new music is taken from Final Fantasy: TSW and Alien 3. I didn’t have much of a problem with the Riddler. Jim Carrey is a comedic god.
Other Sources:
The new music is taken from Final Fantasy: TSW and Alien 3.
Release Information:
DVD
Cuts and Additions:
* New opening credit sequence (Red Forever logo) using Arkham deleted
scene.

* No suiting up sequence. From the title to a zooming batmobile.

* Two Face’s cackling and joking cut down to a minimum.

* Security guard doesn’t whine along to Goldentthal’s music score. Still
whines though.

* Colors have been slightly muted.

* More Elliot Goldenthal music added.

* Chase isn’t a filthy whore here. Just a whore. She does not grab
Batman’s nipples.

* Gordon doesn’t say “definitely suicide”, which made him look like an
idiot.

* Dick’s family death scene has new music that drowns out the sound.
For dramatic effect.

* Dick’s pain deleted scene added and altered.

* Dick talking to the 4 R&B girls has been cut

* Batman’s leap over machine guns at the Ritz Gotham is seen in two
angles now.
one taken from the trailer.

* News report explaining Two Face’s origin has been shortened. It felt
forced.

* Batman bashing News report deleted scene added and altered.

* “Go to her” and “I’ve never been in love before” lines removed.

* Riddler’s tiny bombs explode on contact. No baseball gag.

* Giant bat and red book revelation deleted scene added and altered, of
course.
Music and sound f/x.

* Batman’s butt has been cut.

* Batman doesn’t give Gordon a thumbs up while in the Batwing.

* Too many cuts to count. Two pointless action sequences removed.

* The villains don’t play Battleship as Batman and Robin head for their
hideout.

* “It never ends” deleted scene added to the end.

* Running hero silhouettes cut from the end.
Cover art by Scaperat (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

Cover art by JimJones (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

User reviews

30 reviews
 
53%
 
37%
 
7%
 
3%
1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
8.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.1(16)
Audio Editing
 
8.7(16)
Visual Editing
 
8.4(16)
Narrative
 
8.3(16)
Enjoyment
 
8.3(30)
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(Updated: November 08, 2022)
Overall rating
 
7.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
I've always been a nostalgic fan of the original Batman Forever, but also a fan of darker takes on Batman. I think this edit did an admirable job of trying to darken it up, but just didn't measure up to my enjoyment of the original version. The addition of the deleted Arkham Asylum beginning, the "red book" subplot, and the alternate ending was excellent, but removing the exciting Batmobile sequence for a decidedly boring deleted scene between Bruce and Dick just took me right out of the movie.

The color saturation was inspired, but I could take it or leave it. The image quality of the added deleted scenes was notably different than the theatrical scenes, and the removal of dialogue was noticeable.

Again, a solid effort, but I'll still stick to the original for future viewings.

User Review

Format Watched?
Digital
B
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This edit is one of the few that I hold in the highest esteem. I consider it a classic fanedit. The look of the film now has a Sin City vibe to it, which in my opinion is a cool change. I love the color regrade, it was an inspiration for me to get into this kind of editing. It helps I loved the theatrical cut as a kid. It always had a slightly darker side to it in parts, and this edit wonderfully accentuates that.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
(Updated: December 16, 2022)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I enjoyed it. I showed it to my brother, and he likes it. It overall make Batman Forever more serious than the theatrical version.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
K
Top 500 Reviewer 7 reviews
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Overall rating
 
7.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
7.0
Audio Editing
 
7.0
Visual Editing
 
7.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
A valiant, albeit flawed, effort to fix a highly problematic film that was tainted by WB studios interference, as usual. The color desaturation gives the film some noir (instead of the original neon/pop) feeling which is more than welcome, and the same goes for the restoration of the deleted scenes back to the film, giving Bruce Wayne a sentimental, psychological journey into his darkest memories and Dr. Chase Meridian a crucial role to play other than being a mere love interest. Unfortunately, the aforementioned deleted scenes were never properly released by the studio and, as a result, the difference in video and audio quality between scenes is more than visible. This is, of course, by no means the editor’s fault, but unfortunately there are also a few more choppy cuts here and there, like when Dick Grayson saves that woman from the hands of a street gang. My main problem, though, not so much with this edit as with the original film, is that no amount of editing could ever salvage the two antagonists. Even the most gifted editor has to work with what he’s been provided, and The Riddler and Two-Face are just too goofy and cartoonish. The Riddler being essentially Jim Carrey I can live with, but Two-Face is still insufferable and out of character, no matter what.

However, despite all its flaws, The Red Book Edition still remains a better viewing experience than the original film, highlighting not only some of its darkest aspects that were butchered in WB’s editing room, but also a stellar performance by Val Kilmer. And justifying, at long last, why Batman is Forever.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 3 0
Overall rating
 
6.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
7.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
5.0
Narrative
 
6.0
Enjoyment
 
5.0
As other reviewers have said, a lot of the cheese from Forever has gone, but I'm not sure if you can polish this waste. The problem isn't the editor, it's more a problem of the film itself as the film is quite simply a mess and I doubt many people surrounding this film initially thought that they would end up with a car crash of a film (still.....Batman & Robin, anyone?)

The deleted scenes are grainy, off-coloured and unfortunately don't match the rest of the film. On whole, I don't really think they improve the film much and I'm sure they were originally deleted because Bruce basically tells the audience that he is "whole" with Batman (whatever that means) with his final confrontation with The Riddler.

Maybe, The Riddler and Two Face could have been further toned down. I don't blame you for leaving The Riddler as Jim Carrey is visually amazing and I don't know if making the film "darker" was your true intention. The scene with the "dark/light Two Face girls" is very cheesy and I honestly thought that the scene in particular would have been kept to an minimum....but recently thinking about it again, it may have looked awkward when the girls re-appear at The Riddler's exhibition and at the evil island in the final confrontation. Who knows how it would have looked, I can't really pass judgement.

Another problem is Chase, she could have been reduced even further really. Maybe it could be someone's job to see if they could remove her completely? I personally don't see much need for the character at all. Nicole Kidman was purely in it for her name and nothing else.

On conclusion, I think you did your best trying to change the film. Maybe you could have made the film darker by changing the soundtrack audio and trimming the remaining bits of cheese you left in? But again, maybe that was not your intention. Would I keep this edit and watch it again? Probably not. But the cuts in audio and visuals were very well made and I'm sure you got the end result that you personally wanted to achieve, so good on you.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
No
Format Watched?
DVD
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