Batman Forever: Red Book Edition

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.

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.

I liked the edit, and after having looked after it for months and months, when I finally found it, I thought of having found the definitive edition of "Batman Forever". That was not the case, but was extremely happy with it. Thank you for your dedicated work and inspiration.

This fan edit has been held in high regards for some time now so I was excited to finally sit down and watch it.

From the opening scene I felt like I was watching another movie. Then with the transition to the red Bat logo and then to the Batmobile taking off I thought this is fantastic. However from that point onwards my enthusiasm waned.

Most of the deleted scenes worked great though some could have benefited from more sound design. The newly added Goldenthal cues generally work but I think ultimately his score just isn't right for Batman

What bothered me most about this edit was the colour design. From scene to scene the picture didn't seem very consistent. In some scenes it was very nearly black and white and in others very flat. If I felt this was the editors intention I could except it but I'm not entirely sure it was. I appreciate the flashy neon design that Schumacher created wasn't right for Batman, nevertheless I think I prefer that over a very flat image.

With all that said this is still a very good fan edit. Scaperat could've probably been more brutal with cuts, but most of the truly offensive stuff is gone making this a much more watchable film.

Thank you Scaperat! :]X