Cloud Atlas: Everything Is Connected

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9.5 (11)
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Cloud Atlas: Everything Is Connected
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2012
Original Running Time:
172
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
172
Time Cut:
0
Time Added:
0
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
The novel, Cloud Atlas, was a 2004 best seller that used a unique "nested doll" structure for six different storylines, spanning several hundred years. Cloud Atlas: Everything Is Connected is an attempt to more closely represent the novel in its nested storyline approach, with an amazing cast including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, and Jim Broadbent. It's a long movie, so sit down with your favourite drink and enjoy! :)
Intention:
Cloud Atlas was an inspiring film, but I agree with many reviews that the movie missed its potential. It felt disjointed. The six stories kept chopping and changing between each other which made it difficult to follow if you didn't already know them. Cloud Atlas: Everything Is Connected ties all the stories together in the same fashion as the novel, and gives the viewer time to invest in each individual story, and providing more of a chance to identify the connected characters. It's still not immediately obvious though, so you need to pay attention! :)
Other Sources:
Cloud Atlas Soundtrack
Release Information:
Digital
Special Features
1080p HD with 5.1 AC3 Surround Sound in MP4 format
Editing Details:
I lost count of how many edits were made... see the forum discussion thread for a screenshot! The intention was not to change the stories, but to present them in a better way. A few different approaches were trialled, and ultimately I chose the "nested" approach of the novel with the following chapters:

1. Intro
2. The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 1)
3. Letters from Zedelghem (Part 1)
4. Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 1)
5. The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 1)
6. The Orison of Sonmi~451 (Part 1)
7. Sloosha's Crossin' an Ev'rythin' After
8. The Orison of Sonmi~451 (Part 2)
9. The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 2)
10. Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 2)
11. Letters from Zedelghem (Part 2)
12. The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 2)
13. Conclusion
Trailer

User reviews

11 reviews
 
91%
 
9%
5-7 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
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Overall rating
 
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.9(11)
Audio Editing
 
9.1(11)
Visual Editing
 
9.2(11)
Narrative
 
9.9(11)
Enjoyment
 
9.6(11)
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Overall rating
 
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
7.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
If there was ever a film in need of heavy editing, it is Cloud Atlas.

An edit won’t ever be able to fix the very weird and confusing casting choices, with a cacophony of apparently reincarnating souls. But by getting closer to the book’s structure and weaving of the stories, this edit turns the film closer to the epic it was always supposed to be.

My only minor complaints, like previous reviewers have pointed out, relate to some visual and audio cuts, they were too obvious for me. Particularly the ones connecting the timelines, they were very inconsistent; in some “time jumps” we would get far too long fade-outs, in other places the cuts were too sudden and felt forced.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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(Updated: October 31, 2022)
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Watching this edit makes you wonder: why didn’t the filmmakers themselves do it this way? Why make it so hard on themselves with that quick and hard-to-follow edit? With this fanedit at least one can invest in the characters and the stories, and really being moved by them. I even noticed some details I always missed when watching the theatrical cut.

Having read the book before I saw the movie, I expected this fanedit to be exactly like the book. The editor however chose to start (and end) the movie in the same way as the theatrical version, which is actually way better than sticking 100% to the book, because this way the viewer is better prepared for what’s to come.
I think it would have further improved the storytelling to repeat the prologue-shots of the 1973 story during the actual 1973 story, and one or two slow-motion shots during that part of the movie were perhaps a little too slow to be convincing.

But those are very minor details. Seeing this fanedit was almost like seeing the movie for the first time, and it brought back happy memories of reading the book. So here’s a big thankyou to Avid 4D. And to everyone else: skip the theatrical version - you only need this one.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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(Updated: January 09, 2022)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Really enjoyed the original film and am fairly surprised that a cut of this kind was not at least provided as a special feature on home media releases. With the source footage of the six stories being so fragmented I am amazed that it could have been rearranged so seamlessly.

Have nothing more to say, video and audio quality was excellent throughout (saw it not long after viewing the original on blu-ray and nothing untoward caught my eye) as were the edits, all I need to do now is read the book!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
P
Top 50 Reviewer 82 reviews
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
As a fan of the book first, then the movie, thank you so much Avid4D for doing this edit! It was fascinating to see the stories unfold the way they do in the book. Stellar editing! I didn't think it would be possible but you made it work.


User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (1) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Have you seen the theatrical cut of Cloud Atlas? Did you enjoy it? No matter the answers to these questions, this is an edit worth seeking out. I, for one, did see the original and felt kind of "meh" about it. I like a lot of things about it, I dislike some things, but ultimately I feel like it doesn't earn its profundities. The new structure in this edit certainly makes it easier to follow, and spending more time with these characters instead of jumping away just as we get a handle on what's going on gives us more time to consider the meaning of what we're seeing. Unfortunately, it also wreaks havoc with the pacing, meaning you really feel the runtime. Also, in compartmentalizing the stories, it breaks up what was an unclassifiable meditation on life and humanity into a series of vignettes with wildly disparate tones. You'll be watching a romantic tragedy for a few minutes, then a comedy, then a sci-fi actioner, and so on. I like all of those things, but if you're not digging a particular story or style, you're going to be stuck watching it for a bit anyway, twice.

Aside from all of this, though, Cloud Atlas: Everything is Connected is a fascinating exercise in editing! When you consider that the film started life with a mosaic structure and a (gorgeous) ever-present soundtrack tying everything together, watching these bits and pieces reorganized into larger chunks that work on their own while still retaining much of the (gorgeous, truly) soundtrack is astounding. There are a (very) few moments where you can sense the edits or hear a bit of dialed-down soundtrack in the background, but they are few and far between and don't even come close to ruining the experience. This is an impressive edit, make no mistake.

I still don't think the movie is very successful in what it set out to do, but I believe it's still worth watching. Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski's shot the hell out of this movie, the production design is terrific, the cast all really went for it (Tom Hanks especially is a blast), the makeup while frequently distracting is still really interesting, and did I mention the score? So even if it's all a bunch of hooey, it's nonsense made by pros. Oh, and the HD MP4 looked great, no complaints.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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