Cosmogony

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Cosmogony
Brief Synopsis:
Cosmogony is a fanedit using a lot of movies to tell the story of humantity and nature, from the creation of life to wherever we are going.
Intention:
When I started this work I thought it would be cool to use all the great movies about the various wars and iconic moments in human history... But it did not turn like that. I needed to have room to show various stories more centered around certain characters (lots of them fictional), events and ideas than making a list of "known moments".
The edit is quite slow paced and contemplative. With mostly only music, except some dialogue at key points.
Additional Notes:
About 80% or more of the music you'll listen to is added and does not belong to the original movies.
Some audiences could find it too long for what it tells and maybe they're right (2h12 min) but I could not cut much more than I already did without the feeling that I was removing some things that I like.
So, the edit is what it is; maybe not perfect and not for everyone but I like it.

If you did not see The Emerald Forest, Apocalypto and Contagion, I advise you to watch them before this edit because there are some spoilers in the scenes I'm using.
Other Sources:
New music by: Jean-Michel Jarre; Neil Young; Judas Priest; Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard; Lou Reed & Metallica; Bruce Dickinson; Bjork (song Cosmogony on end credits)
Special Thanks:
Thanks to Neglify and NJVC for early preview of this work.
Release Information:
DVD
Special Features
Not much this time. Just the trailer.
Editing Details:
There are no real "changes" to the movies I'm using, storywise. I just use some scenes, cut them as I want and connect them to some other movies to continue the story.
Few special effect shots on the final scene.
Cover art by The Man Behind The Mask (DOWNLOAD HERE) image

Cosmogony from TMBTM on Vimeo.

Teaser

User reviews

11 reviews
 
45%
 
55%
5-7 stars
 
0%
3-5 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0(11)
Audio Editing
 
9.2(11)
Visual Editing
 
9.5(11)
Narrative
 
7.9(11)
Enjoyment
 
8.6(11)
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(Updated: July 18, 2022)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
7.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Filesize = 4.16 GB, Video = 720 X 480p mpgv, Audio = 320 kbps 2-Channel Stereo AC3

Ambitious story of humanity from the genesis of the cosmos to modern day.
Film fans will recognize 2001, Quest For Fire, Apocalypto, The Mission, etc …
It does seem to settle in the New World, omitting whole continents.
Also, it is dated. Scenes from Koyaanisqatsi would have pointed where humanity is headed.
Along with the eternal, suicidal conflicts we engage in.

This is a DVD, with menu and trailer, few editors bother with those nowadays.
The audio is superior to the video, though I found the audio too loud most of the time, often overwhelming what sparse dialogue there is.
As far as music choices, for every good tune, there were three I rolled my eyes at. Tastes vary, so I just tried to ignore.
By the end, I found “the story of us” suffered from overreach. I still wonder if TMBTM was trying to replicate a huge screen IMAX event.
TMBTM seems to be slowing down, too. Retired? Bummer, he remains a good editor.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
Report this review Comments (1) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Overall rating
 
8.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
7.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
It's an incredibly ambitious project. I don't think my mind would have ever put half of these films together but the TMBTM has really showed us what can be done with fan edits if you are willing to be bold. Overall, I really enjoyed seeing so many of my favorite films in such a new light.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
M
1 reviews
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Overall rating
 
8.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
6.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
The first hour and a half or so of this edit is phenomenal and truly amazing, if it stayed that good it would almost have a 10/10 score for me but sadly I have complaints. After the scenes about the virus start things start to get confusing as time becomes harder to keep track of. Instead of easily pin pointing where in time I am watching like the rest of the film the final "third act" is a bunch of tribes from various movies, mostly interacting with Americans. The scenes dragged on so long and had been done better earlier in the film. These scenes really ruined the movie and its pacing, it should have been replaced with world wars and famous disasters but instead it ended, boring and confusing. HOWEVER the first hour is truly amazing and a wonder of cinema and I highly recommend at least watching the first half.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
O
1 reviews
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(Updated: May 01, 2013)
Overall rating
 
8.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
This is beautiful.
A beautiful, bold and lyrical experiment in artful storytelling.
I will be honest, I did not quite grasp it all. But what did not register with my intellect definitely manipulated me emotionally. There were moments where I did struggle with the narrative; where it felt a bit too long or drawn out, but then the story would evolve and I would find myself engrossed again.
I don't know if is this something I would watch repeatedly, but I do feel richer for the experience.
Thank you TMBTM!

User Review

Format Watched?
DVD
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Parts of Cosmogony were beautiful, combining tone poetry with reflections on life and humanity. I'm reminded of some of the documentaries and movies that have caused me to think of my place in the universe, and this ambitious edit is like a feature-length collage built from those pieces.

Cosmogony felt overly long in places, and large swaths of footage from The Emerald Forest carried unintentional goofiness that didn't match the tonality of the rest of the edit. The soundtrack was overlaid evenly and with skill and was appropriately ethereal or elegiac in places, though other musical selections didn't work so well and took me a bit out of the experience, particularly the overly dramatic synthesizers attached to the Apocalypto chase sequence.

The meditative and almost spiritual nature of TMBTM's effort reminds me of blueyoda's superb (fe) la vie series, in that they rely on no primary cinematic source to tell a deeply emotional story that cannot be neatly summarized. Definitely worth a watch.

Enjoyjoy: 8 pelvic aerothusts.

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