Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze – Detarnished!

October 15, 2011

I have to admit that before reading all the positive reviews on Slark’s ambitious Doc Savage fanedit, I really didn’t know much about the adventures of the man of bronze. I actually thought he originated as a DC comic book character, so that’s my knowledge for you. Curious to see what all the fuss was about I soon realised this would be something which would tickle my fancy.

For a movie which is steeped very much in the camp comic book style of William Dozier’s Batman series, Doc Savage is no easy task for anybody to take on as a fanedit – particularly if the intention is to strip away the most ridiculous elements (of which there are many) and present a serious take on the character. Well, okay, not completely serious, as the footage just isn’t there for such an edit – but certainly a version of the Doc which at least draws you in with some degree of authenticity and believability.

Settling down with my girlfriend (who knew even less about Mr Savage and his Fabulous Five) to watch Slark’s 83 minute version, I was immediately impressed with the wonderful newsreel opening, neatly combining some scenes from the film which Slark had chose to cut with different stock photos to tell a little bit of the back story about our hero. Very nicely executed with a quite brilliant voiceover too. After this, it’s straight to Savage’s secret base in the Arctic which is mercifully free of Don Black’s “Doc Savage” theme song. Some very impressive sound effects replacement here and I knew from this moment on that I was in for one of those truly special fanedit experiences.

Indeed edits such as this do make me somewhat envious in that I wish I could afford some of the tools which were available to Slark. By that I mean software like After Effects (at least I assume it was AE or some similar programme!) which has helped remove things such as Doc’s cheesy twinkle in his eye, or most noticeably improve the scene of the man drenched in gold at the end of the film. The work involved here is quite staggering really and it’s easy to see why the edit has attracted such high acclaim.

Yet, with the risk of being shot down in flames, I would still have liked Slark to go even further and remove more of the ill fitting music score. Considering some of the impressive Foley work executed for the aforementioned Arctic scenes, it would not have been impossible to do, but hey that’s just a personal preference.
Editing. Very impressive and as natural as one could wish for from any fanedit 10/10

On the picture quality front, this is every bit as good as the commercially available DVD. Nice stable image and the newsreel footage placed into the film fitted in more or less seamlessly. 9/10

Audio – no harsh cuts at all and balance is about as perfect as one can get. 9/10

Overall then, this is certainly a contender for fanedit of the year and I must commend Slark for the passion and drive he had to make this edit as good as possible. I’m tempted to give it a 10/10, but because I feel some of the music score could have been altered to make it even better, I will give a 9/10.

Doc Savage has indeed been rescued. Mission accomplished :)

A guilty pleasure. The Man of Bronze leaps off the written page and onto the big screen with his colorful team in tow. Thank you for salvaging Doc's movie adventure and exposing the little gem that lay hidden under the movie studio's official release. Until we see a full-feature, modern version of Doc Savage (Shane Black and Dwayne Johnson: make it happen!), this lovely yet clunky rendition is the best Doc outside of the books.

September 25, 2011
*This rating was given before reviews were required*

An older fan-edit that is absolutely worth standing alongside the most recent work. I have to give credit to Slark for the opening title cards. It set me in the right frame of mind to enjoy this edit with appropriate expectations. In short: it is not a good movie. There is no magic wand that can make it a good movie. But there is a certain charm to it, and particularly for fans of pulp serials or Doc Savage himself, what this edit HAS done is revealed a kernel of what could've been a good movie. As the title cards say "If someone watches this and complains that they wasted 1 1/2 hours of their time, I'll consider that a victory because they didn't turn it off after 3 minutes!" Well, I watched it all the way through, and for a Doc Savage fan, it wasn't time wasted at all.

After trimming so much away, what we're left with is a smoothly edited film that gives a focused and consistent narrative: an old-school adventure serial of globe-trotting and scientific mystery. Now, there are parts that are super-cheesy and have been left in...they're just endemic to the story. The music is a horrible choice for making you take any of this without eye-rolls, but it IS "The Doc Savage March". While I would've scrapped the entire score, I understand the desire to keep at least the main theme. There are also some lines and scenes which are pretty campy and over-the-top ("Mona, you're a brick." Bwa ha!) but honestly it's kind of the charm of the film. You're just not going to get a serious action movie out of this, so why not leave in some of the less offensive wacky fun? Some of the inventions and effects work are also super-forced and campy, but they are consistent with the novels, so really you just have to keep them as they were realized.

The intro to the film is the major win here, and I'd love to see a whole movie done in a similar vein. What's here seems more like a long TV episode akin to a Magnum PI or Knight Rider...about the same level of quality, budget, acting, cinematography, etc. But this pared down version gives us a film that could stand alongside many of the big movies of the late '70s/early '80s.... it's not any cheesier than many of Moore's Bond films, not any more camp than ridiculous comedies with former SNL members. And what it does have is a really fantastic portrayal of Doc by Ron Ely! Until we get a Hollywood update (a matter of time), this is the best realization of those old novels a fan could hope for. Thanks to Slark for salvaging something from the wreckage.

I actually watched this Fanedit first before seeing the theatrical version. But i could watch the theatrical version on its own, Is it super cheesy and weird. Oh Yes. Im still scratching my head as too why all the bad guys are sleeping in oversized baby cradles. But To me there worst thing a movie can be than being cheesy and that being boring. Like Phantom Menace Boring. But this cut dose bring the cheese down a few slices and if your allergic to cheese. Than this version is for you. Personally i could watch either one. Depending if i want to watch something wacky or something more more restrained.