Logan's Run: The SilentPete Edit

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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1976
Original Running Time:
119
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
90
Time Cut:
29
Subtitles Available?
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
Generally speaking, I love Logan's Run as it is. However, it does have some pacing issues as well as some logic issues that I really wanted to address. I believe this edit tightens up the film and makes for a faster and more consistent experience, while also removing some of the cringe (just a few things).
Intention:
I wanted to tighten up the film, increase the pace and threat, as well as remove some of the unneeded moments.
Release Information:
Digital
Cuts and Additions:
Cuts:
The opening nursery scene is gone. I felt the film needed to start with a bang.

The film now opens on the Renewal ceremony.

Renewal ceremony is trimmed down a bit. It just goes on a bit too long.

Runner chase has been trimmed for added tension and pace.

Logan and Francis talking about the city rules has been moved to after the Renewal and Runner sequence. It now appears as this happens as they exit the ceremony.

Logan and Jessica meeting scene has been trimmed for pace.

Logan being given his assignment has been trimmed for pacing and to remove any dialogue that would be connect to later scenes with BOX, who is removed.

The scene in Cathedral has been pretty cut down. The little girl they first meet is gone. Instead they run directly in to the cubs. Billy and his antics have been trimmed down. He's just silly and not a threat.

The New You scene has been trimmed just a bit for pacing.

The "sex room" the Logan and Jessica pass through on their way out of the city has been completely removed. Simply put, it's really bad and just had to go!

Logan and Jessica's trip down to the underground Runners has been trimmed a bit for pacing.

Logan and Jessica's interactions with the underground Runners has been trimmed a bit for pacing.

Logan and Jessica's trip through the bowels of the city has been cut down, removing anything not needed for the story and to keep the threat of Francis being on their tail alive.

The scene(s) with BOX have been completely removed. How the city is fed is really just not important to the story, and BOX himself is really not a threat. Instead, Logan and Jessica take the elevator up and exit the dome and see the Sun. This also keeps Francis hot on their tails, which really needs to be present from this point on.

Logan and Jessica's trek through the wilderness has been trimmed for pacing, and to keep the Francis threat looming.

ALL scenes with the Old Man have been trimmed or cut. He is an important part of the story, but his scenes really drag the pace down and remove the looming threat of Francis coming.

Logan's interrogation scene has been trimmed for pacing.

There are numerous little cuts or line removals throughout, but those are the big changes.

User reviews

3 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0(3)
Audio Editing
 
10.0(3)
Visual Editing
 
9.7(3)
Narrative
 
9.3(3)
Enjoyment
 
9.0(3)
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
I'm so very glad that a Logan's Run edit has been made. An old favorite of mine, I had put this classic 70s anti-utopia on my list of films to maybe give a light makeover some day. Guess I won't be needing to do that: the SilentPete edit does address a lot of what I would have done as well, and does quite a remarkable job at it.

Not that I would have done exactly the same, though: like a previous reviewer stated, the early scenes that have been removed here do help with the world building and I would have opted to keep them at least partially, but the bold move of dropping us into this weird world unprepared by opening directly with Carousel does indeed work in some strange way. This approach gives the opening segment a sort of arthouse feel, and since the first 9-something minutes are without dialogue, it kind of plays like a silent movie, only shot with sound. In fact it did remind me a lot of the opening of Charles Chaplin's Modern Times, a connection that I had never expected to make, in that there are lines but not dialogue and we suddenly find ourselves in some twisted technological world.

I have to address, though, one single spot of a cut that I don't think works very well: the dissolve from the arcade conversation to Logan's apartment plays quite awkwardly due to the lack of enough footage to dissolve without stepping on the dialogue. The editor has acknowledged this, though, and might revise that bit.

There's also the issue of the 1056 unaccounted Runners, a plot point that it has left unresolved in this version after the removal of the Box scene. One would expect to meet them or at least find out about them during the story, but the editor chose to leave it intentionally vague while keeping the references to it to avoid undermining Logan's motivations. How well that will work, I guess will depend on each viewer.

But from that spot up until the end - yes, it's very much the same edit I would have liked to make. Box's removal was a no-brainer (the concept was great, but oh my, that robot suit and makeup! This was an MGM film and I've seen better robots and cyborgs in Corman cheapies), and the trimming down of the Old Man scenes had to be done - the characters are fugitives yet they devote too much time to sit around and talk while a ruthless Sandman is chasing them. Also, as endearing as it used to be to listen to Peter Ustinov quote T.S. Eliot's Cats poems, in the present day the effect is very different from the intended because it's unavoidable to think of the musical, particularly after that appalling movie version of it became so notorious. Overall, this cut moves at quite a briskier pace, and not much is really missed even though about one quarter of the original running time is gone.

With great audio and video quality, this "renewed" (see what I did there) version of the film is very much recommended for anyone in the mood for some pre-Star Wars 70s Sci-Fi. Great job!
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(Updated: May 11, 2023)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
First, let me say that I love Logan's Run (both the movie and the TV series). I am incredibly familiar with the film and notice every snipped segment because of my familiarity.

That said, I do recognize that there are several segments that detract from the film. These are the three I agree with: 1) the cubs segment is a bit long, 2) I never liked Box... looks fake, 3) the outside segment drags and the old man/cats segment is far too long. All three of these are handled expertly and I like how they were edited.

There are some edits I am neutral toward; I don't mind the fact that they are gone (for example, I don't need the Love Shop scene). I find the cut here a bit abrupt (they go from fleeing the New You to the "service area" a bit quick). My familiarity with the segment made it more abrupt in my mind than a casual observer, however, so not a big deal.

As for cuts I may disagree with, most of those would be the earliest cuts, including the nursery scene. While yes, they may "slow the story pace," I find them essential for "world-building" and introducing you to life in the city. These were still handled well by the faneditor, but I wish we still had those scenes in the film.

One other note, and I'm not certain how it would be handled: Roscoe Lee Browne's credit as Box at the beginning of the film even though he has been completely excised from the fanedit. I knew the scene was going to be cut going into it, so I noticed the credit had not been removed. But because it is over a camera movement of the model shot of the city, it may not be able to be removed easily and I understand why it remains.

The absolute best part of this fanedit is how it handled the removal of Box. It was seamless and the music worked perfectly over the segment. I do recommend it, so give it a watch!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
I came to Logan's Run through the book first, then the beautiful George Perez drawn comics adaptation Marvel did before I ever saw the film. As a result, I was always disappointed by the film because it either changed too much of what made the book's ending compelling or the SFX of the time couldn't successfully pull of key chapters like Box or the Gypsy's flying around on rocket-cycles.

SilentPete's edit has managed to fix a lot of that by leaving those sequences on the cutting room floor. Refocusing the narrative more strongly on Logan vs Francis was the wise move. Unfortunately, because I'm biased from knowing how much more complicated the book's Francis was, the ending still feels underwhelming to me, but I doubt that will be an issue for anyone who's only familar with the movie's ending, which I still find laughably bad.

Overall, the pace has been quickened by cutting the fat, resulting in the best version of the 70s Logan's Run movie possible with the available material. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who'd like to revisit the film in a more refined form.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
B
Top 100 Reviewer 55 reviews
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