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Forbidden Planet Spellbound
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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1956
Original Running Time:
98
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
98
Subtitles Available?
Available in HD?
Additional Links:
Brief Synopsis:
To make the movie more accessible I added traditional orchestral music (from the soundtrack of 'Spellbound' by Miklós Rózsa), and removed most of the 'electronic tonalities'.
Intention:
I admire the studio's bravery by going for 'electronic tonalities' instead of traditional orchestral music - but for me, it doesn't work. Worse, those strange sounds distract me. Only every now and then they work as sound effects in my opinion. So I got the idea that I might like this movie better with orchestral music.
Additional Notes:
The soundtrack for 'Spellbound' (1945) by Miklós Rózsa has all the ingredients I need (adventure, suspense, romance, terror and comedy), and it features the theremin to underscore scenes dealing with the subconscious. This, and the fact that the theremin became almost synonymous with sci-fi in the fifties, made 'Spellbound' the perfect match.
Other Sources:
The soundtrack-album of 'Spellbound' (1945) by Miklós Rózsa, performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alan Wilson (an Intrada release from 2007).
Special Thanks:
Very special thanks to @addiesin for advice on software to remove most of the 'electronic tonalities'. Without his help, this project would probably have bombed.
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
The love theme became associated with Altaira, but doesn't come to full bloom until she kisses captain Adams. The theremin-theme became the leitmotiv for Morbius' subconscious, growing in intensity as the story unfolds.
Apart from that I tried to avoid adding too much music, and I did my best to make the transitions between the different music cues as smooth as possible.
Apart from that I tried to avoid adding too much music, and I did my best to make the transitions between the different music cues as smooth as possible.
Cuts and Additions:
CHANGE LIST
Removed all 'electronic tonalities' (except were stated)
Added music cues from the soundtrack of 'Spellbound' (1945) by Miklós Rózsa, performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alan Wilson (an Intrada release from 2007). For details, see music cue list below.
The love theme became associated with Altaira, but doesn't come to full bloom until she kisses captain Adams.
The theremin-theme became the leitmotiv for Morbius' subconscious, growing in intensity as the story unfolds.
Replaced sound effects were necessary.
During main titles replaced 'electronic tonalities by Louis and Bebe Barron' with 'music by Miklós Rózsa, music supervision and editing by Scott Crane, soundeffects by Louis and Bebe Barron'.
During the 'Star Trek' scene (drop from light speed) aboard the spaceship I kept the original sound in (at a lower volume)*
During the first images of Planet Altair I kept the original sound in (at a lower volume)*
Added sound-effect of animal breathing during the two scenes when the 'monster' breaks into the spaceship. After all, one of the guards remarks that he hears some kind of breathing, which isn't audible in the original version of the movie (see the second fragment in the clips-video below).
When Morbius shows Adams and the doctor the Krell machines, I kept the 'electronic tonalities' in (at a lower volume).*
When the 'monster' finally appears, I kept the original sound in (at a lower volume)*
Added sound effects of screaming when Morbius goes to his final confrontation with the 'monster' (did anyone say Wilhelm?)
* The 'electronic tonalities' work fine here as sound effects.
MUSIC CUE LIST
It would be undoable to indicate every start and end time code of each fragment, so all titles listed below refer to (multiple) excerpts. So the same title doesn't necessarily mean the same excerpt(s).
The tracks 'The Awaking' and 'Honeymoon at Brulov's' are respectively 16 and 10 minutes long (and actually consist of more titles), that's why they appear so often here (but each track offers widely varied material).
00:00:08: Main Title, Gambling Dream, Main Title -00:02:37
00:02:54: Train to Gabriel Valley -00:03:56
00:04:26: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Contance's Discovery -00:06:09
00:06:13: Gambling Dream -00:06:50
00:10:03: The Penn Station -00:11:21
00:12:06: Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Awakening, Honeymoon at Brulov's -00:16:13
00:20:31: The Awakening, Defeat -00:21:30
00:21:49: The Awakening, The Picnic, The Awakening -00:26:06
00:26:10: Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Empire Hotel, Green Manors, Main Title -00:27:26
00:28:54: Defeat, The Awakening -00:30:16
00:33:03: First Meeting, Main Title, Green Manors -00:35:24
00:35:48: Constance and Brulov, The Awakening -00:38:00
00:39:07: The Awakening -00:41:05
00:42:11: Main Title -00:42:27
00:42:44: First Meeting -00:43:29
00:44:02: The Awakening, Honeymoon at Brulov's, First Meeting, The Letter -00:48:21
00:48:48: Train to Gabriel Valley, Honeymoon at Brulov's, Train to Gabriel Valley -00:49:29
00:49:57: Dream Interpretation -00:51:33
00:52:46: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Dream Interpretation -00:56:26
00:59:23: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Defeat, The Burned Hand -01:02:25
01:04:44: Ski Run, First Meeting -01:05:41
01:05:44: Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Penn Station -01:07:07
01:08:12: Defeat, The Awakening, First Meeting -01:10:14
01:11:00: Constance and Brulov -01:11:33
01:12:36: First Meeting -01:12:51
01:12:55: Ski Run -01:13:07
01:15:26: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Ski Run -01:18:24
01:20:49: Honeymoon at Brulov's -01:21:55
00:59:47: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Defeat, The Burned Hand -01:02:26
01:04:44: First Meeting, Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Penn Station -01:07:07
01:08:12: Defeat, The Awakening, First Meeting -01:10:14
01:11:00: Constance and Brulov -01:11:33
01:12:36: First Meeting 01:12:51
01:12:55: Ski Run -01:13:07
01:15:26: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Ski Run -01:18:24
01:20:16: Honeymoon at Brulov's -01:21:54
01:23:01: Constance and Brulov, Honeymoon at Brulov's -01:24:15
01:27:32: First Meeting -01:27:48
01:28:49: Ski Run, Railway Carriage, Honeymoon at Brulov's, Railway Carriage, Ski Run -01:30:58
01:31:38: The Revolver, Honeymoon at Brulov's, Ski Run -01:35:36
01:35:55: The Revolver -01:36:13
01:36:25: Defeat, Dream Interpretation, Defeat, End title, Main Title, End Title - Short -01:38:26
Removed all 'electronic tonalities' (except were stated)
Added music cues from the soundtrack of 'Spellbound' (1945) by Miklós Rózsa, performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alan Wilson (an Intrada release from 2007). For details, see music cue list below.
The love theme became associated with Altaira, but doesn't come to full bloom until she kisses captain Adams.
The theremin-theme became the leitmotiv for Morbius' subconscious, growing in intensity as the story unfolds.
Replaced sound effects were necessary.
During main titles replaced 'electronic tonalities by Louis and Bebe Barron' with 'music by Miklós Rózsa, music supervision and editing by Scott Crane, soundeffects by Louis and Bebe Barron'.
During the 'Star Trek' scene (drop from light speed) aboard the spaceship I kept the original sound in (at a lower volume)*
During the first images of Planet Altair I kept the original sound in (at a lower volume)*
Added sound-effect of animal breathing during the two scenes when the 'monster' breaks into the spaceship. After all, one of the guards remarks that he hears some kind of breathing, which isn't audible in the original version of the movie (see the second fragment in the clips-video below).
When Morbius shows Adams and the doctor the Krell machines, I kept the 'electronic tonalities' in (at a lower volume).*
When the 'monster' finally appears, I kept the original sound in (at a lower volume)*
Added sound effects of screaming when Morbius goes to his final confrontation with the 'monster' (did anyone say Wilhelm?)
* The 'electronic tonalities' work fine here as sound effects.
MUSIC CUE LIST
It would be undoable to indicate every start and end time code of each fragment, so all titles listed below refer to (multiple) excerpts. So the same title doesn't necessarily mean the same excerpt(s).
The tracks 'The Awaking' and 'Honeymoon at Brulov's' are respectively 16 and 10 minutes long (and actually consist of more titles), that's why they appear so often here (but each track offers widely varied material).
00:00:08: Main Title, Gambling Dream, Main Title -00:02:37
00:02:54: Train to Gabriel Valley -00:03:56
00:04:26: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Contance's Discovery -00:06:09
00:06:13: Gambling Dream -00:06:50
00:10:03: The Penn Station -00:11:21
00:12:06: Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Awakening, Honeymoon at Brulov's -00:16:13
00:20:31: The Awakening, Defeat -00:21:30
00:21:49: The Awakening, The Picnic, The Awakening -00:26:06
00:26:10: Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Empire Hotel, Green Manors, Main Title -00:27:26
00:28:54: Defeat, The Awakening -00:30:16
00:33:03: First Meeting, Main Title, Green Manors -00:35:24
00:35:48: Constance and Brulov, The Awakening -00:38:00
00:39:07: The Awakening -00:41:05
00:42:11: Main Title -00:42:27
00:42:44: First Meeting -00:43:29
00:44:02: The Awakening, Honeymoon at Brulov's, First Meeting, The Letter -00:48:21
00:48:48: Train to Gabriel Valley, Honeymoon at Brulov's, Train to Gabriel Valley -00:49:29
00:49:57: Dream Interpretation -00:51:33
00:52:46: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Dream Interpretation -00:56:26
00:59:23: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Defeat, The Burned Hand -01:02:25
01:04:44: Ski Run, First Meeting -01:05:41
01:05:44: Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Penn Station -01:07:07
01:08:12: Defeat, The Awakening, First Meeting -01:10:14
01:11:00: Constance and Brulov -01:11:33
01:12:36: First Meeting -01:12:51
01:12:55: Ski Run -01:13:07
01:15:26: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Ski Run -01:18:24
01:20:49: Honeymoon at Brulov's -01:21:55
00:59:47: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Defeat, The Burned Hand -01:02:26
01:04:44: First Meeting, Honeymoon at Brulov's, The Penn Station -01:07:07
01:08:12: Defeat, The Awakening, First Meeting -01:10:14
01:11:00: Constance and Brulov -01:11:33
01:12:36: First Meeting 01:12:51
01:12:55: Ski Run -01:13:07
01:15:26: Honeymoon at Brulov's, Ski Run -01:18:24
01:20:16: Honeymoon at Brulov's -01:21:54
01:23:01: Constance and Brulov, Honeymoon at Brulov's -01:24:15
01:27:32: First Meeting -01:27:48
01:28:49: Ski Run, Railway Carriage, Honeymoon at Brulov's, Railway Carriage, Ski Run -01:30:58
01:31:38: The Revolver, Honeymoon at Brulov's, Ski Run -01:35:36
01:35:55: The Revolver -01:36:13
01:36:25: Defeat, Dream Interpretation, Defeat, End title, Main Title, End Title - Short -01:38:26
Trailer
Clip (3 fragments)
User reviews
6 reviews
Overall rating
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
9.5(6)
Audio Editing
8.3(6)
Visual Editing
9.5(6)
Narrative
9.7(6)
Enjoyment
9.3(6)
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
ScottCrane nails the music and sound effects replacement here. I don't know how he came up with the idea to use the score from Spellbound, but it's a perfect match. If you didn't know otherwise, you'd think this was the music originally written for the film. This is hands down my go-to version of the film. I only wish a few trims had been made to improve the pacing, since the film still drags at points just like the original, but that was never Scott's goal here, so I won't hold it against him. Great stuff!
User Review
Format Watched?
Digital
S
(Updated: May 18, 2023)
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
So I couldnt make it through the original version. The sound gave me a headache and it was slowly paced. The change in music and SFX has helped me a lot! Its still slow for me, so i'd love to see an edit to fix that but thats probably just me.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
K
Overall rating
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Forbidden Planet is one of my all time favourite films. Pretty much the prototype for Star Trek and other sci-fi film/tv shows that followed decades after. I'll be honest, the original synthesizer score to me is the least memorable part of the film. After a while, the score loses its sting and more or less becomes monotonous.
Was the original score ground-breaking? Absolutely.
Was it entirely necessary to use it for every single moment throughout the film? In my opinion, no.
It sounded too showy as if the original composers were saying to the audience, 'did you hear what we did there?'. It works for some things like general foley in the overall sound mix but not as an entire musical score.
This is where Scott Crane's Spellbound edit comes to the rescue. While the synthesizers haven't been totally erased from the new sound mix, they've been appropriately dialled back as SFX to make way for the vastly superior score composed by Miklos Rozsa. Rozsa's score enhances many scenes with more dynamic and nuance. The use of the stereo re-recording conducted by Alan Wilson also greatly enhances the audio presentation of the film which allows for more spatial clarity.
The use of this score was an inspired choice and synchs up perfectly with the film. Nicely balanced within the original sound mix. There was never a moment of drowning out the dialogue, perfect!
My only criticism would be some minor things, there were a few moments where ambient room SFX was missing, some general SFX such as doors sliding open and shut, some footsteps here and there and the car/rover in motion that were absent from the sound mix. That being said, this didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the edit.
Now for my final word. In my opinion, this is THE superior version of Forbidden Planet and my go-to copy for future viewing from now on.
Excellent work, Scott Crane!
Take a bow.
Was the original score ground-breaking? Absolutely.
Was it entirely necessary to use it for every single moment throughout the film? In my opinion, no.
It sounded too showy as if the original composers were saying to the audience, 'did you hear what we did there?'. It works for some things like general foley in the overall sound mix but not as an entire musical score.
This is where Scott Crane's Spellbound edit comes to the rescue. While the synthesizers haven't been totally erased from the new sound mix, they've been appropriately dialled back as SFX to make way for the vastly superior score composed by Miklos Rozsa. Rozsa's score enhances many scenes with more dynamic and nuance. The use of the stereo re-recording conducted by Alan Wilson also greatly enhances the audio presentation of the film which allows for more spatial clarity.
The use of this score was an inspired choice and synchs up perfectly with the film. Nicely balanced within the original sound mix. There was never a moment of drowning out the dialogue, perfect!
My only criticism would be some minor things, there were a few moments where ambient room SFX was missing, some general SFX such as doors sliding open and shut, some footsteps here and there and the car/rover in motion that were absent from the sound mix. That being said, this didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the edit.
Now for my final word. In my opinion, this is THE superior version of Forbidden Planet and my go-to copy for future viewing from now on.
Excellent work, Scott Crane!
Take a bow.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
T
Overall rating
8.2
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
8.0
I think it's safe to say that this version of Forbidden Planet doesn't need a thorough or detailed review. The test for whether this edit works or not is dependent on whether you think the change in music works or not, and for me, it did.
Now, I must confess that I like the original version's musical score. It was highly ambitious to use mostly synthesizers in a time when the norm was to be as classical as possible. With that said, though, I do think the music of Miklos Rozsa does a nice job of making things more "emotive" here than in the original edit. This version definitely felt like something from the 1950s, and I mean that in a good way. The change in music makes this feel like an authentic vintage blockbuster from the 1950s. One that almost reaches the same level as the more biblical epics of the time like The Ten Commandments or even Ben-Hur (Which is a fair comparison, since Rozsa also did the score for the latter).
So, with a comparison like that, am I saying that this edit is better? Well, in all honesty, I don't know. They're both equally good if you ask me. This is one where I believe your own personal tastes will make the best judgment. My guess is that if you crave ambition, you're most likely to prefer the original version. However, if you want things to sound more like a 1950s epic, and you want something that packs a more emotional punch, this edit will most likely impress you more. Whatever the case, I highly recommend giving this one a watch to see (or hear) for yourself.
Now, I must confess that I like the original version's musical score. It was highly ambitious to use mostly synthesizers in a time when the norm was to be as classical as possible. With that said, though, I do think the music of Miklos Rozsa does a nice job of making things more "emotive" here than in the original edit. This version definitely felt like something from the 1950s, and I mean that in a good way. The change in music makes this feel like an authentic vintage blockbuster from the 1950s. One that almost reaches the same level as the more biblical epics of the time like The Ten Commandments or even Ben-Hur (Which is a fair comparison, since Rozsa also did the score for the latter).
So, with a comparison like that, am I saying that this edit is better? Well, in all honesty, I don't know. They're both equally good if you ask me. This is one where I believe your own personal tastes will make the best judgment. My guess is that if you crave ambition, you're most likely to prefer the original version. However, if you want things to sound more like a 1950s epic, and you want something that packs a more emotional punch, this edit will most likely impress you more. Whatever the case, I highly recommend giving this one a watch to see (or hear) for yourself.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
E
(Updated: April 28, 2023)
Overall rating
8.4
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
7.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
8.0
Visual quality is pretty good, if a little softer than I'd like. The shot at 44:30 is noticeably more compressed than the rest of the edit but I can't think why that would be. It's also accompanied by a "bong" noise and a loud hiss.
From the cutlist I don't get the impression there were any visual edits, but there was a moment at 1:19:06 which I found to be quite jarring. Maybe that's something inherent in the original film?
Audio-wise, the score itself is very crisp, clean and dynamic. Not what you'd expect from the time, but it does sit at a comfortable volume throughout and I never found it overbearing (if anything, it may be too quiet at points). The choice of cues etc. are well chosen. Where the edit falls short for me is the limited foley. More often than not I think the audio scrapes by, but there are some notable moments where it feels very bare:
0:12:50 - the replaced footsteps are too loud and heavy to fit in with the audio. Some low mids could do with being scooped. It's also pretty noticeable that audio is missing when we then start hearing the robot sound effects when they weren't sounding before.
0:15:08 - there is no sound for the car, and then there is when it drives off again.
1:17:00ish - the lack of screams is noticeable, and there's a moment where the captain yells. His voice sounds very quietly and then just vanishes. Some of the "minor" deaths would have been more fitting for the Wilhelm scream IMO, rather than its use later on with the death of a more significant character.
1:30:08 - Altera's line gets cut off ("Not even if I-")
As a general comment, the dialogue that's been scrubbed sometimes sounds at a lower volume and could have done with a small boost or some EQ to help it cut through more. Later on the added scream for a certain death doesn't really fit IMO and is too quiet as well. A pitch shift could help it pass more believably as coming from the same person.
Narrative is virtually untouched as far as I can tell and so it flows just fine. On a subjective level, I would like more trims for pacing, but that wasn't the aim of the edit and so I can't complain. Things generally do benefit from the use of a traditional score here.
Enjoyment: Putting technical qualms aside, I think this is an ingenious pairing. It's been a while since I saw Spellbound, so I didn't really remember the score, but it absolutely fits here. The use of theremin firmly estabilishes the sci fi feel, and overall I felt that the music brought in a bit of an "original Star Trek" flavour; an association that I've always had with the film itself.
Thanks Scott Crane for putting this together. Definitely a version worth seeing!
From the cutlist I don't get the impression there were any visual edits, but there was a moment at 1:19:06 which I found to be quite jarring. Maybe that's something inherent in the original film?
Audio-wise, the score itself is very crisp, clean and dynamic. Not what you'd expect from the time, but it does sit at a comfortable volume throughout and I never found it overbearing (if anything, it may be too quiet at points). The choice of cues etc. are well chosen. Where the edit falls short for me is the limited foley. More often than not I think the audio scrapes by, but there are some notable moments where it feels very bare:
0:12:50 - the replaced footsteps are too loud and heavy to fit in with the audio. Some low mids could do with being scooped. It's also pretty noticeable that audio is missing when we then start hearing the robot sound effects when they weren't sounding before.
0:15:08 - there is no sound for the car, and then there is when it drives off again.
1:17:00ish - the lack of screams is noticeable, and there's a moment where the captain yells. His voice sounds very quietly and then just vanishes. Some of the "minor" deaths would have been more fitting for the Wilhelm scream IMO, rather than its use later on with the death of a more significant character.
1:30:08 - Altera's line gets cut off ("Not even if I-")
As a general comment, the dialogue that's been scrubbed sometimes sounds at a lower volume and could have done with a small boost or some EQ to help it cut through more. Later on the added scream for a certain death doesn't really fit IMO and is too quiet as well. A pitch shift could help it pass more believably as coming from the same person.
Narrative is virtually untouched as far as I can tell and so it flows just fine. On a subjective level, I would like more trims for pacing, but that wasn't the aim of the edit and so I can't complain. Things generally do benefit from the use of a traditional score here.
Enjoyment: Putting technical qualms aside, I think this is an ingenious pairing. It's been a while since I saw Spellbound, so I didn't really remember the score, but it absolutely fits here. The use of theremin firmly estabilishes the sci fi feel, and overall I felt that the music brought in a bit of an "original Star Trek" flavour; an association that I've always had with the film itself.
Thanks Scott Crane for putting this together. Definitely a version worth seeing!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
T