From Russia with Love: Excess Excised

I was sceptical initially on watching this fan edit. I am a massive James Bond fan, and I know it is impossible to choose which one is best, but if I had to choose, it would in fact be From Russia With Love, a masterpiece in my opinion. One of the greatest films of the 1960s, arguably the best James Bond film, and one of the best thrillers ever made. I will not go into why since it is quite obvious. I personally did not think it needed a fan edit. It is not a film for most modern audiences or teenagers with short attention spans who expect an explosion every 10 mins. It is aimed at a more mature and sophisticated audience who value an interesting plot, innovative storytelling, a magnetic screenplay, gripping suspense and tension, and phenomenal acting.

There is one primary reason to watch this fan edit, the unexpectedly good reworked opening 15 minutes after the title sequence. I feel it tells the story here more coherently and more clearly than the theatrical release, I found it easier to understand exactly what was going on. I think it also grabs the viewer's attention in a more effective manner. Since almost 10 minutes are removed, the pace is faster. Really, the only scenes noticeably missing include, the extra day with gypsies, slap/interrogation scene, and, of course, the boat chase. In the original, I enjoyed the boat chase and I think Bond interrogating Tanya is a fantastic dramatic scene.

DISCLAIMER: A man should never EVER under no circumstances hit a woman, unfortunately this was common back then, and is still common in many countries today. It is a good scene which has not aged well or one that never should have been filmed with the inclusion of the physical strike in the first place. I would watch this fan edit for the opening, and I would recommend fans of the original film to see the opening 15 minutes after titles. I would also recommend this version to people who prefer a faster pace, the original is still extremely well paced in my opinion. This edit accomplishes the goals it set off to accomplish. It is subjective at the end of the day, all depending on the type of viewer.

Most of the changes this edit makes are small, but add up over time to create a great alternative.
Two of the bigger changes feel like they were made for me specifically, as trimming the gypsy camp and cutting the boat chase entirely fix the two areas of the movie I felt dragged the most and help to keep up the energy and pace of the film.
One change that was made that I'm mixed about is Bond's rough handling of Tania on the train. I can understand why the change was made, but I also feel like it helped to inform Bond's depth as a character after the loss of a friend and one of the more memorable sidekicks of the series.
There were some occasions that I could tell a cut was made or a transition was inserted, but these issues are so minor overall enjoyment won't be impacted.
If you enjoyed the original movie, give this edit a watch, does exactly what it says on the tin.

I'm a product of the sixties, and I rediscovered this really good James Bond thanks to you and your wonderful editing work. Looks better to me and the narrative makes sense. The feeling of being in a real genre espionnage movie transpires throughout the film. Following the books, is often a better choice that many movie directors tend to overloook ...

Good job ParanoidAndroid !!

I must confess I found myself to be somewhat indifferent towards this edit because to me, an edit is usually made to improve on the original product and I didn't really see an improvement (nor a worsening, mind you) of the original experience. Now, in terms on which version I would prefer to watch from here on in, I would ultimately pick this edit simply because the editor managed to tell the same story with similar emotional resonance in 10 less minutes. In that sense, I suppose it was a success; but I guess what I wanted was a lessening (even further I suppose) of the gypsy camp sequence, and a lessening of the train sequence in the third act. Both of those sequences always dragged to me, and this edit doesn't really improve that feeling for me during those sequences. However, cutting out the boat sequence at the end was such a good call! I found myself indifferent towards that sequence originally and I do kinda like how Bond got out of that one, but taking it out really made me realize how unnecessary that whole thing was. To delay the reveal of SPECTER's involvement was a neat idea, but it felt a little unnecessary since the reveal is only prolonged for an additional 10 minutes. I'm ultimately neutral on which cut I prefer in terms of the reveal of SPECTER's involvement.

In terms of the editing itself overall, almost everything was smooth and unnoticeable...except for ONE part that jumped out at me. At the very beginning during the intro music sequence the music cuts out a little too suddenly at the end. The only reason why I noticed that is because I love that musical number.

Despite all that, I still enjoyed it and would ultimately recommend.

Good movie edit. I liked the beginning scenes of the movie. That was good you took out unnecessary scenes & dialogue. The beginning of the movie was a little slow and you made it speed up a little. The silly 2 girIs fight at the camp you cut looked better. I like trim the part when Bond was questioning Tatiana and you took out the slap. That's not cool to do that especially today. The boat chase at the end I liked it, I got a kick out of it how Bond got them and burnt them up. I don't know why you don't like it, I guess the movie is better to make it a little shorter. The audio & visual had no problems. Thanks for the movie Paranoid Android.