Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - The Fox Cut

Updated
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - The Fox Cut
Faneditor Name:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2023
Original Running Time:
154
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
134
Time Cut:
20
Time Added:
0
Subtitles Available?
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
I didn’t change much story-wise - just tried to trim the film up as much as possible.

In the original, the first half of the movie flies by quickly and the second half dragged a bit. I’ve tried to fix that by eliminating 20 minutes - most from that second half.

I also tried to cut some of the de-aging shots that did not work in the otherwise fun opening sequence.

With fairly minor cuts this film goes from a good film to a pretty great one in my opinion!
Intention:
I really enjoyed this movie when I first saw it. Had a great nostalgic moment as Last Crusade was the first movie I remember seeing with my dad and I was able to take my dad and 10 year old son to see this movie. If you had told me I would take my son to see a brand new entry into the series that started my love for movies I would’ve said you were crazy.

It’s definitely not perfect and was a tad long. But I feel the movie was doomed to fail from the beginning due to people writing it off after Crystal Skull and also a general dislike of anything Disney makes.

I really want people to give this movie a try. It’s well made, well acted, emotional and a good send off for everyone’s favorite archaeologist. Hopefully my version can bring people turned off to the franchise back for one last ride.
Special Thanks:
Thanks to ArtisDead for his always fantastic posters and also for previewing this for me! I also appreciate everyone who gave me feedback in my forum posts!
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
I just cut a majority of the scenes I felt dragged on too long.

I wouldn’t say there was bad CGI in this movie - nothing quite like Crystal Skull, but I did cut shots that looked a bit fake when I could. These are mainly closeups during action sequences that are clearly green screen, bad de-aging shots, and shots where Harrison’s face has clearly been pasted onto a stunt double’s face.
Cuts and Additions:
- Trimmed Indy being hung scene to eliminate bad cgi and unnecessary closeups of Indy’s de-aged face

- Trimmed car/motorcycle chase to eliminate poor de-aging shots.

- Cut Indy running on top of the train in horrible Polar Express type shot

- Cut poor de-aged shots from entire train sequence

- Cut second tunnel in fight on top of the train

- Cut Voller/Indy interaction on top of the train including him being hit by the pipe. He just stays on the train distraught over the loss of the dial. Indy and Baz jump off the train after the fight with the Nazi general

- Removed shots with bad cgi face replacement of the stunt double in horse chase. Also cut many of the fake looking closeups of Harrison clearly on green screen.

- Cut all mentions of Helena’s fiance Rahim at the hotel. Sallah mentions him one time earlier as someone who bailed her out of prison. I think this just shows she has a shady past and gives him information on where she might have gone. But no mention she was engaged to him.

- Rahim and his men are just random henchmen who participate in the Tuk Tuk chase. It’s totally believable that at a shady black market auction, several people would be pissed off that Indy and Helena disrupted everything.

- Completely cut and moved some dialogue during the Tuk Tuk chase. Indy and Helena no longer have their extended heart to heart conversation while driving at high speeds.

- Many fake looking green screen shots removed from tuk tuk chase.

- Removed conversation between Indy and Helena about what type of code the grafikos might be in. This was just a long conversation that dragged on and wasn’t necessary to the plot.

- Removed several instances of Helena saying she is only in it for the money. There are still a few of those moments, but I felt like they just kept hammering us over the head with this - we get it already!

- Cut a ton out of the entire boat/diving sequence. This is the part where the movie really started to drag. We don’t need to see 25 shots of divers slowly descending into the ocean.

- Cut scene where Helena gives the Germans false information to send them off course. Another long scene and was one of the scenes I found Helena pretty annoying in.

- Tightened up a lot of the arrival at Sicily sequence - mainly by cutting a few shots and cutting a few lines of dialogue.

- Cut the scene in the caves of the water displacement trap. While I liked the scene, I felt we had to move things along faster and the scene added nothing to the story.

- Tightened up arrival at the airport and German bomber scene. Just tried to move things along faster

- Cut bad closeups of Helena on motorcycle chasing the airplane

- Cut shots of Roman Soldier who is singled out for some reason and makes it his mission to hunt down Indy after he parachutes out of the plane. His shots just seemed out of place and looked like bad documentary re-enactments.

User reviews

3 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.7(3)
Audio Editing
 
10.0(3)
Visual Editing
 
9.7(3)
Narrative
 
9.3(3)
Enjoyment
 
10.0(3)
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Outstanding, outstanding...OUTSTANDING!

Audio/Video Quality 10 - No comments

Audio Editing 10 - Flawless
Visual Editing 10 - Flawless
Narrative 9 - All the issues I had, at least all but one, were addressed and dealt with with aplomb! I knock one off since the opening is still too long for my taste, but it was an improvement regradless.

I watched this with my son who had NOT seen the original. He though it was the best since Last Crusade. I afterwards explined some of the material that had been removed, and he was frankly stunned..

Enjoyment - 10...and if I could give this an 11 for enjoyment, I certainly would. EVERYTHING, felt on point..truly the version we should have got back then. This has already been burnt to disc and slipped into the case with the words "WATCH THIS VERSION ONLY" emblazoned on its surface.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Owner's reply April 24, 2024

Wow! I’m speechless! Thanks so much for your amazing review and kind words. I’m really glad you were able to enjoy it with your son. Last Crusade was the first movie I remember going to see with my Dad so this means a lot!

Can’t thank you enough again!!!

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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
As an avid fan of this franchise, I found this edit to be precisely what I had been hoping for. While I did enjoy the theatrical release during my cinema experience, I couldn't help but notice a few minor issues, particularly with certain scenes feeling overly drawn out. Additionally, I found the portrayal of the Helena character to be more agreeable in this edited version, which significantly enhanced the coherence of the storyline.

Thefoxman skillfully addressed all of these concerns, resulting in what I now consider to be the definitive version of the film. Consequently, I have upgraded my rating on Letterboxd from 3 stars to a solid 4 stars for this edited iteration. It has undoubtedly become my preferred rendition of the movie, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to fellow fans of the franchise.


User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply April 22, 2024

Thanks for your kind words - appreciate the feedback and glad you enjoyed it!

Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This edit is very good and is now my go-to version of the latest (and final) installment of the Indy franchise.
I did not dislike the theatrical version of this, but didn't love it either. I would call it pretty good, now I would call it very good. The original felt too long, it dragged in some parts. This version tightened it up quite nicely. I highly recommend this edit!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply April 01, 2024

Thanks, Bailey - appreciate your help on this one!

Glad you enjoyed it!

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