L.A. Confidential Recut

I like the original too. A great movie where "mister brain" needs to team with "mister muscle" to solve the intrigue.
Now, Neglify's edit is, IMO, better than what I remember the original to be.
I always loved Kim Basinger, but isn't it strange that in two recent fanedits that I saw (Batman - Descent Into Mystery by Dwight Fry and this one)removing a lot of Kim's scenes helps a lot the pacing! It simply flows better than what I remember.
A great "simple" fanedit, where the movie is still the same but, IMO, improved.
Great video and audio quality, nice menu and presentation.

WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!
(This review is not meant as a personal attack on the editor, it is simply this reviewer’s opinions on the edit).

Well I was lucky enough to see a workprint of L.A. Confidential Recut by Neglify. Unfortunately this didn’t allow me to follow my usual “routine” when it comes to watching fanedits: rewatch the original, then watch the fanedit. It’d been quite awhile since I had last seen L.A. Confidential. So as I watched the Recut there were certain parts where I said to myself “wait isn’t there another part/scene here” and other times where i didn’t notice/remember that anything was taken away.

So, L.A. Confidential Recut, after rewatching the original, i came to appreciate the changes Neglify has made to the movie. Now I was aware of the big change being a drastic reduction of the Bud/Lynn romance. And I can do without the romance bit. It does tend to weigh down the film a bit and slow the pace. And i think Neglify’s choices on how to condense it worked perfectly. It’s still clear that Bud and Lynn has a romantic relationship and that it was something special. But now there is no “wrapped in a bow” resolution. The relationship ends after Bud hits Lynn. Dare I say this makes it more realistic? And when you match this change with the other big change Neglify makes (which I will discuss shortly) it makes for a darker, grittier story IMO.

So the big change, that in my opinion was the best change in this fanedit, was the ending. I think the changes to the ending that Neglify made have a greater (positive) impact than the reduction of Lynn in the story. No happy ending, no medal ceremony, Bud doesn’t survive and live happily ever after with Lynn. I think the ending works so much better. And c’mon, be honest, how much of a buzzkill is Exley’s exposition of the who/what/where/when and why of the bad guys. So in case you haven’t figured it out, I really like the new ending that Neglify gave this edit.

DVD Presentation: There is a nice motion menu for the DVD. And there is a fun bonus feature which is a drinking game. I laughed quite a bit just reading the rules of the game.

VIDEO EDITING: 10/10 (This is based on the workprint as I have no had a chance to watch the finalized DVD). No extra frames, no jarring cuts.

AUDIO EDITING: 10/10 (Again this is based off the workprint). No audio drop outs, no harsh cuts.

So overall I really enjoyed this edit. The changes that were made were significant and really alter the mood and tone of the movie. I’m not sure I can say definitively that Recut is a replacement to my original DVD of L.A. Confidential but it is damn close.

I look forward to seeing Neglify’s future fanedits.

I have no problems with the original film, but enjoyed Neglify's recut version. The editing is perfect, and if I had not seen the original, I would not know that this had been fanedited. All the cuts are well thought out and the ending works well.

Video and audio quality are high. I liked the DVD menus, but scope does not really work for menus, so in my opinion the main menu video should have been cropped to 1.78:1 or integrated into some sort of background. I like the lettering, and the drinking game is a nice touch. There is good cover art by the faneditor.

All in all, this is great work. Well done, Neg!

A crackling, tightly paced crime noir tale!

A part of me feels bad for poor Kim, as I enjoy her performance in the original (though definitely not Oscar worthy) but this edit clearly proves this movie works wonderfully with less of her.

I still love the original, but this alternate version moves swiftly and the tension remains taunt throughout. The new ending by Neglify is far more fitting for a noir tale and I applaud his choice.

It should be noted, I watched this one with my bride who is a crime movie addict, and she LOVED this edit, and could not believe anything had been cut out until I popped in the original afterwards for comparison. So fantastic work Neg!

Thumbs UP!

Terrific work.

Having not seen the original film for 5 or 6 years, it was distant enough in my memory for me not to get nitpicky about exactly what was missing and just enjoy the ride.

This edit is an excellent example of a how a change of emphasis to a good film can yield a fanedit with really interesting results, provided the narrative is treated with utmost respect. And that's what Neglify is done here.

Firstly, I felt that I totally understood Bud and Lynn's relationship - no more footage was needed. And secondly, the story ended in exactly the right place - very powerful. These two changes put the film's focus back more on Ed's story, and to very good effect.

Technically it's great - no seams or bumps that I could see/hear.

Wouldn't mind a nice x264 encode in addition to the DVD9 however. The pic would be a little sharper.