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.

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!

I watched an MP4 of this wich has good PQ for an MP4.
There are volume issues where action scenes are generally louder than dialog scenes, but this is due to the source wich has a fair bit more dynamic range than I care for, no fault of the editor, so Neg loses no points here, but I wanted to mention it.
Nice job on the "recut" title addition, looks just right.
I felt that the scene where Bud confronts Lynn about Ed and the Photos didn't have
as much emotional weight as in the Theatrical version, probably because of the reduced
screen time between Bud & Lynn, then again with the different approach/ending it makes more sense in the context of the edit.
I think the end credits come on a bit too soon, if it we're my edit I would have tried to have the
sounds of the cop cars arriving and what not continue for maybe 10 seconds after the screen fades to black, then bring in the credits/music for a more atmospheric conclusion.

A very nice alternative to the original version for those who want a grittier movie with less romance. Do I think it's better than the original? No, I think they both work equally well, I'll watch this edit again!

Well done, Neg. :-)

February 9, 2012

It had been a long time since I had watched my copy of this one, but I always liked L.A. Confidential despite a couple of gripes. Anyway, here we go:

***SPOILERS***

Story Editing:

Most of the cuts I didn’t even notice, and the rest I didn’t miss at all (the extra love scenes, mainly). Not much was changed story-wise, though. I love the new ending. I really thought it was lame that Bud survived that shootout and that Lynn went back to him after he hit her. I’m glad that’s no longer here. Your edit ends right when it should and fits with the tone of the rest of the film.

Score: 9 out of 10.

Video Editing/Quality:

No issues in your cuts at all. I did notice a little glitch in the quality once or twice when watching it, but nothing major.

Score: 9 out of 10

Audio Editing/Quality:

Your transitions were nicely done and I never noticed any mistakes. Everything sounded good to me.

Score: 10 out of 10

Great idea, perfect execution of the edits, even though they weren’t very drastic. I enjoyed this more than the original.

Final Score: 9 out of 10

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.