Mathilda

Mathilda
I went into that edit without having seen the original movie. I must say it felt pretty seamless and well executed. Not knowing the story or how the movie was originally edited, it’s hard to tell if this edit makes it better or fixes any issues. But the truth is that Futon and ArtisDead’s version is great! Audio and video quality is excellent and the story feels natural and flowing easily through the movie (I am watching on a stereo setup). I really feel like I’m following Mathilda’s story and I believe that was the main approach as far as reframing the narrative goes. There are a lot of pop songs from that era in this edit but they suit the narrative and the training montage is great with that Patti Smith song. Overall I’d say this is an enjoyable 1h48 movie, well paced and engaging.
Mathilda is also well-structured. Character introduction, first plot point, character evolution, and so on. Everything is following a clear narrative, we are never lost. I was taken out for a brief moment at the end when I was served the same aerial shot of central park a second time. But all this is just me nitpicking what is in fact a great edit.

(I’m going to watch the original now and compare my notes)

I think I understand most of the choices regarding Mathilda’s edit. Removing the opening scene with Leon and the cringier stuff between the two characters is a good choice. It changes a little bit how I perceive the characters. But I don’t think it takes away anything from the movie. Mathilda feels a bit more like a lost soul, Leon a little less.
I must admit I like the original score. Having music without lyrics acts more like a supporting device than a moving one. I felt less guided watching the original when it came to music. The Mathilda edit feels more modern in that aspect. In fact it feels more modern in its narrative as well. So good job for bringing this movie to the 21st century guys!

Now where are the dream sequences? I didn’t realize until just now what is actually going on here! Nice work, it blends well and adds a little something. I wish it could have been done to Mathilda’s character instead but I acknowledge the execution and the research that went into it. Two thumbs up!
How did you remove the title in that flyby sequence?!
9/10 Enjoyment is because I liked the original score and the more fleshed out Leon. All the other stuff brings it back to a 9.

Okay.

Very well made fanedit. The focus on Mathilda works very well. Everything necessary for the fluidity of the narrative is in there.
The music choices for the most part work very well and fit the scenes they are placed in. And I dig the poster, as well.

Leon is a great 'one off' film, meaning there isn't really any other movie like it. I've seen it a few times, but some aspects of Leon and Mathildas relationship is a bit off putting. Thankfully, this edit comes along and remedies that. Focusing the story on Mathilda allows the viewers to bypass the unconfirmed moments in the film while simultaneously giving repeat viewers of the film a fresh experience. Replacing some of the music was a good experiment, which the editors pull off well. I also enjoyed the black and white flashbacks, a technique I hope to incorporate into my own efforts done day. Congrats to everyone involved, this is a quality edit here

This is an interesting and well imagined edit. If you love Leon, don’t go into this expecting a basic reworking of that film. As the title of the fanedit says; its ‘Mathilda’ and the whole film is framed from that perspective. With that in mind, what Futon and ArtisDead have done is successfully taken some of the most memorable scenes from the film you love (with the exception of some of the Leon centric scenes) and seamlessly edited them together so that the film still feels familiar but is also a fresh take on the original film. The pace of the film has changed (especially the start of the film) but that’s no bad thing and I think needed to change to reflect the new framing of the film. The start of the film now feels gentler and helps draw out Mathilda’s character more than the original version of the film did.

There has clearly been a lot of thought an effort put into the soundtrack for this edit, I particularly like the music used for the new introduction of Mathilda at the start of the film and some of the fast-paced action scenes also benefit from a new sound track, notably a scene that overlays the Eurythmics. The music choices are excellent and as noted, work well on a lot of scenes, however there’s probably half a dozen too many music additions for my liking. Some of the scenes from the original movie worked for me because of the lack of music. I enjoy being able to absorb the moment and use my imagination.

Most of Mathilda’s childish infatuation / crush on Leon has been removed and I do wonder what the edit would have been like if some more of this had been left intact. It falls into the category of Mathilda’s story, however I know that Futon’s creative direction was to exclude this.

There are 2 parts of this edit that I want to specifically highlight:
1; There’s a scene where Mathilda is talking to the hotel manager and in the original film, during that exchange Mathilda tells the manager that Leon is her lover. In Futon and Art's edit, that part of the exchange has been (seamlessly) replaced with the sound of thunder and as a viewer you are left to wonder what Mathilda has told the hotel manager. This change is genius, it works REALLY well and is an improvement over the original film.
2; The revised ending where Mathilda goes back to school. Futon and Art's reimagining of this scene is far superior to the original film. No spoilers but it’s worth the wait and is a very touching end to the film.

I scored:
Audio/Video Quality: 10, everything is HD and there’s not source issues.
Visual Editing: 10, this was spot on.
Audio Editing : 8, whilst technically competent, I felt there were too many additions.
Narrative: 9, I feel that some more of Mathilda story could have been added.
Enjoyment: 8, I wasn’t able to full get into the film as much as I hoped because some scenes were dominated with music.

Well done Futon and Art, another excellent edit and is continuing to do the fan editing community proud.

Léon is a movie I haven't seen in a very long time. It's a fine piece of filmmaking, to be sure. It made a bona-fide star of Jean Reno in America, introduced the world to Natalie Portman, and solidified Gary Oldman as one of Hollywood's most reliable villainous powerhouses. But it wasn't without its issues, not least the pseudo-romantic thread running through it, which is even creepier when one considers writer-director Luc Besson's inspiration for the movie.

This edit does a wonderful job of excising the remaining vestiges of the romance while creating an aura around Léon that wasn't there in the original. Less isn't necessarily always more, but in the case of Léon, it is most certainly the case.

The editing is mostly seamless, with some of the trickier edits done with aplomb, and the replacement music is well-chosen and works brilliantly to enhance the viewing experience. Some of the foley work could do with boosting in spots where replacement music has been used, but otherwise it's a damn fine edit of an already damn fine movie.