Natural Born Killers: The Tarantino Cut

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Natural Born Killers: The Tarantino Cut
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1994
Original Running Time:
118
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
56
Time Cut:
58
Time Added:
6
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
This is Natural Born Killers edited as closely as possible to Quentin Tarantino's script. All of the music has been replaced with pieces from previous Tarantino films.
Intention:
To remove as much over-the-top heavy handed Oliver Stone stuff. The lighting shifts, wildlife shots, random cuts to demons and cartoons, his infatuation with drugs and Native American culture, etc. Then I wanted to reorder things and remove everything to follow QT's script as much as possible. I chose music from other Tarantino films to give the raw pop culture feel to it.
Additional Notes:
Two deleted scenes added back in as they were scripted (Hun Brothers interview and Mickey's trial in court). They are SD so there is a quality dropoff but the intent was to follow the script.
Other Sources:
Title cards were pulled from Kill Bill Vol. 1
Soundtrack is from Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Death Proof, Inglorious Basterds and Jackie Brown.
Special Thanks:
The fanedit.org community
Release Information:
  • DVD
  • Blu-Ray
  • Digital
Editing Details:
I followed the script scene by scene, which worked surprisingly well. Most of the scripted scenes were in the movie, along with an additional hour of Oliver Stone making sure we really understand that the media is bad and it's our fault. The only real deviation to the strategy was that in the script, M&M's arrest plays on Wayne Gale's show and there is no footage of that. So I created a montage with the opening credits so that I could have snippets of that scene. Since the movie is now sorta non-linear, it works fine I think.
Cuts and Additions:
- Added new title sequence and credits (music is “Stuck in the Middle with You”, used some title cards from Kill Bill)
- Removed original intro with wildlife shots
- Removed black and white shot of guy reading “666 death newspaper” and disappearing (guardian angel)
- Changed music Mallory puts on to Joe Tex – I Got Ya
- Cut scorpion getting run over
- Cut all of the punches after the first
- Changed record change to “Misirlou”
- Cut bullet hanging in mid-air before hitting cook in the face
- Cut end dancing scene and lighting change
- REORDER – moved Scagnetti/Warden meeting to right here
- Changed music during Scagnetti/Warden meeting to “Down in Mexico”
- Added flashbacks to Mickey and Mallory killing her family after Warden mentions it (added Quincy Jones’ Ironside Excerpt as music for it)
- Removed part about Scagnetti hating the media – we get the theme already
- Removed bits of Mickey/Wayne Gale pre-interview to more closely match the script and changed music to Ennio Morricone – “Paranoia Prima”
- REORDER – moved Mickey letter scene right after pre-interview (changed music to Link Wray and his Wraymen – Rumble)
- REORDER – moved Wayne going through 1st American Maniacs episode with crew to take the place of scripted scene where Wayne tells them to cut up the 1st episode to make the 2nd
Removed lines about how stupid the viewing public is and that this is junk for the brains ( we get it)
- REORDER – moved all of the 1st show and footage from the 2nd show intercut with Wayne talking to crew. Changed theme song to Billy Preston “Slaughter”
- ADDED – Hun Bros scene, trimmed a couple lines to match script
- ADDED – Courtroom scene – regrettably had to cut some of it. It’s all as scripted but that damn circus music is embedded DEEP on the audio track of this deleted scene. I rebuilt the audio for the stabbing scene completely and trimmed some of the build up because of the music. I hate that circus music and it doesn't feel like the rest of the film now at all. The best bits are still there in my opinion, though.
- REORDER – moved pre-interview Mickey and Wayne getting ready to after they’re looking at footage for the show. Changed music to Charles Bernstein/RZA “Crane/White Lightning”
Cut Wayne hugging prisoner – too over the top and not in the script
- REORDER – moved Scagnetti talking to Mallory in private to after pre-interview stuff. Cut him bribing guards but left the rest of the conversation intact as it more or less captures the essence of the script (changed music to Bernard Hermann – “Twisted Nerve” and then the Green Hornet theme once the fighting starts.
- Cut a lot from the beginning of the Mickey/Wayne interview. The stuff about god, demons and the Indian. What’s left is the best parts and best exemplify the tone of the interview in the script (IMO)
- Changed music to Ennio Morricone – “A Silhouette of Doom” – pretty radical departure but I love how the crescendos and decrescendos play behind what Mickey is saying.
- Changed music under warden getting riot call and Mickey telling a joke. It’s now Louis Bacalov – “The Grand Duel” which turns into Hotei Tomoyasu – “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” when Mickey finishes his joke
- Changed music under beginning of riot as Mickey and co. make their way through the hall to David Bowie “Cat People”
- Changed music for scene where Mickey and Mallory reunite to Elliot Easton’s Tiki Gods – “Monte Carlo Nights”
- Changed music when Warden realizes full scope of riot to Bullwinkle Pt. 2
- Changed green lighting to black and white for scene where they prepare to break out of prison. I hate that obnoxious green lighting so much.
- Changed music for final standoff in front of the door to George Baker “Little Green Bag”
- Cut a lot of dialogue from the final scene, to remove references to the Indian, demon and - Oliver Stone trying to really let us know that we are the media and it is our fault for obsessing with them. I think that’s clear already. Changed music to Ennio Morricone “Il Tramonto”
- End credits are April March “Chick Habit” and Smith “Baby It’s You” which are separated by the knob turning sound effect from the Misirlou/Jungle Boogie transition from Pulp Fiction
- REMOVED COMPLETELY – Mickey and Mallory sitcom style scenes with parents, Mickey and Mallory meeting, all of the stuff with the Indian, Mickey and Mallory wedding scene, Mickey proposing a threesome, Mallory cheating on Mickey, Scagnetti murdering a hooker, as many of the weird black and white slo-mo cuts as possible, all of the demon and cartoon shots, the guardian angel and more probably.
Blu-Ray Cover art by thecuddlyninja (DOWNLOAD HERE) image


DVD Cover art by JJE-187 (DOWNLOAD HERE) image

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User reviews

13 reviews
 
69%
 
23%
 
8%
3-5 stars
 
0%
1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.3(13)
Audio Editing
 
8.5(13)
Visual Editing
 
9.4(13)
Narrative
 
8.9(13)
Enjoyment
 
9.0(13)
View all user reviews View most helpful
(Updated: March 21, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
You can feel Tarantino’s raw script here, and the film does become a different thing entirely.
The pace is frenetic and it flows very well, on par with the main characters.

The main improvement for me here regarding the original film is reducing the obsession about the mass media. The message is still quite clear without being too much on the nose and over the top.

The choice of songs was peculiar but actually works fine, the music contributes to the main theme.
The removed scenes were really adding a lot of fat, which is now thoroughly trimmed.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This was very interesting. I used to have a copy of Tarantino's script for this (printed in book form), no idea whatever became of it, but I can only assume this is what the Cuddleyninja used as the basis for the pacing and cutting with whatever material he had to use.

The music replacement to match a Tarantino film worked well. In fact, for some I preferred it to the original

Everything worked fine--mostly. Where it sort of didn't work was at the end during the riots. It felt like it moved too fast during this section and then before you know it the short edit is over. I felt it also worked because I had seen the original film 8 million times at this point (a favorite of mine). My enjoyment though is because I already knew the material-- So if I were to view this without ever seeing the film prior how would it hold up? It would still work to a much lesser extent (most of the characterization is gone so you do not get too invested, you just roll with the film wondering a bit more about these individuals), but not as well as if you knew the original

Gets some nice ratings because it was well done. I gave narrative an 8 because it works, but it kind of doesn't, but it kind of does. I gave audio editing a 9, quite a few spots suffer from leveling where either the dialogue or music/effects get too loud or low. I understand dissecting channels to make something new, but people need to pay more attention to this (a few other fan edits I saw suffer from this). It wasn't too bad in this one.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation
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Overall rating
 
6.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
7.0
Audio Editing
 
6.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
7.0
Enjoyment
 
5.0
I only recommend this edit just to see how Tarantino's script would have looked like had it been followed closely, but this film is a mess. I don't know what Oliver Stone was going for in his direction, but it did not work in my opinion. The script could possibly have worked better in the hands of Tarantino, as it has a lot of his usual tropes, but even still it felt pretty weak. The audio editing was a bit dodgy in places, and there were at least 5 spots that had glitches visually. The edit did well in matching Tarantino's feel by using his musical choices from his other films in fitting places in this one.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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(Updated: June 06, 2018)
Overall rating
 
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
7.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
7.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
This version serves well as an alternate version, in no way is it a proper replacement for the original because way too much good stuff was cut. In fact this edit, as it stands, very quickly moves to the [spoiler alert!] prison ending and to the riot escape which drags on and on just like the original. Don't get me wrong; the Tarantino style and music is a great mood change for a viewing but I would've much more enjoyed an edit that trims the riot ending and other smaller issues and therefore would work as a replacement for the original.

The video quality was decent at 6.5mbps, 1080p, last-gen codec. If the edit was better I would have wanted a more preservation-worthy bitrate.

Let's all hope QT keeps on writing scripts after his 10th and (supposedly) final film!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
P
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
It's been a while since I watched this but I remember it was INSTANTLY miles above the original Oliver Stone version. It's interesting how when I found out Tarantino wrote NBK I was surprised Oliver Stone made it and not QT himself. At the time Tarantino was just starting out with writing scripts so he didn't have the clout to make a movie yet-- hence why Natural Born Killers and True Romance were written by Tarantino but directed by Oliver Stone and Tony Scott respectively.

But I digress. Seeing Natural Born Killers: The Tarantino Cut was like a breath of fresh air. Whereas the Oliver Stone theatrical version was enjoyable but not much of a repeat viewing movie (read: too insane to put on again), this visual and music re-edit gives it that Tarantino funktacular style that is more stimulating to the senses, engaging, and all out fun.

Furthermore, let me just personally thank thecuddlyninja for ditching the sitcom scenes, the bizarre Indian, the wedding scene, the cartoony and demonic stuff, and all that other stupid Oliver Stone over-the-top crap that made the movie seem like it was trying a bit too hard to be insane. We get it, Oliver, it was the 90s and you were still on A LOT of drugs, but jeez. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE a bunch Oliver Stone movies like Platoon, Wall Street, JFK, and Nixon. But NBK was meant to be a Quentin Tarantino movie. Thanks to thecuddlyninja it now is!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
K
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