Prison Break -The Movie – Episode 1

I was extremely impressed with this. I've only seen this first part so far, looking forward to watching the other 2 in the near future.

I showed this to friends and family, some had never seen Prison Break as a TV series, some aware this was a fanedit, some under the impression it was a professional movie.

It was enjoyed and appreciate by all types. It worked very well as a movie, and I was constantly on the edge of my seat, not only because of the great editing, but also unsure how you had shaped the story.

There was only 3 areas that felt particularly rough. One, was a very brief out-of-sync issue when they are holding the wallet of the rookie cop.
Two, the brothers meeting. I assume it is because it was a cliff hanger there wasn't enough footage, but they basically talked about meeting, and then suddenly were talking, it was a little hard to accept, but my audience coped ok.

The 3rd issue isn't your fault, the element of time sometimes is a bit strange. It's clearly because when it was a show it wasn't an issue (despite the show supposedly covering a brief amount of time), but when the show was week-to-week it allowed accepting certain things had changed between episodes. An example that jumps out at me is a spoiler: after Schofield's interrogation scene where he loses a toe, within a very short time (5 mins?) he is walking around without any issue. The only time it's even really mentioned again is after Bellick steps on it again.

Also I think the point of time to end part one worked out quite well, although it was very abrupt, again not really your fault, you cant create footage where there is none.

Anyway, again I must say how very impressed I am. I was sucked in pretty quickly, and learned to trust your editing and narrative pretty much straight away. I was just along for the ride, like the rest of my audience. I can't wait for part 2 (but will arrange to watch it with the same audience again in a week or so).
I just wish you could do this for the other 2 tv shows that had good first seasons. Dexter, Lost.

I've had issue finding time to rewatch my favourite shows and with all the episodic cruft, talk myself out of it a lot. So I think this will now be my proffered way to rewatch Prison Break, and hope there are equally good fanedit movies of Dexter and Lost.

Thanks again.

May 16, 2008 @ 5:56 am

Just finished watching this and I loved it. I did enjoy the conspiracy plotlines that the series contained, but this “pure” prison break approach works just as well. We get all we need to know about the characters and how they all get linked together. The editing is tight and makes the whole thing feel more streamlined and straightforward. And to think that 160 minutes were cut and it still remains so cohesive is impressive! I also liked the way the menus and extra info is presented.

I appreciate all the work that went into this and in conclusion, I’d just like to say: bring on episode two!

March 5, 2009 @ 12:55 pm

This is a comment for all 3 episodes of the Prison Break Movie. I loved the original series of Prison Break, and was curious to see how this cut would work. WOW! Keeping us focused on purely the break out and forgetting about the outside world makes for an intense ride! Its always fun to see and hear how Boon decides to cut or change things in the special features! Recommended!

March 27, 2009 @ 12:45 pm

I think shortening it down to movie length is actually better for suspension of disbelief, as you don’t really have time to question as many of these plausibilty issues. It is a little unbelievable of course, but face it, a network TV show is never going to be able to accurately depict prison life. If you’re looking for that kind of program, I recommend Oz. But if your looking for fast paced escapism, you could do much worse than Boon’s edit.

I got into it pretty quickly, the opening is a real grabber, and it was very well paced after that. Overall, an enjoyable “B” -type popcorn movie. Not an Oscar winner by any means, but way better than the average Michael Bay film for sure. This one is a good Saturday or Sunday afternoon watch.

Kudos to Boon for cutting this down to movie length without leaving any major points of the story out. After watching some of the original eps, I am duly impressed by this effort. Really quite the editing feat, especially considering the removal of the titles, etc. Also of note are the DVD menus, splendidly done. Studio quality there.

So overall, a fun watch, if you’re not to fussy about the details of such a plan actually working. Although it did strain credulity on a few occasions, I was pretty entertained.

May 30, 2008 @ 10:15 pm

First fanedit i’ve watched, and a fantastic one at that! I was a fan of the the show for its first two seasons, and this was superbly done. It felt like it was always meant to be this way.