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Star Trek "THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY"

Infamous TC said:
This is amazing work, Bob. I finally sat down to watch this and I was blown away. I may not get rid of my official DVD afterall. Gotta keep it just to protect the right to have this. Masterful. Truly masterful. The only thing it needed was TNG credits. (Maybe)
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Thanks TC! Glad you enjoyed the experience.

I toyed with doing a traditional TNG opening credits sequence between the Romulan Senate scene and the Wedding,
but I nixed the idea as I wanted to try to maintain a momentum of the story since so much was cut out.

:)
 
I watched Through a Glass Darkly last evening and I have to say that I had never enjoyed Star Trek Nemesis as much as with this edit.

Bob did a great job of trimming out all of the fat and the nonsense from the movie, leaving a much more lean and to the point experience, I would go as far to describe it as having a breakneck pace once the set up is established and the action gets started.

The complete elimination of B4, along with the most out of character moments all while the main antagonist is streamlined into someone that actually appeared to have a plan so that the crew of the Enterprise actually had to go into full heroic mode to save the day make this a vastly superior watching experience.

My only minor quips here are a couple of slightly noticeable new transitions in the first few minutes that stood out from the rest of the edit, specially during Shinzon's introduction speech.

And as a final observation, I remember the fanedit that eldiablosuizo put out a couple of years ago of Nemesis; in which he included a very emotional and well acted scene about a private conversation between Data and Captain Picard just after the opening wedding, and same as the new ending that was included in this version it looked very much like an unfinished workprint but despite that I think that including that particular scene would have rounded this edit into the best possible version of this movie.

So to sum things up this is another great Star Trek by bionicbob offering, well worth a replacement for my $3 bargain bin disk of the original; and as a side note I found in the bowels of the forums another thread that indicates that this is Bob's second or even third go at this movie, now thats what I call determination to get things right :D 9/10 !
 
are you referring to the chateau picard scene?
 
agreed, maybe bob will find some time to reinsert that - only trouble would be to remove the greenscreen, but there are a lot of talented people around here
 
Thanks Havok, appreciate your review.

I agree the Picard and Data scene you mentioned would have been a great addition. I was conflicted about to include it or not. My concern was that having such a lower video quality scene too early in the movie might throw the audience out of the experience? I figured the deleted ending would/could work because the audience has invested so much time in the story that they would accept a lower video quality ending because it brings closure to the adventure. But yes, part of me wishes I had kept that scene.;-)
 
any chance for a special fanboy version bob? :D
 
Sunarep said:
any chance for a special fanboy version bob? :D
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It is always tempting.

Honestly, I could go back and do "FanBoy/Version Twos" of ALL my Trek edits.
But there is so much more I want to do, new stories I want to tell.
Do I go back, polish past edits or move forward and try new things?

Right now, I think Star Trek is done for a little while. I am sure I will eventually return to it, as I love it too much too stay away. But for now, I think I am going to try to tackle one of my other favorite all time heroes.;-)


oh and a Thank You to Ionvox for taking the time to post a review. Thanks!
 
So there won't be any attempts at the other TNG films? I think CBB did an amazing job with Generations, but surely First Contact or Resurrection beckons?

BTW, I would have loved to have seen that scene in there. The sudden shift in quality threw me at the end, but if I'd seen it before I wouldn't have questioned it.
 
Infamous TC said:
So there won't be any attempts at the other TNG films? I think CBB did an amazing job with Generations, but surely First Contact or Resurrection beckons?
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I suppose I should never say Never.

But I just don't have the same passion for NexGen as I do for TOS.
I do enjoy the show very much, but I am just not as invested in the characters as I am with Kirk and the gang.

But GENERATIONS, unless I could change Kirk's death, there is not much I would alter otherwise.
FIRST CONTACT is a GREAT movie and there is nothing I am interested in changing.
INSURRECTION while an average but enjoyable movie, it is the BEST TWO PART TNG EPISODE EVER!

:)
 
Here's a small review, which goes also to the main page of the edit:

This might very well be BionicBob's best achievement so far: taking Nemesis, arguably the very worst of all Star Trek movies, and making it much more enjoyable than I ever expected it to be. Don't take me wrong, it's not a great movie now, that wouldn't be possible given the generic and tired source material, but it's now worth the Star Trek name and no longer an emmbarrassment to watch. Just removing the worst offenders (mind rape, dune buggy, B4, stupid humor) works wonders for it.

It has been argued among other users whether including a certain flashback near the end was needed or worked well. To me, it's indispensable, because without it Data's sacrifice makes no sense: we of course realize what the portable beaming device is when we see it work, but if we don't know that it can only beam one person up, and that it's a prototype so Data couldn't have carried one for himself, the scene would become incomprehensible and Data would seem to be suicidal or have a death wish, and his sacrifice would seen random, meaningless, and easily avoidable. Of course, we have seen the theatrical version so we can mentally fill the gaps, but the narrative of a fanedit should stand on its own. And Bob's version does. Who cares if the flashback is to something we did not see before. We know those people have had many adventures together.

Technically speaking, this is Bob's more well-rounded edit to this day. No bad cuts, awkward fades or interlacing, except for the end credits, which do become a bit uncomfortable to read because of ghosting. There's one flash frame of a starfield right at the beginning before the credits, but it's nearly unnoticeable. Despite having a pretty good eye for these things myself, I didn't notice it until another reviewer pointed it out.

I'm giving this a 10/10. Not because it's now a perfect, flawless movie, which it never will be, but because there's not much, if anything, I would have done differently. Bravo!
 
Thank you very much Dwight!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the experience. You are right, it is still not a great movie
but at least now we can sleep comfortably that own intrepid heroes get a more respectable send off.

I think the ghosting of the end credits is a result of me speeding up the frame rate in order to fit all the original credits with new end music score... oops.:oops:

Again, thanks for you thoughts and suggestions throughout the entire edit process!:)
 
Okay, watched this very early this morning... really enjoyed it Bob... here's my review.

Through a Glass Darkly....

BionicBob, probably the most prolific faneditor out there at the moment, brings us his first and maybe only edit on The Next Generation Star Trek franchise in the form of possibly the worst Star Trek film of all, Nemesis. Okay, that dubious honor might actually go to JJ Abrams' over-rated reboot, but hey, before I start a war let's get onto Bob's Through a Glass Darkly ;)

It's difficult to know where to start with the problems which plague Nemesis. I think Bob actually puts it very well in his "About this Edit" feature, in that here in Stuart Baird was a director who knew little of the Star Trek universe, pandering to the main stars prima donna style requirements within the script to keep a happy ship (dune buggy racing anyone? Data singing? Um, no thanks). Also, what's evident here is that for the final voyage of TNG cast, there is a distinct lack of that "family" feel which one has come to love and expect from the Trek universe. Perhaps this darker style of Star Trek just doesn't work? Maybe that's why I don't like Abrams' version too? I digress.

Thankfully, Bob has certainly taken the full blooded fanediting approach here. A massive 32 minutes of footage is ruthlessly cut, leaving us with a fast-paced 82 minutes (about 76 if you take out the incredibly long end-credits) of treachery, deceit, adventure and a chance to see in Shinzon a darker flip-side of our beloved Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The decision to remove the horrible B4 concept is this edit's most obvious saving grace and it's executed with some skill. Some reviews have pointed towards the awkward way in which a flashback is inserted to explain the "beaming device" which Data places on Picard, but I take my hat off to Bob here, as he pulls it off perfectly. I've seen Bob try and use some flashback-style techniques before, but this is by far his most natural and best attempt.

Of course, trimming Nemesis down to this extent does result in it feeling like a feature-length TV episode and I actually would have liked Bob to have applied the same TV-style fade outs and title sequence which he used so well on his classic Trek edits.

Unfortunately, as impressive and enjoyable as Through A Glass Darkly is, it's still unable to completely rescue the film. The trimmed wedding scene is still horribly scripted and acted with about as much warmth and sincerity as a wet space blanket. Baird's direction remains flat (surprising when you consider his overall solid filmography as an editor) and the uninspired performances from nearly all the cast make you wonder if First Contact was but a dream.

Still, some of the scenes between Shinzon and Picard hint at what could have been and the ever reliable Jerry Goldsmith was still able to shine with another impressive music score. The use of the original ending is also a definite improvement, despite the obvious drop in quality, and gives some hope of further adventures with Picard and a new number one.

Audio - would get a solid 9/10. Only when the Enterprise was banking away (the second time) to go into warp did it feel as if the sound was a little out of synch.

Picture quality - 10/10. As good as the original DVD from what I could tell.

Editing - 9/10. Nearly perfect for me, but I'm sure Bob used the same shot of the Enterprise going into warp twice? If I'm wrong, I apologise!

Overall - An excellent attempt to rescue a pretty poor movie, Through A Glass Darkly sees BionicBob at the top of his game. I personally think it's a difficult challenge to make cuts of some 30 minutes and still manage to have a movie which manages to hold together in its storytelling - but Bob manges it here very well. So, whereas the original movie I would give 5/10, Through a Glass Darkly would receive 7/10. As an overall score for the way in which this was fanedited however, I would give this 9/10.

If this is the final Trek edit for BionicBob, he's gone out in more style and honour than the TNG cast did on the final day of shooting of Nemesis. :)
 
Thank You Last Survivor!

Your reviews are always a pleasure to read.

I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised at how well overall this edit has been received. Towards the end of the editing process I had become quite disillusioned with the whole project and found myself questioning everything I had done. In retrospect, I think much of this was due to how angry the movie makes me when I look at all the wasted potential and poor craftsmanship. What an embarrassing way to close out a franchise.:-( I honestly still don't think this edit is a great movie, but it is made with love and respect, something the original filmmakers did not seem to have.
 
I still haven't had time to watch this edit, in part because I still haven't seen the original (plus time is a rare commodity in the L8wrtr household).

I've long-heard how terrible this film is and until I see for myself, I'll trust consensus, but if anyone can save a Trek movie, it's Bob. Even without having seen the original, but assuming Bob's normal creative solutions to Trek problems and his general passion for Trek, I think the high ratings of this edit speak to what fanediting is all about and speak to the work done just as much as the final product. I'm happy to see people rating an edit based on it's achievements separate from whether or not the final story is 'great'.

I look forward to catching up on this one.
 
I'll definitely be catching this. The description made me larf.
I was planning an edit the exact OPPOSITE of this.

I've always felt that Patrick Stewart and Tom Hardy look nothing alike and that the genetic connection was pointless and strained. I mean couldn't Shinzon just be power hungry and freakin' crazy?

The Data/B4 thing while annoying seemed to help the story along, is canonical and referenced in later material. As far as the TNG universe goes, Data is dead and B4 has taken his place. While Shinzon may have been Picard's clone, it's unlikely anyone will need to mention it again.

Either way, the two sets of twins thing is so unlikely both cannot be in the same film and have people take it seriously.
 
Landstander said:
I'll definitely be catching this. The description made me larf.
I was planning an edit the exact OPPOSITE of this.

I've always felt that Patrick Stewart and Tom Hardy look nothing alike and that the genetic connection was pointless and strained. I mean couldn't Shinzon just be power hungry and freakin' crazy?

The Data/B4 thing while annoying seemed to help the story along, is canonical and referenced in later material. As far as the TNG universe goes, Data is dead and B4 has taken his place. While Shinzon may have been Picard's clone, it's unlikely anyone will need to mention it again.

Either way, the two sets of twins thing is so unlikely both cannot be in the same film and have people take it seriously.
Click to expand...

That would be an interesting approach too.

Though if you lose the Picard Clone angle, from a narration point of view, you may find it difficult to reconcile Picard's character arc through the movie, in particular his angst/self-doubt with Shinzon. But I would love to see it. I keep saying we need more Trek fan edits here on the site!;-)
 
THANKS [MENTION=15102]juice4z0[/MENTION] for the review. :):):)

This is my one edit that still mystifies and surprises me.... it surprises me people actually seem to enjoy it so much. :eek:
And I am still in shock it won FEOTM, as I do not think it is my best work.

I mean, I believe it is a better narrative but when I watch it, I still see a bad movie.
I still get angry at it. I watch and see all the lost opportunities and blatant disrespect for the franchise.
It is my one fan edit I find I can no longer watch, just because it still stirs up my negative feelings too much for the original. :p

To paraphrase Mr. Shatner, I really need to get a life. :lol:
 
Thank you @"radium226" for taking the time to post a review.  It is greatly appreciated.  :)

In regards to Troi, I agree her onscreen presence is greatly reduced in this edited version.  Though I think it preferable to the official alternative, being reduced to a victim in a horrifically conceived rape plot.   How did Berman ever think this was a good idea???   

As for saving the day, I view it as Troi just being another Bridge Officer employing her natural abilities to do  perform her duties.   Though Troi's telepathic powers and what she can and can not do with them, have always been plot driven throughout the series rather than set in stone LOL  :D
 
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