Riddles of the Lost Gods by TMBTM

Riddles Of The Lost Gods
A fanedit of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull






Main Changes:

- Mutt is not Indy's son.
- Oxley never been to Akator before Indy.
- Indy solves a bit more the problems, or at least is more the lead of the action.
- New opening scene with Hugh Jackman as Orellana.
- New kind of ending. Even if it's more or less the same as the original (no wedding though)
- New little special effects (not a lot, and a few of them hopefully invisible)
- Some lines have been switched from scenes to others, so the lips sync is sometime average, but IMO it was needed, or it was sometime just for fun, anyway just be aware about that!
- the movie is now very short. About 1h20.

EDIT: and I also done a subtle color correction to tone down the yellow tint and add a bit of contrast


After years of doubt about making an Indiana Jones IV fanedit, this is finaly my try on it.
This is a very difficult movie to edit. Of course you can remove some things that you don't like, but that does not make it automaticaly a good movie.
And after all, if you saw my trailer above, there is still a question mark at the end... Is this fanedit a good movie?
Not 100% about it to be fair, but it is different.
I felt this movie needed something more than just "cut the bad parts".
In my mind this edit is not really what we call here a "Fan Mix" (I changed a lots of things, but it's still Indy 4. It's not like my War of the Stars fanedits for exemple) but it's not really a Fan Fix either, because every changes here are not meant to "fix" the movie (making Mutt Williams NOT Indy's son, for exemple does not automaticaly make the movie "good" or "better". But it's what I wanted to do. Know what I mean?
Anyway, it's what I would call a "What If" fanedit. Kind of like my Alien-Ate fanedit for those who saw it.

The release is DVD NTSC, stereo sound.
No Bonus this time... (lazy me) except the trailer and a "special thanks" page about faneditor Infodroid who was the one that brought the idea of using the movie "The Fountain" to have Orellana in Indy 4. I forgot to add his name in the credits, so this is my way to thank him.

Edit: this fanedit is now available with French and English subtitles.

The Edit should be listed at IFDB this week end (but you can PM me already!)

Just finished watching this...

Tough to say really how much I liked this. Mask's editing is excellent and the bullshit is at an all-time low in this version. But to answer the big question, "Is this movie good?" No. But it's probably the best it could be.

The biggest problem here is the narrative. Act I is the strongest part. The new opening sequence is just excellent. And the way it's tied in to the finale was perfect. But everything that happens in Act II and the start of Act III is still terrible. Narratively this has the same issue that most SW prequel edits have; things happen too fast. Sadly that's kind of unavoidable. There's so much garbage cut out that the film doesn't have time to breathe. Before I knew it Indy and Mutt had been captured by the Russians and I said to myself, "Wait, wasn't there more film here?" The second half is really great, moving at a brisk pace but taking time to let the audience in on what they need to know.

I've seen 4 out of the 5 other Indy 4 edits (only Q2's edit remains to be viewed) and this is just about on par with njvc's Raiders of the Lost Skull, but I'd give this the edge due to the opening sequence.

I cannot stress enough how awesome the first 5 minutes are. This type of opening is exactly what this film needed. And major kudos for cutting the wedding without it feeling like an awkward end.

[The only issue with editing was Mutt's final line. It was a nice touch but was too obviously overdubbed. Everything else was expertly done.]

Recommend? If you haven't found your favorite Indy 4 fanedit yet, watch this. If you're a fan of TMBTM, watch this. If you've never seen an Indy 4 edit, watch this first.

A/V Quality - 10
Editing - 10 visual, 9 audio
Narrative - 8 (Extra points due to Orellana opening)
Enjoyment - 8 (Ditto)

Recommended drink: Kah tequila

Thanks, Neg! Glad you enjoyed it.

About your "things happens too fast in act 2" remark:

Yeah, it's true, the edit is short and since I added a lot for the new opening, what remains of the original movie is very short. I tried to tied some scenes with the same purpose together in order to have a logic between them even though each of them are short. IMO they are not random scenes following random scenes. But some of them feel too short, indeed (the shorten FBI scene followed by a shorter version of the scene at Indy's house comes to mind).
I could have kept the motorbike scene to have some action in atc 2 but I never understood the purpose of that chase, it's highly illogical to me to have the Russians chasing Indy at this point of the story.

And it's funny because, to me, Mutt's final line works perfecty while I feel other overdubs are more problematic.

I just found out that I did not include my subtitles on the DVD, lol.
I've made French and english subtitles, for those who are interested: I'll make another DVD with those.

Congrats, The Man! I'll be PM-ing you shortly.

This edit is now available with French and English subtitles.

TMBTM said:

Riddles Of The Lost Gods

In my mind this edit is not really what we call here a "Fan Mix" (I changed a lots of things, but it's still Indy 4. It's not like my War of the Stars fanedits for exemple) but it's not really a Fan Fix either, because every changes here are not meant to "fix" the movie (making Mutt Williams NOT Indy's son, for exemple does not automaticaly make the movie "good" or "better". But it's what I wanted to do. Know what I mean?
Anyway, it's what I would call a "What If" fanedit. Kind of like my Alien-Ate fanedit for those who saw it.

Click to expand...

Sounds original and creative! Your words here made me laugh. I just read this, but I coincidentally kinda went off on a rant about this yesterday here:

http://www.fanedit.org/forums/showt...rticle-featuring-fanedits&p=213639#post213639

I just watched Riddles of the Lost Gods earlier this morning and I have to say - excellent work on this edit, TMBTM! It was actually the first fan-edit of Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls that I have watched and it was very impressive! I pretty much agree with what Neglify said about the movie in his review - it was indeed very fast paced, but I didn't feel like it was being 'rushed through' all that much, just that it was a very economical movie. Things like the bike chase through the college didn't even register with me until about 10 minutes after where they were 'supposed' to be so I would say that you were very successful in trimming them out.

The best part of the edit, and the reason why I decided to bite the bullet and watch this one before any of the other KotCS edits out there, is the opening - great use of the Fountain to create a very convincing opening sequence for the movie, which convincingly felt like it really 'belonged' in the movie. Also it made me buy the Fountain, a movie which I'd never even heard of before this edit but which fortunately turned out to be fascinating movie in its own right.

The only thing that was a little 'off' for me was that when going from the Fountain opening to the Area 51 sequence, it felt like the pacing was thrown for a bit of a loop, going from an action opening to another action opening (loved how you cut the whole Atom Town section though - so simple but effective), then to Indy lecturing and being given his 'leave of absence'. But that's pretty unavoidable given the story. It was really a minor thing and others may not have the same issue with it that I did.

Thanks coinilius, glad you liked it overall.

You are true by saying that there are two kind of opening. But you can also see it as a "prologue" THEN the "opening of the story". With presentation of the main characters, etc. The difference here is that Indy is not part of the prologue, as in the other movies.
I did go for this option because I like that the main vilain (Spalko) is not introduced in the very beginning of the movie. That way you have The "Fountain intro" then the real story that starts when we see Indy and Spalko for the first time. The audience suppose that there will surely be a link between this and the "Fountain intro" further on the movie, but it is not told right away.
One of the criticism of the original was that the intro was directly linked with the rest of the movie. So I just used it as a part of the story and created a new prologue (that still have a link, but that looks more detached, at first.)

So, yeah, the edit starts by two sequences with some action, telling two, apparently, different things. Then the movie slow down to more talkative scenes and the audience learn that there is a link between the "Fountain intro" and what Spalko is seeking. Then we have action scenes up until the temple ending. And that's it. Pretty short indeed, but I think it's effective enough.

Yes, like I said, that was the only spot where I felt the pacing was 'off' and even then, it was very minor. The way that the opening seems disconnected but then becomes obvious later on is very well handled.

I forgot to mention as well, I didn't even notice the switched lines (except for Mutts line at the end) while watching, so good job with the overdubbing!

coinilius said:

I forgot to mention as well, I didn't even notice the switched lines (except for Mutts line at the end) while watching, so good job with the overdubbing!

Click to expand...

Thanks.
Yep several overdubbed lines all along.

The ones that I remember:

- "From Mars" during the first meeting between Indy and Spalko.
- I replaced the word "Skull" by "Akator" maybe two times during the dinner scene bewteen Mutt and Indy
- "You speak it?" Mutt to Indy. At Indy's house.
- Lines about Orellana's cradle. At the graveyard.
- Orellana's grave scene is massively changed audio wise, and visualy too. Lots of new off screen lines. Lots of dialogue removal. One shot from the Fountain added (when Indy look at the dagger), one special effect replacing the head of Orellana by Hugh Jackman's head before it decomposes.
- Spalko "the new specimen we found in New Mexico gave us hope".
- Spalko "His mind seems quite weak. let's hope yours is stronger"
- Indy "Yeah" instead of "Niet"
- Marion "and I was Married!"
- Mac _ I'm a capitalist "And they pay." from earlier in the movie.

- Mutt's last line. That was maybe too obviously a redub, according to some people. Although it's difficult for me to say because although I watch a lot of movies with original audio, I also watch a lot of movies dubbed in french. So redubbing is not as chocking to me as to some people here, I guess. There are some other audio dubbs that I find less good in this edit than that last line. "From Mars" comes to mind. And the new "Orellana"s cradle" line at the graveyard. It kinda works, but it sounds a bit from another environnement.

Thanks anarchemist.

Glad you liked this edit. I appreciate the review.

About the sand pit scene:
In fact I liked this scene, that's why it's still in this edit. I like the "professor's speach during a dangerous moment". What I did not like was the pacing of some lines (so I cut some lines) and a shot of Indy being pulled with the snake that looked not right (that I also partialy removed. Or Entirely, can't remember). In short: it's the same scene but rearranged. And since my edit is mainly about making Mutt not Indy's son, I thought it was fun to keep THE scene when the audience knows he is Indy's son in the original (and this edit is already a bit too short for my taste so this is now a nice little scene that does not bother me and it gives more screen time with Indy and Marion.
These are my reasons for keeping that scene.

About the "stare at the Skull" moment:
I wanted to link that scene with my opening scene and with the end. So it's not the same goal than NJVC's edit. You can prefer NJVC's edit of course, but I guess his edit of this scene in my edit would not work as good (for the goal of my edit) and vice versa.

This edit is master class. My only issue was with the opening bits stolen from The fountain being a bit too long. I think it could have ended with the old dude holding the dagger up and exclaiming, then panning/cutting to the present day. I would have even said I wouldn't be offended to see the wedding at the end. I don't mind Mutt being Indy's step son after the rest of the film being so well edited.

Regardless, this is an amazing edit. I only wish it were in HD.

joos said:

This edit is master class. My only issue was with the opening bits stolen from The fountain being a bit too long. I think it could have ended with the old dude holding the dagger up and exclaiming, then panning/cutting to the present day. I would have even said I wouldn't be offended to see the wedding at the end. I don't mind Mutt being Indy's step son after the rest of the film being so well edited.

Regardless, this is an amazing edit. I only wish it were in HD.

Click to expand...

Thanks a lot.
It is funny because you did not like my Jaws edit (that most people like) and you praise this one that did not particulary make waves when it was released

The opening scene: I like it the way it is but yes, I struggled hard to keep it the shortest and it is still quite long! I wanted the start to echo the end of the movie so cutting right after the old dude is holding the dagger would not have been okay for me. But yeah maybe the scene when they talk and fight before going to the temple could have been cut... But really I tried all the possibilities and found the cut I used the best for me.

The wedding: it's not a bad scene itself, but, I don't know, Harrison Ford really does not look like Indiana Jones in this last scene.

About an HD version: I don't like much redoing what i've already done and sadly most new special effects were done in DVD PAL (before converting them in NTSC) so their maximum definition is 720X576. I think some could work, but most of them would look jarring in an HD version.

I don't hate the opening, but it's just a lot to be taken from another film in one long scene to the point where it feels like it is from another film. It doesn't ruin the movie at all, but it is very odd to have 5 minutes of Hugh Jackman in there.

joos said:

I don't hate the opening, but it's just a lot to be taken from another film in one long scene to the point where it feels like it is from another film. It doesn't ruin the movie at all, but it is very odd to have 5 minutes of Hugh Jackman in there.

Click to expand...

I can understand that.

To me the directing of those scenes from the Fountain mixed with the music from the opening of Raiders works perfectly. It's even more "Indiana Jones" than some things that the original movie offers.
I find Jackman a nice guest in the movie and I added a subtle special effect on his face when dead Orellana transforms in skeleton later in the movie. So technicaly we see Jackman not just at the beginning. Plus the end with Spalko now echoing the beginning with Jackman makes this opening worthy to be here. If I cut the final scene of the opening, then to me the edit would not come "full circle". The Skull would not be "returned" in term of visual storytelling.
Though I do agree that it's a bit long. But since I find this edit a bit too short I don't mind adding more new things.

But this is a hard movie to edit because, unlike the Star Wars prequels, you don't have many choices to reorganize the whole thing nor you have interesting deleted scenes to compensate your cuts . So if you just cut, cut and cut, you're left with almost a short movie.
You have to either keep some scenes you don't like much or find new things to inject in your edit.

I'm more a kind of editor who favours injecting new things in a movie, even at the risk of being odd sometimes. Because as faneditors we have the luxury to take risks for fun and most of the time the audience also prefers having something totaly new to watch anyway (does not mean it works every time for everyone though).
So, yeah, I'm not sure Spielberg would start an Indiana Jones movie without Indiana Jones to be seen for 5 minutes (even though he started Crusade without "Harrison Ford" for 5 minutes) but I just prefer proposing something totaly new when it's doable.

TMBTM said:

I find Jackman a nice guest in the movie and I added a subtle special effect on his face when dead Orellana transforms in skeleton later in the movie. So technicaly we see Jackman not just at the beginning.

Click to expand...

Mind = Blown.

I just thought the dead dude looked a bit like Jackman by pure lucky chance. But no, just compared the original shot, wow you did a nice effect on that. I bet Jackman would be creeped out by it :-D.

This fanedit is not avaible on DVD for now (restriction from Mega) but can be seen on my blog as a two parts vimeo video.

This fanedit is now at vimeo as a single video with better quality than the previous two parts version.
Check my blog for it.
And see the IFDB page of this fanedit for more info.