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Batman: Descent Into Mystery

I love everything about Partyman.

But I'm still gonna watch this.
 
Another great, kind review, this one from hbenthow. Many, many thanks!

Re: Vicki looking up to the sky at the end - well, she just lived the adventure of her life with Batman, and of course she's highly intrigued by him, and I want to imply that even attracted. To Batman, not to Bruce Wayne. As for the text on the last shot, I see your point and I understand it, but I put that there because it'd be cathartic for me to see the big injustice fixed in an epic way (I'm still waiting, DC...) Knowing what we all know about the subject. I'd cheer out loud in the theater if this text actually appeared in a Batman movie.
 
Hey DF, glad you liked the review. Had a great time watching your first edit... was a relief to finally see it after it being forever "in the works" ;)

Dwight Fry said:
About the Prince number in the museum, I must say I never liked it. Apart from the awful song (the mythical VHS cut by JMB, I understand, kept the scene but changed the music), it just stops the show dead cold and adds nothing to develop either the plot or the characters. To me it alwas played like a music video thrown in there for marketing reasons.
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I totally understand why you cut the scene with the Prince song. I agree it is somewhat redundant and doesn't really add very much to the story at all. Plus, it does feel like a blatant marketing ploy for Prince's Batman album. However, I still thought Nicholson played the scene very well and it kind of emphasizes his bizarre, mad sense of humour - but I admit there are plenty of other scenes which show this already!


And I'm afraid I can't agree with "even if seeing Bale's fantastic portrayal of Batman made Keaton's look very weak in comparison". While the Nolan movies have their very strong points, Bale's portrayal of Batman was one of the weakest links for me. He made a better, or a better cast, Bruce Wayne than Keaton, all right, but when in costume I much prefer Keaton. I like my Batman a man of few words, with a voice that doesn't sound like he has terminal throat cancer, and in a costume that actually looks like a Batman costume and not a SWAT armor with an Atom Ant helmet. But, different strokes. :)
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As you say, different strokes and all :) However, I suppose I'm a big fan of Nolan's trilogy and have totally embraced the way Bale plays the character - deep voice and all. And I'm afraid I really like the Bat suit too, including the mask/helmet which to me looks more impressive than any of the suits from either Burton's films or those other two movies... errrmmm, what were they called? I try to forget them :D

Oh, and what Neg said. The quote is borrowed. I just wish I could come up with such wise sentences all by myself.
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lol... and I didn't even realise you had borrowed the quote. Well, it's fitting all the same.

Again, thanks for a great edit. Can't wait to see what you do next. Any plans for Batman Returns? Mind you, that's my favourite Burton movie ever, so not sure what you could do there ;)
 
Thanks again, LS! Nah, I don't think I'll be doing Returns. It's actually not a Batman movie at all, it's a very personal Burton movie using the Batman characters by obligation, and other than cutting out a couple bad lines, there's not much I think I can do to make it more Batman-y without it all falling apart.

As for Burton vs. Nolan: I think both visions are mixed bags and deeply flawed, with very strong and very weak points each. Most everyone is enamored by Nolan, but to me they're mostly good stories told in a quite uncinematic way. Too many speeches to hammer the point home, too much exposition on things that are just McGuffins really, and perhaps worst of all a completely generic visual style when a big part of what made me a Batman fan was the aesthetic. Burton, on the other hand, is a pretty bad storyteller, but in using the specifically cinematic aspects (camerawork, atmosphere, frame composition) I think he completely pwns Nolan. And he NAILED the look. Anyway, so far the closest thing on screen to how I imagine Batman is the Dini/Timm cartoon.
 
Dwight Fry said:
Anyway, so far the closest thing on screen to how I imagine Batman is the Dini/Timm cartoon.
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Amen, brother!!!:D
 
Paul Dini tweeted this yesterday (well technically retweeted stan lee)
 
Review posted on IFDb:

Wow, what a tough one to review. I'm a big fan of Burton's Batman movies, but Batman himself I can take or leave. I've never read a comic book, and in fact Batman '89 and Batman Returns are the only two superhero movies I've had any interest in. I never had problems with things like Vicki at the Batcave, the romance between Bruce and Vicki, the Partyman sequence, and so on. Watching this with an open mind was tough to do, but I did my best.

While I can't say I enjoyed this as much as the original, I will give Dwight credit for accomplishing his goals. The edit is very well executed, and despite my enjoyment of the material that has been excised, the movie works just fine the way Dwight has cut it down. It's a very good effort that I have no problem recommending, if for no other reason that it provides a new take on an old(ish) classic.

I should note that I did wish the "To Bill" bit was done after the fade-out, rather than over the final shot of the movie. It felt a little heavy-handed to me.

And one odd note: I was very concerned during the opening credits because either the words or the background (couldn't tell which) seemed to be jumping around a little. However, after watching the edit, I popped in my original DVD, and it suffered the same issue. *shrug*

I give this a solid 8/10 overall, and it's only my personal preferences that keep me from rating this higher. Well done!
 
Thanks a lot for the review, Frink! Glad you appreciated it for someone who thinks the original is just perfect. I was a bit worried you'd completely hate it.

The opening credits DO move around, but that's the case with a lot of older movies, which is accentuated if the copies come from unrestored prints. Only recent digitally-typed credits are perfectly still. In fact, the texts I added to them I did so on AAE using motion tracking, otherwise they looked horrid being still while the original credits "danced around".
 
Dwight Fry said:
I was a bit worried you'd completely hate it.
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Not at all! It was a fun way to watch through someone else's eyes...though I probably won't do it again. ;)

The opening credits DO move around, but that's the case with a lot of older movies, which is accentuated if the copies come from unrestored prints. Only recent digitally-typed credits are perfectly still. In fact, the texts I added to them I did so on AAE using motion tracking, otherwise they looked horrid being still while the original credits "danced around".
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Very interesting. I'm impressed that you went to that level of detail...and I'm glad I'm not editing an older movie!
 
TV's Frink said:
Very interesting. I'm impressed that you went to that level of detail...and I'm glad I'm not editing an older movie!
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You could always add still texts and call "deliberate creative decision"! ;-) I'm somewhat obsessive with that kind of detail, actually, which is mostly a curse. But, doing this trick with motion tracking is quite easy once you know how.
 
Ok, now I gotta watch these credits again...

Oh yeah, wobbly credits. I love those.

Edit: For Schnitzengiggles, here's a challenge for you Dwight. Add some sort of credit into the credits for Barbarella, either opening or ending.
 
I can't believe I never noticed it before. Only thing I can think of is I finally have a TV larger than 30 inches.
 
Neglify said:
Edit: For Schnitzengiggles, here's a challenge for you Dwight. Add some sort of credit into the credits for Barbarella, either opening or ending.
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Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not as skillful (or as patient) so far as to animate individually moving letters. But knowing me, if I were to edit that movie I'd force myself to learn... Sigh.

EDIT: The end credits don't have individual letters so I think they're doable. Any specific requests? :p
 
Dwight Fry said:
EDIT: The end credits don't have individual letters so I think they're doable. Any specific requests? :p
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Block out the MPAA number with a black bar.
 
Neglify said:
Block out the MPAA number with a black bar.
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:lol:

(Dunno if that request is for real, but that's ridiculously easy)
 
Once you do that I will PM you the next steps. Don't want to get myself too off topic here.

On-topic: Batman: Descent Into Mystery is a badass fanedit.
 
'tis very enjoyable. gotta find some time to scribble a rebue.
 
Here's the Barbarella vid, with a little added bonus. Not posted as a direct video in order to avoid a spoiler.


Yes, I know the font doesn't match. This was quickly made and I didn't feel like investigating the actual font for hours. :p
 
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