Fan Edit Films

Did you hate all that silly shit in Spider-Man 3? Was Blade partially ruined for you because of out-of-character dialog? Have you always wished for a cut of Batman & Robin without the excessive gayness and stupidity? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to check out a fan edit.

Since I don't feel like regurgitating the definition of a fan edit, I'll let Wiki do the talking:

A fan edit is a version of a film modified by a viewer, that removes, reorders, or adds material in order to create a new interpretation of the source material. This includes the removal of scenes or dialogue, replacement of audio and/or visual elements, and adding material from sources such as deleted scenes or even other films.

There are hundreds if not thousands of fan edits out there and as you can imagine, some of them suck, and some of them are 100% awesome and improved.

Fanedit.org has been a major source for all things related to fan edit film. The MPAA recently clamped down on them hard, so the site is no longer hosting content. But the site does guide you in the right direction if you want to, say, watch Star Trek Phase II, which is essentially Star Trek: The Motion Picture re-edited into a two-part TOS-style television episode. Interesting, right? There are nearly a hundred different fan edit films out there strictly dedicated to the Star Wars films.

Let's look at a typical fan edit film "cut list." This cut list is from Batman & Robin De-Assified:

• The “Alfred is dying” subplot has been removed

• A lot of the idiotic dialogue is gone. Not all, but most of it. And no “cartoony” sound effects

• While the ice-skating scene remains, it is not as blatant. And we don’t see B&R click their heels together to pop skates out of there boots.

• Very little Bane and we don’t hear him saying “BAAAAAANNNNNEEEE” at any point. He is still a moronic henchman to Ivy.

• The whole “competition” between B&R is gone for the most part. Robin doesn’t whine in this version and the petty bickering between the dynamic duo is gone.

• Batman speaks very little and comes off more “professional”

• As stated previously, Ivy remains the same. This is due to the fact that Ms. Thurman’s entire performance is campy and over the top.

• Batgirl is still in the film. But her character has been reduced significantly

• Freeze is now much more menacing and a bit darker. His stupid one-liners are cut to a minimum. Still not what you would want, but much better.

• All the stupid gangs and motorbike racing scenes were eliminated

• The opening credits are more “Bond-like”, in that the movie opens with B&R battling Freeze and then the opening credits roll once Robin is thawed out

• Idiotic visual elements such as the Bat-skates, the Bat-credit card, butt and crotch shots, etc. have been removed

With all of the shitty stuff removed, guess what the running time is for Batman & Robin De-Assified? 66 minutes -- down from the original 125 minutes! Damn near half the movie is gone! Maybe it's watchable now. Click here to go to the Batman & Robin De-Assified page.

Do something different this weekend. Download a fan edit film. You might be shocked at how much better a fan edit film is than the original!