Synopsis:

Arrow Parallel present, for the first time, John Carpenter's 'The Thing' from 1951. While some damage inevitably remains due to the nature of interdimensional travel, the content has been painstakingly restored and largely remains in excellent condition. Please enjoy this insight into an alternate history through what is, quite literally, "The Thing" from another world...

Intentions:

This edit is presented as a real film from an alternate 1951 running parallel to our own, restored and made available by Arrow Parallel and PFI, organisations dedicated to traversing timelines and capturing film data for educational purposes. This is not a grindhouse edit; rather, it is intended to come across as a nice restoration of an old film. That being said, film damage has been added to specific moments for effect and some film damage from newly added footage is unavoidable; reasoning for this is provided in the Arrow Parallel disclaimer at the start of the film. The vintage trailers feature additional audio and visual damage which is not present in the full edit, since they are intended more as "world-building" and part of a window into another world. Extras and older trailers rarely get the same treatment as the feature film they come with, and so that is reflected here. Initially, all I wanted to do was make a version of The Thing that would be suitable for some of my family to watch. This process eventually led to the removal of bad language and a conversion to black and white, in order to tone down some of the more gruesome elements. Inevitably, I ended up associating the edit with a 1950s aesthetic, and the project grew into a full-blown reverse homage to The Thing from Another World and 1950s sci-fi in general. Even though this concept was embraced, I still wanted to be able to present a more pure version of the film to my family, and I also wanted to see how the film would function with a traditional non-electronic rescore. This is why the edit is presented with multiple audio options: "1950s Dramatic rescore" (default) - A complete rescore of the entire film, bar one brief instance of the original music (which is mashed up with another piece of music). A handful of previously unscored scenes are now scored. "1950s Restrained Rescore" - All electronic elements rescored, with the majority of original orchestral portions retained. Minimal scoring of originally unscored scenes. "1950s Isolated score" - The complete dramatic 1950s rescore in isolation. This is not 100% identical in terms of my edits and the mix, but the general content remains the same. "1980s Original score" - The source 5.1 surround mix lifted from Arrow's blu-ray. This still retains all the changes to dialogue/cursing. "Faneditor's Commentary" - I watch back the edit and reflect, going into more detail on the intention, cutlist and editing process. The project has been in the works a long time and I hope you enjoy the result. I plan to bring you more films from parallel universes in the future, and I'll try my best to keep it form taking this many years each time!

Change List:

Tons of modifications throughout. A broad summary of the main changes: - Black and white - Complete shot-by-shot reframing to 4:3 aspect ratio (involving masking and recut scenes) - Mono audio and various processing of individual elements to sound period-appropriate - All coarse language removed - Gore significantly toned down - Completely rescored with music from 1950s science fiction films - Addition/replacement of sound FX - Incorporation of unused stop motion elements - New opening and ending titles, modelled on the original Thing from Another World (credit to TM2YC for vintage Universal logo) - Various subtle changes throughout, including a visual easter egg for The Thing from Another World.

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

The Thing from Another World (1951) Universal & 'The Thing' title elements, prepared by TM2YC Turner classic movies interview with John Carpenter Various film grain and damage overlays Various foley, sourced from freesound.org and others Various pieces of music from 1950s science fiction films (complete list in edit credits with some specifics given in commentary) "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston.

Special Thanks:

- Thank you both to Dwight Fry and TM2YC for previewing the workprint and providing detailed and invaluable feedback. - An extra special thanks to TM2YC for the work they did for 'The Thing' title card, the vintage Universal Logo, and the flying saucer animation. Their advice on masking that one split diopter shot also opened up a whole new world of possibilities for what I could achieve with the framing of the edit. - Thank you to my family for encouragement and for previewing the penultimate version of the film. - Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback/suggestions, give encouragement, or simply show an interest in the project: addiesin asterixsmeagol ClarkWayne DawnRazor DigModiFicaTion Dwight Fry freemanforgothispassword hbenthow iridium_ionizer Jrzag42 Last Impressions LastSurvivor Malthus MusicEd921 Plissken1138 QuickestEditInTheWest Rogue-theX TM2YC Wraith I hope I haven't forgotten anyone! If I have: thank you! (and apologies).