Blade Runner - The Final Cut (5-Disc Ultimate Collectors' Edition) (Cardboard Edition) [1982]

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A great film finally gets the packaging it deserves.......2008-02-15

Ironically for a film commonly (and in my view, rightly) viewed as a masterpiece of cinema, 'Blade Runner''s afterlife as a movie has relied on people watching it at home.

After it got a negative reaction at previews, the studio pressured director Ridley Scott to tack on a highly unconvincing 'happy ending' in which, after two hours of urban grimness, Harrison Ford and Sean Young drive off into the countryside to live happily ever after. They also got Ford to record a would-be hard-boiled voiceover, a task he hated and which he deliberately sabotaged by doing it in an absurdly deadpan and rather boring voice. The result pleased the studio, but not the cinema audience. 'Blade Runner' didn't do well at the box office.

However, it was one of the first films to be released on home video cassette, and it was the home video audience that made the film famous. It soon become one of the biggest-selling and most-rented video cassettes, and it was in that format that most people, including me, first saw the movie. Few people outside Hollywood realised that the film was meant to have a darker ending and no voiceover - we just loved it because of the mood, the look, and the performances, especially Ford's melancholy detective and Rutger Hauer's gloriously perverse and rather touching replicant.

In the early 1990s, a preview print of 'Blade Runner' was discovered in a studio vault that differed from the released version in many ways, notably by lacking the tacked-on ending and Ford's narration. This was the notorious 'Workprint', familiar to all fans of the movie by now. Shown at a Los Angeles cinema, it broke box office records. The film was rediscovered and hailed as a masterpiece. Warner Bros and Ridley Scott quickly rushed out a new version, not the Workprint itself but essentially the original movie with the happy ending and voiceover removed. Scott also added a brief dream sequence of a unicorn, which in context altered part of the meaning of the film in an important way. This was the much-hyped-at-the-time 'Director's Cut', the first time a movie was given that grandiose title. But it was far from perfect. Pressures of time and cost overruns had led Scott to cut a few corners, and all the versions of 'Blade Runner' had more than the normal share of continuity errors and just plain patch jobs. (One notorious one was where Joanna Cassidy's character is shot - it's all too clear in the Director's Cut, as elsewhere, that it's not her but her stunt double who falls through a series of glass windows on her way to the sidewalk.)

The DVD of the Director's Cut was one of the first DVDs to be made, and it was a disgrace. Wobbly, low-resolution and based on a rather scratchy print of the film, it looked like somebody had set up an expensive video camera at the back of a projection room and videoed the movie being projected onto a screen.

At last, Warner Bros have delivered on a DVD of 'Blade Runner'. The film has been properly transferred to disc and some discreet and tasteful reshooting and retouching has been done to clear up the most glaring and annoying of the film's glitches; thanks to motion control technology and green-screen, a 25-years-older Cassidy finally got to play her own head as her character is gunned down. The Final Cut finally looks and sounds like the masterpiece it is, Ridley Scott's most human and affecting movie.

The bonus discs in this Ultimate Collector's Edition are a feast. Nostalgia buffs get the chance to watch no less than five different complete versions of the film - the glorious Final Cut, the original US version, the slightly more violent International version (the one I first saw), the not-quite-there 1992 Director's Cut and the famous Workprint, the most different of them all. There's a mammoth making-of documentary with contributions from everyone, including a mellow Harrison Ford (he famously didn't enjoy the shoot much, and failed to get on with Scott). There are half a dozen smaller featurettes as well. Whatever awards are handed out to DVD makers, the reissue producers of this 'Blade Runner' set should get them.

The definitive and ultimate box set of a modern sci-fi classic.......2008-02-01

I became a fan of 'Blade Runner' when I first saw it on TV sometime in 1989. I was instantly enamoured with it, followed it whenever the film was shown on television, and even got to see the 'Director's Cut' on a theater during its release in late 1992, early 1993. Until I got hold of this boxset last week, the only version I owned was a VHS cassette of the 'Director's Cut', which I bought in 1996, because I kept holding off purchasing previous DVD editions waiting for something like this 5-disc set to eventually come out. It's most fortunate that I did get this current edition as it's absolutely sensational because the 'Final Cut' print is unbelievable: the film looks so clear and sharp, in contrast to all the blurry and inferior transfers I watched over the years, that I noticed small picture details that had eluded me until now. The remastered sound quality is a revelation as well, again with little things that I had never heard before, and the whole makes for an unforgettable viewing experience.
The other component of this edition that strikes as totally unique is the documentary 'Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner', a mammoth undertaking, incredibly comprehensive if you consider it's dedicated to a single movie, for its running time, 214 minutes, and the massive amount of never before disclosed info and unseen footage included there. Some of the interesting aspects of this documentary which I found compulsive concern two of the co-producers. Bud Yorkin and Jerry Perenchio became completion guarantors during production when 'Blade Runner' ran over budget, and are considered the 'villains' that nearly destroyed the film for having interfered in the editing process, for pushing for the voice over narration spoken by Harrison Ford to clarify plot points, and other things. The fact of the matter is that Perenchio and Yorkin form the 'Blade Runner Partnership', responsible for the release of the 'Director's Cut' in 92, and hold rights on the film to this day. They also co-produced 'Dangerous Days', are interviewed and share their views on the film, are very diplomatic in praising the work of all those involved in the production, including Ridley Scott, but do point out the problems and grievances they had to face as financiers when all went awry.
For all the amazing details and information revealed there, the other element that is truly astounding in the documentary is the original footage that is used throughout: there is a plethora of alternate, extended and deleted scenes, which can be seen together as a variant and summarized version of 'Blade Runner' on the 4th. disc, running for 45 minutes - one of those extended scenes is the sexier moment when Deckard kisses Rachael for the first time, and he eventually exposes her breasts! And yet there are more trims, test and behind the scenes footage, and even more alternate and extended takes which were not included in the aforementioned bunch featured on the 4th. disc, and that in itself is so unbelievable to behold - at one point in the doc, Jerry Perenchio complains that it felt like Ridley Scott, the ultimate perfectionist, was shooting 30 takes of everything, which accounts for all that unseen material.
Several reviewers have indicated that it's a shame that there isn't a featurette dedicated exclusively to Vangelis and his groundbreaking soundtrack. His work is in fact briefly mentioned and immensely lauded by Ridley Scott, editor Terry Rawlings or actress Joanna Cassidy, but then again I think it would have been difficult to have had the man himself sit down and be interviewed, as Vangelis is a very private person.
As a whole, this is a fantastic boxset with a vast array of rarely seen material, including all the other versions of the film, ranking alongside the best DVD editions of recent years. For the die hard fans, like myself, it's something unmissable for it has everything you always wanted to know and find out about 'Blade Runner', and beyond that, which was never previously revealed simply due to the fact that it flopped when it came out in 1982, and thus never got the exposure of the 'Star Wars' films. It's all here to be discovered and I can tell you that you won't regret it.

i dont know what to say........2008-01-30

if dekkard is such a big alien why was is he a coop?

alos ihave seen this film many a time and do believe he shud have died at the end u see that blonde haired german wud not hav saved him on the roof top he would have let go cos hes an evil robot who hates harrinson ford i ate peanuts today.?

Rich and vibrant directing made this film ahead of its time.......2008-01-29

It's only after I watched Blade Runner that I realised just how tech-noir and Sci-Fi indulged the 80's was. Along with the likes of The Terminator, this film was another milestone in film making were we were once again looking into the not-too-distant future, and a possible reality of our own appreciation of technology. The result of course leading to conflict; both morally and technically.

Providing you read the prolgue at the start of the film, you shouldn't have any problems understanding what does on if you keep an open mind. The plot is fairly straight-forward and see's Harrison Ford ('Dekkard') as an ex-police man who is called up to become a Blade Runner again; a special cop who can defeat a new type of civilian that's been created. A hybrid between a human and A.I, these 'Replicants' can match humans by looks and by nature... almost... The creator of these Replicants, Tyrell, discovered a way to give them emotions in the later models - by giving them memories to which they base current issues on.

To go deeper into the story of the film wouldn't be fair, because this isn't a fast paced film. The slow, orchestral and synth inspired music creates the perfect atmosphere for what has become, a corrupt society that rushes around, decadent of organisation or rules. What helps achieve this realism is that the future presented is not too distant - that being 2019. Though obviously we should take into consideration this was made in 1982, therefore its only not too distant now! Never the less, it does without the stereotypical images of hover-boards and bright clothes, and concentrates on the decline of society and any enjoyment in life.

In classic film style, Blade Runner diverts into many different paths that represent not just one plot, but a whole range of idea's, emotions, and possibilities the future has to offer. The plot proves how we may now marvel at the wonders of A.I, yet in the future, it could become the opposite. On a ground level scale, Ridley perfectly captures how afraid and vulnerable the 'modern' society is shots of people almost pretending to be happy. As the film explains, buy this time, they already have colonies of people on other planets. The remaining people on earth are the 'lowers' of society.

Blade Runner has over time become a cult film for many reasons. But few stand up to a couple of home truth's that make this film amazing for people, like myself, who love features that are directed with perfect composition. In the dark and grim streets of L.A, and it's inhabitants apartments, the colour rhythm is phenomenal; in that Ridley Scott and the co-producers created sets that ooze character, and reflect the scene in question. One scene in question I find totally perfect is when Dekkard is sleeping in his apartment while one of the Replicant's is staying with him. It ends in him teaching her how to kiss and make love, because she doesn't have the experience or past-memory of how to use her tongue. Along with the beautiful music and typically lustful red and browny, it really taps into your emotions.

I think this film has to be watched alot more than once to be appreciated. The reason for this is because every time you watch it, you notice something different, or you get different ideas as to the meaning's of things. With an open mind, this is a film you can truly enjoy not for high-octaine action, fast images, or speed, but for its steady pace that in the end, leaves you with a smile on your face. Sometimes, it can leave you wondering why the hell its so good! The answer is that theirs too many reasons...

Everything a Blade Runner fan could need in one handy collection.......2008-01-22

By now, most viewers will be fairly familiar with Blade Runner (1982) in some capacity. For example, I'm sure anyone with a passing interest in film has already seen it, if not on video then most probably on late night television or the initial "director's cut" edition from 1991. This new "final cut" attempts to clean up some of the flaws and errors that director Ridley Scott was unable to fix at the time of that last particular revision; finally giving us the film as it was always meant to be seen in shimmering anamorphic widescreen; with a pristine image backed by a beautifully mixed soundtrack and all the embarrassing little schoolboy errors touched up with the magic of CGI.

The actual plotline remains almost identical to that of the aforementioned "director's cut"; with the voice over gone and the more open-ended climax present and correct. I thought Scott might have perhaps been a little more radical and mixed in a few of the alternative takes from the legendary work-print version, but no; this is his idea of what Blade Runner is, was, and always should be... and I'm sure most die-hard fans, and indeed, casual viewers, will find little here to complain about. At a first glance the plot seems fairly routine; a loose re-working of the Phillip K. Dick novella, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, in which a grizzled bounty hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) tracks down and terminates rogue androids (here known as replicants) who might pose a threat to the status quo of this dark and dank dystopian future world. Scott adds a sense of further cinematic depth to the story by juxtaposing the science-fiction elements of the plot with the conventions of film noir in a way that was very much revolutionary back in 1983, having only really been seen on a much smaller scale with the Jean Luc Godard film Alphaville (1964).

It is in part his depiction of the world of Blade Runner that gives the film much of its power and mystique, as Scott envisions a world of densely populated, multi-cultural, consumerist drones lost in a maze of looming skyscrapers, neon strip-lights, darkness and torrential rain; all of which is perfectly realised by his team of highly skilled production designers, art directors, set-decorators and craftsmen. The cinematography too was radical for the time in which the film was created, with Scott building on his background in TV commercials and the work that he had done on his first sci-fi masterpiece Alien (1979) to create a look that is continually dark, dank, distressed and decaying; finding beauty in the most bizarre places and capturing a sense of lonesome claustrophobia that became a staple of subsequent films, commercials and music videos for the next twenty-five years.

The film looks better than ever here, with the re-mastered picture and sound quality and the very subtle use of CGI to clear up things like out-of-sync dialog, support wires on the spinners and the obvious stunt-double for Joanna Cassidy's character Zhora; all helping to maintain the endless feeling of plausibility that the world of Blade Runner presents. Admittedly some fans have complained about Scott changing the glorious shot of the dove being released into the bright blue sky for a more suitable shot of cloudy dusk, but I suppose it does make more sense in maintaining the dark world in which the film unfolds. The only new addition that seemed slightly strange to me was in clearing up the original confusion as to how many replicants were actually missing. Much of the film's mystique revolves around the central question as to whether or not Deckard is, in fact, a replicant; a theory that initially came about due to a dubbing error during Deckard's briefing with Captain Bryant. Given that Scott has been one of the most vocal supporters of this theory, it seems odd to me that he would correct this line of dialog in such a way that destroys any real mystery surrounding the "Deckard as replicant" debate.

Whether or not you buy into the Deckard/replicant theory is secondary to the exotic atmosphere created by Scott and his production team, or the central narrative paradox presented by the replicant characters, in particular, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer). The crux of Blade Runner deals very much with the idea of a synthetic human being more human than the humans themselves; with much of Blade Runner focusing on Batty and his gang of robots in arms trying to prolong their limited lifespan by any means necessary. Once again, Blade Runner is radical in the sense that it gives us a villain that is very much exciting, charismatic, and empathetic in their pursuit of life, and in direct comparison to our supposed hero Deckard, who seems bored, tired and completely lost against the sheer strength and intellectual menace of the iconic Batty.

This isn't a film that everyone will adore; without question it has its flaws like any other film, but regardless, remains a visually impressive and endlessly beguiling science-fiction, mystery noir (and more so than ever on this re-mastered, special edition DVD). Others have already explored the wider aspects of the package itself, pointing out how the five-disk box-set is very much for the die-hard obsessive's, while the two-disk set would appeal more to the casual fan who loves the film and wants the version closest to Ridley Scott's original vision. Without question, Blade Runner is a significant work of science-fiction cinema that manages to overcome any such flaws in character or narrative to take us on a trip into a world far beyond anything we've ever seen before.

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