Blade Runner (The Director's Cut)

 

 

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Just finished watching the final cut of the film and want to give this set my highest recommendation. I opted for this 4-disc version because of price and because it had everything the 5-disc version has except the rough version and the toys, which are both nice, but I can live without.

The first thing that jumps out is how stunningly clear the picture is! I don't have blu-ray of HD, just standard DVD and the picture on the final cut really was cleaned up frame by frame. No scratches, no dirt. I won't say bright color because it's not that kind of movie, but clearly defined color and a sharp image. For the night scenes and interiors, the sharpness really helps as you can clearly see what's going on and the neon highlights frame every outside shot. When Zhora goes through the window, the neon framing is spellbinding. And, yes, they did fix the shot. It looks great if you haven't seen the movie, but if you're familiar with the scene your brain gets into a tug of war because the new insertion looks real but you've got the mental image in your mind of the stunt woman with the bad wig. Messes with your head a little. Also they claim they did the same restoration on ALL the versions available but I watched the 1982 US Theatrical version first and, although it looked great, it looked nowhere near as good as the Final Cut version.

One of the things I noticed for the first time on this super clean version is the jerk of a camera cut I never noticed before. I really wish they could have fixed this because it jars the viewer out of the scene. When Deckard pulls his gun on Leon and gets it slapped out of his hand, the image jerks for a fraction of a second. I had to go frame by frame to solve this little mystery and found the cut: When Deckard pulls the gun, his tie comes up with it. When Leon slaps it out of his hand, his tie is down. As the tie, in the up position is right in the middle of the frame and can be clearly viewed now, when it snaps down it affects the scene. They clearly combined two takes of the scene and did it very well -- just not seamlessly. I mean they got rid of the spinner cables, fixed Zhora, but left this little camera jerk during a great scene. It sounds minor, I know, but when you watch the movie, it'll get you. I don't know if this has been something Blade Runner fans have been talking about for years or not, but it was the first time I noticed it.

The narration is gone. This was my first time watching it without the narration and it played fine. I DO like the narration as well because I'm a sucker for old film noir and love the elements from The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep and countless other classics that are woven into the film. I didn't think I'd like the movie without the narration but I did though I'm also glad to have both versions on the set. And Scott went with "I want more life... father." Which I think works better but they were not able to synch Hauer's mouth to the word.

The sound is also incredible! And that's, again, on a standard TV. No home theater of surround sound. If you've got these things, the movie will rock!

What's added only enhances the movie. There are no big additions. Just fixing of effects, changing Zhora, giving the bird something a whole lot better to fly up to at the end. All of the effect additions are subtle. They make everything look real, which is the whole point, right?

If you're thinking of picking up one of the several hundred version that just came out, I think you'll come away with a new appreciation for the film. The clarity of image and sound reveal things you've never seen before no matter how many times you've seen the movie. They did a stellar job on the restoration. Plus the 3 and a half hour making of, 45 minutes of deleted scenes never shown in ANY version of the film, and featurettes on just about anything you can imagine related to the film. And you find out, once and for all, how Scott wanted us to view Deckard -- human or replicant.

If you've been waiting to see Blade Runner done right, the wait is over. It's not perfect (see above), but it's the best it's ever been. This is a great set, well worth the price!

Now that I have spent almost 10 years waiting for this edition to come out I am happy to say my wait has paid off.

The new final version is OK and the commentaries are very interesting but the star of the set is actually the very long documetnary on the making of Blade runner which gives a very very informative look on how Blade Runner was made from conception to the final product as well as public reception of the movie.

This new four disc set finally finds all four extant versions of Blade Runner(released June/82...has it really been that long?!),in one convenient package.We have the original 1982 version,the 1982 International Cut(with extra tweaks and footage),the 1992 Directors Cut(with more tweaks and the unicorn footage added) and finally the 2007 Final Cut,most preferred by Scott and its restoration personally supervised by him...and it certainly shows.
As to what version is the best,well many better qualified reviewers and people other than myself have weighed in on this one,but I must say after a thorough look see at them all I can say I still prefer the original version;while at the same time I can see and appreciate Scott's Final version also.The original version just has so much more depth to me.The film's dystopian vision combines a future time frame with,in this case,a decidedly 40s look and feel.It is all reinforced with Deckards narration throughout which evokes a Bogart character of Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe.To add to this is the "fat man" Egyptian who Deckard questions in regards to the snake scales,replete with the white suit and red felt hat,which brings back a Sydney Greenstreet character from the Maltese Falcon or Casablanca.Furthermore we have Rachel whose dress and smoking bring back memories of a Joan Crawford or Bette Davis.The cherry on the cake is the entire look of the city which has a good dollop of Metropolis with a dash of Logan's Run thrown in to boot.This look is in all versions of course,but that mixed with the aforementioned attributes,creates,for me at least,a much richer viewing experience.
The Final cut is beautifully and lovingly restored.Scott has gone to great lengths and has taken care of some needed fixes like the slightly out of sync lips-to-voice in the latter part of the film.You might notice near the end where the dove flies out of Roys hands and upward,the sky is blue in the previous versions.In the final new version the sky is grey.It makes sense as one may ask where is all the rain coming from?One bugaboo they have NOT taken care of in any version is that of Leon's conversation.Specifically,Leon,a replicant,has infiltrated the Tyrell Corp.and is under going a routine verbal test with a corporate employee at the beginning of the film.Just before Leon kills that employee,he says"Let me tell you about my mother".On a playback of the convo in a Spinner later on,Deckard now hears"I'll tell you about my mother". All they had to do was switch the first convo into the playback in the Spinner,but.... .
I won't go into any great detail on the(now)well known plot,but for those who may be new to the film,I will give you the Readers Digest version.The time is 2019 and the main protagonist is Deckard(Harrison Ford)a so called Blade Runner.He is charged with running down and killing rogue replicants,built by the Tyrell Corp.A small cadre of replicants have come back to the city to infiltrate the corporation,intent unknown.As the film progresses we find out they want their incept or inception/creation dates,altered,thus extending their lives.It turns out this is impossible and the film comes down to a showdown between the last remaining replicant Roy(Rutger Hauer,in possibly his best role ever)and Deckard.Hanging off a building girder and about to fall to his death,Roy saves Deckards life,and as he watches Roy die he is left to ponder why.Deckard returns home to Rachel(a replicant who Deckard has fallen in love with),and they both flee the city for a new life.
All the films stars both major and minor including:James Wong as Chew,Darryl Hannah as Pris,E.Emmett Walsh as Bryant,James Olmos as Gaff,Joe Turkel as Tyrell,Joanna Cassidy as Zhora,Brion James as Leon,etc.,ALL to a person do a wonderful jobs in fleshing out their roles.Scott does a great job in bringing the ever wet and depressing atmosphere of the city to life.Vangellis,who was on a role from his previous award winning triumph the year before for his music in Chariots of Fire,is on hand to provide the always subtle but appropriate music for this film.
Technically speaking the film is in its original w/s a/r of 2:35:1.The first three films have been remastered nicely and all come on disc three.That is alot of info to put onto one disc and I thought the compression ratio would become a factor but it didn't surface as one..surprisingly.The Final cut is on disc one.All discs by the way are feathered one over the other in groups of two,on either side of the case which opens up.Extras abound here and they include:a new documentary on the making of the film with deleted and altered scenes,numerous featurettes new and old on the production,design and restoration of the film.There are enough extras here to keep a fan glued to his or her seat for literally hours.
All in all a highly recommended DVD set.A remarkable job in remastering and restoration is in evidence here and all versions are here for your enjoyment.My preferred version is the original but I also can see and appreciate Scott's vision for the Final cut and like that too.The beauty of this however is that we can all decide where our loyalties lie in the end.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great pic sound his cutting ....
Maybe I got a defective copy but the sound while perfect is cutting for a fraction of a second many times in the movie. This is very annoying

Published 9 months ago by ardo

5.0 out of 5 stars I've become a fan of Blade Runner .......
I really like the four different versions of this film that you get in one set. I bought the final cut alone on dvd before, but found that I also like the narration of the... Read more

Published 12 months ago by JT

4.0 out of 5 stars More about the THEATRICAL CUT..
Having already owned the Director's Cut on DVD, I mainly bought this set for the Theatrical Cut. I was always fascinated with the idea of it having Harrison Ford's narration; it... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Steven

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