I have seen some fairly unimpressive box set DVD's of late, but if there is one box set that cannot fall into this category it's the new Blade Runner: Final Cut box set, the most beautiful and feature packed box set that I have ever seen. With a sale price of between £17.99 to £24.99, which ever end of that price bracket you purchase the box set at it's worth your money.
Blade Runner was first released in 1982, it was both a success and a failure. It failed to achieve the desired audience that the movie needed to be a box office success, but the movie generated a wealth of fans that kept the movie at the forefront of people's minds. It is a movie that has been released so many times, and looks so fresh it's hard to believe that its 25 years old. Blade Runner has been re-released four times in the UK alone, the first two in its original form, in 1992 to celebrate the films 10th anniversary the film was re-released in an all new Directors Cut. Then 25 years after it was first released after 7 years of hard work by Ridley Scott the movies director Blade Runner: The Final Cut hit cinemas across the world. With new scenes, extensive reworking of special effects, and remastering of the movies soundtrack Blade Runner looks fantastic. While in 1982 Blade Runner never achieved potential, since then the movie has exceeded its financial goals four fold, and now is considered one of the greatest movies ever made.
Box Contents:
Blade Runner: The Final Cut comes in a large tin box, that looks exquisite you really just want to touch it, but it seems that beauty really does lie within because no matter how impressed you are with the exterior the interior is far more appealing.
• Motion Film Clip - Itself something that could have fallen out of the movie itself, this piece of holographic plastic plays out one of Blade Runners best scenes in the palm of your hand. No electric, no batteries, simply movie your hand and watch Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard spring to action. As the image appears in the main part of the screen, the top portion features the Blade Runner logo which slowly gets larger. This is the sort of additional item that makes you feel that you're getting real value for your money as well as making the box set that bit more collectable. • A letter from Ridley Scott appears on a piece of thin Perspex, with the story of his reasons for re-releasing Blade Runner. • A series of 8 pieces of conceptual art by Syd Mead used in storyboard mode in setting up the movie. These again are highly collectable looking things featuring Deckards apartment, a taxi, a medical bay (deleted from the original movie but present in the movies Final Cut), a cityscape of Blade Runners futuristic world, storyboard of Pris leaping into action, storyboard of the movie's opening murder, a city scene from ground level at night, and a testing machine (more on this later). • On the back of the conceptual art images are photographic images from the film which relate to the opposite conceptual art with facts about that specific scene. • Next up is a 16 page contents book featuring photographs of the principle cast and an explanation of the DVD's contents. • Five discs containing Blade Runner :The Final Cut, The US Theatrical Release, International Release, the 1992 Directors Cut, and most precious of all the 1982 Workprint edition seldom seen which was rejected for release in 1982. As well as the 5 versions of the movie all of which are different there are also a dozen or so documentaries, audio commentaries and introductions by Ridley Scott.
Blade Runner - The Story
Set in the near future the world is a changed place, all the Earth's races appear to live together in harmony (to a certain degree at least) a walk around this futuristic New York shows the influences of the oriental races on the way our world now is, with multi language signs. This world is a very wet one; it seems to always be raining (a result of global warming?). This is the world of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) a Blade Runner. Blade Runners are sort of futuristic Bounty Hunters or Private Investigators, but with a specialised field. Blade Runners are tasked with the objective of hunting down dangerous androids that while initially were reliable may have become murderous due to a breakdown in their programming. This androids known as Replicants, or "Skin Jobs" as Deckard refers to them have a limited lifespan, but the trouble being is that as they get closer to their life's end they become more and more erratic and dangerous.
As the movie opens Leon Kowalski (the late Brion James) is taking an intelligence test for his employer, but when the questioning seems to trouble something at his very core Leon shows his hand by executing the interrogator. The reason for committing such a crime is that for some time Leon has been able to conceal the fact that he is one of four escapee Replicants from an off world colony, all of whom are extremely dangerous. With his cover blown Deckard is called in to hunt down the four Replicants Roy Batty (Rutgar Hauer), Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), Pris (Daryl Hannah) and of course Leon.
During the course of his hunt Deckard finds his life in serious danger, his foundation thoughts challenged, and to make matters more difficult a hopeless romantic involvement that could put himself on the wrong side of the law.
As a movie Blade Runner is a clever, fast paced and emotional journey; its visually one of the most futuristically sumptuous movies I have ever seen, a combination of clean cut lines and dirty locations you'd never want to be found in even dead. This is a bleak vision of our future, one that seems initially light years apart from our own but if you take the time to reflect its a world that might not be so far away after all. Based on Phillip K. Dicks novel "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" Blade Runner seems almost prophecy, than future world we might never experience.
I first saw Blade Runner back in 1986 and I have to say I was really unimpressed, it was not until 1992 that I saw the Director's Cut than I realised that this was a movie that grew more addictive as you mature. Back in 1986 Sci-Fi movies were all variant streams of Star Wars or Star Trek, Blade Runner avoided all of these movies trappings and as a result came across almost like a futuristic Columbo style private eye movie. Tear down your expectations and visit the world of Blade Runner with no false misconceptions and you'll be just fine, the reality is that it's a marvellous movie.
Sound is an important aspect of Blade Runner, a fact I have always been aware of, but now as I hear it in a brand new 5.1 Dolby I realise this more than ever. From the sound of rain falling from above to trickles in rain filled streams everything matters. The sound is then enhanced by legendary Greek Composer Vangelis (pronounced Vangelly) fantastic soundtrack, a mixture of steamy jazz numbers, and the most ornate classical compositions. Never has a movie sounded so amazing, and if you remember nothing about the plot this musical score will stay with you for an eternity.
When it comes to design Blade Runner is a movie that never dates, forget the buildings, the downbeat streets, the thing that Sci-Fi more often than not falls down on in costume. Michael Kaplan's fantastic view of futuristic clothing does not fail, in 1982 the outfits were functional and fashionable and even 25 years later most people would admit to wanting to raid the wardrobes of the cast. Ford and often opposing romantic lead Sean Young as Rachael are by far the best dressed and with the most desirable wardrobes.
Blade Runner is a movie that if you allow it too, will break your heart; even though we often deny it we all like a bit of romance. Blade Runner as well as being a Sci-Fi movie and a crime drama is a romantic movie with a doomed message, not just for one couple, it's a doomed message for everyone. Don't go expecting any happy endings here, and I'm not ruining the movie by saying this after all romance is something far down the line of things this movie is about. Sadness in failed romance is just a lasting thought that you part this movie in; but don't you think it's good when all things don't turn out how we are told they should? A lot like real life really.
Spot The Difference
So what's new, and more still what's old?
The original version (and international release) of the movie has some narration my Harrison Ford, in an attempt to explain the complexities of the story to a very naive audience, bear in mind that we had not seen anything even remotely like this back in 1982, futuristic tales prior had all been dramatically different or even to some degree slightly dated.
The Directors Cut release in 1992 removes the narration, because by then we were more familiar with this sort of film; more importantly however because Scott had been fiercely opposed to its inclusion back in 1982. There are some cleaned up special effects, and some slightly varying scenes but on the whole its quite a disappointing update especially compared to other Director Cut's that had gone before it like Close Encounters, and Aliens.
The Final Cut is basically a further cleaning on from the director cut, the sound is drastically improved the images onscreen also. However the difference this time round is that new scenes are present in the movie, Joanna Cassidy no longer turns into a man before she bows out of the picture, and Harrison Ford is more agile (thanks to the fact that his son now doubles in his action sequences). This reshot aspect makes it more comparable to the likes of the first three Star Wars movies. Not that there was much dated in this movie, but the bits that did look a bit tired and the odd presence of crew member have been cleaned up and removed. You also now get the end that Scott really agrees with rather than compromises as have been made in the past.
But it's the workprint edition that will be of most appeal to the fans, this most different version contains large additional scenes, a completely different opening scene that really cheapens the movie, changes in the soundtrack, no presence of the Unicorn thought to indicate whether or not Deckard might not be quite who he seems to be (often deemed as important but not so to me), and certainly no happy ending. It is easy to see in retrospect why the viewers at the original screening disliked this print and why the movie ran so drastically over budget. Sadly this is the least preserved edition and has the odd sound crackle as well as unclear picture from time to time.
Special Features:
If I list all of these I might still be writing by Christmas...... 2010, but I'll list them all and discuss the highlights:
• Incept Date 1980 • Blush Response • A Good Start • Eye Of The Storm • Living In Fear • Beyond The Window • In Need Of Magic • To Hades And Back • The Electric Dreamer • Sacrificial Sheep • Phillip K. Dick • Signs OF The Times • Fashion Forward • Screen Tests • The Light That Burns • Deleted Scenes • Promotional Featurettes and TV Spots • Trailers (6 different ones in total) • Promoting Dystopia • Deck-A-Rep • Nexus Generation • All Our Variant Futures
It's hard to believe that with 5 different versions of the same movie that there are still 40 minutes of deleted scenes that appear in none of the versions contained here. Some of the scenes are really good and I'd love to have seen them inserted into at least one of the versions.
The introductions at the start of each version of the movie are disappointingly short, I like my introductions to give you a bit of insight, Ridley Scott seems a little annoyed to be doing these and as a result has very little to say other than what you can figure out for yourself.
A documentary about the workprint is by far the most interesting feature; it tells how the news of the workprint came to life in the 1990 Fairfax convention. How releasing the workprint to limited cinemas meant that the movie sold out each and every showing, and how the reflection of this meant that in 1992 the Directors Cut version of the movie was released. It covers the reels of footage that the producers found when they decided to release the Directors Cut. Finally what is really interesting was the people processing the footage for use in the Directors Cut, were not people that had seen the film in any format so as a result things were misfiled and full and correct scene footage has still to this day never been processed.
There is a great piece that compares the original novel to the movie Blade Runner, which in turn brings sadness to a certain degree. Critics believe that Blade Runner is the best conception of a Phillip K. Dick novel to the movie screen, however the book and the film are dramatically different, meaning that Dick's best known work is not truly his own; to me this was a big revelation that I had never considered.
The piece on the fashion of Blade Runner actually shocks you, because regardless of the movies large scale it's not until you start examining set photos, and looking at specific outfits that you realise how big a scale this movie was , the thousands of people involved and it seems thousands of costumes. Also the functionality is a big focus, when even the smallest factors like hosiery are given a thought.
The Screen Tests for Rachael and Pris are great to see Nina Axelrod and Stacey Nelkin were original considerations for the role before Sean Young and Daryl Hannah. It's great to see the depth to these screen tests which were shot on real sets rather than in an office as is often the case. The alternative selections were far better and far more convincing than the original selections it has to be said.
Finally the final and biggest issue of the box set is a question that has been asked by fans for25 years. And at long last we get a firm and positive answer is Deckard a replicant? In order to find this out you'll need to buy the box set.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut box set is tremendous value, but it's not without flaw. The commentaries are literal versions of the documentaries put into different words, ad without the personality; I'd go as far as to say as a result they make for being the most tedious commentaries I believe I have ever heard. The second big flaw is that four of the versions of the movie all seem kind of identical, and in order to appreciate the differences you need to sit and watch all the versions. That's a good 10 hours of your life spent trying to figure out the differences between the features different movies, so from some levels the big gift is more of a poison chalice that is of course unless you love the film so much that your prepared to give five versions of the movie your entire attention back to back (you would need to watch them in close succession to tell the difference).
One last point Harrison lose the earring, it makes you look ridiculous.
If you're going to buy Blade Runner: The Final Cut I'd suggest purchasing it from Play.com where you will pick it up for just £17.99.
More details
Soundtrack
Outstanding
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Outstanding
Value for Money
Excellent
What format are you reviewing?
DVD
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