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What's New in Blade Runner - The Final Cut?
tripper700 writes "25 years since its original release, a definitive version of Ridley Scott's science fiction masterwork Blade Runner, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, has been released. So what exactly has changed? And is it worth all the fuss? SFFMedia describes each change in detail. Is it just a patch up job attempting to cash in on a cult film? Or like an oil painter retouching a masterpiece, or a novelist polishing prose, is Ridley Scott simply trying to perfect his original vision?"
When "Tron - Final Cut" is released, it's gonna smash every box office record for the next 10 years. Just you wait.
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
If I never saw the movie, which 'cut' should I watch?
The two-disc edition is certainly worth getting if you've never seen the film before. I like how even if this successive re-editing of the film is getting ridiculous, the hype around the release of this version is bringing Blade Runner to the attention of a new generation. The larger box, however, is overkill for any but completists.
Hell, not like these changes are generally of any real significance (although, given how extensively different the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven was, Blade Runner may be significantly different). For all the bitching that was done about Star Wars, for example, barely anything was changed in those movies. I just really don't see why this is worth getting worked up over, as people inevitably will.
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
Does Han shoot first in this one?
(...sorry)
Clean up the video, go CD quality on the sound, and get rid of the dialog artifacts artifacts that were only in there to further the voice over, which I hate with a passion after seeing the first Directos Cut.
Fiat Homos et Pereat Theos
Having seen the film already, I know what to expect from the film. I know what I enjoy about the film. Unless there is some new change to the plot or style of the film, which there doesn't appear to be from the article, I'm not buying. This seems like an attempt to cash in under the guise of finally giving Scott full artistic control. Maybe it's just me, but the film already has a meaning to me, so I could care less about whatever minor tweaks Scott wants to make. I loved the film and think Scott made a masterpiece, but I just don't see the need for the incessant revision and releases.
I got a catholic block.
On the other hand, Scott has brought us enough quality entertainment over the last forty years that I, for one, don't particularly mind. I garnered a lot of respect for the man after the original Alien film. When I look back, I'd say that Alien and Star Wars are the two movies that stick out in my mind from the Seventies.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
From TFA: In the scene where Batty confronts Tyrell, the line, "I want more life, fucker" has been replaced with "I want more life, father".
...
I'm wondering if this is actually a change. In the original, it's a beautiful bit of ambiguity: Hauer slurs the word, so that it sounds halfway between "father" and "fucker", neatly summing up his feelings towards Tyrell.
If they've actually re-dubbed that, I'll be a little disappointed.
Oh well, Scott's still unlikely to mess things up as much as Lucas did
|>
Here be Dragons
It has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
What?
WTF? The guys' gonna die and he goes to the arsehole who made him and calls him father? Why cut out 'fucker', it makes much more sense.
_
\\/ are accustomed' - First Lensman
Revised Ultra Final Re-Revisited Very Very Final Directors Special Absolutely Final Cut
i don't remember many changes. dancer chicks in hockey masks, more unicorns running around
;-)
and?
doesn't f***ing matter what they changed in minutaie
if i love the film for the same reason so many slashdotters do, it's one of the best f***ing movies ever made, and the minutaie doesn't matter, the whole of its incredible existence does
and it really is best in the theatres. 17 inch crt monitors don't do it much justice. if you missed it in the theatre 2 months ago, all i have to say to you is
if only you had seen what i had seen with your eyes
or something like that
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
You may be a Sci-Fi nut but I am pretty certain the Film Noir genre has to appeal to you a great deal too in order to enjoy this (assuming it doesn't already).
I felt Blade Runner was a masterful work. It did not bore me because what it lacked in action (if action can be "lacking", since it's not a prerequisit for a good film anyhow), it made up for in atmosphere.
A sci-fi nut with ADD, you forgot to add.
Do not read below lest ye wish spoiled know[..ledge]:
I saw this recently. It's good and worth seeing. I've seen too many versions including the original in theatres (when it came out via flickering candle light) to remember all the differences. As far as I can tell there is really just a few small scenes added and maybe some lighting/mood appears different. All with the exception of one small but key scene. Deckard has a dream in which he sees a unicorn. This gives more significance to the epiphany he has when he picks up the origami unicorn left by Gaff outside his door. This is conveying to him that he (Deckard) too is a replicant and that Gaff knows this. This idea has been discussed and I am told (haven't read it) is true in "Do Androids..". If anything it is worth seeing again on the big screen.
The box set released in a few weeks will contain five versions of the movie.
Workprint version - pre-release test screening version
US original cinematic version
International original cinematic version
Directors cut - 1992 version - approved by Scott, but he was not directly involved
Final cut - Scott had complete control over this version
What's new? Lessee:
"I want more life, father."
and
"Two of them got fried..."
were two of the biggest things that stood out to me.
Apparently some of the cuts where they removed the voiceover were shortened a bit, too. (Since the voiceover was simply removed for the original Director's Cut, the scenes where Deckard was previously talking now hung a bit long with nothing going on).
This guy's the limit!
The price tag?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Being a sci-fi nut myself, along with most of /. readers at a guess, I have to admit that while I appreciate the film it never blew my away when I first saw it - good but not great.
I blame the "Citizen Kane" affect, i.e I only got around to watching the 'great work' after first seeing so many films that were based upon the original, that when I did finally see it with high expectations I was underwhelmed and like "Oh I've seen this before". Sure this may of spoiled my enjoyment, but even so I never had that "wow" moment when watching Blade Runner, even the newer versions. Compare that with a film like 2001 or Alien, I could watch those again today and still be amazed.
It always seems to me that Scott was going against what the scriptwriter intended. He keeps adding in clues that Deckard is a replicant but the script really doesn't support that idea at all.
Yesterday, The Digital Bits posted its long review on this set.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I loved the original movie, but always thought it should end when the elevator doors close (which the first "Director's Cut" did) and should lose the voice overs. With those two changes, I'd be happy.
... so there's no point. I can't tell whether the movie would hang together well without the voice overs because I can't get them out of my head. And I don't think the voice overs make the movie easy to understand the first time through because I can remember not understanding it the first time I saw it. It seems to me the one thing they could have done with the voiceovers and didn't was patch the continuity error caused by cutting the original opening scene (where Deckard "retires" the mysterious fifth replicant).
... or whatever ... which would make perfect sense.
That said, when I watch the first "Director's Cut" I hear the voiceovers in my head
I disagree about that "the transition from book to movie was made clumsily". The only thing I really object to, although I understand it, is the cinematic differentiation of replicants from humans displayed by Leon removing an egg from boiling water. If you can stick a replicant's hand in boiling water without hurting them, then the VK test is kind of pointless. Frankly, I'd cut that scene.
From TFA: In the scene where Batty confronts Tyrell, the line, "I want more life, fucker" has been replaced with "I want more life, father".
Bad change, IMO. In a movie with zero profanity, that line really hit hard.
Also from TFA: Equally, if Deckard really is a Nexus 7 created to work as an exterminator, why is he lacking the strength of the inferior Nexus 6 models he is chasing? He seems to spend a large part of the film being bashed to a pulp.
True, if you assume "Nexus 7" vs. incredibly illegal experimental Nexus 5
I completely agree, since watching the film I've since talked about it with a few people and pretty often I hear "I just cant stay awake through that damn movie". The movie is dark, has very little dialog, and hardly any action. The movie really is a visual masterpiece, and half the fun of watching it comes from interpreting the world that Deckard lives in when theres nobody to cut in every few seconds to explain what is going on on-screen. Also, I really love noir films, so the movie really was a perfect fit.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
Since we have the Spoiler Alert above, I can say this...
In the Director's Cut, RS added the possibility that Deckard was a replicant, while the original (with voiceover) made us assume he was what PK Dick calls "An authentic human", and frankly, not a very good one. I and my BR fan peeps debated whether or not Deckard ***was*** a replicant, based on evidence from the movie. But we didn't really debate whether or not RS wanted us to debate it. He clearly wanted us to think that he POSSIBLY was. There were MANY clues in the Director's Cut that supported his Replicantshipiness. Not the least of which was the missing replicant, one of which "got fried." Some (not I) thought that Deckard was the missing replicant, re-programmed to kill the others. I always thought it was a continuity gaff. (Sorry for the pun)
I saw it in LA on the huge screen, and aside from the sheer grandeur of enhanced city effects, the most significant change was that they changed the numbers of replicants that arrived and were fried. THERE WERE NO MISSING REPLICANTS after this new, improved release. By changing that gaff, RS sent a clear signal that Deckard's Replicanticity was ***NOT*** a foregone conclusion. It is STILL left to the viewer to decide.
But I gotta tell you, I still prefer the voiceover. Although they fixed the "dead air" when Roy dies and Deckard just stares stupidly (sans voiceover), there is still too much lost without the voiceover. We really have no clue WHY Roy tried to kill Deckard, then saved him.
I was PRAYING that they at least added the original finale, with the "best line that most people have ever heard in a movie..." "We didn't know how long we had... who does?
Someday, I'll get a bottle of Johnny Walker Black (notice the label on deckard's booze... AND ROY'S!!!) rip both versions into an iMac (with voice command... Enhance 34 to 46. k'ch k'ch k'ch beep beep beep) and make my own cut. Or, maybe someone has already beat me to it?
How many times has he redone Alien? How many times has he redone Thelma and Louise? Has Scott released the Unexpurgated and Ultimate Definitive Director's cut of Black Rain? Where's the Digitally Remastered and Re-Edited Legend with CGI Tim Curry and four more hours of never-before seen material? Surely Blackhawk Down could outshine its original theatrical offering with heavy edits and rescripting the entire movie.
To be brief, Blade Runner wasn't that good and everything that's been done to it since the original release are pearls before swine. Ridley Scott knows neckbeard fanboys fapping in their mother's basement will buy every single incremental edit and release of a science fiction film for the sake of completeness.
It truly is the search for more money.
I saw this latest _Blade Runner_ remaster a couple months ago at the Ziegfield, the biggest screen in NYC. I'd seen it there about 7-8 years ago, the last time it was rereleased in theaters. It was a tremendous spectacle, perfectly balanced in pace and quiet inevitability. Like a light sculpture at the end of a huge room, telling a story about humans and our creations.
Don't miss it if you can catch it. I hope they do remaster it again sometime, just so there's an excuse to show it at the Ziegfield again.
--
make install -not war
All I want to know, does Harrison Ford still shoot first?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
1) All the guns have been replaced with walkie-talkies.
2) All the replicants have been replaced with Ewoks.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
So, in this cut, does Decker stop getting his ass kicked so thoroughly and repeatedly by virtually every character he encounters?
Elite operative indeed.
Blade Runner is cool, but Brazil is far better IMHO.
I can't tell whether the movie would hang together well without the voice overs because I can't get them out of my head.
IMHO, "I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die." is the best line in just about any film ever.
This one line makes anything else in the film worth enduring (not that the film isn't good without the line) and is the crux of the entire film. I guess other people see it in other lights but it's hard for me not to see the entire film leading up to this one line. I just can not accept that this film is about anything outside of the questions that artificial life will dwell on in the future when we produce it. I think it's great that science fiction discusses these questions. All of the robot/alien junk is just crap in comparison to the hard questions that will arise from our journey from natural human beings into a synthetic society where anything goes. With the stem cell debate being what it is we are kinda starting to ask these questions today in a round about way.
Still, see the film for what it is but it's still fantastic that all of the crap about cops and killing skin jobs and the Tyrell corporation comes down to one beautifully made point about our inevitable future. These questions are neat to address in fiction but warns us of the moral puzzles we will have to solve in the future.
I'm left wondering everytime after the movie; what will we decide and who will we answer to when the question becomes more than hypothetical.
That's science fiction to me. Again, just my humble opinion.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Personally, I'm still waiting for "E.T. - The Final Cut", where the walkie-talkies get replaced with plush Teletubby toys!
-- Sig down
.. this movie has been cut more than a Jew.
http://www.rense.com/general79/wdx1.htm
"Equally, if Deckard really is a Nexus 7 created to work as an exterminator, why is he lacking the strength of the inferior Nexus 6 models he is chasing?"
Well, gee, if he is not supposed to know he's a replicant, super-human strength might be a bit of a give-away, no?
sic transit gloria mundi
You would have a lot in common with Roger Ebert, who gave the movie a thimbs down when it forst came out.
Blade Runner has only been released once on DVD, over 10 years ago; as you can imagine, that DVD isn't exactly a top of the line release anymore. If they wanted to cash in easily they could've just issued a new edition with a clean transfer and sound and a few obligatory special features. If you look at the specs for these releases, they are quite comprehensive! And from what I've read about this new release it's been in the works for some time and a lot of work has gone into it... While, obviously, the studio released a new version to make money, they seem to have done a good job with this one.
For those of you that haven't seen that Final Cut yet, the changes are all pretty minor. The biggest change is an alteration of a line of Roy's dialogue. In the scene between him and Dr. Tyrell, in the original versions of the movie he says, "I wan't more life, focker." In the new version, it was changed to "father". Other than that, the out of place blue sky at the end is made cloudy, and there are various sub-5 second shots throughout, which mostly serve to strengthen the romance between Deckard and Rachel. I can't speak to the quality of the re-mastering, as a theater is a poor place to compare to dvd.
Arrrgh where were you when Roy Batty uttered his last words as his biological clock killed him right before that in the same scene? Were you in the theater bathroom taking a piss?
OK granted "C-beams" and the Tannhauser Gate whatever that is sounds like total bullshit but that was way better than the graceless and forgettable voiceover from Harrison Ford that followed.
There have been some stunningly good science fiction novels over the years. A lot of science fiction films, though, are more about eye-candy.
Bladerunner did it right. I was a big Philip K. Dick fan, and I went to the original expecting to be disappointed. I wasn't. Bladerunner is still one of my all-time favorite films, in any genre.
Don't get me wrong, I love special effects. I just wish sometimes they'd pick more challenging stories to use them with. I hope all the software advances will make it cheap enough to do some movies that are a bit less mainstream.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
I want more cuts... fucker.
They'll release another 83 billion versions of this for each new media format that comes out between now and doomsday. Just you wait.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
This was also a time when micro computing technology itself had no idea of its direction. (I just checked the release dates - it predated the Commodore 64.) It did exactly what it was designed to do - capture young minds.
... it had the best closed-process phrase ever. (I have to inquire how much the license rights to that phrase are!)
It used techniques never seen before... and never again (after the aggrivation factor turned out to be immense.)
And
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
...it's pretty awful. Ford's voice is completely flat and it sounds like he's reading his script from the desk in his hotel room. The voiceovers themselves add nothing to your understanding of the film. They're along the lines of:
DECKARD: (while fiddling with his badge and gun) I'm a cop.
Deckard's flying car cruises through futuristic L.A. until it arrives at a large building, upon which he disembarks and goes to see his boss in the police department.
DECKARD: I was on my way to headquarters to meet with the chief.
(etc.)
Breakfast served all day!
"I want more life, FUCKER"
?! For me, it was a significant line, and it was working well in the movie. This was the point in the movie where the roles of master and slave between Tyrell and Roy were reversed. It was Roy now who was in control. If you replace "fucker" with respectful "father", you lose that, you'll get a respectful 'son'.
I've seen both the international/theatrical lasedirsk version and the Director's Cut, and I liked the Director's cut more (no voiceovers, unicorn). But this time I might pass on it. If I get a chance to see it in a theater, I will; but for DVD I'll stick to 1992 version.
Remastering Vangelis's soundtrack is not the half of it. He withdrew his recordings just prior to first release, and the entire soundtrack was rerecorded by a group of musicians Scott hastily put together. Vangelis didn't approve release of his version until 1994. Anyone familiar with Vangelis' work will be confident his recording will be much superior to the impromptu "New American Orchestra". It has been released on CD, but I don't believe it's been included in a version of Blade Runner prior to this.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
I'd been waiting for something like this to pop up(though I'm sure there's geekier places with the full and proper rundown elsewhere). I got to go see it last weekend and was hard put to pick out the changes from the Director's Cut aside from an extended shot here and there. I probably would have caught more, but I was far too giddy about a) finally getting to see it on the big screen and b) the fact that Ridley didn't f- things up like a certain other director revisiting his films...
/the only movie I actively rewatch
//still listen to the soundtrack frequently
///never seen the original theatrical release
////my first DVD and will be my first Blu-Ray
He's just as entitled to an opinion as you are. Try not to be abusive; there's no point to it. The voice over version had Roy's comments too; but they're about Roy's experience; Deckard's voice-over line was about Deckard's experience. Sometimes changes aren't for the best - even if they are made by the director. A movie, especially one like this, is more than the sum of its parts, more than one person's vision, and more than one character's experience. That's why you can see it one way, and the parent (and myself) can see it another. The real value here is that all three of us found great value in the experience.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
monkey balls roasting on an open fire...
"And I'm a Sci-Fi nut." (there, fixed the caps for you)
No offense, but that's precisely why you find it boring.
All that proves is that Deckard is a god damned idiot. The reason he saved him was so that he'd REMEMBER HIM. So that he'd remember that there was a man named Roy Baty, who was as much a man as he was, regardless of his origins. By saving him, he guaranteed that he will never be forgotten in Deckard's eyes, and that, in and of itself is as close to immortality as anyone can truly get: to be remembered. Also, Roy's line before his death was far better imo.
And yeah, as was mentioned, Scott and Ford hated the voiceover and intentionally bombed it in the hopes that the studio would leave it out. They didn't.
That being said, I've seen the Final Cut. I live in NYC and had the wonderful opportunity to see it in theaters, and I'll be honest, it's the best, by far. The storyline flows much better than any of the other versions, it's visually spectacular (though a bit overdone with the flare effect on the Spinners), and overall it's so much more watchable and doesn't feel as if it's dragging on as much as the other versions.
I took my girlfriend to see it for the first time, and she freaked out and loved it from the word go. To be honest, I was happy she saw that version first, as she didn't have aspects of it ruined by poor production, or bad editing. So if you've never seen Blade Runner, go see the Final Cut and pretend the others never existed.
He's just as entitled to an opinion as you are. Try not to be abusive; there's no point to it.
Abusive? Sorry, I didn't intend for my post to be abusive; I saw it as being passionate about art. And of course there's no accounting for taste. I guess I took away from it something different than you did, but once it's submitted the post is now more than one person's vision and part of the shared Slashdot experience and I hope you and the GP at least found some value in it before YouTube yanks the clip.
From what I've read so far, it seems as though the video and audio are finally state of the art, whereas the original DVD was a piece of junk. Seeing the movie in the theatre around 2000 from a fresh master print was a revelation. This is one of the most beautiful pieces of film ever made and it deserves a complete restoration for DVD/Hidef.
According to an industry mag that I just took a peek at, there were two radical re-stagings of shots from the original production. First was the re-shoot of the "retirement" of Joanna Cassidy where the original shot was so horribly obviously a stunt double. The final moment where she gets hit was reproduced from 25-year-old production design and recreated to make the scene work. Even better was the through-the-window shot of Deckard in the noodle shop. The original cut had horribly de-synched picture and audio, so the restoration team had Harrison Ford's *son* stand in to say the intended lines. The image of his mouth doing the lines was digitally patched over the original footage of his father speaking to repair the scene.
Scott didn't need to redo Alien or Thelma because they came out the way he intended. The battles he fought over even getting BR to the screen are well documented (I just finished reading Paul Sammon's exhaustive "Blade Runner: Future Noir" book). I saw the Final Cut in a theater and despite having seen other cuts at least 20 times before, I was completely engrossed. Easily one of the greatest movies ever - in any genre.
no longer working for cnet
No matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney.
A re-release 25 yrs after the original? Why do people even write a story like this? Is this not yet another waste of space?
Fixed that fore you.
Launchy.net changed my world.
How many times has he redone Alien?
... Aliens was directed by James Cameron.
None, so far as I know
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Did they fix the Yukon hotel sign? The first time the hotel is shown, it is YUKON. The second time, it is NOKUY, like the same set was used, just mirrored.
"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." - Adolph Hitler
Deckard shoots first.
All I want to know in this version is if Deckard shoots first? :P
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
I've decided that this one's going to be like 2001 was for me: I need a quiet, dark room, no friends, no snacking, no pissing. Watch the whole thing in one sitting.
I tried both more than once with other people around. 2001 is goddamned unwatchable in a group. Finally decided I was going to force myself to watch it alone, and now it's one of my favorite movies. I've yet to try it with Blade Runner, but I got a similar "god, this movie is so BORING" feeling when watching it with others, so I suspect it'll require the same treatment.
OK granted "C-beams" and the Tannhauser Gate whatever that is sounds like total bullshit but that was way better than the graceless and forgettable voiceover from Harrison Ford that followed.
I always thought it was sea beams, which conjures up a slightly more poetic scene. But maybe he was talking about some ass-kick source code he once saw that would have blown Harrison Ford's mind.
I'm with you on the voice-over and its redundancy here.
Innovation makes enemies of all those who prospered under the old regime... -- Machiavelli
The Star Wars Limited Edition DVDs include the original theatrical releases. The UPCs are 024542263739, 024543263838, and 024543263937.
Since i've seen it, even though i have the last DVD release, but i forget, is Gaff a cylon, or what?
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
I always thought it was sea beams, which conjures up a slightly more poetic scene.
I always liked "sea beams" better too, but unfortunately if you Google around the consensus seems to be on "C-beams". I guess they must look like the letter "C" and glitter.
If he said "I watched C-plus-plus-beams glitter in the dark" that would settle it.
This actually disappoints me. He says "I want more life, fucker." He's there, pissed off that he's got an expiration date. And he expresses that anger, quite appropriately. Changing this line is quite pointless, and is indeed another Han-shoots-first moment that should never have happened. Why, oh why, do they have to do stupid things like this when restoring/touching-up old movies!?! Blade Runner is a classic, a masterpiece. The Director's Cut is just about perfect as far as I'm concerned. I was hoping it would eventually get the restoration treatment, maybe remove the wires from the vehicles as they floated up, things like that. But changing, what I think is, such an important piece of dialog like that is beyond aggravating.
I agree. I wonder if I'll be able to stay awake through this edition.
Aliens == Alien II
The song 'More Human Than Human' on 'Astro Creep:2000' features the lines "I am the Nexus one/I want more life fucker I ain't done". Kinda ruins the reference, wouldn't you say?
"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
Well, at least!
I've read till now wondering how it is nobody points out that BR is a noir in a SF background. Sam Spade in the future.
Cheers,
CC
With or without narration, the movie is great. Not even Harrison Ford could ruin it. His character is outshined by every other character in (nearly) every scene from start to finish. Hammy over-rated some-bitch. Look at him next to Rutger Hauer. He looks like an unschooled stand-in at rehearsal. Forgive me Harrison. I loved you in Star Wars. Indiana Jones too. If only you had stuck to the loopy melodramas.
Technically, murder-suicide does not violate the golden rule.
Arrrgh where were you when Roy Batty uttered his last words as his biological clock killed him right before that in the same scene?
Yeah, Roy's line did help the scene along and is certainly worth noting but I found Decker's lines more meaningful.
Were you in the theater bathroom taking a piss?
So people don't see the movie you you do and now we're shit for it?
OK granted "C-beams" and the Tannhauser Gate whatever that is sounds like total bullshit but that was way better than the graceless and forgettable voiceover from Harrison Ford that followed.
The idea that Decker's voice over was graceless is what makes it more moving to me. Decker is drained from his experience but is still left to *LIVE* with it. As far as I'm concerned Batty had it easy in comparison to what Decker had to deal with. A man's dying words aren't as important as what he says when he thinks he'll have to own up to them in the future.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Doesn't Greedo have a gun trained on Solo from the start?
I paid the going retail price for a Windows screen reader and got a free Unix computer!
I paid the going retail price for a Windows screen reader and got a free Unix computer!
Yes that's true but the scene is actually quite complex. At the outset Greedo's stated intention is to bring Han to Jabba not to kill him. He draws his gun not with the intention to kill Han, but as coercion. Han begins to remove his gun before Greedo mentions killing him. I guess you could argue that Han being brought to Jabba is the equivalent of death. Even when Greedo says "I've been looking forward to killing you for a long time.", in the context of their conversation, it seems to more mean, "I've been looking forward to seeing you killed [by Jabba]." And that of course is not a known outcome to Han or Greedo. If you consider the other crap scene that Lucas restored with Han walking over Jabba's tail, etc., Han doesn't seem to fear Jabba as eminent death. Anyway, I take your point, the scene is not so clear cut a case.
Is there an "edited for television" cut for Blade Runner? Lol.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Having seen the original on vhs when it was first released, i was too young to care about the voiceover. Watching the director's cut i thought it was cooler. Still clueless though about the whole thing, i knew the replicants were going to get killed. That's about it. It was only cause it was on directv once that i watched it again with my post post post adult brain and realized Deckard is a replicant. Basically it clicked with the first scene to M Emmet Walsh's (Raising Arizona, the terrible Mind of a Married Man from HBO as the editor). He says, your not cops, your little people, you know why your here, you know the deal." Then Deckard is all, why would they want to come back?" in reference to the other Nexians, and Walsh says again basically, thats why we got you here," cause initially, when Deckard is eating, what's his name, Olmos' character has to persistantly insist for him to come, and Deckard clearly feels he doesn't have to. As far as is it hard to follow without the voice over, prolly no harder than reading this response. Convoluted at first, not easy, however once committed, there is a lot of sense to be had.
Most of the changes sound like improvements, but this one... no:
In the scene where Batty confronts Tyrell, the line, "I want more life, fucker" has been replaced with "I want more life, father".
That really changes the whole scene.
So people don't see the movie you you do and now we're shit for it?
:) >
Missed a closing tag. </
I may be nerd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation
I'll only consider buying it if someone remixes the audio to incorporate the voiceover. Too much is lost without it.
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
Looking at it frame by frame, the only logical interpretation is:
Solo shot first. We simply don't see the first blaster bolt. Guido would not have shot Solo - he was worth more money alive. Guido, now dead with his nervous system overloaded, fires purely by reflex. This explains how a professional assassin aiming directly at his target at point-blank range was able to miss. Solo continues to shoot, moving the blaster into the view of the camera, understandable as a blaster bolt had just narrowly missed him.
It's *still* self-defence. Guido had made a death threat while pointing a gun at him.
The best line in any film, ever? Not by a long shot. As another poster already pointed out, Roy's "time to die" speech is the entire point of that scene.
And the other irritating thing is, it is obvious why Roy saves Deckard: just as Deckard loses his grip and Roy grabs his arm, Roy exclaims, "kinship!". This strongly implies that Roy saved Deckard because he recognized Deckard for what he was--a fellow replicant. In fact, in the Director's Cut DVD, "kinship!" appears in at least one of the closed-captioning or English subtitles (I forget now which one has it, but I don't think they both do).
Your bank is insolvent.
Taking Money Back
That's the first way I saw it, I liked the movie as it was, narration and possible happy ending intact. I'm not an idiot for liking that ending, you're not superior or an idiot for liking whichever of the other endings or versions you like. It's an interesting story how the movie was changed in the first place and it's journey to today but at least Scott didn't go and lock the version he didn't like away like that other clown did. And what the heck, in a couple of years they'll be selling another version with a copy of Final Cut Pro so you can cut it the way you want like a NIN CD.
Enjoy your Karma, after all you earned it. Feel your Karma Joe, feel it burn.
The reality is that it comes down to interpretation. Again, as my previous post said, take from the film for what it is. That's your right but I'm allowed to see it differently regardless of what you think.
And have you ever stopped to think that the kinship ideal had more to do with Batty showing that he wasn't a machine but rather a conscious being? I think the question about Decker being a replicant as having value but I'm one of the camp that doesn't think that the answer is clear.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
doubleplusgood, eh?
Irony? Yea, it's like goldy and bronzy, only it's made of iron!
Each new cut seems follow each new video technology, capturing more and more the orignal film capability. Disney's been playing this game for decades.
That would be a reasonable interpretation--if the "kinship!" line appeared in a vacuum. But it doesn't. It appears in the context of many other clues (occurring throughout the entire movie) that Deckard might be a replicant.
In a 2000 documentary, Ridley Scott was asked what the unicorn scenes meant. He point-blank reply: "He [Deckard] is a replicant." (See Blade Runner riddle solved .)
For all editions of the movie save the original theatrical release (which the director, one of the lead actors, and most fans have disavowed), this is a closed issue.
Your bank is insolvent.
Taking Money Back
For all editions of the movie save the original theatrical release (which the director, one of the lead actors, and most fans have disavowed), this is a closed issue.
Well, as much as I really hate to reply to this since you're obviously someone who sees his OPINION as right and anyone else as wrong...
I frankly don't give a damn about what Scott, Ford or anyone else thinks. I'm free to enjoy any version of the film that I damn well please.
Given that and given the concept that Decker doesn't seem to know that he's a replicant and that it's unknown if Batty knows that Decker's a replicant I can (and will) interpret the scene as I wish as well. Just because Scott shot the film from the aspect of Decker being a replicant, it doesn't mean that everyone in the film knows it.
You're making just as many assumptions as I am and coming off like it's fact and clearly it's not.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Two things: If Deckard is a Nexus 7, what in this or any other cut says he has to be aware of that? I prefer to believe he thinks he's human because he doesn't know any better. Also, in light of the extended unicorn dream scene, Gaff's last line -- "You've done a man's job sir." -- takes on new meaning: He's now implying that a replicant has proven its worth by doing the work of a human/man.
Wow. ...I had always assumed that it was a fun space adventure story that had pretty lights, cool uniforms, and nifty battles. I didn't realize that it was the stuff of Master's dissertations and comparative lit studies!
Bravo for waking me from my naive stupor!
Huh?
I mean that's what Ridley Scott did immediately after Blade Runner, right? The Tom Cruise fantasy "Legend" had unicorns running slow motion through a forest.... is there a connection?
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
the book is still better.
I've never seen the original version with the narration--the first time I saw Bladerunner it was the Director's Cut at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, DC. The Uptown has a HUGE curved screen and killer sound. It was an amazing movie experience, being able to just sink into the movie and the world it depicted.
So in short, horse poop on you. The version I saw had no narration and I did not have any problem following it or enjoying it. But then again I happen to love movies with strange, immersive experiences. My favorite of all time is 2001.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Amen,
I actually got to see this in the theater as well (went twice), what a great cut, and it has been cleaned up beautifully!! Sounds like half of the complainers on this thread havent even seen it. Just remember this is the one that Scott actually had total control over. Cant wait for the Blu-ray, after seeing it in the theater I put in my Directors cut DVD in and it looked like they transfered it from a VHS source. I highly recommend this version, even if you own or have seen all the others.
I'd never had a chance to see it on the big screen which was a definite plus!
Ummm, first of all, I wasn't exactly showing off, and second, the only reason I'd mentioned it was because I'd read in the original press release that the Final Cut was only being screened in NYC and LA and hadn't heard of it playing anywhere else at all. Care to enlighten me on where else it's playing?
This was one of the many cool things about the, uh, ending of the big duel in Dark Knight Returns (written a mere 4 years later) - the immediate reaction is that . . . the guy who dies . . . is doing the same thing there that Roy is at the end of Blade Runner. Incredibly poignant and striking. [I have only seen the DC, came to the same conclusion re: Roy's motive, and would have some difficulty believing that Deckard could be that dumb.]
Also, you lucky *$(^#&^#. *shakingofthefist at people who saw it in theaters*
"There are four boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order." - Ed Howdershelt
What are you talking about? Seriously. Why were you modded up? enlighten me, please.
I saw the original, and I haven't read it mentioned, and your quote segues into the voiceover the parent mentioned. So again, wtf are you referencing?
I've seen all the versions extant, and I agree wholeheartely with gp post. Maybe it is maturity? deep reflection? poetic sensibility on my part but this passage in question concretized mortality, meaning and purpose, forgiveness, altruism in a way theretofore abstract to me.
It occurred so slyly however. After many viewings, one day a decade+ ago I was open to the suggestion, and saw beyond myopic pettiness. Big deal, you say, I can't take you there, you might braggadocio past me but one day you will likely get it. For that reason, and as gp said, it is a scene treatment I miss whenever I see the "director's cut."
One of my biggest complaints about that scene was that: (1) Deckard shot her 3 times, but it appeared that she got shot 4 times, and (2) In the scene when she stumbles, you clearly see the fake skin/squib packet flip away from her chest.
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
In the original version, where Deckard is NOT a replicant, his actions imply that humans and replicants are of the same moral plane - or that replicants may in fact be more moral, and that Deckard is saved by reaching grace thru his actions with replicants - communing literally with angels and devils and choosing the side of angels.
But in this new version, the implication is that Deckard is a replicant, thus no salvation occurs, as this is all programming, and the highest plateau Deckard can reach is that of humanity.
A much darker image and implying that he is sub-human. And thus a slave, unworthy of his betters, humans.
Just saying.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --