Blade Runner [Director's Cut]

Rating:
Summary: Tepid adaptation of the origianl
Review: This is much like the first big screen adaptation of Dune; to someone who has never read the book, so much has been left out the viewer ends up wondering "what the heck is going on?" Those who have read the book look at it and say "I can follow the film, but they really chopped this up." This is often the feeling of what the directors cut does to those of us who have seen the original film in the theater. Having seen a number of Humphrey Bogart's detective films, the noir style of the original release and the trench coated Harrison Ford as Deckard give it a nice retro 40's feel. His Bogart-esque "Sam Spade" voice-over makes this work perfectly. To people who have never seen the film before and watched the directors cut, their comments have consistently been that they didn't understand the film. That it seems like something is missing. When they watch the directors cut after the original release they have no questions about it and find it good and more artistic interpretation, though less understandable version of the film. The voice over explains much of the characters thoughts and feelings to the viewer, without which the viewer ends up with far too many questions about what is going on and the actions of the character. Perhaps some like leaving this open to their own interpretation, which is their choice. But they are watching the film having seen the first release, giving them an overall understanding based upon the original. To the uninitiated watcher, this almost always elicits confusion. To someone who has seen both and prefers the directors cut, by all means this is a reasonable version. To anyone who has never seen the film before, go see the original before you watch the directors cut, otherwise it won't make much sense to you. The sound track, as any by Vangelis, is magnificent.

Rating:
Summary: I'm in the minority...voiceover is a useful tool.
Review: Okay...so I'm the odd man out for liking the voiceover of Harrison Ford on the original.
My wife and I saw it on the big screen during it's original release and walked out loving this movie, forever! The original gives a touch of the stylistic film noir, with a traditional detective voiceover, in an incredible, though dismal, futuristic setting: Huxley meets Orwell. The rainy, steamy environment reminded me of city life in Japan, complete with misty, summer fog reflecting the glow of neon.

I like the voiceover similar to appreciating Martin Sheen's voiceover in Apocalypse Now. It's like visiting a foreign country and having a guide taking you through the unfamiliar streets.

The ending? Well, let's not talk about the ending for anyone who hasn't seen it.

Either version is worth seeing, but I still prefer the original. This movie is in my top 10.

Rating:
Summary: How about both?
Review: I saw the theatrical version first and this is the version I fell in love with. Sure, the directors cut may be true to Ridley Scott's vision (And I like it too, don't get me wrong) but it is not the version that I really want. Or rather, I would like both. I think it would be a huge mistake not to have both available on DVD. Perhaps I can look forward to a collectors edition which would contain both versions, hopefully some extras, and a higher quality transfer. One thing is for certain, I will not buy this version by itself. However, if you are a first time viewer, I recommend this DVD. It is a great story even in this incarnation (note the five stars)

Rating:
Summary: Often imitated, never replicated
Review: "Blade Runner" had a very odd theatrical release: the first audiences saw different versions of the film (the studio recut it depending on what they heard from moviegoers). Just goes to show you - never rely on what the average viewer says. "Blade Runner" is much, much better without the hokey, noirish voice-over and uplifting finale. Harrison Ford, by his own admission, said he hated the narration and deliberately botched it (so the producers kept it, natch). And isn't it common coin in Hollywood to jam in a happy ending?

Fortunately, the trend of "director's cuts" came along at the right time. The real "Blade Runner" could have easily languished in Warner Bros. vaults while fans put up with the Embassy VHS (which I own) and subsequent DVD transfer. As of this review, most people hate the DVD handling, but the "Director's Cut" VHS is worth keeping your VCR around.

The film is the superior vision of life on a downward spiral, and its dizzying, tantalizing glimpses of a not-so-futuristic megalopolis are arresting. After reading Philp K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and seeing the movie, it is obvious that the original message about replicated humans is far more ominous than the original theatrical version can convey. The burning question is obvious: is Ford's character a replicant himself? Does his brutal dispatch of the dangerous androids represent murder, or just disposal?

In the end, the fantastic, impossible world created by Dick, and made flesh by Ridley Scott, is the real draw of "Blade Runner." To rely on a voice-over for plot clarity is to miss the point.

Vangelis' score and myriad aural touches add to the oppressive atmosphere. Subsequent sci-fi films have copied the "Blade Runner" look; all of them pale in comparison. Even if the studio were to somehow cobble up a sequel, it'd never recapture the look or feel of the real thing.

Rating:
Summary: Too quiet
Review: Not a well plotted movie, but so appealing visually - especially in the first 10 minutes - that it is hard not to like it.

The Directors Cut was an improvement to the plot, with some very deft touches of character development and a more complex denouement. AND... stripping the voice over just makes the whole thing too quiet. Long silent stretches of actionless film that were carried by Ford's gorgeous voice now have me writhing in my seat with boredom.

Rating:
Summary: VHS quality on a DVD. Way to go Warner Studios!
Review: Bear with me, this anecdote is relevant to the poor quality of this dvd. I admit it, I am a Blade Runner Geek. I have the original cut on laser disk. I saw the director's cut the second it hit the theatre years ago in a new state-of-the-art Sony theater in NYC. The projection booth was fully "automated" and it began rolling the film with audio only, the screen was totally black. Finally after 5 excruciating minutes, the picture belatedly came on and the theatre manager thought he could just keep the movie rolling until a near-riot started in the theatre. This was a Blade Runner audience. We demanded to start again from the beginning, we weren't going to be deprived of seeing a pristine print of the breathtaking opening sequence. The manager explained to the angry crowd that he couldn't just back up the projector, that it would require the time-consuming chore of removing the reel and rewinding it on a bench and the mob shouted:"do it now, we don't care how long it takes." And the contrite manager eventually started the film from the beginning 20 minutes later.
Well, Warner Bros. has done a similarly bad job of presenting B.R. on dvd. Right from the first 5 seconds, squinting at aliasing blurred titles, it looks as though you're watching a vhs tape that has been rented 100 times rather than a brand new dvd of a restored film. Oddly, the letterbox doesn't fully extend to the left and right edge of the tv screen. A smallish rectangle view floats in the middle of the screen with ragged pulsing edges. Unable to stomach watching the whole movie looking like this I scanned ahead to see a poorly transferred picture complete with dust and even a curly hair making a guest appearance! Like that hapless theatre manager, Warner Studios has made a big mistake underestimating the Blade Runner audience--we demand a refund and a re-release done right!

Rating:
Summary: what happened here?!
Review: I saw the original theatrical release, and when I heard there was a "director's cut," I imagined that there would be lots of more scenes from the "deleted" ones, etc., but definitely no what they did. The voice over adds a great deal of understanding that it is needed for a better grasp of the motives of the characters. The so called "phony ending" is a definite absolute requirement for psychological resolution and hope. This release at least should had offered both versions. I own the original on tape, and so hard to get, but VHS is dying. I was hopping for the DVD version, but it does not look is going to be one.

Rating:
Summary: Best Film Ever Made
Review: The Director's Cut is the best Film Ever Made.
The director didn't consider the audience stupid adding the
superfluous over voice and the happy ending was added even
when the director didn't like it.
Director's end is one of the best I've ever seen.
If you don't like it, you haven't understand it.... so please,...
don't talk about things you cannot understand...

.... comparing book and Movie,... The movie is depper and
better... the only book that can be compared with Blade Runner
script is "Hamlet"...

Rating:
Summary: Futuristic, Fun, Fantastic
Review: This is one of the best movies ever made ( I wish they made a sequal or two )

Rating:
Summary: Terrific story, terrible DVD transfer
Review: Blade Runner stands out as one of the all-time best and most original sci-fi adventures ever put to film. The plot's premise surrounding the possibility of extended life hits the viewer to the core. And the "villains" are both repellent and highly sympathetic, making for some of the most complex and contradictory characters ever depicted. And Harrison Ford is perfectly cast as the deadpanned gumshoe wrestling with his own moral demons.

Unfortunately, this DVD belongs in the... category for technical reasons. It is one of the absolute worst video and audio transfers ever made to the DVD format. And personally, I think the original version with Ford's voice-over is a much better movie. There is no reason why both versions couldn't have been included on the same disc.

I have seen reports that a new "special edition" will be out in the near future which will include both the Director's cut and the original versions, as well as numerous extras. Hopefully, the powers that be will do a more competent job of cleaning up the transfer. It could only be better.

Save your $$$, wait for the re-release.