Blade Runner [Director's Cut]

Rating:
Summary: This is no classic
Review: I'll start with the positive: the set design for this movie is still fascinating, years later. Some of the street level plaster work looks kind of unlikey, as do a couple of the painted panoramas. But it's still quite stunning to look at. That's really where the movie sticks with you.

But otherwise, it's very weakly put together. The acting is fine, but the dialogue is paced and unnatural and cheesy. And the editing in this director's cut, like the original cut, is very sloppy in places -- for example there's a scene that's supposed to represent hours of interviews, which messes up the time passage device. There's an editing mistake like this every two or three minutes, with bad continuity, and it's really irritating. It's like reading someone's bad spelling & grammar, and weak story-telling, with extraordinary penmanship. And its relationship to Philip K. Dick is tepid. Rent this one ... you won't watch it more than once.

Rating:
Summary: A Postmodern Tour de Force
Review: Los Angeles, AD 2019, provides the space for Blade Runner. A set of replicants, bio-engineered copy who were designed to live off-world, have escaped and returned to earth to extend their limited four year life span. In order to effect this change or configuration, they need to find Tyrell. Their issue is simple - the four year life span is, to say the least, somewhat short. Deckard, the retired blade runner is recruited under duress to retire these and one more replicant. The replicants are more than robots - they are copies - some even with memories - they are in effect - a simulacra of the real thing - us. Constantly living in fear, not knowing when the end time is coming (as if we humans do - at least we live like we do) forcing us to deal with our own finitude. Who are we? - is the question that blade runner the movie asks us. The character of Rachel is the most compelling of all. Infused with the memories of Tyrell's niece - she does not even know she is a replicant. Moreover, the scene surrounding Blade Runner is a pastiche of scenes and scenery that are multi-cultural almost like Las Vegas is today. All these elements make Blade Runner what David Lyons calls Postmodern. Lyon states in his book - Postmodernity - that the movie really calls reality into question. The replicants want to become human. So as a Postmodern experience, Blade Runner asks us to question reality as such. Is the world really as solid as the Enlightenment thinkers wanted us to believe? In a reality of an ever changing makeup of our physical beings, the advent of the android is not something - out there - it is already here. Often enough, science fiction is the advance person for reality - this horizon may not be so far away. I would rank this movie - specially the directors cut version - among the top movies of all time along with giants like Apocalypse Now and The Matrix. I place this movie among them (cognizant that I have eliminated a whole set of terrific foreign and art house movies) because they are sassy and sexy and force us to think. If there is one movie that I can watch again and again - this would be it. Multi layered and visually stunning Ridley Scott has left us one for the ages. For my money (and stocking) this is the one.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful sci-fi noir thriller
Review: Directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, this film based on a novel by the great reality bender Philip K. Dick, is a visual and mental assault mixing retro-futurisitic gothic dystopic scenery, and a thoughtful story of an android meeting his maker, and the cop trying to kill him. Harrison Ford, plays Decard, who is a Blade Runner; that is his job is to kill robots that live illegally on Earth. During his investigation he falls in love with a mysterious woman.... As Decard investigates, the two surviving illegal robots, hatch a plan to meet the man who engineered them, in order to prolong their current life span, which is only 4 years. What will these humans and robots learn of themselves, and their nature? Of reality? Love? God? Death? Technology? All of these issues are explored and more. Any fan of science fiction, or a thought provoking story should see this immediately. While there are action scenes, the film is sometime slow, so if that bothers you, then maybe you should reconsider watching this. But I suggest you do, as it is worth the effort. 5 stars. A must see.ushing Tyrell's eyes back into his head), which I felt, ruined the overall enjoyment of the film. I was annoyed at the lack of extras on this DVD, as well as the sound, which is a standard Dolby Surround track. But the picture quality makes up for everything. Thanks to anamorphic enhancement, which allows an incredible amount of detail into the picture, "Blade Runner" now looks better than ever! I'm suprised people were dissapointed in it. I would give this DVD 5 stars, had they included extras of any kind. That annoyed me, yes, but the picture quality is stunning. I heard that they are preparing a special edition of "Blade Runner" for DVD. That would be great, although I am quite content with the existing version. I also heard they are preparing a special edition of Ridley Scott's "Legend". It was torture watching the American version, and would be more than happy to see Scott's vision of what the film should be!


Rating:
Summary: Blade Runner - Not the Directors Cut
Review: I am looking for a copy of the movie Blade Runner, ( not the Directors Cut ). Can anyone help me?

Rating:
Summary: Controversy!!
Review: My previous theory was that Mr Scott changed his movie because he wants to be taken seriously as an Artist, (hence the over-blown, bombastic style that made Hannibal a lesser film). I was heartened to read below that this "director's" cut was actually assembled by the studio, and that there may be a more developed version that retains much of the narration. As good as this cut is, THAT'S the version I'd like to see...

I think people like the version without the voiceover because it's more mysterious and arty, and it disguises that fact that Blade Runner is basically a sci-fi version of a 40's detective movie. Sure, the voiceover grates a few times, but cut that out and you STILL get the police chief saying "Talk about beauty and the beast - she's both," which is probably the worst line in the movie, and you still get the superfluous and awful dubbed dialogue in the snake shop.

You also get one important piece of new footage: the unicorn dream. The problem with this insertion is (1) it is stuck seemingly at random into the middle of what was originally a smooth tracking shot with continuous soundtrack, and (2) the insert makes no sense in context and has nothing at all to do with the rest of the film...This scene would have been originally been excluded from the film because it doesn't fit the overall structure - sure, the added meaning makes some people feel deep, but on the other hand it invalidates what would otherwise be the main problem of the movie, which is Deckard's grappling with his feelings about killing creatures who might be "human". Instead it's a trick ending: "Turns out he was a robot all along!" which has nothing to do with the rest of the film.

As you can tell, I have mixed feelings about this version, but of course it's still a great movie - it's Blade Runner, for God's sake! And it'll do until something even better comes along...

Rating:
Summary: A Five Star Movie with a One Star DVD
Review: When, oh when, will they release a REAL Blade Runner DVD? This classic deserves a heck of a package with it's legendary status and enduring popularity. Yet we sit around with an inferior version. Hey, you folks at the studios KNOW there is a market for this film - why not give us (and believe me, there are many of us) what we want? I promise you will get the dollars that you crave. Just give us a decent release and soon? You did it with LEGEND and heaven knows that film deserves nothing more than the crumbs of Blade Runner.

Rating:
Summary: Horrid Remake
Review: If Dir. Scott had wanted the movie made this way he would have made it this way, no this is a farce created by the Corporation to cut back on violence and make more money off a VERY GOOD movie, Dir. Scott had nothing to do with the "Director's Cut". Just a rumor, there is supposedly a 3.5 hour version with voice over. The REAL Directors cut I assume.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: With "Blade Runner," Ridley Scott has given film lovers a stunning film that appeals as much today as it did when first released. From beginning to end, his attention to detail in lighting, set design, blocking...*everything*...is breathtaking. Even twenty years later, "Blade Runner" does not appear dated or low-tech; Syd Mead & Jordan Cronenweth out-did everyone else of the period.

The story takes place in 2019, in the city of Los Angeles. Humans have invented robots (called "replicants") to serve as slaves, especially in off-world colonies. The latest version of the replicants, though, is so close to human ("More Human Than Human" is manufacturer's motto) that they begin to develop their own emotional responses. This leads to trouble, as they have fully-formed, adult bodies, but the emotional experience of children (which the actors who play the replicants do a fantastic job of portraying through facial expressions and body posture.) Because their anger can often lead to violence, replicants have been banned on Earth. Should any turn up, special units of the police called "Blade Runners" are dispatched to "retire" the replicants (killing them was not called "murder" or even "termination," since they are viewed as sub-human.)

Deckard (Harrison Ford) is the main character, and we experience the story mostly from his perspective. He is a retired Blade Runner quietly going about his life, when he's suddenly yanked back into the business by his old boss (M. Emmet Walsh,) who tells him he desperately requires Deckard's help. Six replicants hijacked a ship off-world and have found their way to Los Angeles, where Tyrell Corporation, their manufacturer, is located. They are seeking their creator, Dr. Eldon Tyrell, for answers and little will deter them.

As the story unfolds, we learn more about the replicants Deckard must track down and retire, and it is to be hoped that we develop some empathy for them. To add another layer to the story, Rachel, Deckard's love interest, comes with a full package of complex issues that force Deckard into a bit of a dilemma as he pursues his quarry.

This is not a fluffy, happy movie; it is filled with dark, dripping scenes of haunting beauty (highlighted by the Vangelis soundtrack,) and a moral that is not beaten into viewers with a large, heavy-handed hammer. One of the scenes near the end has Rutger Hauer speaking a monologue that remains one of my favorites, because it speaks to a deep, central part of me that selfishly grieves because when I die, all of my memories will die with me - no one else will see things the way I have. I connect with Roy on a very intimate level at that moment, and I feel most other viewers will, too.

The cast is out*standing*: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, Sean Young, Joanna Cassidy, William Sanderson, Edward James Olmos, Brion James, Joe Turkel, James Hong...holy smokes! Each actor perfectly portrays his or her character with absolute believability, right down to small tics and expressions, and their chemistry is fabulous.

This version of the film leaves out Deckard's narrative, adds a few moments of footage to more clearly establish an implication regarding Deckard's humanity, and removes other footage to clean things up a bit. The loss of the narrative removes a lot of the 40's gumshoe, film noir aspects of the movie, but it doesn't make the movie difficult to understand at all; the film very clearly stands on its own without it.

However, the narrative in the original verison adds a lot of charm to the film, and gives us a clearer understanding of Deckard; I really enjoy that version as well. The film is much more elegant without it, though, allowing viewers to pay more attention to the gorgeous scenery and background sounds, instead of listening to what Deckard is saying, and missing some of the details.

I can't say that I prefer one version to the other, as they both have so much to recommend them. I couldn't even argue which version a person "should" see first; each will color the viewer's experience of whichever film is seen second.

"Blade Runner" in either form continues to blow me away, even though I have seen it dozens of times. It is always in my list of of top five favorite films, and I very much recommend both versions to anyone who enjoys science fiction, detective movies, or generally excellent film. Sit back, relax, and allow the sheer beauty to sweep you away into a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Rating:
Summary: Please, whatever you do, do NOT....
Review: ...watch the original theatrical version of Blade runner. The Director's cut is where its at. Dark, somber and nearly nihilistic view of the future that is so believable in its's portrayal of the dingy streets and wet, "film noir" atmosphere. Hauer is creepy as hell! Young is gorgeous, and Ford makes a perfect Deckard.

Rating:
Summary: My #1 Movie
Review: Sci-Fi, drama, love, action and film noir. This film does it all! Scenery, acting, script, lighting, costumes, editing and directing. This film has the best of it all. Phillip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford. All their talents are here. And lets not forget the ORIGINAL score by Vangelis. The best of it all comes together to set the mood to take you to another place and time. I can't wait until 2019 here in Los Angeles for BLADE RUNNER to be a reality. This is why its my #1 movie.