Blade Runner [Director's Cut]

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Summary: Blade Runner, an investment in quality entertainment.
Review: This is one of the few movies I have watched repeatedly. I'm cheap, but I own both the regular movie and director's cut on VHS and the director's cut on DVD. I bought an imitation sound track, (well done), at first, because the real thing was not available. Later on, when Vangelis released his version, with great satisfaction, I purchased that on CD. In my opinion, this is, by far, the best movie and sound track for enjoying a well put together entertainment system. The movie is an intense, involving science fiction film noir romantic detective story. There are quite a few "cult classics". This is one. This is the finest one.

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Summary: Don't try to comapre this to any other movie!
Review: Blade Runner is not just some sci-fi movie... nor is it merely a film adaptaion of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." At the time of its original release, it was a stark and stunning portrayal of the future (in complete contrast to the "happy" or "slightly confused" future of so many other movies.) It is still considered visionary today. While focused on androids, the movie really puts humanity and the will to survive at trial. If you saw the movie and liked it, you'll love the Director's Cut. If you saw the Director's Cut and loved it, you MUST see it widescreen! You miss so much scenery when a movie gets panned and scanned. ...this DVD makes my THIRD (and final) copy of this film.

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Summary: I liked the original version with the voice over.
Review: Content - The original version with the voice over is much better. I would buy THAT version. Video Transfer is excellent. Sound is excellent.

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Summary: A Classic Sci-Fi Flick.
Review: This is and has been one of my favorite movies of all time. The gritty reality is one of the best parts, as befits a film in the classic noir style. This is more than simply a movie, just made for the heck of it, it is a world unto itself, along the lines of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. It is vastly different from those two, but deserves a place along side them. The stunning cinementography and the lush characters keep one entertained and thinking for hours after a viewing. Of course it has wonderful special effects, but unlike most modern movies does not allow the effects to take over and obscure the story and the characters. The ending, while much less happy than that of the original, is powerful and contains striking imagery remenicent in some ways of The Third Man. This is truly one of the great movies, and will go down as such. If you have not seen it or do not own it, do both soon, it is well worth it. ( And for heavens sake don't buy or watch the 5th element, it is just a Blade Runner wannabe with an uplifting finale and a dumb plot.)

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Summary: Visually superb, deep down a masterpiece
Review: Blade Runner shouldn't be considered as just a Science Fiction thriller. It arises very deep questions that apply to the human condition, as the struggle with our own mortality, the search for our Creator, and of the meaning to things such as soul, memory, and morality. The visual part of the movie is incredibly well accomplished for a film this old, and still today most of the science fiction films pale to the aesthetical approach of Ridley Scott in this movie. The plot and details don't fall into exaggeration or caricature, something way too common this days, and if I can think of a movie that portrays a credible vision of the near future (Los Angeles, 2019), this is it. The casting is great, my favourite always being Rachel (Sean Young). Why this actress didn't reach higher in her career is still a mistery. Go for it if you like good science fiction thrillers, and if you like to give a thought to the deeper questions that any human being sooner or later has to confront.

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Summary: Director's cut vs. original
Review: For people who haven't seen the original the Director's cut is frankly unwatchable. The pace is glacial and the lack of dialog and explanation make the plot confusing and tedious. The narration in the original is cheesy and overplayed but lends some humanity to an otherwise drab role and keeps the movie on track. With regard to the 'central theme' mentioned in previous reviews, anyone who has been paying attention in the original will get it (give us ignorant masses some credit), and if anything the narration and imagery at the time of Roy's death underscores it. As for the ending, I prefer the original though I agree it was a little heavy-handed. The sunlight creates a stark contrast to the darkness that saturates the remainder of the film...I guess it boils down to whether you're the type of person who likes a happy ending or a melancholy one. The Director's cut is worth a watch if you're a Blade Runner fan but I strongly recommend the original, at least for starters.

n.b., I admit I'm biased, I saw the film in the theaters when it came out, loved it then and think they should have left well enough alone, but then again I'm not the director...

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Summary: directors cut versus other versions
Review: I have seen the european version of this classic and i must say that personally i liked that version much better than the directors cut(DC). The voice-overs definitely add to the film. The only thing that i consider better in the DC is the ending. I have always wondered about the reasons of modifying the european version and deleting scenes. Leaving the question of whether Deckard is a replicant is sublime. I will certainly buy this movie if i get the chance but surely it will not be the DC.

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Summary: You've Missed It
Review: If you come away from this movie thinking it was about a guy chasing after androids, then you missed the point. This movie is about so much more than science fiction, or what the world will be like in the future. This movie cannot be easily fit into one category...nevertheless, the movie remains as the best movie that I have ever seen. I wish that the original uncut version with the Harrison Ford narration would come out on DVD. I'm one of the lucky few to have the original on VHS and I'm afraid to watch it for fear it will wear out too fast. So I listen to the soundtrack, over and over and over again.

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Summary: Too smart to succeed, too cult to fail
Review: 'Blade Runner' is really a phenomenon in the sense that never before has a would-be screen Leviathan bombed so badly, so quickly upon release. There's so much awe with which to hold this movie that that awe has itself become sickeningly cliched over the years, as if the ranks of 'B.R.' admirers have swelled beyond the intelligentsia clique that was there in the beginning. But, to be fair, the mystique that has formed such a powerful undercurrent over the years does indeed exist. Firstly, the casting is as flawless as the academic merits of the story. Director Scott, still fresh from his 'Alien' phase, handled himself well in the driving seat, pulling class A+ results from a heavily invested-in set. The violence is sufficient for the film and the pacing worked just fine. So what went wrong after all that? The answer could well lie in the novel feel behind 'Blade Runner'. It's not sci-fi per se but, rather, is a shaky hybrid of Forties Film Noir and a new type of Science Fiction which had really only been seen before in the likes of 'Outland'. 1981 and 82 audiences weren't ready to receive this marriage of styles - the counterfeit glory of the 'Star Wars' saga had poisoned far, far too many minds for a break with formulaic convention to be welcomed. Also, the picture was derived from the short story 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?' which proved that it had an immediate grounding in a thinking man's world. Unfortunately, Thinking men's films do not sell well when put alongside Hollywood sugar-coats. The masses are just too vain, surface-oriented and gluttonous to want to strain their brains too far and there were far too many cerebral elements in 'Blade Runner' to pass this acid test. The heavy leanings toward symbolism are alone proof of this (your average everday moron just can't accommodate stuff like this in his own mind). It goes to show that a good idea and a good film transcription of that are far from being enough to make the end result sell well. What makes 'Blade Runner' a classic is simply that it has been a solid catalogue seller on video over the years. Thanks in particular to the 1992 tenth anniversary re-release, Ridley Scott's gem seems to have been well and truly granted a posthumous type of respect, almost born of guilt from those who had lacked the mental stamina to take it in '82. Last point: Vangelis's soundtrack (the 1994 CD release) is otherworldly to hear. It is but one more piece of evidence to demonstrate that the film was an expensive gamble that failed initially (through no fault of its own) but then bounced back because its redeeming features were too numerous and fundamental to let it be defeated. This is an anti space soap-opera and therefore the perfect antidote to all this neo 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek' hype. It is also Ridley Scott at his peak. 'Blade Runner' stands to this day in a category all of its own - a one-off curiosity - the oddity blockbuster with a small 'b' which is loved by many, more because many of them think it's cool to love an underdog rather than because the vast majority want to discuss the work's actual content. Nobody wants to be seen to hate it.

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Summary: Greatest Color Film Ever
Review: This is not a simple film. This is not a film that one can watch simply to watch. In fact, such a tactic will ultimately cause dislike for this film. This is not a detective story with a good guy and a bad guy, nor it is a shallow pit of special effects.

Imagine reading a novel: Heart of Darkness for instance. Was Conrad's purpose in writing this book simply to tell a story? If you believe so, then don't bother with this film. Return to your shelf of those new and popular releases: to your Varsity Blues and your to your Blair Witch Project. Bladerunner is not a film to watch for simple enjoyment. It can be enjoyed but not until after it is disected. So if your deconstructionist skills are always in practice and you are looking to experience the greatest color experience, then this is the film for you.