Blade Runner [Director's Cut]

Rating:
Summary: Do they continue to dream of electric sheep?
Review: I was a ten year old boy when Blade Runner was released to the world. When I was old enough to watch it, I loved how the story progressed. The idea of androids wanting to live beyond their 4 year lifespan was really revolutionary. I bought the Director's Cut on letterboxed video sometime after 1993 and it made more sense than the original film. Because of the unicorn scene, Harrison Ford's character could be an Android and doesn't know it. I shall wonder about Rachel and Deckard after this story. I hope they continue to dream of electric sheep. END

Rating:
Summary: A feast for the eyes if you could only keep them open!
Review: If the story was as interesting as the cinemaphotograhy, this would be a 5 star movie. But unfortunately, the story is slow starting and never builds any momentum. I kept thinking this is going to get really exciting any minute now, but after an hour into it I realized I needed 3 espressos if I was going to stay awake. DVD is an excellent medium for this film. It really shows the detail that Ridley Scott put into it. It is an excellent film for your DVD collection, if you're wanting to show off your machine. Otherwise, this movie is a real snooze. END

Rating:
Summary: "BLADE RUNNER: DC" IS EYE CANDY AND MAKES YOU THINK
Review: BRDC is, in my opinion, one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made. But what troubles me is that this movie could have been more if its makers were given a few million dollars more. Even though there are a very noticable amount of errors (script inconsistancies, dubbing, visual problems), this movie still shines from a VERY solid performance by Dutch actor Rutger Hauer, who plays Roy Batty, the lead of his replicant clan. Another solid performance is given by Joe Turkle, who plays God with his character, Eldon Tyrell. If you live for visuals in movies, this movie will have you spellbounded. From the opening scene, you are treated to 2 hours of pure bliss. CG scenes and miniatures are eye candy, and enhances the movie's feel. Ridley Scott's futuristic epic is a must for anyone who even remotly enjoys a good sci-fi flick. I think the film should be redone, and retrofitted with better F/X, have the scenes and characters who were deleted due to budget cuts, and have the parallel story that is in WESTWOOD STUDIOS' adaption of the movie. Both are astounding and will forever hold a place on my shelf, and in my heart. END

Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Film! A Benchmark Film for all Sci-Fi
Review: Bladerunner - The Director's Cut is far superior to the original theatrical release. The original release had narraration throughout it which was distracting (as well as insulting for someone with average intelligence). The addition of one little dream sequence (omitted from the original) changes the entire meaning of the film. A must have for any Sci-Fi fan. Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer are incredible together. END

Rating:
Summary: The Best.
Review: The original was a great science fiction film, but the director's cut of the movie makes it (with the exception of the Stars Wars films)the greatest science fiction movie in history. Some people would say that this film does not stack up to the original just because of the omitted voice-overs, but this simply isn't true. First of all you watch much closer and understand much more without the voice-overs, although it is true that some of the voice-overs did give you a better insight in to what Rick Deckard was thinking. The extra footage is a plus, and the ending is also a big plus. It feels much better to know that Deckard is in love and running away with Rachael, knowing that she only has a few years to live. In the original, it ruins the moment when Deckard says that she is built diffrently and will in fact live a lot longer. You should also read "Do Anderoids Dream Of Electric Sheep", this will also give you great insight into Blade Runner, or Blade Runner Director's Cut, no matter which one you choose to have. END

Rating:
Summary: The Director's cut is superb! THIS is Blade Runner.
Review: When Blade Runner was test screened some of the audience didn't "get it". The studio panicked & forced Ridley Scott to add the narration, cut down some of the sensitive (slow) scenes, & add a silly "Blue Skies" ending...that shot-out-of-nowhere fly-over of snowy mountains (a shot that the studio BOUGHT from "The Shining"!) for a more up-beat & less thought provoking ending. Typical cowardice, in my opinion. The Director's cut shows what a difference creative control can make. It is a truly great film, in any catagory. The fact that it is Sci-Fi shows how ill-served we Sci-Fi fans have been. Why are there not more films of this caliber out there? Look to the Studios for the answer. (I worked on Blade Runner, as a Modelmaker, & am still in the VFX trade.) END

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made
Review: An extraordinary journey through a dark, bleak future where human-like replicants put in question what it means to be alive. A classic movie with amazing special effects. Sountrack by Vangelis END

Rating:
Summary: One of the best films ever made
Review: Cutting edge future scope never before seen. Images of a wet dirty L.A. run by large corporation cut-throat underworld boss. Rutger Hauer and Harrison Ford, enemies in a hate triangle with the system. Great Movie! END

Rating:
Summary: interesting but...
Review: After seeing the Original release and then the Director Cut, I was a little disappointed. The DC lacks the original voice-over by Ford that (imo) adds some sort of connection between the scenes. The DC does have some extra footage that makes in worth viewing but not that much and the ending of the DC is different. I believe that Blade Runner is still a great movie but I would have rather seen much more of the cut footage (like Decker visiting Holden in the hospital - a scene that is not in any released version) with the voice-over (narration by Ford). Still it is worth watching and maybe adding to your collection. END

Rating:
Summary: Like Tears in the Rain
Review: By the time Roy Batty dies, he has made peace with his engineered fate, that his manufactured four-year lifespan was ending. Upon relinguishing his life, Batty releases the dove he had been clutching, his soulful metaphor, which escapes into the gray sky. The implication is that Batty's compassion for Deckard manifested his humanity, and thus earned him an afterlife. It was a poetically masterful conclusion to a cinematic masterpiece of science fiction. Most fans of science fiction will agree that this is one fine film, proof of what can be done with the genre when it's taken seriously, as something that can appeal to grownups. About that, we can pretty much concur. The contention begins when we discuss which version is better: The original theatrical release, or this Director's Cut. Look at some of these other reviews and you'll see what I mean.

The theatrical version is now out of print (it was on VHS). I have it and I've seen it countless times. I also have this Director's Cut DVD, and I've seen it countless times, too. What some of the other reviewers have failed to mention, or have glossed over without explanation, is HOW the two versions differ. First, the noir-like voice-over is omitted in the Director's Cut, as was Deckard's fly-away escape with Rachel, the final scene in the original. Second, there is an added scene in which Deckard falls asleep at his piano and dreams of a unicorn running through a verdant wilderness. Though they seem minor changes, these omissions and additions change the movie to the degree that the two versions are entirely different films. In the original, Deckard's and Rachel's escape implies their living happily ever after. In the Director's Cut, Deckard himself is a replicant, he and Rachel both doomed by the four-year lifespan. To fans of the original film, the conclusion of the Director's Cut is hard to swallow. I know: I was one of them, and when I first viewed the Director's Cut, I didn't even see what is now glaringly obvious. Viewing the original edition so often had biased my perceptions; I simply couldn't see it in any way other than how I initially interpreted it. But via discussions in the Blade Runner newsgroup I came to think and accept otherwise. Deckard was a replicant. The proof is distilled from three points: Deckard's dream of the unicorn; the memories implanted by the replicants' manufacturers into the minds of the replicants to give them a sense of an extended lifespan; and the final origami -- a unicorn -- discovered by Deckard as he and Rachel escape. There are other clues, for sure, but these cinch it: Deckard's dream was known to someone besides himself, just as he had known Rachel's private memories in detail, because they orginally belonged to Tyrell's niece. After a period of adjustment, I've come to prefer the Director's Cut. It's a more nuanced film. Also, this is truer to the director's vision, and that's a good thing in this case, like a mistake corrected. It's less happy-ending Hollywood. I haven't watched the original version since I bought this DVD.

As for the DVD itself, it's a two-sided disc, with a widescreen presentation on one side and fullscreen on the other. The image quality is superior to that of the VHS edition, of course. The yearning soundtrack by Vangelis, so integrated into the whole experience, is enhanced by the digital rendering. For DVD extras, there's not much here in the form of special features -- "production notes" the only real extra, stuff you read; not really that special -- but for now, this is the only available edition of this great film. And it's more than enough, if you love films by directors with visionary ambition.

On a hopeful note for those of you favoring the original theatrical release, I understand there's a special edition DVD package planned that'll include both versions of the film, both digitally corrected in a couple of spots -- those of us cult-like aficionados are painfully aware of some glaring continuity errors -- along with a few other goodies as extras (REAL extras, such as a director's commentary). But there's no official release date as of yet. For now, if you don't have the original release on VHS you're tough out of luck. But having to settle for this Director's Cut isn't a bad deal: It's as close to the director's original vision as you'll get for now.