Blade Runner [Director's Cut]

Rating:
Summary: I've seen things you people wouldn't dream...
Review: First the bad news. This is quite a lame transfer. Perhaps I got spoiled by the free copy of Bug's Life that came with my iMac DV SE. But man would I like Scorsese and his team of movie refurbishers to have a go at this one. There is just way too much grain on the DVD transfer; like using 1000 ASP film and no flash to shoot the first dance at a wedding. No bells and whistles either with the DC. I new I was in for it when I saw the dreadful artwork on the cover. You gotta love Helvetica; such an expressive font.

The good news? Without the drab, spoon-feeding narration to fill up those mean and nasty moments of silence (sheesh!) there is a newfound tension between Rachel and Deckard. Without the narration, we are brought a whole level closer to the story, and have to fend for ourselves during moments of anti-voiceover. Whereas with the narration, we were simply passers-by.

This film is all mood. Slow yourself down. Pick a late evening. No one else in the room. No popcorn. And slip into the film's pace. You'll have a far richer experience with the DC, simply because you'll notice more.

Rating:
Summary: Elaboratly Pointless Movie
Review: Having never seen Blade Runner, and after hearing so many good things about it, I just had to see what the fuss was about. So, credit card in hand, I bought the Director's Cut DVD. I slipped it into my DVD player with a little tingle going up and down my spine. Then I watched it, all the way through, twice.

Well, was it what i expected? Yes and no. It looked amazing, with effects that couldn't be topped today. The look of Los Angeles was stunning and gothic and oh so pretty. The symbolic nature of many of the shots added to the atmosphere. The music was effective in its oppressiveness and spare style. The acting was incrediable. But . . . . . . . .

As I said above, it was kinda pointless. I never really connected to Deckard's character. I felt for him, but never really got involved. The plot meanered, sometimes confusingly, from here to there, and while it needed to do that to bring some plotpoints home, there really wasn't any energy for the most part in it (with the exception of the times when the replicants were killed, and the battle at the end). And, my God, was it depressing; dark, rainy, showing the decay of society from the opening frame to the closing shot of the elevator doors.

It wasn't a bad movie; it looked and sounded as good or better than the movies today. But . . . kinda pointless. I know it had a message to tell about what it means to be human, and it told that message.

Anyway, 3 stars. Should be watched at least once, but as to whether you like it, I guess that varies from person to person.

Rating:
Summary: This movie's not good!
Review: I didn't like Blade Runner at all. The special effects were okay but I didn't really understand the movie. I liked the score though, I think it's great but I thought that Blade Runner was really boring.

Rating:
Summary: It's good but it could have been great
Review: This really is good movies with wonderfull atmospherics, but it's not nececerially a great movie. Every time I see it I think to myself this movie should have been longer and with a slightly quiker pace. What's on the screan is good, for the most part, but a better script and better plotting would have helped. It could have had more scenes with the replicants, Ford's characer should have had moments (like in the novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) where he could suffer from self-doubt and question is "humanity." (Roy Batty's metting with his creator, Dr. Tyrell is one of the best scenes, but it could and should have been longer and more involved. Having said this I for some strange reason this movie is one of my favorites. There is something hypnotic about wathing this movie, and like most films that do that some people are intriqued and other's a board to tears. And on a final note I preview this to the other version, beacause while the vioce over's added atmosphere it over explainded the obvious. (Please excuse the rambling in this review I'm typing while thinking my thouhts and I'm not used to doing that)

Rating:
Summary: The movie is great, but wait for the Special Edition
Review: When I first saw the original Blade Runner, I knew Decker had to be a replicant. Just think of about it. Replicants were genetically "enhanced." They are far stronger than human beings. If Decker had been a normal human being, how could he have survived those massive blows from the replicants? Get a replicant to retire replicants. Only humans can be this cunning. I, personally, liked Decker's dull dialogues because they made him even more humane. I agree with the other reviewers that the DVD edition should have more features. For this very reason, for the time being, I recommend you to buy the soundtrack of this movie (which is in a league of its own - try listening to it with the lights dimmed) and wait for the Special Edition to come out. Even though this might be just a rumor, the corporate boys at WB will surely want to make additional profits if the demand grows big. Let's just hope that they deserve it this time.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not really the original
Review: The DC is a good film. However it was not the version which achieved cult status and I doubt whether it would have achieved it if this version had been released first.

The DC is cold, sterile and one cannot help but compare it to the original which was more involving ( in part due to the voiceover ). I reckon that eveyone who has seen the DC has also seen the orginal and subconsciously plays the voice over in their head anyway....

Only thing I agree with is that the ending is better....

Rating:
Summary: Have you understood the Director's end?
Review: IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE NEW END, AND YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT, PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW. IN OTHER CASE, FORGET IT. I think you haven't understood it. Decker is a replicant. The unicorn (paper made) represents the Decker's dream. Even his fantasies are implants.

Rating:
Summary: The DC is a good thing.
Review: I've viewed both origional and DC versions, and I'm sorry, but the DC is much better. If I want sci-fi that's easy to understand and has a happy ending, I'll watch Star Wars.

The narration in the origional actually doesn't bother me that much. It was largely useless, either irrelevant or not hard to figure out. It's neat background that the guy was speaking a local dialect that was a combination of other languages, but it didn't help the story at all. And it's not hard to figure out that Decker is a Blade Runner, or what Blade Runners do. While not horrid, I prefer the movie without the narration so I can focus on the movie, and also to get rid of that nagging feeling that my intelligence is being insulted.

What is horrid in the origional is the ending. For one, it's happy, and Blade Runner is not a happy movie. BR is a tragedy, and trying to force it into being otherwise doesn't work. Second, the ending came out of nowhere. It was obvious that it was just tacked on. Also, it did a nice job of ignoring the central question of the film (plotwise) -- whether Decker is human or not.

In the DC, there are some more scenes with character development that help bring the afforementioned question into better focus. Especially the important unicorn scene. The unicorn scene is important! At the end of the film, there is a reference to the unicorn scene -- a reference made by someone who should not have known about it. That's what makes it important, and why it further calls into question Decker's humanity. Talk about not making sense -- in the origional, the reference to the unicorn scene is made, but with no unicorn scene. That makes no sense.

Now despite prefering the DC much more, I will say that I'm dissapointed that both versions don't appear on the DVD. I may not like it, but it would be usefull for comparison and for those (obviously plentiful) people who miss having Harrison Ford explain everything to them. What else are DVD's for? So I have to give the DVD a 4 instead of a 5.

Rating:
Summary: Repeating what someone else said
Review: "If you have a brain and you can use it, you'll prefer the director's cut than the old one"

The most sensible words I've seen from the personal reviews so far.

If you want to see a "nice happy ending" go watch a "nice safe Harrison Ford movie" like Patriot Games & or some other tosh like it.

Rating:
Summary: Original Cut
Review: Just to add my opinion to the (thankfully) many others out there who apparently agree, the original version with the voice over is much better than the director's cut. Ford's narration adds so much to the movie. The so-called "phony happy ending", though silly, makes sense to the movie. If the alternate ending for "Stigmata" was shown on the DVD, then both endings for Blade Runner should be shown on the DVD. I think it's a travesty of justice in this unfair world that one cannot find a copy of this version, the non-director's cut, anywhere. Not on VHS, not on DVD, not even on Amazon.com. Please, if anyone out there in VHS land is listening, WE WANT OUR ORIGINAL BLADE RUNNER!