Blade Runner - The Final Cut

The "final" cut of Blade Runner is due on DVD on the 18th of December, according to Amazon. While this final cut looks to be the unkindest to your wallet, it is 5 DVDs worth of replicanty goodness of one of my favorite films. It will no doubt piss off a lot of critics whom are adverse to revisionism, many of whom were angry at the release of the director's cut in 1992. While I don't want to dismiss their criticisms out of hand, I am generally in favor of director's cuts. Yeah, not all films warrant a DC. I mean, Zardoz just cannot be salvaged. And there are DCs where 2 seconds of an actress' breast are inserted and the whole premise is reduced to a mere marketing tool. But I prefer the DC of BR and feel that it generally rectified an instance of commerce triumphing over art. With this final cut, the film has supposedly been given a great transfer. While you may not be inclined towards multiple versions of the movie, these sets generally give you great transfers. Even if you don't care for Apocalypse Now Redux, it's creation spurred a restoration of the film so you can see the cinematography as it was meant to be. Previous transfers looked like they were made from copies that had been stored at the bottom of a swamp but Redux let Vittorio Storaro's photography loose and seeing his color palette as he meant it to be seen made it a whole different film.

My only gripe with DCs is when the theatrical release goes out of print. Critics have a very good point when they say that replacing the original version with a DC and storing the former away in a vault is wrong. It is still a cultural artifact and the one that many people saw in theatres so you're kind of changing history by relegating it to storage. Luckily, the BR set contains the theatrical version in addition to subsequent re-cuttings.



Disc One
RIDLEY SCOTT'S ALL-NEW "FINAL CUT" VERSION OF THE FILM
Restored and remastered with added & extended scenes, added lines, new and cleaner special effects and all new 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio. Also includes:

Commentary by Ridley Scott
Commentary by executive producer/co-screenwriter Hampton Fancher and co-screenwriter David Peoples; producer Michael Deely and production executive Katherine Haber
Commentary by visual futurist Syd Mead; production designer Lawrence G. Paull, art director David L. Snyder and special photographic effects supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer

Disc Two
DOCUMENTARY DANGEROUS DAYS: MAKING BLADE RUNNER
A feature-length authoritative documentary revealing all the elements that shaped this hugely influential cinema landmark. Cast, crew, critics and colleagues give a behind-the-scenes, in-depth look at the film -- from its literary roots and inception through casting, production, visuals and special effects to its controversial legacy and place in Hollywood history.

Disc Three
1982 THEATRICAL VERSION
This is the version that introduced U.S. movie-going audiences to a revolutionary film with a new and excitingly provocative vision of the near-future. It contains Deckard/Harrison Ford's character narration and has Deckard and Rachel's (Sean Young) "happy ending" escape scene.

1982 INTERNATIONAL VERSION
Also used on U.S. home video, laserdisc and cable releases up to 1992. This version is not rated, and contains some extended action scenes in contrast to the Theatrical Version.

1992 DIRECTOR'S CUT
The Director's Cut omits Deckard's voiceover narration and removes the "happy ending" finale. It adds the famously-controversial "unicorn" sequence, a vision that Deckard has which suggests that he, too, may be a replicant.

Disc Four

BONUS DISC - "Enhancement Archive": 90 minutes of deleted footage and rare or never-before-seen items in featurettes and galleries that cover the film's amazing history, production teams, special effects, impact on society, promotional trailers, TV spots, and much more.

Featurette "The Electric Dreamer: Remembering Philip K. Dick"
Featurette "Sacrificial Sheep: The Novel vs. The Film"
Philip K. Dick: The Blade Runner Interviews (audio)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Cover Gallery (images)
The Art of Blade Runner (image galleries)
Featurette "Signs of the Times: Graphic Design"
Featurette "Fashion Forward: Wardrobe & Styling"
Screen Tests: Rachel & Pris
Featurette "The Light That Burns: Remembering Jordan Cronenweth"
Unit photography gallery
Deleted and alternate scenes
1982 promotional featurettes
Trailers and TV spots
Featurette "Promoting Dystopia: Rendering the Poster Art"
Marketing and merchandise gallery (images)
Featurette "Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard"
Featurette "--Nexus Generation: Fans & Filmmakers"

Disc Five
WORKPRINT VERSION
This rare version of the film is considered by some to be the most radically different of all the Blade Runner cuts. It includes an altered opening scene, no Deckard narration until the final scenes, no "unicorn" sequence, no Deckard/Rachel "happy ending," altered lines between Batty (Rutger Hauer) and his creator Tyrell (Joe Turkell), alternate music and much more. Also includes:

Commentary by Paul M. Sammon, author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner
Featurette "All Our Variant Futures: From Workprint to Final Cut"

There's also a trailer for it on YouTube. It contains the previously unseen footage of the dancers who are wearing hockey masks.