Pretty much every fan knows about this flick, a sci-fi pulp noir classic. What's interesting is all the various cuts that have been released over the years, probably at least five. Many fans prefer a certain cut- the one with Deckard's narration, the one without, or the one with the Jerry Goldsmith PLANET OF THE APES music cue used at the end or the one with the Vangelis cue...Your choice. This edition, we're assured, is the FINAL, FINAL CUT, completely authorized and supervised by director Ridley Scott and it's his FINAL vision, complete with a bleak, interpretative ending intact and all the violence and gore added back in that was previously trimmed for the 'R' rated release. Plus he reshot some things, upgraded special effects, and has included the Unicorn Dream Sequence for the first time ever. The movie holds up fine some three decades plus later with its dark setting on a rainy, overpopulated Earth where Replicants (robots much like the Terminator) that once slaved and warred for mankind must be hunted down and "retired" (killed) by Harrison Ford, in the title role as Deckard. The Replicants have a limited lifespan and there's three or four that are creating chaos on Earth, trying to find their Creator to extend their lives. They include a sexy Daryl Hannah and an intense Rutger Hauer. Ford is pitch perfect in the rather insipid "hunter" role as he tracks down the renegade Replicants. Along the way, he falls in love with a seductive, smoking hawt Rachel Ward, who may or may not be a Replicant. It's hinted throughout (with visual clues) that Ford himself might just be a Replicant programmed to take out the other Replicants, but again...up to viewer interpretation on this. The sets, photography, special effects, action and music are still mind-bending and entertaining, although every time I view this movie it feels more and more depressing to me, especially as I age. At heart, the Replicants are searching for their Creator, the meaning of life, and more time to live. I guess we can all relate to that (or eventually will), especially as the sands of time run down. Definitely a brilliant movie ahead of its time, the FINAL CUT highlights some especially graphic stylized gore, especially when Ford blasts the topless snake dancer through all those plate glass windows. It felt very excessive. And lucky Harrison Ford in that one fight scene, having his head wedged between the vise grip of a young Daryl Hannah's naked, smooth, muscular wet thighs, her moist camel toe practically smothering his face through a thin fabric. Call me sick, but I loved the violent eroticism of these particularly drawn out moments! (And you know it's a Ridley Scott fetish---think of the camel toe shots of Sigourney Weaver at the end of the original ALIEN! The man was onto something in '79-'82!) Hauer is brilliant in his portrayal of a Replicant searching for life, and though evil, by the end...you sympathize with him. Wickedly stylized, brilliantly realized, BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT is a journey worth revisiting, no matter how many times you've seen the movie.
Pretty much every fan knows about this flick, a sci-fi pulp noir classic. What's interesting is all the various cuts that have been released over the years, probably at least five. Many fans prefer a certain cut- the one with Deckard's narration, the one without, or the one with the Jerry Goldsmith PLANET OF THE APES music cue used at the end or the one with the Vangelis cue...Your choice. This edition, we're assured, is the FINAL, FINAL CUT, completely authorized and supervised by director Ridley Scott and it's his FINAL vision, complete with a bleak, interpretative ending intact and all the violence and gore added back in that was previously trimmed for the 'R' rated release. Plus he reshot some things, upgraded special effects, and has included the Unicorn Dream Sequence for the first time ever. The movie holds up fine some three decades plus later with its dark setting on a rainy, overpopulated Earth where Replicants (robots much like the Terminator) that once slaved and warred for mankind must be hunted down and "retired" (killed) by Harrison Ford, in the title role as Deckard. The Replicants have a limited lifespan and there's three or four that are creating chaos on Earth, trying to find their Creator to extend their lives. They include a sexy Daryl Hannah and an intense Rutger Hauer. Ford is pitch perfect in the rather insipid "hunter" role as he tracks down the renegade Replicants. Along the way, he falls in love with a seductive, smoking hawt Rachel Ward, who may or may not be a Replicant. It's hinted throughout (with visual clues) that Ford himself might just be a Replicant programmed to take out the other Replicants, but again...up to viewer interpretation on this. The sets, photography, special effects, action and music are still mind-bending and entertaining, although every time I view this movie it feels more and more depressing to me, especially as I age. At heart, the Replicants are searching for their Creator, the meaning of life, and more time to live. I guess we can all relate to that (or eventually will), especially as the sands of time run down. Definitely a brilliant movie ahead of its time, the FINAL CUT highlights some especially graphic stylized gore, especially when Ford blasts the topless snake dancer through all those plate glass windows. It felt very excessive. And lucky Harrison Ford in that one fight scene, having his head wedged between the vise grip of a young Daryl Hannah's naked, smooth, muscular wet thighs, her moist camel toe practically smothering his face through a thin fabric. Call me sick, but I loved the violent eroticism of these particularly drawn out moments! (And you know it's a Ridley Scott fetish---think of the camel toe shots of Sigourney Weaver at the end of the original ALIEN! The man was onto something in '79-'82!) Hauer is brilliant in his portrayal of a Replicant searching for life, and though evil, by the end...you sympathize with him. Wickedly stylized, brilliantly realized, BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT is a journey worth revisiting, no matter how many times you've seen the movie.
