Bladerunner: The Final Cut

Elton

Elton

Veteran
Anyone seen this yet? Although some purists might say Ridley Scott succumbed to a bit of Lucas-esque fiddling---I have to say that I think it's the best version of the film...and I happen to like the old V.O. version.

The new unicorn dream sequence is a subtle improvement, but I was shocked by the one word line change in the confrontation scene between Batty and Tyrell.

It was interesting to note that some of the fx shots were improved. The cables lifting the spinner cars off the ground were always obvious, but thankfully theyve been removed now. Zhora's death running through the glass is way better now. Totally amazing how they did that.

Many other shots were enhanced and there's a little bit of new footage here and there.

I saw it in 2K digital and the quality was absolutely unreal. Easily the best way to see it.

Any other BR afficionados care to comment?
 
Yes it is worth seeing, even if you are not big on the movie.

One thing that bothers me is all the people that sh!t on Lucas for 'messing' up his original trilogy and saying it is wrong for him to change his 'art'. I am personally all for it because sometimes we will get better films, such as Blade Runner, or another of Scott's films Kingdom of Heaven. Of course films will not always get better, but as the primary artist, it is their choice. Hell, even the Mona Lisa was touched up because somebody tossed a rock at it and chipped off some of the paint, it is still probably worth over a billion dollars (insurance wise).
 
Picked up the HD-DVD of The Final Cut today. The changes in the movie were really, really subtle. I was very surprised how similar this cut is to the Director's Cut of the '90s. The biggest change, in my opinion, was simply to the flow of the film. Some of the scene changes that were a bit jarring in previous versions of the film were smoothed out, either with establishing shots or extra footage.

*** Possible Spoilers ***

The extending of Batty killing Tyrell is puzzling to me. It seemed to add a bit of gratuity to the sequence instead of any character development or whatnot. By contrast, extending Pris's death sequence absolutely changes the meaning of the scene for me and was an interesting, small difference that has a great impact.

*** Spoilers Over ***

The best part of The Final Cut for me is the new transfer and sound mix that the film recieved. It looks absolutely stunning, especially in HD.
 
i picked up the 4 disc collection today. i'm in the middle of watching the final cut now, then going to the theatrical version, then to the international version.
 
krestofre said:
*** Possible Spoilers ***

The extending of Batty killing Tyrell is puzzling to me. It seemed to add a bit of gratuity to the sequence instead of any character development or whatnot. By contrast, extending Pris's death sequence absolutely changes the meaning of the scene for me and was an interesting, small difference that has a great impact.
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The first time I saw Blade Runner on an old VHS it had this extended version of the killing, as well as the line change, so I always found the neutered version less impactful. I think this film has to hold a record for most different versions of one film. I've seen at least four.
 
Batutta said:
The first time I saw Blade Runner on an old VHS it had this extended version of the killing, as well as the line change, so I always found the neutered version less impactful. I think this film has to hold a record for most different versions of one film. I've seen at least four.
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Oh, the European Version. I hadn't thought of that. The Final Cut probably just incorporates those changes instead of being something new Scott did for this release. I'm least familiar with the European Version, so thanks for pointing that out.
 
Elton said:
I saw it in 2K digital and the quality was absolutely unreal. Easily the best way to see it.

Any other BR afficionados care to comment?
Click to expand...

You saw it in lousy 2k??? 4k is the way to see it, my friend. ;) (Saw it in 4k at the landmark in Oct. Got to meet Alan Ladd Jr, which was sweet)

The new version is almost identical to the director's cut, to someone like me who's only seen it a couple times. the couple redone effects shots (spinner, Zora) are great improvements though
 
Amazon sent it out today. I'll have it on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to it. Particularly the Theatrical Release. I personally like the Noir feel created by the VO.
 
I can appreciate the noir feel from the voice over, and if this was a point that Ridley Scott just waffled on through the years I'd be a theatrical cut guy all day long. Since Scott was completely against the VO from the jump and it was a studio play I've always gravitated to the Director's (and now The Final) Cut.

That being said the Theatrical Cut got a pristen transfer along with the rest of the versions of the film and has never looked better. I think that was an excellent decision by Scott and more than I can say for some people *cough* Lucas *cough*. :)
 
TheMacB said:
it seems like they release a new special edition bladerunner dvd every year.
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Nah, this was the poster they had up around NYC when this one came out:

blade_runner_final_cut.jpg
 
I watched the U.S. Theatrical version today, which hasn't been seen since it was released. The VHS was the International version. It was great seeing it again. Then, I watched the Final Cut, pretty stunning but didn't have the same Noir feel without the VO. I'm checking out the Workprint now. :Drogar-Love(DBG):
 
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