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Blade Runner: 30 Years Later

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Aguirre

Member
Blade-Runner-Fan-Art-10.jpg


Lets all watch this this weekend. :)

only if you show dangerous days right after the ending. :3
 
D

Deleted member 102362

Unconfirmed Member
Best making of I have ever seen. I mean The best!

It was clearly put together with a lot of love and dedication.

You should check out Charles de Lauzirika's other making of docs, especially the ones from the Alien Anthology Blu-ray set (the uncut "Wreckage and Rage: The Making of Alien 3" is particularly amazing).
 

Fjordson

Member
I need to rewatch this. Haven't seen it in like six months.

Just happened to be listening to this on my phone also:



Edit:
You should check out Charles de Lauzirika's other making of docs, especially the ones from the Alien Anthology Blu-ray set (the uncut "Wreckage and Rage: The Making of Alien 3" is particularly amazing).
That's great to hear. Just got the Alien Anthology boxed set on blu-ray last month for my birthday.
 

Suairyu

Banned
Blade-Runner-Fan-Art-10.jpg


Lets all watch this this weekend. :)
What a coincidence, I was listening to the Esper Edition of the soundtrack, combined with www.rainymood.com at work today.

I definitely will watch it this weekend! Saw the Final Cut not too long ago*, though, so I'm debating whether or not to watch an earlier cut to remind myself why the Final is the best.

Not a big fan of that artwork, though. I don't like its texture.

*It's very rare that I haven't watched the Final Cut not too long ago, you know?
 
One of my all time favorites and I only just watched it within the last year or two.

It is also really good to watch as you're going to sleep, so relaxing, I just put it on and fall asleep pretty quickly.
 

daevv

Member
I love my 5 disc BD edition! After years of watching it first on VHS then DVD it was like seeing it for the first time again when I got the BD version. I noticed more in the backgrounds and in the little details.
 

Anarkin

Member
The last time I saw this movie was like 10 years ago but I don't remember which version. I have the Final Cut on Blu-ray, is that the best version?
 

Fritz

Member
The last time I saw this movie was like 10 years ago but I don't remember which version. I have the Final Cut on Blu-ray, is that the best version?

Yes, it's considered the definite version. But I feel lately people are nostalging over the original theatrical release with the voice over.


I think I will watch Dangerous Days and then Legend afterwards!
 

Suairyu

Banned
Final Cut. Best version by far.

Are the commentaries worthwhile?
Very.

Especially Ridley Scott's on the Final Cut. If anyone watches and listens to that and still thinks it's ambiguous if Deckard was a replicant or not, they're a fool.

I think I will watch Dangerous Days and then Legend afterwards!
Don't do it!! It's beautiful, but it's one of Ridley Scott's worst films. It's atrocious.
 

Fritz

Member
Final Cut. Best version by far.

Very.

Especially Ridley Scott's on the Final Cut. If anyone watches and listens to that and still thinks it's ambiguous if Deckard was a replicant or not, they're a fool.

Don't do it!! It's beautiful, but it's one of Ridley Scott's worst films. It's atrocious.

Switched to commentaries! I know what I am getting myself into with Legend. I love it. It's kinda amazing how he did two movies that absolutely define their genres Sci-Fi and Fantasy visually. I always wonder how these two movies relate for Scott himself. I mean the unicorn dream can't be the only connection.
 

Suairyu

Banned
Switched to commentaries! I know what I am getting myself into with Legend. I love it. It's kinda amazing how he did two movies that absolutely define their genres Sci-Fi and Fantasy visually. I always wonder how these two movies relate for Scott himself. I mean the unicorn dream can't be the only connection.
?

I wouldn't call the unicorn dream a connection at all, just a coincidence.

Scott has always been keen to avoid doing the same genre twice one after the other. He almost didn't do Blade Runner because he'd just done Alien, but there was a loss in his family and he needed to throw himself into some work immediately to get over it.

That Legend happened to have a unicorn in it after Blade Runner is a huge coincidence, and sadly fuelled rumour after rumour that the dream sequence was added after the fact using discarded footage from Legend. The rumour was usually babbled off blindly by people thinking Deckard was a human.
 

-PXG-

Member
Phew.....For a moment I thought I sold my Five disc Blu-ray set. Still have it. Might bring my PS3 with me tonight to watch it with my gf.
 

Fjordson

Member
I love the five disc blu-ray set, but I'm a little pissed that I missed the newer set with the model spinner and the artbook. Not really all that essential as extras and certainly not worth the $45 price tag on the newer set since I already own the previous release, but I've been so tempted to order it anyway :lol

The one thing I will order is a definitive soundtrack release. If they ever come out with one that actually includes all of the music from the film I'll pay practically any price for a nice packaged release. It's criminal that it hasn't happened yet.

The Esper Retirement Edition soundtrack is a nice consolation in the absence of an official release. I only just found it last year, but it's definitely my favourite bootleg. Very complete with great sound quality.


Edit: wow, the release I have is now 80 bucks on Amazon (link). I remember buying it for $25. Guess it got completely replaced by the newer one that's only 3 discs.
 
I think I actually prefer the Workprint, if only because it seems to keep almost ALL of the positives of the Director/Final Cut, and cuts out the Unicorn scene, which was blatant Scott wankery for the sake of wankery. Get rid of that unicorn scene, and all the ambiguity comes flooding back into the movie.
 

Suairyu

Banned
I think I actually prefer the Workprint, if only because it seems to keep almost ALL of the positives of the Director/Final Cut, and cuts out the Unicorn scene, which was blatant Scott wankery for the sake of wankery.
Wankery? It's an essential storytelling device for revealing the final twist.

Also, it's a visual motif repeated in more than just the dream sequence.
 

jtb

Banned
I'm sure I'm not the first person to post this opinion, but fuck it, I'll say it anyways. Good movie, not the classic it's hyped up to be. In the Ridley Scott canon, it's definitely beneath Alien for me.
 
I think I actually prefer the Workprint, if only because it seems to keep almost ALL of the positives of the Director/Final Cut, and cuts out the Unicorn scene, which was blatant Scott wankery for the sake of wankery.

Fuck. now I have to get this on bluray and say good by to my dvd set :/
 
Wankery? It's an essential storytelling device for revealing the final twist.

Also, it's a visual motif repeated in more than just the dream sequence.

The final twist is bullshit and undoes a lot of what makes Blade Runner a great movie. It's Ridley Scott not understanding the story he's telling, and not for the first time, either.

If Deckard doesn't dream of an implanted unicorn, the unicorn Gaff leaves at the end can be interpreted in a much different manner: Maybe he knows that Rachel is unique, like the unicorn, suggesting that Deckard gets to spend a long time with her. Or maybe like a Unicorn, it's a fantasy, and the future they're running towards is blank and empty.

But with that unicorn dream in the movie, Gaff is commenting on Deckard directly, and the comment is "You're a replicant, dude," and that kneecaps a lot of what the movie is, up to that point, going for regarding humanity and what it means to be human.
 
I think the only real problem w/ the Workprint is that it wasn't restored like the Final Cut was.. but of course it wasn't. Still - there's something to the rough quality of it that I appreciate. The sound mix is a little more punchy & jagged. The composite work is a little easier to spot, but I don't think that necessarily takes away from the atmosphere of the film at all.
 

Suairyu

Banned
The final twist is bullshit and undoes a lot of what makes Blade Runner a great movie. It's Ridley Scott not understanding the story he's telling, and not for the first time, either.

If Deckard doesn't dream of an implanted unicorn, the unicorn Gaff leaves at the end can be interpreted in a much different manner: Maybe he knows that Rachel is unique, like the unicorn, suggesting that Deckard gets to spend a long time with her. Or maybe like a Unicorn, it's a fantasy, and the future they're running towards is blank and empty.

But with that unicorn dream in the movie, Gaff is commenting on Deckard directly, and the comment is "You're a replicant, dude," and that kneecaps a lot of what the movie is, up to that point, going for regarding humanity and what it means to be human.
How on earth does that "kneecap" exploring humanity? That Deckard, who we believe to be human, suddenly turns out to not be is further exploration of that very theme you claim it undoes.

Batty had already perfectly set up the notion of "more human than human", of a machine man clinging to beautifully short life. That Deckard is a part of the same synthetic system is complete affirmation of the impossible dilemma of "how can you know you are human?" and "what is human anyway?"

You can still interpret that Rachel is unique and will live longer because she, like Deckard, seem a breed apart from the Nexus 6's. Are they Nexus 7s (or beyond)? They have none of the eccentricities or the superman strength. They could be the shape of things to come, or they could simply be an effective failsafe to replicants gone rampant.

Whenever replicants break the law and arrive on earth, are a Deckard and a Rachel made, like mass produced plastic out of a mold, to play out the dangerous hunt to a script? Are they arbiters of their own free, human will or slave to their pre-fabricated memories and thought processes? When they believe in themselves, in life and humanity, does it even matter?

You have to consider also that Deckard has a great apathy, bordering on hatred, for the replicants. His 'love scene' with Rachel is as much a rapey hate-fuck as it is sensual coitus. He separates himself from the machines, puts himself above them. "I know I am human, and I know they are not, and thus I deserve life over them," he thinks. And the reveal he himself is a replicant is to say the replicants are no less human than we are, and no less deserving of life than we are. The boundary between creation and creator, life and machine become extremely blurred. Memory, perception and reality blend. The system moves on.
 
How on earth does that "kneecap" exploring humanity? That Deckard, who we believe to be human, suddenly turns out to not be is further exploration of that very theme you claim it undoes.

No, it's a cheap twist Ridley forced into the movie because he thought it was cool. That's it. It's an empty stinger. If Deckard is a robot too, then the contrast between Batty and Deckard flattens out considerably. It removes ambiguity, it rounds off the points on the questions the film is asking, all because Scott wants a cool image that is puddle-deep once you think on it for longer than 3 seconds.

It was annoying before I found out how it got in the movie, and it was even MORE annoying once I found out why. The justification you posted, which is well thought out and considered, has almost nothing to do with why Scott put it in.
 

Suairyu

Banned
No, it's a cheap twist Ridley forced into the movie because he thought it was cool. That's it. It's an empty stinger. If Deckard is a robot too, then the contrast between Batty and Deckard flattens out considerably. It removes ambiguity, it rounds off the points on the questions the film is asking, all because Scott wants a cool image that is puddle-deep once you think on it for longer than 3 seconds.
How? Your point seems to be ambiguity = depth. I don't get it. You're not explaining yourself.

It was annoying before I found out how it got in the movie, and it was even MORE annoying once I found out why. The justification you posted, which is well thought out and considered, has almost nothing to do with why Scott put it in.
"How it got in the movie." Want to expand on that?

(Though, I must point out, authorial intent isn't actually considered overly relevant in criticism of art. You criticise what is there, not the reason why the author put it there)
 
I think the only real problem w/ the Workprint is that it wasn't restored like the Final Cut was.. but of course it wasn't. Still - there's something to the rough quality of it that I appreciate. The sound mix is a little more punchy & jagged. The composite work is a little easier to spot, but I don't think that necessarily takes away from the atmosphere of the film at all.

In what formats is the workprint available? Are there many differences other than the ending?
 
How? Your point seems to be ambiguity = depth. I don't get it. You're not explaining yourself.

"How it got in the movie." Want to expand on that?

He basically forced it in over the protestations of anyone else involved in the movie at the last second solely because he wanted it in there. Neither his producers, or his writers, or anyone else he had to work with on the picture wanted it, and he basically bulldogged it in there, mostly for it's visuals. Any thematic weight was definitely an afterthought, and I get the sense he couldn't quite explain it. He definitely couldn't at the time, as nobody understood why he was doing it even after he told them.

(Though, I must point out, authorial intent isn't actually considered overly relevant in criticism of art. You criticise what is there, not the reason why the author put it there)

You're absolutely correct here, but it still annoys the shit out of me :)

Anyway, it's not so much that ambiguity equals depth, although I always prefer that questions that don't NEED an answer don't get one, as it invites further analysis and deeper discussion as its on you to investigate different perspectives as opposed to having one explicitly stated for you to either agree or disagree with point blank. It's one thing for DECKARD to maybe think he's a robot. But I don't think the film's questions are helped, deepened, or enhanced by outright being told "he's a robot too." I think it also flattens out his choice to leave with Rachel at the end if it's because he knows he's a robot, and not because he's overcome that apathy/prejudice you mention. If he's a human who is making that decision, I think that's a lot more meaningful, and says more about the fluid nature of humanity in that world, in that LEGITIMATE humanity has to learn from the robots he's assigned to murder how to rediscover the better part of their own nature.

In what formats is the workprint available? Are there many differences other than the ending?

It's on the 5-disc Blu-ray set, and that's it, I believe
 

bideogamer

Neo Member
Blade Runner?!?! Yep, favorite movie of all time. Own the VHS, Laserdisc, HD DVD (Yes. Also I have the briefcase version of this.) and Bluray.

Since I cant praise the movie more than it already is, heres some awesome awesome videos with Adam Savage talking about the blade runner pistol and then him making a carrying case for his own.

Inside Adam Savage's Cave: The Blade Runner Blaster Pistol

Adam Savage's Blade Runner Blaster Obsession

One Day Builds: Adam Savage Makes Something Wonderful from Scratch
 
I finally picked up the Bluray, 30th anniversary. Watching the making-of documentary was so amazing and inspiring. Seeing how they did all the visual fx. Those amazing models of Tyrell Corp. God, one of my favorite movies.
 

Buntabox

Member
He basically forced it in over the protestations of anyone else involved in the movie at the last second solely because he wanted it in there. Neither his producers, or his writers, or anyone else he had to work with on the picture wanted it, and he basically bulldogged it in there, mostly for it's visuals. Any thematic weight was definitely an afterthought, and I get the sense he couldn't quite explain it. He definitely couldn't at the time, as nobody understood why he was doing it even after he told them.

I've heard rumblings that Ford might return for the supposed Blade Runner sequel-thing Ridley has his sights set on. I don't see this as much of a possibility if he is indeed returning for Star Wars, but that's besides the point. If he were to return, and assuming he is the same Deckard, wouldn't this throw the dir/final cut unicorn addition out the window? Rendering all that forcing mute? Seems kind of counter intuitive to what he spent years adjusting against everyone's advisement.

Of course, the correct answer is he just shouldn't return to the Blade Runner universe.
 

bideogamer

Neo Member
To this day, I still don't understand what is so good about this movie other than cool settings.

Blade Runner is about the visuals, music, mood the atmosphere. Being so completely transported to this other world. It is by far the most convincingly crafted universe Ive ever seen in a movie. If you cant jive with that then its not for you.
 
Vehemently disagree about the twist with Deckard. Think it works just fine.

Well if you're gonna VEHEMENTLY disagree, I'd hope the twist works more than "just fine" for you :) I mean, if it was a legitimate mindblower to you, that's one thing. But if it's just "eh - it's fine" then I don't think it's warranted. A twist shouldn't reside in the same space it takes to shrug and give a single nod. A twist should make you lean back or widen your eyes.

Even people who do appreciate the twist (again, a twist added at the last second by a director who didn't actually comprehend what his twist actually MEANT thematically) don't seem to go "yeah, it really changes the game" or anything similar. It just ends up playing as yet another kinda cool thing in a movie full of cool things. And as someone who doesn't appreciate it at all - I don't think it necessarily ruins the movie, or makes it appreciably worse. It's just an annoying little bit that I'd rather wasn't there. And with the Workprint - it isn't.

I think that speaks most to how unnecessary it is, overall - whether you like or or you hate it, it's ultimately not THAT big a concern. Which is a problem considering how a twist like that SHOULD work.

To compare it to Prometheus, a film of Scott's that shares some thematic similarities to Blade Runner - it ends up weighing about as much as Vickers' revelation in that movie.
 
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