OK, let’s get this straight, I am not going to insult you by giving a synopsis of this film, although I will if you haven’t seen at least one of the previous versions of (Sir) Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic – either the original voice-over/happy ending cut or the updated Director’s Cut. Volumes have already been written about this movie (including one we reviewed here) and its influence has been felt not only throughout genre films but also in all forms of media.
25 years on and Sir Ridley has gone back into the editing room to create The Final Cut. The actual additions will be pretty hard to spot except by the most assiduous fan of the movie, and they are not the reason to go and see it again. You should go and see it because it has been lovingly restored and remastered from the original elements. Scanned at an ultra high 4K resolution, the special effects have been cleaned up. The opening scene of the city, with its towers spewing flames, looks as good as (if not better than) any CGI created today. If you’ve only seen this film on an old scuzzy VHS, or the marginally better DVD release of the Director’s Cut, then you have to see it this new version on a proper cinema screen to fully appreciate all the details of the production design for which it is famed. You will see things that you have never seen before. It’s not only the picture that has been improved but also the sound, which is now in Dolby 5.1.
The theatrical release is a strictly limited one that will only be showing at Picture House cinemas from November 23 ahead of the massive home entertainment release on December 3, which will include a two-disc special edition on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray and a bumper five-disc Collector’s Edition DVD with five different cuts of the film. More details to follow, but first, go and see it as it should be, on the biggest cinema screen you can find.
Watch Ridley Scott at Venice Film Festival here
Download the original production notes
The celebrate the release of this fantastic new version of BLADE RUNNER we have two copies of the Special Edition DVD to give away, along with a box set of 12 sci-fi classics. To be in the draw answer the following: Roy Batty’s famous last words “like tears in rain” did not appear in the original script and were made up by Rutger Hauer, but how does the speech begin? Click here to e-mail your answer by December 28 2007.
DO NOT LEAVE YOUR ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS BOX BELOW AS YOU WILL NOT BE ENTERED INTO THE CONTEST.