Blade Runner: The Final Cut (R1) in December

[Anach]

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65403


The one that started it all. Sir Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, is one of the most important science-fiction movies of the 20th Century -- the film with immeasurable influence on society for its futuristic depiction of a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world, a film perhaps more powerful and relevant today than when it was made. The film, in fact, has appeared on more ‘Top Five’ sci-fi lists than any other film.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, director Ridley Scott has gone back into post production to create the long-awaited definitive new version, which Warner Home Video will unveil on DVD December 18th in the U.S. Blade Runner: The Final Cut, spectacularly restored and remastered from original elements and scanned at 4K resolution, will contain never-before-seen added/extended scenes, added lines, new and improved special effects, director and filmmaker commentary, an all-new 5.1 Dolby® Digital audio track and more.

A showcase theatrical run is also being planned for New York and Los Angeles October 5.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut will be included in three stunning DVD editions: a Two-Disc Special Edition (at $20.97 SRP), a Four-disc Collector’s Edition ($34.99 SRP) and the Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition ($78.92 SRP) in Collectible “Deckard Briefcase” packaging.

Simultaneous HD DVD and Blu-Ray versions (each $TBD) of the “Deckard Briefcase” will also be released in numbered, limited quantities. HD DVD and Blu-Ray 5-Disc Digi Packs with collectible slipcase (each $TBD) will include all of the UCE content.

Ford, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, Joanna Cassidy, Sean Young and Daryl Hannah are among some 80 stars, filmmakers and others who participate in the extensive bonus features. Among the bonus material highlights is Dangerous Days - a brand new, three-and-a-half-hour documentary by award-winning DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika, with an extensive look into every aspect of the film: its literary genesis, its challenging production and its controversial legacy. The definitive documentary to accompany the definitive film version.

Additionally, two of the collections (4- & 5-Disc) will include an entire disc with hours of enhanced content containing featurettes and galleries devoted to over 45 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes recently discovered in deep storage and approved by Ridley Scott, visual effects as well as background on author Philip K. Dick, script development, abandoned sequences, conceptual design, overall impact of the film and how it lead to the birth of cyberpunk. Trailers, TV spots and promotional featurettes will also be included.

Among some of the fascinating factoids talked about in the special features:
Notable actual locations were used to reflect 2019 Los Angeles, such as Union Station, 2nd Street tunnel and the Bradbury building.
The top of Police Headquarters is actually part of the Mothership from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
In the last scene, Rutger Hauer made the jump between buildings himself.
In the fight scene between Daryl Hannah and Harrison Ford, Hannah pulled Ford’s nose so hard that his nose actually bled afterwards.
Holding a dove, and letting it fly away, in the last scene was never in the script, but rather Rutger Hauer’s idea when filming the scene.
“Dangerous Days” was originally the name of the script.


Said Sir Ridley Scott: "The Final Cut is the product of a process that began in early 2000 and continued off and on through seven years of intense research and meticulous restoration, technical challenges, amazing discoveries and new possibilities. I can now wholeheartedly say that Blade Runner: The Final Cut is my definitive director’s cut of the film."

Jeff Baker, Warner Home Video Senior VP and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog and Domestic Sales, says: "25 years ago the critics said Blade Runner was ahead of its time and today it’s still ahead of its time. This is clearly Ridley’s signature film and we‘re delighted to offer these great editions to the Blade Runner fans who’ve been so patient, despite besieging us with thousands of annual requests in recent years for new DVDs. A number of people have told me that at the start of DVD, Blade Runner was absolutely the first title they wanted -- so much so that they purchased it even before their first DVD player! We think they’ll agree that the new cut and the new editions are worth waiting for.”


DETAILS OF BLADE RUNNER EDITIONS




BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT SPECIAL EDITION (2-DISC)



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
Commentaries 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.



BLADE RUNNER: COLLECTOR’S EDITION (4-DISC)



The Four-Disc Collector's Edition includes everything from the 2-Disc Special Edition plus three additional versions of the film, as well as an “Enhancement Archive” bonus disc of enhanced content that includes 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.

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”
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 & Alternate Scenes
1982 Promotional Featurettes
Trailers & TV Spots
Featurette Promoting Dystopia: Rendering the Poster Art
Marketing & Merchandise Gallery (Images)
Featurette Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard
Featurette Nexus Generation: Fans & Filmmakers


BLADE RUNNER: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION (5-DISC)

The 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition includes everything from the previously described 4-Disc Edition, plus the ultra-rare, near-legendary WORKPRINT version of the film, newly remastered. The Ultimate Collector’s Edition will be presented in a unique 5-disc digi-package with handle which is a stylish version of Rick Deckard's own briefcase, in addition each briefcase will be individually numbered and in limited supply. Included is a lenticular motion film clip from the original feature, miniature origami unicorn figurine, miniature replica spinner car, collector's photographs as well as a signed personal letter from Sir Ridley Scott.

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

[Iakimo]

Hrm... can I put on my heretic's hat and 'fess up that I think Blade Runner is overrated? Especially in the glare of articles like the above?

Yeah, it's a quality movie, but it is thoroughly a product of the punk-rock era of the late 1970's, softened only slightly by Vangelis' euphoric music tracks. The best thing I can say about it is that it gave Harrison Ford a chance to show a moody side to his repertoire of acting skills. Daryl Hannah as a crazed love doll also has its charms -- but I have this lingering suspicion that the Great Moment for too many cyberpunk fans is the two-men-kissing scene (the one where the white-haired soldier kisses the CEO, then crushes his head between his hands).

Not only do I not consider BR one of the greatest movies of all time, I don't even consider it one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time, or even one of Ridley Scott's greatest movies.

His "signature" movie would, IMHO, have to be Alien, the flick so loaded with dark, creep-you-out atmosphere, it makes Blade Runner feel like a mug of Coors Lite next to a tumbler of Jim Beam on the rocks.

At any rate, if any movie can claim the title, "the one that started it all," any honest reviewer would have to grit his teeth and conclude the obvious, giving the nod to good ol' Star Wars. Stanley Kubrick can sort of make a claim with 2001: A Space Odyssey, but that movie's ending is so damn abstract, he loses his audience. The only ones who can figure out what the fark is happening are those who read the book. So, it's GL who blazed the path back to pure fun in an age in which just about every movie was about antiheroes, and singlehandedly resurrected the memory of the 1930's-vintage Saturday-afternoon action serial.

That is the movie that made Blade Runner possible.

[Iakimo]

What?? No flames? /cry...

[Parrot]

Ok I am here to flame ya if it makes you happy, Starwars is just the same old tale we seen many times before, the knight shows up aginst all odds and saves the damsel in distress.
Blade Runner was moody and dark but so was Dark City with I found to be a little more interesting plot.
To me 2001 was pretty good but the book was better than the movie and in most cases the books usally are.
Would I rate any of them in the top 10 I am not sure because there are so many older ones to consider, the Time machine, Journey to the Center of the Earth, hell even Buck Rodgers was saving damsels in distress 50 years before Luke...
Now let the Flame Wars begin..

[Anach]

I wouldnt go as far as Buck Rogers. Some of the low earning or unpopular at the time movies have obtained a cult following. It doesnt mean its the best movie of all time, but Blade Runner is one of my favourites. I enjoy both the original and the Directors cut, I dont have a clear cut favourite between them, and I believe you need to see them both for a full experience.

[eirykhi]

there remaking flash gorden on the sifi channel and it looks dumb as hell.

[Iakimo]

Hmmm.... top ten sci-fi movies of all time...? Tough call, but here's what I would offer at the moment.

King Kong (the 1930s vintage release)
Star Wars
Alien
Planet of the Apes (the 1970s original -- my son saw it recently, and he agreed Tim Burton's remake was lame by comparison)
Terminator II: Judgement Day
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Hey, it had to be great to bring people back after that first disastrous Star Trek movie!)
Mad Max: The Road Warrior
Jurassic Park
Fantastic Voyage (book AND screenplay by Isaac Asimov -- which is why both were great.)

You'll notice a pattern here: Most of my submissions are recent. IMHO, with the advent of high technology in movie-making, we are in the midst of the Golden Age of Science Fiction Movies. Unfortunately, the quality of the writing doesn't always measure up to the technical brilliance. Which is why modern movies don't earn a sweep.

Some of you may be wondering why Forbidden Planet isn't on my list. Well, I have heard many people rave about that one, but to be honest, I've always fallen asleep within the first half-hour of it.

[eirykhi]

after the first haf houre is when it gets good. i love that movie! forbidden planet. the best part is the holo of the lady dancing.