Blade Runner - the definitive version

Dr Zaius

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I recently purchased the Blu-ray that comes with all five previous versions, including the special director's edition and the one with the voice-overs. If you're a fan of the film, this Blu-ray edition is the definitive version to get and you won't be disappointed with the quality. After all these years this is one film that still looks spectacular in 1080p. The sound is also new and a big improvement from the DVD version.
 

kawaiku

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I watched the movie myself. I got some special edition thingy, and I must say however that I don't quite see what makes this movie great? Someone mind explaining?
 

Scott Tortorice

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It's not some much what is does, as what it does not do.

In a world dominated by sci-fi where twelve headed aliens from the 23rd Dimension are going to eat Earth unless Kid X with his super-ring closes the time rift before Galaxy 12 declares war, Blade Runner is merely an old-fashioned detective story. It is about a down on his luck cop tracking some murderous androids whom are on an existential quest to find out about their origin and eventual end, while also trying to escape from the law. In other words, its an adult level tale. No laser guns, no bug-eyed monsters, no kids or after school plots. Just a simple tale - one that would be as compelling if it was set in the 1930s with ordinary criminals instead of in the future with androids - with a lot of internal, metaphorical musings that make you stop and think.

Does that make sense? It's hard to really explain.

Also, the movie has a great look. From the dark settings and rainy streets, to the jazzy soundtrack. The whole movie is a wonderful testament to the power of understatement. Also, it presents a gritty and industrial vision of the future, a wonderful change from the "shiny" futures presented by Star Wars and Star Trek.
 

kawaiku

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I picked up on the androids trying to find out about their existence while dodging the law. I saw it quite some time ago, I guess I'll need to re-watch it to see if I missed anything.

And yeah I always liked the gritty stuff in sci-fi because it's always interesting to see what kinds of technology would be "common" place (if that makes sense lol)...
 

Dr Zaius

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I watched the movie myself. I got some special edition thingy, and I must say however that I don't quite see what makes this movie great? Someone mind explaining?
Blade Runner is widely considered to be one of the best sci-fi films ever made. Let me explain why.

For starters, the film's visuals were well ahead of their time. Ridley Scott deftly combined elements of extremely advanced technology with a decaying backdrop of crumbling infrastructure in what he calls a "worn future." The effect is striking when seen in high-res and stands up well to today's best movies. Both the story and Scott's visuals strongly suggest mankind has essentially destroyed the Earth and there are hints that ecological catastrophe is a major problem. Earth's ecology has been devastated by pollution and overpopulation, thus animals are now virtually extinct and worth vast sums of money. Some people credit Scott's vision as predating contemporary conceptions of global warming by some twenty years.

The acting in Blade Runner is top notch, and without exception every character in the film is necessary and interesting. There is almost no wasted dialog or energy. Everything advances the story.

Like all good sci-fi, Blade Runner isn't ultimately about technology or dystopian futures, however fascinating that stuff might be. Instead, it asks much deeper and more interesting questions, questions that we all ask ourselves: Where do I come from? Where I am going? How much time have I got? The story is purposely ambiguous about the answers. The film's ending suggests these are things we simply cannot know, thus all we can do is live to the fullest within whatever time we have.

Rutger's Hauer's emotional scene in the film's climax is Oscar-worthy. Hauer's character, faced with his impending death, explains to his adversary that he has seen incredible things, things that no human has ever witnessed. Sadly, all these memories will now be lost, like "tears in rain." Did Roy Batty really experience these epic battles and witness celestial events in the deeps of space, or were these just more of Dr. Tyrell's memory implants? Is perception the same thing as reality? The viewer is left to wonder about that mystery as well as whether Deckard himself might also be a replicant.

Blade Runner is listed by the American Film Institute as the 97th greatest film of all time and has been voted into the Library of Congress as "culturally significant."
 

pward

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I'm tempted to get the special edition, but don't see the point in paying for that and a new blu-ray player to watch it. Maybe just the DVD special edition then...

Or go dust off the directors cut version I've got in the garage.

One other thing I'd like to add is that the book (as usual) has far more background and explanation of events and settings, and a bit more character development for Deckard. Like his wife, and their attempts to obtain a real live pet... to keep up with the neighbors. (Totally unnecessary for the movie, but interesting enough secondary plot in the book.) Come to think of it, I should probably re-read that again as well.
 
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