Post by Ragingblues on Nov 9, 2007 9:41:09 GMT -5
One more cut of the Blade
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071109.BLADE09/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Movies/
JASON ANDERSON
Special to The Globe and Mail
November 9, 2007
Largely derided by critics and trounced at the box office by E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in 1982, Blade Runner had an inauspicious start. Yet Ridley Scott's richly imagined adaptation of Philip K. Dick's tale about a detective hunting synthetically made humans (known as replicants) in 2019 Los Angeles was hardier than anyone could have expected. Over the years, its mystique was enhanced by stories of how studio bigwigs meddled with Scott's original intentions. For Blade Runner's 10th anniversary, a "director's cut" surfaced, though it was assembled without Scott's direct participation. Now, for the 25th anniversary and an upcoming DVD, the director has unveiled Blade Runner: The Final Cut, which opens at the Regent Theatre in Toronto tonighton Nov. 9. The differences between the original North American version, the 1992 director's cut and the latest incarnation suggest that Blade Runner's malleability may be one of its survival skills.
1982 VERSION
The narration: Fearing that the plot was too murky, studio types insisted that Scott add an explanatory voice-over by the bounty hunter Deckard (Harrison Ford).
The level of nastiness: "I want more life," the replicant Roy (Rutger Hauer) tells his ill-fated creator Tyrell (Joe Turkell), adding an expletive not long before driving his thumbs into his eyes. We don't see the bloody results.
The last moments of Zhora: Discovered by Deckard while working in a strip club, the replicant Zhora (Joanna Cassidy) flees, only to be shot in the back. She runs through several glass walls before Deckard stops her with another shot.
The ending: Deckard and his replicant lover Rachael (Sean Young) have a hopeful epilogue in which they flee his apartment, escape L.A.'s hellish gloom and drive north (Scott borrowed the footage from outtakes for The Shining).
So is Deckard a replicant? Though Scott and the screenwriters always intended to suggest so, the narration and happier ending confirm him as all man.
DIRECTOR'S CUT
The narration: Ford's voice-over is stripped away, though a few utterances by police officer Gaff (Edward James Olmos) take on crucial importance. And the studio might've been right about the murky plot.
The level of nastiness: No change, despite the inclusion of more violent variations in the laserdisc and international-release versions.
The last moments of Zhora: Same as 1982, which gave geeks too much opportunity to notice the stunt double who really tumbles through the glass.
The ending: Deckard and Rachael only get as far as the elevator, with Deckard finding an ominous piece of origami by Gaff in the hallway.
So is Deckard a replicant?
The addition of Deckard's reverie about a unicorn and the appearance of Gaff's unicorn-shaped origami make the truth clearer - his memories are artificial, like Rachael's.
FINAL CUT
The narration: Still no voice-over, and certain shots that had been extended to accommodate Ford's weary ramblings have been shortened.
The level of nastiness: The gore is restored, but the F-bomb disappears in favour of "I want more life, father," which appeared in the "workprint" and TV versions.
The last moments of Zhora: Cassidy gamely does the stunt herself in a refilmed version of the scene. Plus, as a bonus for Canadian film geeks, the strip-club sequence is appended with a work print shot of two dancers in goalie masks.
The ending: Same as the director's cut.
So is Deckard a replicant?
We get even more unicorn. The debate ends now, dammit.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ken
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071109.BLADE09/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Movies/
JASON ANDERSON
Special to The Globe and Mail
November 9, 2007
Largely derided by critics and trounced at the box office by E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in 1982, Blade Runner had an inauspicious start. Yet Ridley Scott's richly imagined adaptation of Philip K. Dick's tale about a detective hunting synthetically made humans (known as replicants) in 2019 Los Angeles was hardier than anyone could have expected. Over the years, its mystique was enhanced by stories of how studio bigwigs meddled with Scott's original intentions. For Blade Runner's 10th anniversary, a "director's cut" surfaced, though it was assembled without Scott's direct participation. Now, for the 25th anniversary and an upcoming DVD, the director has unveiled Blade Runner: The Final Cut, which opens at the Regent Theatre in Toronto tonighton Nov. 9. The differences between the original North American version, the 1992 director's cut and the latest incarnation suggest that Blade Runner's malleability may be one of its survival skills.
1982 VERSION
The narration: Fearing that the plot was too murky, studio types insisted that Scott add an explanatory voice-over by the bounty hunter Deckard (Harrison Ford).
The level of nastiness: "I want more life," the replicant Roy (Rutger Hauer) tells his ill-fated creator Tyrell (Joe Turkell), adding an expletive not long before driving his thumbs into his eyes. We don't see the bloody results.
The last moments of Zhora: Discovered by Deckard while working in a strip club, the replicant Zhora (Joanna Cassidy) flees, only to be shot in the back. She runs through several glass walls before Deckard stops her with another shot.
The ending: Deckard and his replicant lover Rachael (Sean Young) have a hopeful epilogue in which they flee his apartment, escape L.A.'s hellish gloom and drive north (Scott borrowed the footage from outtakes for The Shining).
So is Deckard a replicant? Though Scott and the screenwriters always intended to suggest so, the narration and happier ending confirm him as all man.
DIRECTOR'S CUT
The narration: Ford's voice-over is stripped away, though a few utterances by police officer Gaff (Edward James Olmos) take on crucial importance. And the studio might've been right about the murky plot.
The level of nastiness: No change, despite the inclusion of more violent variations in the laserdisc and international-release versions.
The last moments of Zhora: Same as 1982, which gave geeks too much opportunity to notice the stunt double who really tumbles through the glass.
The ending: Deckard and Rachael only get as far as the elevator, with Deckard finding an ominous piece of origami by Gaff in the hallway.
So is Deckard a replicant?
The addition of Deckard's reverie about a unicorn and the appearance of Gaff's unicorn-shaped origami make the truth clearer - his memories are artificial, like Rachael's.
FINAL CUT
The narration: Still no voice-over, and certain shots that had been extended to accommodate Ford's weary ramblings have been shortened.
The level of nastiness: The gore is restored, but the F-bomb disappears in favour of "I want more life, father," which appeared in the "workprint" and TV versions.
The last moments of Zhora: Cassidy gamely does the stunt herself in a refilmed version of the scene. Plus, as a bonus for Canadian film geeks, the strip-club sequence is appended with a work print shot of two dancers in goalie masks.
The ending: Same as the director's cut.
So is Deckard a replicant?
We get even more unicorn. The debate ends now, dammit.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ken