Blade Runner: Director's Cut and Final Cut SEs

[solaris72]

For those of you in the Maryland/DC area, Baltimore's great Senator Theatre will be screening the new cut of Blade Runner for one week starting Oct. 26.

[exte]

How wide will this open - or what are the plans for now at least? Will I be able to see this in central Jersey? Or just NYC?

[HerrSchreck]

He heh, here in NYC on the glorious old Ziegfeld. Ah, this afternoon....

(now if I could see PARANOID PARK)

[exte]

He heh, here in NYC on the glorious old Ziegfeld. Ah, this afternoon....

(now if I could see PARANOID PARK)

BLESS YOU. I googled the fucking thing for showtimes last night and got nothing. Thanks very much, I'll be seeing it tomorrow!

[HerrSchreck]

Gorgeous presentation. Some differences,

"I want more life, FUCKER," has been changed to a limp, "I want more life, FATHER" (I kid you not).

Hannah's death flopping extended... terrifying, great.

Little tiny things here and there. Rachael's fake pic w mom on porch as child begins to MOVE on viewing, like come to life.

No great dif from the 2nd version we've all memorized. Nice to see it in 70m, with such gorgeous restoration.

Still one of the most sublime pieces of cinema to come out of mass-Hollywood in the past 30 yrs.

[Svevan]

I always thought Rutger Hauer's reading of that line was meant to invoke both "fucker" and "father."

edit: and apparently IMDB's trivia page supports this, with no sources to support itself.

[kinjitsu]

I thought Rachael's foto came to life in previous versions.

[Scharphedin2]

Gorgeous presentation. Some differences,

"I want more life, FUCKER," has been changed to a limp, "I want more life, FATHER" (I kid you not).

Hannah's death flopping extended... terrifying, great.

Little tiny things here and there. Rachael's fake pic w mom on porch as child begins to MOVE on viewing, like come to life.

No great dif from the 2nd version we've all memorized. Nice to see it in 70m, with such gorgeous restoration.

Still one of the most sublime pieces of cinema to come out of mass-Hollywood in the past 30 yrs.

Reading about these tiny differences in the new "final" cut, I actually wonder what the changes are.

I grew up with the initial cinema release on VHS, and then later bought the Criterion LD (my first ever "video" purchase), which had a few extra shots added (and most importantly was presented in letterbox). Then a couple of years later, the director's cut was released, and the main differences between these initial cuts and the director's cut were the removal of Deckard's voice-over, the insertion of a dream of Deckard's of a unicorn, and the cut-to-black at the end, when Rachel and Deckard enter the elevator.

The extended flopping of Hannah on the floor (including an extra shot or two from Deckard's gun, if I recall) were already in the Criterion release, and certainly in the director's cut, as were an additional couple of nanno-seconds of gore, when Hauer kills Tyrell, and even when he inserts the nail into his own hand.

Rachel's photo definitely always had that shadowplay, as if the photo itself was coming alive, when Deckard looks at it -- on the soundtrack is heard distant echoes of children's play/laughter.

Now, my memory could fail me, but I never recall the film starting out with Leon's interview?

The thing that always sounded to me like the biggest edit of the film in the first two "cuts" was the removal of one of the replicants from the storyline. At the beginning, Deckard is told that six replicants that escaped from an off-world colony. One ran through an electric field (or something) and is no concern of Deckard's. In the film, we actually see Deckard take care of four replicants, but in the original screenplay there was a sixth replicant, and as far as I know the scenes with this replicant were shot, and then taken out of the picture, accounting for the odd bruise that comes and goes on Deckard's face beginning in the middle of the picture, when he is chasing the Snake-lady, and runs into Leon. I always wondered, if we would ever get to see these scenes. I also remember talk of another ending, which included the death of Rachel, but I am not sure that it was in fact ever shot.

I never saw the film in 70mm, so that will be a real treat, and I agree that it is one of the truly memorable Hollywood films made in my lifetime.

[HerrSchreck]

I thought Rachael's foto came to life in previous versions.

I'm not home to crosscheck on my copy but I'll take your word for it. Maybe it just jumped out more in 70 on a huge screen.

The FATHER thing took me aback...

[kinjitsu]

I recall Hauer's father/fucker line as being blurred too.

[HerrSchreck]

Ai caramba. Trust me... from Aint It Douchey News:

So here is the list of changes that I noticed in the Final Cut. I think these are all the big ones, but there may be other little nips and tucks that escaped my attention (I was, after all, still trying to enjoy the film!)

* The opening titles were the same -- the "new" version that popped up on YouTube is totally bogus

* Captain Bryant's line about the number of Replicants has been altered: in this version he states that 2 of the 6 who escaped were killed, while in the original version it was only 1 (a continuity error that resulted in much speculation about who the 5th Replicant was)

* Bryant has additional dialogue while the headshots of the Replicants are on screen. Leon now gets a description like the others ("The only way to hurt him is to kill him")

* The cables that lifted the Spinners into the air have all been digitally removed.

* The unicorn sequence is slightly different -- there are now close-ups of Deckard's face inserted before and after the scene of the unicorn running, making it appear more like a vision or waking dream. It clearly inspires him to investigate Leon's photo more closely.

* The dialogue during Deckard's interrogation of Adbul Hassan (the snake guy) is now in sync with the picture, whereas before it was horribly mismatched. Looks like they finally found the right take and matched it up.

* The famous shot of the go-go dancers wearing hockey masks has been re-inserted before the nightclub scene (that got some applause).

* Joanna Cassidy did apparently re-do the stunt sequence where she crashes through the glass windows. All of the shots that clearly showed the stunt double in a wig have been replaced with new shots of Joanna; you can tell she's a little older but overall the whole sequence looks so much better.

* Roy clearly says "I want more life... father" instead of "f@cker" when talking to Tyrell

* Several seconds of gore have been re-inserted into Tyrell's death scene. We see Roy really stick his thumbs in and blood gushing out of the eye sockets.

* After killing Tyrell, Roy turns to Sebastian and says "Sorry" then "come Sebastian, come" as he stalks him (before there was only music).

* When Pris attacks Deckard and has his head locked between her thighs, she sticks her fingers into his nostrils and holds him up like that for a moment before dropping him to the floor. This now explains why Deckard's nose is bleeding seconds later.

* Pris' death was slightly more violent, as Deckard shoots her at least one additional time.
* The dove flying into the bright blue sky with smokestacks is no more! A more realistic background that shows a night sky behind futuristic rooftops has been added, matching the color and tone of the previous scene.

* The ending is the same as the 92 Director's Cut: Deckard picks up the unicorn origami and enters the elevator with Rachael, as Gaff's words echo in his head ("It's too bad she won't live...")

* There was no further evidence to indicate that Deckard was a Replicant, although it seems so much more heavily implied (maybe that's just me). The unicorn, the matching obsession with photographs and memory, and that one scene in his kitchen when Deckard's eyes glowed like Rachael's (if that was a mistake then it was NOT corrected in this version).

And that's it.

This is a pretty inclusive list, despite the source. More gore, some CGI'ing, etc. The father thing was a no brainer... I haven't watched it over the past couple years but in my 20's & early 30's I ust have watched that film 100 times. Dialog changes are like bombs going off.

[Scharphedin2]

This is a pretty inclusive list, despite the source. More gore, some CGI'ing, etc. The father thing was a no brainer... I haven't watched it over the past couple years but in my 20's & early 30's I must have watched that film 100 times. Dialog changes are like bombs going off.

This was the film, everyone always wanted to watch when visiting... I saw it maybe not 100 times, but at least 25-30 times.

And, yes, despite slight blur, it was absolutely "Fucker" and not "Father" in the original (I remember always thinking it was an odd thing for Batty to say... being as Tyrell was his "father" and Batty so superhuman up to that point, stooping to profanity).

Sorry, but the gore was definitely there in the initial cut of the film, maybe they then took it out for the '92 version, and now re-inserted it. Additional gunshots, close-ups of thumbs squeezing into Tyrell's skull with blood oozing out, and Pris, her fingers inserted in his nostrils, pulling Ford's nose half out of his face, while his head is lodged between her legs -- all in the original!

Interesting, how they resolved the sixth replicant business... a simple dubbing exercise. How about the bruises on Deckard's face that came and went in the initial cut, which were presumably due to rearranging continuity, after his run-in with the mysterious replicant no. 6 (described as the American dream mom) -- I guess they photo-shopped those out, or? Does anyone know if this footage of replicant no. 6 will be included in the special edition DVD?

[Mr Sausage]

Sorry, but the gore was definitely there in the initial cut of the film, maybe they then took it out for the '92 version, and now re-inserted it.

They did. I saw the theatrical version first when young and, well, you never forget seeing someone's eyes being pushed into their face. Saw it on tv later on and the scene was just as graphic and disturbing. Imagine my surprise then when I finally got around to seeing the 1992 cut and found all the violence had been replaced with a closeup of Batty. Never understood why that happened, although the scene was just as effective without it.

[HerrSchreck]

O I absolUTELY remember the fingers going into the eyes when I was a kid. (I saw this w my pop when released)... so much so that whenever watching the middle "directors" cut all those hundred times, I'd keep waiting to see the fingers go into the sockets and the blood pouring out. Drugs will do that to a crazy 20-something.

No the CGI is of the stripe that makes the effects more "realistitc" removing strings, etc. Not at all w the gore, all that was shot on the set when first made. Thought I missed the wig of the stunt double when zhora is killed in the shop windows, I never would have concluded he called the actress in for a reshoot on a dupe set. No complaints there, though.. I found the whole scene far more moving this time around. Little things were more clear on the restored film... the tear dripping off of Zhora's face when her heart is stopping. Beautiful stuff.

The words to Sebastian after the Tyrell murder (when pacing back 2 elevator and sebast is zagging around afraid of dying too) were just silly.

[kinjitsu]

Ai caramba. Trust me...

We do, we do trust you! Maybe I wasn't clear and blurred my lines too. Whether he says fucker or father isn't all that important to me since I actually prefer the father reading as long as it sounds like fucker. I mean, Holy Cannoli! Who are you going to go with, Aint It Douchey News or your fellow members?

[HerrSchreck]

Holy Guacamole, I mean like-- conSARN-IT! I mean like... for CAT'S-SAKE! I'm-a jussa tryin-a tellaya Kin what I-ya hea', ova deh.

Seriously-- I never once heard the line as "father" in all these years. But then again I'm a profane & grimhearted old Bronx boy.

[Scharphedin2]

Well Kinji and Schreck, I am an otherwise well-mannered and clean-cut Danish lad, possibly with a tad too much hay in my behind, but all that aside, I don't think I ever truly heard it as "father" either, although it would have made more sense to me, given Batty's character.

[kinjitsu]

My memory blurs sometimes, too, but for certifiable reasons. Saw the film several times at cinema, and later the DC. Owned the VHS, LD, early theatrical DVD & later DC DVD. However, they are gone now. Sold. Kaput. Finito. So I am left with a composite of all those versions looped in my head which makes it difficult to separate many of those small instances that have morphed over the decades. As I said, father can be said to sound like fucker, which isn't a facile feat unless you happen to be Rutger Hauer.

[Le Samouraï]

Does anyone know if this footage of replicant no. 6 will be included in the special edition DVD?

It was never shot. AFAIR the role was cast and then written out again because of the budget. The disappearing bruises had nothing to do with the mythical sixth replicant, but more with the fight with Leon, which initially was supposed to take place before Deckard enters the bar.

[Doug Cummings]

"I want more life, FUCKER," has been changed to a limp, "I want more life, FATHER" (I kid you not).

Read his lips--it was that way in the beginning. (And it makes a lot more sense.)

[Romat]

Does anyone know if this footage of replicant no. 6 will be included in the special edition DVD?

It was never shot. AFAIR the role was cast and then written out again because of the budget. The disappearing bruises had nothing to do with the mythical sixth replicant, but more with the fight with Leon, which initially was supposed to take place before Deckard enters the bar.

You're right, a 6th rep was never filmed. The bruises appear when he meets up with Captain Bryant/goes for a drink, because that scene originally came AFTER the Leon fight in the alley ("Wake up, time to die" scene). It was moved around, thus in all versions up until now, the bruises appear before the fight.

As far as the opening scene, the film has always opened with: the credits, the eye closeup, camera moving in towards the building, the Leon interrogation (Except in the "Workprint" there was no eye)

The EXTRA VIOLENCE everyone is remembering was not in the original U.S. theatrical version. But it WAS in the European theatrical cut, and when Blade Runner came out on video in the U.S. in the early 80's, they used the slightly more violent European cut (w/ eye gouging and flopping etc.). This was the version everyone saw on video until the '92 director's cut was created. That '92 cut used the original U.S. theatrical version (less violent) as it's source (then cut out the narration, clipped the ending etc.). Ridley would have preferred the extra violence stay in, but that '92 version was a rush job, and they used what was available, mainly wanting to remove the happy ending and narration and include the unicorn.

[Romat]

"I want more life, FUCKER," has been changed to a limp, "I want more life, FATHER" (I kid you not).

Read his lips--it was that way in the beginning. (And it makes a lot more sense.)

I've read about this alternate dialogue for years, it was originally in the Workprint of the film, which was screened 2 or 3 times for test audiences. This was back before they added the narration and the happy ending.

This page describes that early version (on disc 5 of the new set) item 54. "In this version, Roy says, to Tyrell, "I want more life...Father." This line was shot for TV coverage, but, amazingly, never got used in the TV version! However, rather than "fucker", "Father" seems to make more of a relevant statement: here, it rings better with Tyrell referring to Roy as "the Prodigal Son"."

[HerrSchreck]

"I want more life, FUCKER," has been changed to a limp, "I want more life, FATHER" (I kid you not).

Read his lips--it was that way in the beginning. (And it makes a lot more sense.)

I strenuously disagree. The man is not his father, which is continuously implied here. He didn't raise Roy, there's no implication of a close relationship immediately following Roy's Incep between himself and Tyrell... the only thing that would warrant this replicant walking into Tyrells room and calling him "Father" would perhaps be Tyrell implanting Tyrell-family memories into Roy. But Roy is patently not a fool, he knows who he is, how he was made, what his circumstances and origins are. If he calls him "father" I would see it out of deepest cutting sarcasm.. an angry conviction that he's been plunked into a shit set of circumstances by a man completely unsympathetic to the pain of his plight. The Prodigal Son comment is a statement of tribute to Roy's kicking up the dust of the world which also conjures up religious overtones in the cathedralesque phantasmagoria of the scene.

Which leads me to: I see Tyrell as god far more than father. It's "not an easy thing to meet your maker," but it is very easy to meet your father. The great inaccessable heights that Tyrell lives. The uniquely allencompassing brilliance of his mind. Roy is doing what so many suffering humans, tormented by the cruel joke of growing so deeply attached to a full world--only to have to bid it farewell all too soon-- would love to do: he yells at god, and complains to his face about the cruelty of the arrangement, and does the unimaginable. He gets his fucking revenge.

But, in view of Romat's info below, it's clear that even though the line was spoken on the set, it was removed before the first cut of the film. I think calling god "fucker" is far more satisfying and impressive, than calling your biomechanical industrial manufacturer "father". The oedipal overtones are all over the film vuz Tyrell, especially w the "experiment" of Rachael's breed of replicant... putting it in Roy's mouth is hideously simplistic in my view and reduces the otherwise beautifully rendered metaphors to the banal, and the Flat-Out.

Just my two cents.

[Romat]

"I want more life, FUCKER," has been changed to a limp, "I want more life, FATHER" (I kid you not).

When I read about the line, I thought of "Father" as in the "Creator", "God",etc. right along with the "meet your maker" line.
Not in a "dad", the old man, "pops" sorta way. But it could be sarcastic somewhat too... curious that Ridley now prefers this line for some reason.

I know for many years, restoring the film to the "workprint version" (but cleaning that up and with the finished Vangelis score) was thought to be the ideal thing to do, or to hope for at least.

Now he's strayed from that quite a bit, but maybe that was his initial blueprint still for shaping this cut. Maybe that's why the father line is in it??

[Doug Cummings]

First impressions