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andrasteIt was my birthday last week, and thanks to my generous family I am more financially solvent than usual. I have been spending wisely for the most part, and it is slightly mind-boggling to realise that once the electrician comes to fix my lights and I order my new bed frame, I will have all the material possessions that I actually need.
Yesterday, however, I was in JB Hi Fi when I saw something that I did not need but truly, deeply desired. Just before Christmas 2007, I first laid eyes on the extra-special five disc extended edition of Blade Runner, the one in the big case with the art folio and the plastic unicorn. I told myself I would buy it after Christmas when I had more money ... and by the time I went back, it was sold out everywhere. I put off buying the regular five-disc edition for more than a year just in case I ever spied it again.
Yesterday, I was passing by the box set display, and there it was: number 3846 of the 4400 made for the Australian market. The angel on my right said 'you don't really need to pay an extra $40 for a case and a few pointless accessories' and the devil on my left said 'but you better make your mind up now, because if you pass some other obsessive will buy it and you will never see it again.' So I told the clerk I didn't need a plastic bag and cradled it lovingly all the way home on the bus.
You may have gathered by now that Blade Runner is my favourite science fiction film of all time. Last night I sat down and watched the Final Cut version, and I'm delighted with it all over again. One could be forgiven for wondering why a film that's already had a Director's Cut needs a Final Cut, but with this version I feel that Ridley Scott has finally achieved the perfection he's been striving for over the past twenty-five years.
The film has been painstakingly restored, and the results are staggeringly beautiful. The gorgeous set design, art direction and model work stand out even more here. The actual changes from the Director's Cut are mostly subtle, things only a fan would notice, but I think they're neat changes. Scott took the opportunity to fix the big stunt sequence with Zhora so that it now actually stars Joanna Cassidy instead of a stunt double in a terrible wig. Roy Batty says 'I want more life, father.' The dove flies up into a dark sky, which may look less poetic but makes a whole lot more sense. The violence is more graphic, which I think is more in keeping with the tone of the story.
In addition to this, there's a huge pile of documentaries, and this edition also includes all previous theatrical/video releases of the film. This means that I can now see the dreadful ending that was stapled on to the original release and listen to the awful, awful voice over whenever I like. (Which will probably be never unless I want to laugh at something horrible. Harrison Ford makes no secret of hating the narration he was forced to do - the documentaries include out-takes of him complaining about the dialogue in the recording booth. One suspects him of giving a terrible performance in the hope they wouldn't use it.) They even released the work print! With commentary from Paul M. Sammon! You have to be a true Blade Runner geek to get excited about seeing that.
The documentaries underline again that almost everyone involved with this film had a miserable time working on it - Ridley Scott was a slave-driving perfectionist, and many in the crew resented him. The original writer left after the director overhauled his work. The suits putting up the money were bewildered by the film, leading to much acrimony. Harrison Ford hated shooting nights, and didn't get on with his director or his love interest. Sean Young was appearing in her first leading role opposite a man who had no time for her. Even perky Daryl Hannah broke her arm running into J.F. Sebastian's car. And yet, out of all of this pain, glorious art was distilled. No doubt this is what the difficult genius director was trying for.
Yesterday, however, I was in JB Hi Fi when I saw something that I did not need but truly, deeply desired. Just before Christmas 2007, I first laid eyes on the extra-special five disc extended edition of Blade Runner, the one in the big case with the art folio and the plastic unicorn. I told myself I would buy it after Christmas when I had more money ... and by the time I went back, it was sold out everywhere. I put off buying the regular five-disc edition for more than a year just in case I ever spied it again.
Yesterday, I was passing by the box set display, and there it was: number 3846 of the 4400 made for the Australian market. The angel on my right said 'you don't really need to pay an extra $40 for a case and a few pointless accessories' and the devil on my left said 'but you better make your mind up now, because if you pass some other obsessive will buy it and you will never see it again.' So I told the clerk I didn't need a plastic bag and cradled it lovingly all the way home on the bus.
You may have gathered by now that Blade Runner is my favourite science fiction film of all time. Last night I sat down and watched the Final Cut version, and I'm delighted with it all over again. One could be forgiven for wondering why a film that's already had a Director's Cut needs a Final Cut, but with this version I feel that Ridley Scott has finally achieved the perfection he's been striving for over the past twenty-five years.
The film has been painstakingly restored, and the results are staggeringly beautiful. The gorgeous set design, art direction and model work stand out even more here. The actual changes from the Director's Cut are mostly subtle, things only a fan would notice, but I think they're neat changes. Scott took the opportunity to fix the big stunt sequence with Zhora so that it now actually stars Joanna Cassidy instead of a stunt double in a terrible wig. Roy Batty says 'I want more life, father.' The dove flies up into a dark sky, which may look less poetic but makes a whole lot more sense. The violence is more graphic, which I think is more in keeping with the tone of the story.
In addition to this, there's a huge pile of documentaries, and this edition also includes all previous theatrical/video releases of the film. This means that I can now see the dreadful ending that was stapled on to the original release and listen to the awful, awful voice over whenever I like. (Which will probably be never unless I want to laugh at something horrible. Harrison Ford makes no secret of hating the narration he was forced to do - the documentaries include out-takes of him complaining about the dialogue in the recording booth. One suspects him of giving a terrible performance in the hope they wouldn't use it.) They even released the work print! With commentary from Paul M. Sammon! You have to be a true Blade Runner geek to get excited about seeing that.
The documentaries underline again that almost everyone involved with this film had a miserable time working on it - Ridley Scott was a slave-driving perfectionist, and many in the crew resented him. The original writer left after the director overhauled his work. The suits putting up the money were bewildered by the film, leading to much acrimony. Harrison Ford hated shooting nights, and didn't get on with his director or his love interest. Sean Young was appearing in her first leading role opposite a man who had no time for her. Even perky Daryl Hannah broke her arm running into J.F. Sebastian's car. And yet, out of all of this pain, glorious art was distilled. No doubt this is what the difficult genius director was trying for.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-02 12:07 pm (UTC)Re: Ridley Scott and the crew - and don't forget him pissing them off by praising British film crews mid-shooting. For some reason, I found that hilarious when watching the documentary.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-02 12:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-02 12:56 pm (UTC)(My dad has the same box set for the express purpose of having the version on the film _with_ the noir voice-over and Jess's father prefers that version too. Can't please all the fans all the time! XP)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-02 01:59 pm (UTC)That makes me curious - what happened in this ending?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-02 10:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:16 am (UTC)It's wonderful to see the film in this form - in all its forms - given this star treatment that it so richly deserves.
Re: Ridley Scott and the crew - and don't forget him pissing them off by praising British film crews mid-shooting. For some reason, I found that hilarious when watching the documentary.
Someone should have contributed a t-shirt that said 'Tact: Maybe You Should Look That Up In A Dictionary' ...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:17 am (UTC)I have indeed - got it sitting on my shelf, and I'm sorely tempted by the more recent edition. I'd forgotten that it actually confirmed that theory, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:21 am (UTC)Yeah, I imagine it would be pretty confusing at twelve. I was ... sixteen or seventeen, I think, and it made a huge impression on me.
(My dad has the same box set for the express purpose of having the version on the film _with_ the noir voice-over and Jess's father prefers that version too. Can't please all the fans all the time! XP)
Indeed. Your dad and Jess's are in good company; Guiliermo del Toro was interviewed for the documentaries and raved about the voice over too. I'm afraid I have to go with Harrison on that one, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:23 am (UTC)In the theatrical release, the film ends with Deckard and Rachel driving through a verdant green landscape (created with an outtake from The Shining) as Deckard reveals in voice over that Rachel is actually a new type of Nexus that has no expiration date. Where they found all that grass and all those trees on a planet that's meant to have been destroyed by pollution is anyone's guess ...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:26 am (UTC)The documentaries are fascinating if you like that type of thing, and more than twice as long as the film itself *g*.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 08:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 03:33 pm (UTC)