Blade Runner: The Final Cut [Blu-ray] [1982] [Region Free]

At long last, "Blade Runner" gets the definitive treatment it needs. With a release as lavish and enormous as this, there is no possibility of an abusive triple, quadruple, or seventh-re-release : almost everything you could possibly want is here.

"Blade Runner" is one of the greatest science fiction films ever made : a period piece set in an impossible future, a film noir detective thriller that uses the endless possibilities of Science Fiction to explore inner and outer space, a meditation of the nature of humanity, identity, and conscience. It is without doubt the finest film that anyone ever involved with it ever worked on. Given that the people who worked on it were also involved in "Star Wars", "2001", "Alien", and ...um... "Blind Fury"... that speaks for itself. I won't waste words on the film anymore : you either know what it is or you don't. If you don't - watch it. If you do - you know what I'm talking about. It's a classic - and one of the best films ever made.

This DVD re-release features a whopping 5 DVD's of material. Disc 1 contains the "Final Cut" :Ridley Scott's intended version that was sabotaged by brainless studio nincompoops and accountants. Here, Ridley has revisited and completed the film so it is now the way it was always meant to be seen. To the average viewer, these changes are often miniscule and barely noticeable : to the enthusiast they are the final brushstrokes to Scott's masterpiece. It's still "Blade Runner" though. If you liked it then, you'll like it now. If you didn't, you won't. But this Final Cut (the fifth version of the film released) is a film of such merit it deserves to be hung in a museum as one of the greatest justifications for mankinds continued existence.

The first disc is fleshed with three commentaries : Ridley Scott is, as ever, a fascinating orator. The other commentaries are equally interesting. The second DVD contains "Dangerous Days", an enormous, standard-setting, 214 minute `making of' document that covers every element of the films existence in forensic detail. It's a fascinating journey : packed with interviews with everyone who was even slightly involved in the film (including characters cut from any released version), as well as stuffed to the gills with bonus material : whereas some documentaries will use clips from the film to demonstrate the finished product, this chooses (wisely) to show reams of alternate takes, deleted scenes, and unused footage across its length. This is the definitive `Making Of' by which all others must be judged. To anyone who has seen the film more than once, it is an absolutely essential piece of work.

DVD 3 contains the three previously released versions of the film. Including the 1982 International Cut (with a fraction more violence), and the 1991 Directors Cut (which in reality was a rushed studio hodge podge with no actual direct input from Ridley Scott). Each prefaced by an introduction from Ridley Scott, and exist largely for the sake of the completists.

DVD 4 meanwhile, wraps up the remaining material. There are 48 minutes of deleted scenes arranged to create a vignette/montage alternate version of the film - it would have been fascinating to see these alternate trims placed in the context of a entire `deleted scenes' version of the film. The deleted scenes themselves are generally unexceptional (and when viewed it is easy to see why they were not in the finished product) but are essential viewing to see All That Could Have Been. DVD 4 also features two hours of extra documentaries detailing the P K Dick novel, the adaptation process, how the film and novel differ, and a cornucopia of additional material that covers literally everything under the sun from the films influence on cinema, the ethos of poster art, to - in all probability - a documentary about the Kitchen Sinks used in the film.

DVD5 meanwhile, features a remastered copy of the first ever seen version of the film - a rough cut `Workprint' that previewed to a few hundred in 1982 - and this version is undoubtedly the Holy Grail of the Blade Runner world. Seeing this version, when compared to the original cinema release, is akin to seeing two completely different films in tone and style : the violence is harder, the narration and voiceover absent, the film no longer insults the viewer with Vlad The Explainer condescendingly commenting on the events of the film. This version of the film - clearly a work in progress - is as ever an intelligent, sensitive film that explores the basic questions of humanity. The disc is rounded off with a commentary by author (and renowned Blade Runner authority) Paul Sammon, and a final 30 minute look through the torturous evolution - and multiple versions - of the film to its Final Cut. It's a final fascinating glimpse into the process.

Given the sheer wealth of material (I estimate at least 26 hours of stuff spread over the five discs - the largest amount yet compiled for any one film that I know of), it seems almost churlish to gripe about what is missing : original plans were to include the Channel 4 documentary "The Edge Of Human", but the material in that is exhaustively covered elsewhere in this set so it would be almost redundant were it included. Overall, if you have the slightest interest in film or Science Fiction, this is an absolute no brainer Must-Buy and sets the standard as the High Watermark of DVD releases so far in the formats first decade.

Simply put, it's one of the most comprehensive and thus, definitive DVD packages to ever exist. At last Warners have given this great work of art the attention, care, and investment it deserves. Buy it.

The most influential fusion of the science fiction and noir genres ever released, Blade Runner is still, in the opinion of many, Ridley Scott's best ever work, and, arguably, one of the greatest films ever made.

Certainly, a case can be made for the adapted screenply from the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." The idea behind the story, and the effective compression of such a complex plot into just under two hours of film-time is a remarkable feat for Hampton Fancher, a relatively inexperienced screenwriter. Moreover, the film features some of the most beautifully poetic dialogue in cinematic history, an effective contrast against the harshly industrial backdrop of futuristic Los Angeles. The now iconic line, "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain" is the most obvious example of the film's eloquence. Interestingly, this line was actually penned by Rutger Hauer, who plays replicant Roy Batty, just hours before filming. Scott, upon hearing the poem, was so impressed that he included it in Batty's dying speech in the final rain-soaked sequence.

And it was, ultimately, Scott who made this film. His spectacular vision of the Los Angeles of 2019 - a shadowy, smoky dystopia of depression and ruin - is one of the most impressive aspects of the film, and must surely be one of the greatest backdrops ever created. Even without modern CGI effects, the city is still mesmerising. Admittedly, the unconvincing ground-car Deckard drives (all sleek windshields and flashing lights) doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but other than this brief lapse, the cinematography is wonderful. Indeed, most notably, the entire movie is filmed in darkness - an achievement itself. Pulling this off without claims of implausibility or ludicracy is undoubtedly impressive.

All of this is supported by superb acting performances from most of the cast. Harrison Ford gives a strong performance as world-weary Blade Runner Rick Deckard, but it is Hutger Gauer as Roy Batty, leader of the replicant outlaws, who steals the show, with thr eternally intimidating portrayal of Batty - a hybrid personality of sadistic killer and caring General.

For me, Blade Runner is one of the great films of all time. Let's hope it's not lost in time. Like tears in the rain.

Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's masterpiece of a dystopian future, is available again on DVD. Hoorah!

Well - not quite. The new release has a few improvements - after all, the original Warner Brothers release went straight into the film; you didn't even get a menu. But there are drawbacks too.

For a start, expect to do lots of button-pressing on your remote before you start: the UK is at the end of the third screen of language options, and there's no default selection - an elementary mistake. Once you've selected the language you want, expect to sit through the "you are supporting terrorism through piracy" trail that every WB and Fox release seems to carry, which is both offensive and patronising. At least on this disk you can speed it up, even if you can't skip it. Finally, you get to the menu (which gives you bare-bones options of language and scene selections) and you can start watching the film.

Once the film starts, the annoyances are forgotten. The opening titles have been redone: the originals wobbled quite noticably, and that jitter is now absent. When the action itself starts, it becomes apparent that this time the mastering has been done by someone who knew what they were doing - for instance they've actually cleaned the print before they started. Look closely at the 1999 release and you see frame after frame covered with dirt - hair, dust, speckles, you name it - and they're all missing from the new version. The colours are brighter and there's better contrast, too. However, all of this is let down slightly by the fact that the soundtrack is still only two-channel Dolby Surround.

So, seven years from the original release, we can watch the copy we should have got in the first place. If you're desperate to see BR on DVD, then you'll get what you need here. However, things have come a long way in the DVD world since 1999, and a film of this calibre really deserves something better. The good news is that a three-disc special edition is on the way that will, hopefuly, finally do this film justice. You might want to hang on for a few months until it's released.