Blade Runner (5 Disc Complete Collectors Edition) [Blu-ray] [1982] [Region Free] [US Import]

Some films have the ability to wrap simple designs around complex subjects, whilst others may do the reverse. And then their is Blade Runner - a film that is complex both in presentation and ideology. Its intellectual strength is loosely based on the original Philip. K. Dick novel "Do Androids Dream of Sheep" - the story of a Police cop called Deckard (Harrison Ford) whose job it is to hunt down and assassinate illegal androids; a force known as the 'Blade Runners'. It is a small group of the new Nexsus-6 androids who have entered Earth illegally, making no stops to discover how long they will live, and how they can avoid their own death's. Self awareness, it would seem, pays a penalty...

As such, the film is rooted somewhat as a typical 'cop film', driven by Deckard's own disfunction with the grim world around him. It is the future, but not the future we would dream of. This is integral to the success of the film - Ridley Scott is avant garde in his depiction of mass commercialism and social breakdown, not the bright, happy, efficient future that is often portrayed.

The film's complexity centre's around the viewers take on pretty much everything, and asks an abundance of questions that cover all manner of philosophies. Are androids jealous of human integrity? Conversely, are humans jealous of the androids lack of emotional ballast? These are just two questions that the audience are encouraged to think about, but their is no denying that the films visual wizardry only adds clues to such queries and aids the atmosphere. Ridley Scott is, by all accounts, one of the best visionary directors we have seen in modern times, yet I can't but wonder whether the sophistication of his photography has inevitably filtered audiences worldwide.

If you are already a fan of Blade Runner, then you may be visiting this product page after discovering that the U.K has, once again, been duped by a product that is down right pathetic in comparison to the U.S counterparts. Whereas we have been offered a 2-Disc Blu-Ray set with one version of the film and a smattering of extras, the U.S gets a chunky 5-Disc set with five versions of the film, and more extras than you could watch in a week.

This product page is for the latter, and oh, thank goodness it will play on U.K machines.

It is undoubtedly a product oozing with love; the kind of care and attention that Ridley Scott has so often paid to his films, and yet for what is still largely a 'cult film', other Producers/Directors such as George Lucas fail to give fans even two versions of their films without their being some kind of catch. Rather, Lucas would erase the history of Star Wars with newer edits...

Not such the case here. Five of the Seven versions of Blade Runner are present on disc, and Scott is even modest enough to say on disc that they're in a terrible state. It is nonsense; the oldest surviving version of the film known as the "Workprint", which was shown to audiences before the film was released commercially, looks so engaging for a film with minimal restoration. As you trawl through the versions of Blade Runner chronologically, more care and attention is paid to the quality of restoration until you hit the 2009 "Final Cut" - a presentation so stunning that it could easily match or, exceed, films of today. But then you would expect nothing less from a combination of 4K and 8K scans, combined with the original film grain left in tact and a colour timing of its day. Kudos to Scott though for documenting the changes he made from a technical standpoint - just some of these, he suggested, include the removal of ugly matte lines (always a relief), the removal of a few 'obvious' cables used for props, and some slight enhancements during the opening sequence.

What is all the more obvious when comparing the films are how the changes in editing dramatically affect the film as a whole. Narrations left in and out, violence spontaneously changed, and even the soundtrack having subtle changes. Want the original 'Hollywood' ending? Its on here too.

The extra features don't let you down either, and it doesn't stop after the whopping 3 and a half hour documentary. Smaller docs, galleries, commentaries and more are present - all of which will transform you into a complete geek if you weren't already. Well, I was half way there anyway...

I advise any Blade Runner fan to seriously consider this product ahead of its poor U.K counterpart, for it contains a wealth of extra content that is not to be missed. Either way, it is one of the best High Def films i've seen to date and should be recalled for its significance in movie history. Visual effects way ahead of anything else for 1982, a screenplay that is worth studying alone, and some finely acted performances.

I watched BladeRunner for the first time in 1983 using a friends black & white portable TV and a Philips 2000 video tape player. Even under those primitive conditions we were transfixed as visions of the future entered our lives. Since then I've owned the VHS version (narrated), the DVD (director's cut), a DVD of the Criterion edition and sundry books and other merchandise. I've also watched the Director's cut in a cinema. I think that qualifies me to offer a fair opinion about this Blu-Ray set.

The set is presented in a (pseudo) replica of Deckard's Voight-Kampf case. The case is plastic but well constructed and has a silver sticker on the bottom indicating the serial number. The numbers go up to 130,000 so don't get too hung up on the 'limited' claim. Likewise the 'signed message from Ridley Scott' promise is a little bogus; there is one but it's printed on plastic. However, that's really the only negativity I can offer. The set contains some excellent A4 size art cards of graphic designs of machinery and sets. They are high quality. It also contains (in a foam insert) a nicely made replica of Gaff's origami unicorn (in silver) and a Police Spinner. The latter is very £1.99 from Tesco quality but it's still a model Spinner!
The best item in the case (apart from the discs) is a marvellous perspex block that contains 6 or 7 frames of the movie. By moving the block (or one's head) the frames become a clip of Deckard moving forward brandishing his gun. This alone justifies the cost of the set.
Then we reach the discs. 5 in total. There is the new version of the film (more later on that), the original cinema version (narrated), the director's cut (ironic title now), the criterion edition and the workprint edition. If you don't know what the latter two are then please Google it. Suffice it to say that there are no other versions of BladeRunner and to have them all in a single set in 1080p is beyond amazing! There's also a 3 hour documentary on the history and making of the film(s). Sadly this is in standard definition but hey...
And so to the new version of BladeRunner. I watched it on my 52" 1080p set so I could see the detail and I was continually laughing with delight. It looks stunning now. The production team have completely restored the print and the FX shots such as the opening sequence and the Spinner flight over the Tyrell Corporation building are pure and show a level of detail that I didn't even realize existed in the shot. Bear in mind I've seen a cinema version of this film and I can assure you that this is order of magnitude from that. All of the FX problems have been corrected: no wires lifting the Spinners, no stunt-woman's face on the dying Zhora etc. It's really interesting seeing that contents of Deckard's apartment for the first time. The clarity of the print reveals objects in his room that I'd not noticed. Some minor dialogue has changed but for the better and only in inconsequential places such as the description of the Nexus-6 team in Bryant's office. The audio is now 5.1 and much improved.
In conclusion:
This is a tremendous bargain. So much content for so little. If you value this film then GET THIS SET! The new version of the film is near perfect. It has been adjusted in such a subtle way that it is really just a superb restoration rather than a major change and yet a lot HAS changed. It's a tribute to Scott's team that the casual observer would barely notice.
I'm VERY impressed and delighted.

EDIT: There are SIX versions of the film in this set. The deleted scenes have been edited together to form a complimentary story to the main feature using previously unseen material (excepting Holden in the hospital which has been about before). This is quite astonishing to watch, almost surreal and dreamlike if you've lived with BladeRunner for many years. For example: Leon is hiding in the roof space of his hotel room as Deckard and Gaff look around. That's how he knows they are 'policemen' when Roy enquires later on. Superb!

Blade Runner is one of the ultimate sci-fi/cult movies of all time and right up there as one of my very favourite films. So when I decided to make the switch to Blu-ray recently this was one of the first on the list, even though I had sworn not to upgrade anything that I already had on DVD. What swayed me was that this is director Ridley Scott's ulimate version of his film - not swayed by studio or commercial constraints. OK, so it's not radically different to the 1982 original or the 1992 Director's Cut versions but it does correct a few errors and answer a few more questions.
I opted for this US import 5 disc edition as it is multi-region and will play in UK players and offered all 4 versions of the film (US and Europe Original, Director's Cut and Ultimate Cut). Add to that a workprint version, so many deleted scenes that meld together to form virtually another story, and a vast array of extras that there's enough material here to keep you watching for months! Compare this to Region 2 disc released in the UK and it's superb value for money.
So far I've only watched the four versions of the film but I am blown away by the quality of the transfer to Blu-ray. Even my wife, a long-time hater of the film, has started to appreciate it, although she still doesn't understand it!
For any fan of the movie then this US box set is is the ultimate cinematic purchase - unless of course you want to buy the version that comes with toys, perspex blocks, etc!