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Bookmark this pageBlade Runner: The Final Cut (1982)
Director: Ridley Scott
Movie review
From Time Out London
Granted a brief theatrical showing prior to its all-singing-all-dancing DVD release (the perfect Christmas gift!), ‘The Final Cut’ isn’t, content wise, radically dissimilar to 1992’s ‘Director’s Cut’ (ie no narration, no happy ending, hello unicorn), but the overall effect is astounding. A critical and commercial failure back in 1982 but hugely influential on two generations of filmmakers, video directors, and ad men, Scott’s masterpiece has, thanks to exemplary restoration work, never looked or sounded this good. Backgrounds are denser, colours richer, effects have been digitally cleaned and corrected, with newly shot footage of Joanna Cassidy replacing the stuntman in a wig who crashes through the shop window after Deckard (Harrison Ford) shoots Zhora in the back, and the blue sky that Batty (Rutger Hauer) previously released the dove into at the end now overcast and rainy. Dialogue has been tweaked too, fixing at least one major narrative inconsistency, while Sean Young’s voice sounds less metallic, more human than before. Ignore Scott’s perplexing insistence that Deckard’s a replicant in this version, and give yourself up to the film’s visual splendour. Bold, bleak and still brilliant.Author: Mark Salisbury
Time Out London Issue 1944: November 20-26 2007
User reviews of this film
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- benjamin ross said...
- Posted on Oct 06 2008 19:51 i love bladerunner.
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- Magmabulle said...
- Posted on Jun 08 2008 19:32 The best science fiction ever made in my opinion; Ridley Scott has created a great atmosphere in the dark and constantly raining Los Angeles.
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- Dariush said...
- Posted on Jan 30 2008 15:19 How wonderful to be given an opportunity to see this on the big screen again. Moving, gripping and beautiful, watch it if it's playing anywhere near you.
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- G Melody said...
- Posted on Dec 09 2007 20:00 Because ambiguity's where it's at.
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- D Muller said...
- Posted on Nov 27 2007 17:24 Why is Scott's insistence that Deckard's a replicant perplexing?
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Cast & crew
Director: Ridley Scott
Producer: Michael Deeley
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah, Brion James, James Hong, Joanna Cassidy full cast
Duration: 117 mins
UK Release: Nov 23 2007
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