Merrick here...


With Darwin's take on BLADE RUNNER: FINAL CUT. You can read another perspective on the film HERE.

I can't believe they changed Roy's "I want more life, fucker" to "I want more life, father." The "fucker" says so much more...shows so much more simmering anger, etc. Maybe they were trying to soften him a little?

Aw, well - I'm told FINAL CUT is truly amazing & truly a site to behold. Wish it were being released more widely (it's currently screening in only LA and NYC), but the DVDs hit in mid-December for those not in either city (which would be like, ummm, most of the United States).


Here's Darwin...

So I went to the 10:30pm screening tonight which was sold out, as were the other showings I believe.

The ushers claimed that people had flown in from all over to see the FINAL CUT since it's only screening in LA and NY. The crowd was definitely buzzing and folks seemed very keyed up. I realized that it's been 15 years since the Director's Cut was last seen in theaters, so it was a real treat to see it again on the big screen -- and possibly for the last time.

Luckily the Landmark has state of the art equipment so we were able to watch the film in 4K digital projection, which was absolutely stunning -- the best it's ever looked. I can't even look at my Director's Cut disc now, the quality of the new restoration is so superior. I've gotten so used to how mushy and grainy the film has looked all these years, but tonight I saw an amazing clarity I never knew was there. The colors and detail of the film really popped off the screen, which only enhanced the original groundbreaking effects and model work (rather than reveal any flaws). There was no dirt or hairs or any other artifacts -- finally, a pristine version!

(Spoilers ahead)

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.

Don't go into the theater expecting a radical re-working of the film with tons of new scenes added; this is still very much the Blade Runner you know and love, with just a few tweaks and continuity fixes that have been sorely needed (and beautifully remastered as well). I think some people in the crowd were expecting a lot more, as it wasn't met with thunderous applause at the end. Which was ridiculous because THIS is how a re-release should be done. No extraneous deleted scenes reinserted, no digital magic added just because the technology is there (I'm looking at you, Mr. Lucas). Just clean it up and fix the continuity errors and let people enjoy seeing it on the big screen one more time.

You can call me... Darwin.

All the best!