By Nick Psillas
Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi epic “Blade Runner” has certainly been through a lot in the last 25 years. With five different versions of the film existing around the world between its initial release and 1992’s director’s cut, “Blade Runner” is one of, if not the most notoriously messed-with film of all time.
After the workprint of the film tested infamously, Warner Bros. studios gained control of the copyrights when additional shooting brought the film over budget. Warner Bros. made their own changes to the film, inserting a voiceover from main character, Rick Deckard (which Harrison Ford supposedly recorded poorly due to his displeasement with the studio’s decision), and opting for an alternate, happier ending. The international release was essentially the same cut, plus a few violent cuts of some scenes. Even after these alterations, “Blade Runner” continued to do poorly at its release. It’s easy to see why. The film is light on dialogue, and big on the visual, and not in the Michael Bay “Holy crap bro, did you see that huge explosion!” way, but more in the “Dude, check out the production value on that set design!” way. Not to mention that audiences were unwilling to accept Ford (who was still in the midst of his two bigest roles in two of the most successful film franchises of all time), as a dark, reserved, slovenly has-been. Altogether, the film was received as vague, cold and slow-moving.
When the film gained some cult-esque success in the early 1990s, Warner approached Scott about creating a director’s cut of the film, which removed the voiceover, returned the film’s original ending, and added and extended a few scenes. However, solving the problems of the theatrical cut of the film created a series of new problems that Scott aimed to fix with the release of this year’s final cut.
Easily the largest improvement made to the film is the new transfer The director’s cut had looked grainy and unpolished, with the immaculate sets and models not clearly defined. Scott was able to make a brand-new looking print from the film’s original negatives, giving a much needed polish to the dark and grimy dystopia of 2019 Los Angeles. In addition to enhancing the visual, Scott also remastered the magnificent soundtrack by Vangelis (also known for the timeless soundtrack to 1981’s “Chariots of Fire”). The Greek composer’s atmospheric electronic music always has, and still does complement Scott’s vision perfectly, and the score stands more pronounced in the final cut. Other improvements with the soundtrack include a proper sync with the dialogue when Deckard is confronting the snake salesman, and finally a definite decision that Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer)’s famous line is, in fact, “I want more life, father.”
The most important fixes, however, come in the editing. In every prior version of the film, the second act of the film always dragged a bit, but through some terser editing, a few shortened takes, and some interspersed shots, the pace of the second act dramatically picks up. Scott also uses the editing to his advantage in creating new aspects to his characters. Rick Deckard (Ford) is made out to be much darker. Deckard’s character is more violent than in previous cuts (a theme for this version, as it also sees the insertion of the international release’s scenes), and comes off as a borderline alcoholic, which lends itself to Deckard’s overall character, and explains the brooding darkness in his character. Thanks to the editing of the film Leon’s character is also better defined. Formerly a know-nothing brute, the first replicant we meet in the film has evolved into a tragically misguided character with a deep sense of loyalty.
Symbolically, “Blade Runner” takes on a new life in the final cut as well. The returning motif of eyes in the film is played up perfectly. As noted before, the final cut reintegrates the violent scenes from the international version, which includes a graphic depiction of Batty crushing the eyeballs of Dr. Tyrell, which also harkens back to an earlier scene where Leon tries to do the same to Deckard, only to be shot through – you guessed it – the eye. Scott masterfully uses the comparison between the synthetic glowing red of the replicants’ eyes to that of the eyes of the humans in the film. In fact, Officer Gaff (Edward James Olmos) holds perhaps the most inhuman looking eyes in the whole picture, contrasting with the Aryan eyes of “villain” Roy Batty, the maniac replicant, who frequently expresses a desire for the human characters to see the things he has seen as a slave laborer on the dangerous off-world colonies. Merge this with the numerous references to memory in relation to humanity, and the audience is left wondering whether the synthetic characters in “Blade Runner” are truly “more human than human,” or if they are simply just as human as human.
With this new edit, Ridley Scott is able to make his film truly timeless, and not, as Batty says in the film’s heartbreaking climax, “lost in time, like tears in the rain.”
“Blade Runner: The Final Cut” is currently playing at Manhattan’s Zeigfeld Theatre in a limited engagement until Oct. 18. Numerous special edition DVD sets have been planned for year’s end.

Director Ridley Scott’s 1982 film “Blade Runner” gets new life in Manhattan as it is played in its final cut. Several DVD releases have been planned for the year’s end. (publispain.com)