'Blade Runner' a classic any way you cut it
Let's be thankful that Ridley Scott is no George Lucas.
Scott's 1982 science-fiction favorite "Blade Runner" returns to the big screen today, tweaked and upgraded according to the filmmaker's desires.
"Blade Runner" flopped during its initial release, but has since become a genre classic. It transported the hard-boiled and moodily lit detective stories of film noir into a dystopian future, a bleak vision of Los Angeles having mutated into a claustrophobic sprawl of neon and steam.
For the uninitiated, "Blade Runner" was based on Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" It's the tale of a gumshoe named Deckard (Harrison Ford in his post-"Raiders"/"Empire" prime) enlisted to find a group of complex synthetic humanoids who are marked for "retirement." These beings, called "replicants," look exactly like people, but because of their cybernetic nature are treated no better than slaves.
Because the renegade replicants (including steel-eyed Rutger Hauer and a punky young Daryl Hannah) became self-aware and took part in a bloody revolt, Deckard has been hired to destroy them.
As Lucas did with the "special editions" of his original "Star Wars" trilogy, Scott returned to "Blade Runner" intending to make it perfect. Mainly, he finessed the changes seen in the 1992 "Director's Cut" version of the movie, which Scott did not directly oversee (he was working on "Thelma & Louise" at the time).
The result, dubbed "The Final Cut," is the version over which Scott had the most creative control. Completely restored, it includes alternate scenes adapted from a work print of the film. Some special effects have been updated, and one stunt was recently refilmed -- we now see actress Joanna Cassidy getting blasted through a window rather than her stunt double.
Overall, this is still the same story. "Blade Runner" fans shouldn't expect as stark a difference as the "Director's Cut" offered. The studio-imposed Deckard voice-over from the 1982 release is still gone, as is the original "happy" ending. Scott's changes here are merely cosmetic, but compared to Lucas', they're nowhere near as obtrusive. That said, this version looks absolutely beautiful and virtually erases most of the film's admittedly few dated elements.
"The Final Cut" hits DVD on Dec. 18, when "Blade Runner" will once again be relegated to the intimate canvas of your TV set. While it's not the loudest, fastest sci-fi classic around, it's worth seeing on a larger screen. From the Asian-inspired production design to Vangelis' eerie synth score, the flick is still a feast for the eyes and ears, one anyone too young to have seen it in a theater should indulge as soon as possible.
"Blade Runner: The Final Cut"Three stars out of fourOpens todayHarrison Ford as Rick DeckardRutger Hauer as Roy BattySean Young as RachaelEdward James Olmos as GaffWith Daryl Hannah and William Sanderson.Written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Produced by Michael Deeley. Directed by Ridley Scott. A Warner Bros. release. Rated R (violence, brief nudity). Running time: 117 minutes.