I need to write up a column about All About Eve for the Examiner website, but as a professional dawdler, it’s simply not close enough to the deadline for me to get my ass into gear. So, I figured I’d blog about a film I’ve never seen. Thanks to a stroke of luck and a couple of trade-ins at the used book store, I was able to get the 4-DVD ultimate set of Blade Runner for free. God bless McKay’s.
It’s true. I’d never seen Blade Runner. I saw bits and pieces on television, but I still didn’t have any idea what the movie was about. I figured it was a hard-boiled whodunit with robots, and while that element is present, the tone was much more introspective than I expected, and elevates a standard film into something a bit more special.
The special effects and set design are legendary, and their influence on Metropolis will be interesting to compare when I post about the restored version of Metropolis coming soon to Belcourt. This was also back when Harrison Ford still kinda gave a damn, and a motivated Ford is an interesting one. I miss the good Harrison Ford.
My wife recommended I watch the ’92 director’s cut first, but the edition also includes the 1982 U.S. and International theatrical cuts, as well as a 2007 “Final Cut” with additional footage and special effects. I figured I’d write about each version and note the differences here, so stay tuned. Here’s some vidjer of the original theatrical trailer, and just by watching this, I’m grateful that the voiceover was removed in later versions:
Blade Runner (Five-Disc Complete Collector’s Edition) [Blu-ray]
Jesse Is Terrific 