25 years after the release of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott has assembled a final and definitive director’s cut of the film, giving audiences the chance to see the film as Scott originally intended it.
Before the film’s original release in 1982, preview screenings went horribly, and the money men stepped in and imposed changes on the aesthetic and narrative. Voice-overs and happy endings were added. New film shot. Dialogue changed. “I went along with the idea that we had to do certain things to get audiences interested,” Scott lamented in an article in appearing this weekend’s New York Times. “I later realized that once I adopted that line, I was selling my soul to the devil, inch by inch drifting from my original conception.”
This is actually Scott’s second attempt at creating a final cut. Back in 1992, he took a first crack at revising Blade Runner. But he ultimately didn’t have the time and resources to get the job done as he liked. Now, just in time to capitalize on the 25th anniversary of the film, he’s releasing what he calls the final, final cut. The movie will be released in New York and Los Angeles theaters on October 5, and by Christmas, you can buy it on DVD. (Actually, it can already be pre-ordered on Amazon.)
If you have a free moment, you may want to watch the audio slideshow that the Times put together on the cult classic as well as the new film’s trailer (see below). And to get even more info on this film’s making and remaking, see this article by MTV’s Kurt Loder.
