Blade Runner: The Final Cut

An essential purchase

Film Review by Kevin McHugh | 06 Jan 2008
Film title: Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah
Certificate: 15
Blade Runner has been released yet again, 25 years after its original incarnation was accompanied by bad reviews and even worse box office returns. It's been 15 years since the better-received Director's Cut which, oddly, had very little input from the director. This time around, Ridley Scott delivers what he calls the final, definitive version. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, a retired cop summoned by the LAPD to track down and kill four renegade humanoids known as replicants. Seeking their maker to force him to prolong their four-year life span, Rutger Hauer is their chilling leader, Roy, while the breathtaking Daryl Hannah co-stars as the pleasure unit, Pris. As Deckard begins brutally tracking down the replicants, he finds another humanoid, porcelain-like beauty Rachel (Young), with whom he falls in love. With its constant rain, dark skies, neon lights, overcrowded pavements and flying cars, Scott's vision of 2019 LA remains one of the most visually stunning worlds ever committed to film. It's a vision of the future that's influenced so many films since 1982; you can see its footprint in movies like Dark City, The Matrix, AI and Minority Report, and its stunning neo-noir world is a place that should be seen by everyone. While the term 're-mastered' can be found on thousands of DVDs these days, here's a box-set worthy of the title, with its cleaned-up print and sound both adding to what was already a tremendous movie experience. Scott skilfully and seamlessly adds new, extended scenes while tidying up others he was never happy with. This five-disc set contains The Final Cut plus all of the previously released versions of the film, as well as Dangerous Days, an all-new four-hour documentary. Also included is a rarely seen work-print, which contains alternative music, deleted footage and new voice-overs, while an extra disc includes documentaries on the restoration process and some 'making of' featurettes. Despite an RRP of £30.99, this box-set is an essential purchase for all sci-fi buffs. With 678 minutes worth of viewing, the future has never looked more bleak or brilliant. [Kevin McHugh]