C.H wrote:When did you first watch Blade Runner?.
I must have only been about 8 years old when I first watched it. I was a huge
Star Wars fan, so a sci-fi film with Harrison Ford seemed right up my street. My cousin rented it out on video in what must have been around 1983/84, so I sat there watching it.
My first impression wasn't that great, I loved the futuristic stuff, the flying cars etc, but the rest of the film I guess was just too dark and adult for me at that age. I always remember being in complete and utter suspense and fear during the final showdown between Deckard and Batty. Those awesome futuristic images must have stayed with me though, and when the film was screened on TV sometime around 1987/88 at an obscene time around midnight on ITV, the newspaper TV guide gave the film an excellent rating, so I thought I'd give the film another watch. So I set the timer on the old toploader VCR to record it. I liked it a lot more this time, to the point where more than just the effects held my attention.
It still wasn't full blown adoration though. That came in 1990, when my local cinema held a special Sunday screening of the film. Thank God I was 14 at the time, I could get into a 15 rated film with no problems. It was here that I realised just how much of a following the film had. I'd half expected the cinema to be empty. I found myself in a huge queue, presuming that those in front of me would be going in to see
Ghost or whichever other big blockbusters were currently doing the rounds. But then I began to hear one person after another in the queue absolutely buzzing with excitement talking about
Blade Runner. I realised that virtually every single person in the queue was there to see
Blade Runner, and I then became worried I wouldn't even get into the screening, which was on the smallest of the cinema's three screens. Thankfully I did though, and upon entering the screening room, it was packed and I had to settle for a seat on the extreme left towards the back of the room, sat inbetween two strangers. When the film started, it simply looked mindblowing seeing those stunning futuristic shots this way on the big screen. It was an awesome experience. And it was the original theatrical release from 1982. I left the cinema with Deckard's closing narration lines ringing around my head for the rest of that night, and then felt compelled to buy an original copy of the film on VHS as soon as possible, which I did.
Since then, I watched
The Director's Cut on it's cinema release, bought the widescreen VHS release, bought the Vangelis soundtrack CD, then watched the DC again on the big screen at a 1994 one day special screening, and then one more time in 1997/98 at a Stella Artois outdoor screening, appropriately an evening screening in torrential rain!!!
Then there was the DC on DVD, which was a huge disappointment as the picture looked pretty awful on it, plus a complete dearth of Special Features. Then in 2000, I watched the film for the last time prior to the
Final Cut release, when the DC was screened on Channel 4 alongside the
On The Edge Of Blade Runner documentary.
Then, upon hearing of the theatrical release of the
Final Cut, I was so glad to have not watched the film for so long. Going to see the
Final Cut after 7 years of BR starvation would hopefully help the film seem much more fresh to me as I'd practically watched the film to death in the 80s and 90s. Gladly, this turned out to be the case and the
Final Cut, despite very few changes to the DC, blew me away.
Then came the 5 disc DVD box set shortly afterwards, which was an absolute dream come true. A true joy to revisit this film I love so much and with absolutely tons of superb special features, not to mention finally seeing the
Workprint for the first time, plus finally a DVD copy of my beloved original 82 theatrical version. It dawned on me that this film was quite simply never gonna leave me, I seem to be completely unable to tire of it. Even in this age of prevalent CGI, the beauty of BR absolutely refuses to die, and it was so satisfying to see that visually BR still wipes the floor with pretty much any other film I've ever seen, and I'm pretty sure it will continue to do so.
C.H wrote:What is it about Blade Runner that keeps your interest?
Well, after such a long answer to the first question, I'll keep this one short: Absolutely everything. It's a meticulously crafted masterpiece on pretty much every level. The level of detail visually is probably the frontrunner in answering this question, though I still love everything else about the film immensely.
C.H wrote:Whats your reaction to the Blade Runner final cut?
Loved it. In my head, I love every single version of BR, though my heart prefers the original 82 theatrical release. Actually, maybe my head does too, I'm still not sure. There are very minute pros and cons in comparing each version of the film, though the one clear fact is that I do love every version.
C.H wrote:Are you satisfied with the five disc collectors edition?
Immensely, as detailed above. It would be tough to ask for anything more, though a complete version of the film incorporating all of the deleted stuff would have made a nice sixth disc, even though the deleted stuff is a bit hit and miss. It would still be another version to obsess over once my latest BR frenzy has slowed down. Though I have to say that the near-simultaneous release of the Vangelis 3CD soundtrack was a bit disappointing. There still seems to be music being held back for some unknown reason.
To end on a high note though, the DVD package was awesome and the people involved in putting it together have brought me hours of endless satisfaction for which I can't even begin to thank them. A truly fantastic job all round.
"All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die".
Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:35 pm 
please don't move
someWHERE around 15 years ago on cable i think/the life of the movie/memories of green/ i have the four ,excuse me may I ask a question.. what's the work print like?, ..like to know myself if it includes the deleted scenes , the 1st hospital scene, and scene where deck gets out of his car to go up to his appartment.
) is a great enhancement for study the detail in a manner impossible with previous ones. The changes and additions, well, I'm happy with them, for now. I wanna study it deeper.
