Top 100: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1980)
"He say you Brade Ranner"
Based on Phillip K Dick's "do androids dream of electric sheep", Harrison Ford is the Blade Runner, a sort of private detective sent to track down and destroy cyborgs, sorry, Replicants. The replicants in question are Rutger Hauer (fantastically charismatic), Joanna Cassidy, Daryll Hannah and that B-movie guy with the funny face... Brion James, that's the feller. A stunningly beautiful Sean Young also stars. The termBlade Runner is lifted from a William S. Burroughs story.
On the 5 disc complete collector's edition released back in 2007 (Really? Ten fucking years ago?!?) is a U.S "Domestic Cut," a more violent "International Version," the studio edited "Director's Cut" and a "Workprint" edition that mysteriously showed up in the early nineties, it was the sudden availability of the workprint that eventually led to the newly edited, cleaned up and partially reshot "Final Cut", which is now THE Ridley Scott certified definitive edition of all time ever. Scott's always tinkering with his back catalogue, and all FIVE (count 'em) versions of Blade Runner are in this set, making this the definitive release.
Disc 2 (DVD) has the Dangerous Days documentary, a 3 hour 32 minute ride into the story of how the movie came to be, the challenges faced, and all of the incessant squabbling involved between cast & crew. Interesting stuff, but overlong (much like the Blade Runner sequel!)
There are thousands of reviews of Blade Runner on the interweb, so I won't delve deeply into the story, what I will say is the Final cut is the best version here... It's the best looking and sounding of all the versions in this set, which is deliberate. The version I grew up watching was the International version (with Ford's voice over), but that added narration sounds a bit clumsy now... The so-called Director's cut was second release I had on DVD, which was also damn good.. In fact, let's be clear, there aren't too many differences between all the versions. The bulk of the story & all the stunning sets & effects are in all versions, and it all looks remarkable. The Final cut has had the best overhaul (finally removing the Joanna Cassidy/stunt woman mess from the original version - the stunt woman looked nothing like Cassidy! Cassidy was re-shot specifically for this final cut).
The bleak, richly-detailed prduction design, the cast, the Vangelis soundtrack, and the fact that this is an adult sci-fi story, as opposed to the child-friendly Star Wars films and saccharine-sweet E.T (also released in 1982 and is in part attributed to the lack of success of Blade Runner upon original release) make this an extra-special experience.
Whichever version you watch and are most fond of, Blade Runner will remain a superior sci-fi masterpiece. I'm not sure I can find any real fault with it. Top 100 easily.
