*Quietly Goes Spastic In The Corner*
Sweet! I've been waiting for this for more than five years, ever since reading about the legal problems obstructing it. The "Director's Cut" version of Blade Runner was never Ridley Scott's intended version, but was instead slapped together with a few partially added scenes and the cut hokey ending of the US theatrical version. Many parts of it weren't even transferred correctly and are darker than they should, dirty, and wobbly (you can especially see the wobbles in the opening credits sequence). When the director's cut cut was released, it was accompanied by an international theatrical run of yet a different cut of the movie which was closer to Scott's vision but still far from satisfying to him. So far that's three different versions of the film.*
To further complicate matters, the movie went over budget while being filmed and another investor steped in to pick up the slack in return for control over future reproduction and distribution of the movie. He absolutely hated the movie, and barely allowed the director's cut (and only the director's cut) to be released to video. For the longest time the only legally obtainable copy of the movie has been the slightly improved but still sorely lacking Director's Cut, and since it was among the first movies to be released to DVD the DVD quality is sorely lacking by today's standards.
In the late 1990's, Ridley Scott began plans for a "final cut" to be released on DVD bundled with the theatrical and director's cuts, but was stopped by legal battles with the investor. This cut was finished in 2002, but still could not be released. The production company has now gone under and after a fight over rights to the movie, the Final Cut is going for a limited theatrical run followed by a DVD set containing the Final, Director's, international expanded, and original theatrical cut, all remastered, along with other unknown goodies. Words cannot do justice to my excitement. Only arm-flailings will do.
The power just went out here. I need to go find my flashlight. Its small size is useful for storage, but not too useful when it comes to finding it in the dark.
*Actually there are two more sneak preview versions, and the new final cut, so that makes six now.
To further complicate matters, the movie went over budget while being filmed and another investor steped in to pick up the slack in return for control over future reproduction and distribution of the movie. He absolutely hated the movie, and barely allowed the director's cut (and only the director's cut) to be released to video. For the longest time the only legally obtainable copy of the movie has been the slightly improved but still sorely lacking Director's Cut, and since it was among the first movies to be released to DVD the DVD quality is sorely lacking by today's standards.
In the late 1990's, Ridley Scott began plans for a "final cut" to be released on DVD bundled with the theatrical and director's cuts, but was stopped by legal battles with the investor. This cut was finished in 2002, but still could not be released. The production company has now gone under and after a fight over rights to the movie, the Final Cut is going for a limited theatrical run followed by a DVD set containing the Final, Director's, international expanded, and original theatrical cut, all remastered, along with other unknown goodies. Words cannot do justice to my excitement. Only arm-flailings will do.
The power just went out here. I need to go find my flashlight. Its small size is useful for storage, but not too useful when it comes to finding it in the dark.
*Actually there are two more sneak preview versions, and the new final cut, so that makes six now.