December 2007 Archives

The new Ultimate Collector’s Edition of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) arrived at my mail room yesterday, the day that it was released (thank you, amazon.com). Packaged in a “Rick Decard briefcase” (a replica of the case in which Deckard carries his Voigt-Kampff equipment), the set includes five discs. Disc one is a new and improved director’s cut that Scott calls his “favorite version of the film.” Disc two is a new documentary called “Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner,” while the third disc offers three “archival versions” of the film: the U.S. theatrical cut and the International Theatrical cut, both released in 1982, and the director’s cut released ten years later.The fourth disc is a potpourri of ancillary materials about the making and marketing of the film.

Most unusual, and available only in this edition, is the fifth disc, which features the so-called “Workprint” version of the film that was shown to preview audiences in Denver and Dallas. It was the mixed reactions to the "Workprint" at those sneak previews that led the producers to make two controversial additions to the theatrical releases: a voice-over by Harrison Ford, who plays the film's protagonist, and a happy ending featuring an escape to the green north.