Review: Theatrical Cut of Blade Runner

Blade Runner (Theatrical Cut) (1982):

Synopsis – Decker is a former police officer who specialized in the “retirement” of replicants (androids). Having retired himself, he is once again drawn into work when 4 special replicants appear on planet Earth and begins causing havoc in Neo-Los Angeles.

Starring – Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, everyone in this movie is a star as far as I'm concerned.

Why does Blade Runner have such a special place in my heart? It’s not like I watched it as a kid. I am pretty sure I saw the movie for the first time in my 20s. There is a burning coal smoldering constantly in my film lover’s soul, and occasionally the flames are fanned into a blaze that leaps out of me at the mere mention of a film. Examples of this would occur for movies like The Celebration (1998) or Inside Llwewyn Davis (2013). Blade Runner has almost the opposite effect for me. Thinking about, watching or talking about Blade Runner has a cooling effect on my spirit. It brings a peace of mind and body, returning me to the wonderment of a child and leaving me vulnerable. I keep my love for it hidden, and when I find some else who also loves it, I still do not let them in entirely to see how I really feel. Blade Runner is my secret happiness. It is the perfect film for me.

This time around I watched the Theatrical Cut of the movie, which I had never seen before. If there was one thing that could have ruined this movie for me, it would have been if this was the only version of the film. Thank God for director’s cuts!

What I Liked:

Listen, a breakdown of this movie is not going to go well for me. You want to what I liked? EVERYTHING. But, everything as a singular subject has equal parts perfection and imperfection. It all becomes perfect to me as a whole. So let me see what I can do.

-I ran a funny little poll recently on Facebook. The question was about whom was the more alluring figure: Sting from the movie Dune or Rutger Hauer from this movie. 100 percent of the answers were Rutger Hauer, and if you have watched the movie you know why. The man positively oozes virility, even when he is at his craziest.

-I read a criticism that the movie doesn’t have a plot, it’s just a series of events that happen. If anything, this film might have too many plots! I would love a full movie about any of them. The story of Decker, the story of the inventor of the replicants, the story of the replicants themselves, the story of the doll maker, the story of Neo-Los Angeles. So many tales that intertwine into the perfectness that is this movie.

-One of the things that used to bother me about the movie was a specific scene, where Decker is aggressive with a woman under duress, taking advantage of her. While this is still a completely sexist and somewhat uncomfortable scene, I now know this is a troupe of film noir. Bogart did it, Mitchem did it, and now I know why Ford did it.

What I Didn’t Like:

-nothing falls into this category. However…

What I Hated:

-As I said earlier, this time I watched the Theatrical Cut of the movie. If this had been the only version ever produced, I don’t think I would love it nearly as much. The voice over by Harrison Ford in the Theatrical Cut is ATROCIOUS. It was as if Ford was sitting in the room with me, and every once in a while he lifted up a microphone and commented on what was going on onscreen. His voice came in from a different universe, and all of a sudden I wasn’t watching my favorite masterpiece, but something more amateurish and stumbling. It was a violation to my senses, and honestly offensive to me. Thank God it goes away for the most part at the midpoint, only to rocket back at the slapped on alternate ending.

Verdict:

I have said my piece, so you know how I feel about the movie. I love it through and through, and it has never let me down. I’d say that if you have never seen the movie before, don’t watch the Theatrical Cut. Watch the Director’s or the Final Cut.