 Five-Disc Ultimate Complete Collector's Edition Tagline: A chilling, bold, mesmerizing, futuristic detective thriller. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) prowls the steel-and-microchip jungle of 21st-century Los Angeles. He's a Blade Runner stalking genetically made criminal replicants. His assignment: kill them. Their crime: wanting to be human. The story of Blade Runner is familiar to countless fans, but few have seen it like this. Because this is director Ridley Scott's own vision of his sci-fi classic. This new version omits Deckard's voiceover narration, develops in slightly greater detail the romance between Deckard and Rachael (Sean Young) and removes the "uplifting" finale. The result is a heightened emotional impact: a great film made greater. Most intriguing of all is a newly included unicorn vision that suggests Deckard may be a humanoid. Do Androids dream of electric sheep? Is Deckard a replicant? As with all things in the future, you must discover the answer for yourself. Storyline: In a cyberpunk vision of the future, man has developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specializes in terminating replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when four replicants escape from an off-world colony to Earth. Written by Graeme Roy Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Ben Williams on December 31, 2007 -- Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is such an important piece of film history, that it almost speaks for itself whenever being mentioned. The film has sparked so many imitators and has influenced such a wide variety of filmmakers, that it is the very embodiment of a true film classic. That fact is an amazing development for a film that was, by most every opinion of the time, a complete and total failure theatrically. Throughout the years, the film has also generated a fair bit on controversy with its ambiguous storytelling, rumored cut scenes, graphic violence and multiple versions and home video releases. There was the "Domestic Cut," the more violent "International Version," the studio edited "Director's Cut" and even a strange "Workprint" edition that mysteriously showed up at a film festival in the early nineties. All of the versions have their own strengths and weaknesses, but the newly edited, cleaned up and reworked "Final Cut" is now here for the entire world as Mr. Scott's definitive edition. Blade Runner is set in a dystopian future where synthetic humans, known as Replicants, are used as slave labor on off-Earth colonies. Since Replicants are as intelligent as the scientists who created them, they tend to develop their own special brand of emotions after a few years of life. Replicant emotions tend to veer towards violence and anger. As a precaution, Replicants are given a four year life span. The hope is, that they will die naturally before they start to develop these stunted emotions. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case and the events of Blade Runner revolve around a group of four renegade Replicants who make their way back to Earth and seek their creators within the giant Tyrell corporation. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, a special brand of police officer, a Blade Runner to be more specific, assigned to the duty of killing any Replicants who make it back to Earth. All is not right with Deckard, however, and this latest assignment might be his last. Blade Runner succeeds for me as a film on a number of different levels. Initially, I was taken with the film's amazing production design. The world of Blade Runner is about as intricately developed as any film yet imagined. Every nook and cranny is spilling over with set detail of striking, retro-futuristic design. The film's many shots of the future cityscape of Los Angeles, complete with fire-spewing smoke stacks and enough smog to choke a two pack a day smoker, definitely set an intense mood for the film. Everything about Blade Runner feels lived in and completely feasible. It's a remarkable accomplishment and the film's effects still pack an intensely realistic punch to this day. That's more than can be said for just about any other film made in 1982. Additionally, the film's story is the stuff of sci-fi dreams. Based on the book, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner is deep, moving, occasionally scary and will stick with you for days. This is science fiction that answers questions and doesn't exist to simply look cool or to be an excuse for blowing things up. Blade Runner certainly does have it's action oriented side and there is quite a bit of intense violence, but it all exists to serve the story and is never tacked on gratuitously. Roy (Rutger Hauer), the film's chief antagonist and leader of the wayward Replicants, gives an incredibly moving speech towards the end of the film that is about as close to Shakespearian as one will ever find in a science fiction film. These villains and heroes are complex characters and don't exist simply to be "bad" or "good". Finally, the music of Blade Runner is also a remarkable thing to behold. Vangelis has created a stunningly futuristic score that harkens back to romance pictures of the forties as much as is calls out to the future. If you've never heard this soundtrack to Blade Runner before, you are in for a real treat. This Blu-ray edition includes all five versions of Blade Runner. I'll leave it up to the viewer to decide which version of the film is the best, but they all have something to offer. For those of you new to the film, you might start by watching the newest "Final" cut and then work you way back to the original versions. The film's original domestic cut, with its tacked on narration and happy ending, will surely be a surprise if you've seen the "Final" version first. Rest assured, however, that despite any complaints from fans about early cuts of Blade Runner, the film in its original form is still powerful and nothing short of exceptional. Would we still be going over Blade Runner with a fine-toothed comb 25 years later, otherwise? This phenomenal Blade Runner set from Warner on Blu-ray sets the new standard for comprehensive special editions. Featuring five completely different cuts of the film, stellar audio and video and the most comprehensive set of extras ever assembled for a Blu-ray release, Warner has left no stone unturned. First time viewers of the film will be treated to one of the great science fiction epics of film history and will get to enjoy seeing the film progress in its various edits over the years. Long time Blade Runner fans will surely be thrilled to see Mr. Scott's definitive version of the film along with the long talked about "Workprint" edition of the film. Regardless of your previous experience with Blade Runner, this new five disc set should be required viewing by all Blu-ray fans around the world. Blade Runner on Blu-ray earns my absolute highest recommendation! Cast Notes: Harrison Ford (Rick Deckard), Rutger Hauer (Roy Batty), Sean Young (Rachael), Edward James Olmos (Gaff), M. Emmet Walsh (Bryant), Daryl Hannah (Pris), William Sanderson (J.F. Sebastian), Brion James (Leon), Joe Turkel (Eldon Tyrell), Joanna Cassidy (Zhora), James Hong (Hannibal Chew, Eyemaker), Morgan Paull (Holden), Kevin Thompson [II] (Bear), John Edward Allen (Kaiser), Hy Pyke (Taffey Lewis). IMDb Rating (07/24/14): 8.2/10 from 363,605 users Top 250: #133 IMDb Rating (08/24/08): 8.3/10 from 142,977 users Top 250: #103
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