Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVD Announced
A long last, we have an official announcement for Warner Home Video’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut, one of the most extensive film restoration projects ever attempted. And if there’s one movie that deserves this kind of treatment, Blade Runner is probably it. Up until now the only version of the movie that was ever available on DVD was a barebones version of the 1992 Director’s Cut, but even that version was not considered Ridley Scott’s true definitive vision of the film. For this new cut, producer Charles de Lauzirika sorted through over 900 boxes of negatives and even supervised some reshoots with Joanna Cassidy and Harrison Ford’s son Ben, to repair a scene at Abdul Al-Assan’s snake shop. The Final Cut will be available in 3 different packages this December, check out the full specs after the jump.
2-Disc Special Edition ($20.97)
Includes:
- audio commentary by Ridley Scott
- audio commentary by screenwriters and producers
- audio commentary by visual futurist Syd Mead, art directors and effects supervisors
- feature length documentary
4-Disc Collector’s Edition ($34.99)
All of the above plus:
- 3 previous versions of the film: 1982 Theatrical Version, 1982 International Version, 1992 Directors Cut
- The Electric Dreamer: Remembering Philip K. Dick featurette
- Sacrificial Sheep: The Novel vs. The Film featurette
- Philip K. Dick: The Blade Runner Interviews (Audio)
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Cover Gallery
- Image galleries, featurettes on graphic design and wardrobe and styling
- Screen Tests: Rachel & Pris
- The Light That Burns: Remembering Jordan Cronenweth featurette
- Unit Photography Gallery
- Deleted & Alternate Scenes
- 1982 Promotional Featurette
- Trailers and TV spots
- Promoting Dystopia: Rendering the Poster Art feature
- Marketing & Merchandise Gallery
- Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard featurette
- Nexus Generation: Fans & Filmmakers featurette
5-Disc Ultimate Edition ($78.92)
All of the above plus:
- the legendary Workprint version of the film
- audio commentary by Paul M. Sammon, author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner
- All Our Variant Futures: From Workprint to Final Cut featurette
- Rick Deckard’s briefcase packaging
- lenticular motion film clip from the original feature
- miniature origami unicorn figurine
- miniature replica spinner car
- collector’s photographs
- signed personal letter from Sir Ridley Scott.
- also available in HD-DVD and Blu-ray
Phew, now that, my friends, is a true Ultimate Edition! All of these DVDs will hit stores on December 18th, when fans will once again get to argue over which version is their favourite. Are you a Blade Runner fan? Will you be buying this?
Check out a trailer for Blade Runner: The Final Cut here.
Comments (5)
Hells yeah, been waiting a long long while for this. I hope it’s not cut to be like a modern day sci fi film.
Posted by Bryan on July 26th, 2007I’ll say awesome. This is probably one of my favorites, certainly the sort of sci-fi/neo-noir style I like but damn it looks like quite a lot of stuff. I’ll wait for the ashes to clear on this one. Hopefully you guys at film junk can do a review of what you think about this definitive edition thingy when it comes out?
Posted by Ian on July 26th, 2007Hey Ian, I’m not the biggest Blade Runner fan but I’m definitely looking forward to this release. I don’t know if I see myself forking out for the Ultimate Edition but I think the 4-disc one looks reasonable and I’m sure I’ll give my thoughts on it. Maybe we can talk about this in the same way we discussed the Superman II: Richard Donner Cut on the podcast a while back.
Posted by Sean on July 26th, 2007I just hope this really will be the definitive edition.
Posted by TheSnowLeopard on July 26th, 2007I have been waiting for this release forever. I just pre-ordered my copy of the 5-Disc Ultimate Edition. I cannot wait to see the work print version of the film.
Posted by Glenn on July 27th, 2007Leave a Reply