Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Really)

We finally got around to seeing this at the Ziegfeld last night, and it was an absolute pleasure to see such a familiar film on the big screen for the first time. However, the Final Cut is the same as the Director's Cut in almost every way. There are extra snippets of footage here and there which don't have much of an impact on the film, and the whole thing has been digitally retouched.

While Syd Mead's special effects were always stunning and have held up brilliantly to the onslaught of CGI, they look mildly better here, and that's all well and good. The real advance is in the sound of the film. Vangelis' score is much more present as are the sound effects. Instead of being a pleasant backdrop to what always looked to us like a totally bitching bachelor pad, the sounds of traffic, blinking signage and constant rain intrude on Deckard's privacy in a way which is much more clearly dystopic.

Given Ridley Scott's repeated assertions that Deckard is a replicant, the biggest fear we had was some tacked on footage to prove the point, but Scott is too good for that. He leaves it at the same deft touches that graced the Director's Cut: Deckard's mildly glowing eyes, his unicorn daydream, and Gaff's origami callout at the end.

The question will always remain, however, that if Deckard is a replicant, why does he get the shit kicked out of him every time he fights one?