Rent Blade Runner (1982)

Ultimate edition - Blade Runner review by CP Customer

Be thankful that is is the 2 disc edition, for those who really wanted to experience everything Blade Runner, a five disc edition does exist! You can debate which version is the best, as there are subtle changes. The final cut allowed Ripley to go back and amend some of the errors/oversights of previous editions, thanks to advances in special effects. The window sequence for instance now looks superb. Blade Runner is a classic is many senses as it marked the high point of model techniques, nowadays everything is computer based. The documentary just confirms how much work and effort went into creating this inspiring and influential world. I should also highlight Dangerous Days, which is a film in itself. Watch it after the film, then return to another version of Blade Runner. It increases your appreciation of this classic tenfold.

Good Candidate for the Best Sci-fi. - Blade Runner review by Steve

Ridley Scott's intelligent fusion of Philip K Dick and Metropolis is an all round triumph, visually, emotionally and intellectually. The sets and models are marvellous. But, as well as the superb visuals, there is a very moving human story.

So dark, not in the artistic sense ! - Blade Runner review by AS

Heard this was a great film, visually it was impressive and the music was very atmospheric. But the whole thing took place in the dark and rain......we gave it 45 minutes and then felt so depressed and longing for some light, we gave up. Neither of us cared about the characters or hat the ending was.

same as - Blade Runner review by CP Customer

sorry but how many times can a director 'play about' and make us watch a newwer version.

the first was ace, the voiceover version ??not good.

this version is simular to the first original,and better for that,a few scenes added??which??

a great film,but why mess???make more money???

you expect more when they go to all this effort!

A deeply disturbing & engrossing, if cold, look into a dystopian future (Final Cut reviewed) - Blade Runner review by Timmy B

Blade Runner has become the stuff of such legend that it was surprising that I had never seen it until recently, despite my love of Ridley Scott and his work.

Harrison Ford plays a man called Rick Deckard, a human and Blade Runner, who is in charge of patrolling Los Angeles, looking for replicants and terminating them. He then is informed of 4 such beings who he needs to hunt down and "retire" from this world.

The film itself, whilst it is an engrossing & visually incredible film, is also extremely monotonous at times. It is a very cold film, which I absolutely appreciate is the point. But at times it does make the narrative and the watching quite impenetrable.

Harrison Ford is great as Deckard, plus Daryl Hannah also makes a strong impression, alongside Rutgar Hauer.

I do have to mention that I am not a massive sci-fi fan, so in many ways a lot of the content will be lost on me. But there was certainly a lot to enjoy and I also appreciate the huge influence it had on many other films following it.

Not to be missed - Blade Runner review by PM

I'm not into all the different versions of this film, I saw it at the cinema when it first came out, and wanted to see it again. This version is definitely not quite the same, but it has all the classic ingredients..the sparing dialogue, the mysterious plot development, and above all, for me, the staggeringly brilliant soundtrack by Vangelis, which created not only the mood of the film, but of a spirit of film making that still endures to this day.

Key Masterpiece - Blade Runner review by GI

Tremendously influential it is a surprise that this was basically a box office failure and yet it has had volumes of study applied to it and it's style, vision and ideas continue to be seen in films today. Richly detailed and with a unique vision of a future world (although it's actually set in 2019) this is a film that continues to reveal more details and is open to ever more interesting critical analysis on each viewing. Having seen it many, many times I still find something new every time. Set in a dystopian mega sized Los Angeles with a heady mix of cultures, fashions and styles and where the Earth has become so polluted that the rich and healthy have fled to 'off-world colonies'. All animal life is more or less extinct but advances in genetic construction have allowed very expensive artificial animals to be designed and made including humanoid type ones called replicants, they have become so advanced they are virtually indistinguishable from humans. These are used as slave labour in the colonisation of other worlds and are illegal on Earth and any found are killed by special police units. When a group of replicants find their way to Earth Deckard (Harrison Ford) is assigned to hunt them down. The philosophical concept of 'I think therefore I am' is a key theme here as the film looks at what makes us human. Ford's character struggles with the role of executioner in a world where his boss, in a form of post-modern racism refers to the replicants as 'skin jobs'. As such it poses the question of who is morally stronger, humans or the artificial replicants. Scott creates a world here that takes a few viewings to really grasp it's complexities and the trespassing replicants are wonderful constructions exhibiting high intelligence and yet are emotionally child like. It really is a film of such intellect and creativity it's a modern day masterpiece and is unsurpassed in the science fiction genre. Rutger Hauer as the leader of the replicants is an iconic movie character and has the best lines ("All those moments will be lost...in time...like tears in rain"). There are various versions of this film out there from the initial Theatrical Cut, which has a narration voiceover (added later by the producers) and a tacked on ending, a so called International Cut (essentially a version released in Europe), a Director's Cut (which isn't really as Scott had nothing to do with it) and in 2007 came a Final Cut. This last is the one to watch, Scott was given the opportunity to tidy up some effects and to cut the film as he intended. It is this version that is the more fulfilling film and it helps to answer the vexing questions that the film asks and huge debates still linger around the stars of the Dockyard character. A key dream sequence links neatly with the final moments of the film to reveal a key plot point. A significant and important film, a masterpiece and a film to savour over and over. If by some slim chance you've not seen this then it's a must.