Trees wrote:
Hilarious. Yorkin comes off like some shitbag producer straight out of central casting in "Dangerous Days: Making of Blade Runner". Imagine if Yorkin had cut the film! He's complaining about the VO, but it was Yorkin and Perenchio who insisted on the VO in the first place, when Scott and Ford and everyone else were against it. Ford purposefully did a terrible job on the VO so that it could not be used, but they used it anyway!
When I first heard the initial VO attempts - and there was a bit of it still toward the end after Batty's death - I maintained that that was the correct way if VO was going to be used. The big problem I have with the VO they ended up using for the initial 1982 theatrical release is that it belongs not only in another movie but for another character. The VO sounds way too confident and too cocky* and there's nothing really in the film that justifies Deckard sounding like that, even Deckard biting back at Bryan or him bluntly telling Rachel she's really a replicant. Then there's the final VO for Batty's death, which sounds *way* too OTN (Frank Darabont described it best). This also indicates that the VO was initially thought of as fulfilling stylistic convention rather than serving another purpose (Scott's initial frustration with it; Ford's disgust of it).
*Now I'm hearing Han Solo in my end. That's what I get for talking about Harrison Ford's acting oeuvre =D
Trees wrote:
I have always loved "Blade Runner", but my love of the movie has grown with each new viewing. Also, once I learned the back story of how the film was made, and all the turmoil and hell Scott had to go through to get the picture made, my appreciation grew even more. It is now in my top 10 films.
For me, the first 23 minutes or so of "Blade Runner" is some of the finest filmmaking ever. It's a tour de force, in terms of both sound and visuals. Tyrrell's office is a master stroke.
Agreed. This is easily one of my top favourite films.
Trees wrote:
I am very fond of both the DC and the "Final Cut". My only real gripe with the Final Cut is that they got rid of the blue sky at the very end, after Batty's death. I realize that in terms of continuity, the darker sky in FC might be correct, and I do understand that technically the blue sky in the earlier cuts was only caused because a night shoot ran over into the morning, but I always thought of this as a happy accident -- one that gave the ending a glimmer of hope.
I'm also a fan of both the 1992 DC and the 2007 FC. I like the former because it was how I first saw the film from beginning to end (I caught snatches of the 1982 TC/IC when broadcasted for television) and I feel it's more moody/melancholic, especially with the VO absence. And I like the latter's clean-ups of shots that was tastefully done to address the bigger issues while maintaining its original charm (i.e. keeping the continuity error regarding Zhora's shoes). And I even don't mind Batty calling Tyrell "father" as opposed to "fucker" ... and this is what I love about the current home video presentation: you are allowed a choice of viewing. Unlike some other directors: *cough*Lucas*cough*. (Michael Mann is also notorious about putting only his final final cut of something.)
P.S. I'm sure the spoiler tag could be used here and there. But I think potential spoilers of Blade Runner are in the "It Was His Sled" territory =]