Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Blu-ray Review)

  • Reviewed by: Bill Hunt
  • Review Date: Mar 05, 2015
  • Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Blu-ray Review)

Director

Ridley Scott

Release Date(s)

1982/1992/2007 (original BD release December 18, 2007)

Studio(s)

The Ladd Company/The Blade Runner Partnership (Warner Bros.)
  • Film/Program Grade: See Below
  • Video Grade: See Below
  • Audio Grade: See Below
  • Extras Grade: A+
  • Overall Grade: A+

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (5-disc Blu-ray)

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Review

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Available Blu-ray Versions & Packaging (2007)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut is available on December 18th, 2007 in two versions on Blu-ray Disc. The details of each are as follows...

Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Disc – standard blue plastic BD case)

Includes all five discs. Disc One – The Final Cut, Disc Three – Archival Versions and Disc Five – Workprint are all presented in 1080p high-definition video on Blu-ray Disc format. Disc Two – Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner and Disc Four – Enhancement Archive are both included in standard-definition on DVD. SRP is $39.99.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (5-disc Blu-ray)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Disc – Briefcase)

Includes all five discs. Disc One – The Final Cut, Disc Three – Archival Versions and Disc Five – Workprint are all presented in 1080p high-definition video on Blu-ray Disc format. Disc Two – Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner and Disc Four – Enhancement Archive are both included in standard-definition on DVD. All the discs come in collectable “briefcase” packaging, with additional swag items (see details below). SRP is $99.98.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Disc – Briefcase)

The Blu-ray Disc Five-Disc Complete Collector’s Edition comes in a multi-disc versions of the usual blue plastic case used for the format. It includes an insert booklet.

The packaging for the Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition is very cool. The plastic case is a replica of Deckard’s Voight-Kampf machine briefcase from the film. When you trip the latches and open it, you’ll find that the lid holds a black file folder containing eight large cards with production artwork from the film (Syd Mead pre-production sketches, storyboard artwork, etc). Also in the lid, in its own plastic pouch, are two pieces of clear Lucite (attached magnetically) containing a lenticular-motion image from the film – a shot of Deckard raising his gun outside his apartment at the end of the film. You can view the clip either inside the Lucite or removed, but the Lucite stands, allowing you to display the image nicely on your desktop or shelf. The bottom half of the case is covered with a clear plastic sheet, on which is printed a signed letter from Ridley Scott (explaining how and why The Final Cut was created) as well as one of his own ‘Ridleygram’ drawings (of Deckard in his apartment). Lifting the sheet up, you’ll find a padded foam enclosure underneath, containing the Digipack for the actual movie discs (complete with an insert booklet listing all the features on the discs). Also included here are a pair of cool swag items. The first is a silvery plastic replica of Gaff’s unicorn origami from the end of the film – it stands about 2 ½ inches tall. The other is a 4-inch long plastic replica of the Police Spinner vehicle, complete with accurate markings and doors that swing open vertically.

Here’s a look at the complete contents of the case (this is the DVD version pictured here, but the BD version simply includes the discs in the standard blue BD case rather than a DVD Digipack)...

Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition contents

And here’s a closer look at the replica unicorn origami and Spinner...

The replica unicorn origami and Spinner.

Each briefcase is individually numbered via a sticker on the bottom of the case. All in all, it’s an incredibly cool presentation. Warner really went the extra mile for fans of the film, and it’s certainly appreciated.

By the way, if you’re the kind of fan who loves Blade Runner enough to have actually read all the way through this review, I’d like to take a moment to recommend a couple of other things that might interest you. The first is Paul M. Sammon’s excellent book Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, which is available now. There’s also a new 3-disc Blade Runner Trilogy: 25th Anniversary CD soundtrack release coming the same day the Blu-rays street, featuring the complete remastered Vangelis score as well as new music he’s created that was inspired by the film. It’s worth a look.

 

Available Blu-ray Versions & Packaging (post-2007)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut was re-issued on Blu-ray on October 23rd, 2012 in a 4-disc box set and again on July 2nd, 2013 as a 3-disc BD Book edition. The details are as follows...

Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (4-disc Blu-ray Disc box set)

Includes four discs. Disc One – The Final Cut, Disc Two – Archival Versions , and Disc Three – Workprint and Special Features are all Blu-ray Discs. Disc Three combines all the content from the original Discs Two, Four and Five from the 2007 release, though the video material originally released on DVD is still only in standard definition. However, this disc does add the various image galleries (including a Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Cover Gallery, The Art of Blade Runner, a Unit Photography Gallery and a Marketing & Merchandise Gallery) that were missing from the 2007 release and they are presented in HD. The Workprint remains in HD and also now includes English 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio. Meanwhile, Disc Four is simply a DVD version of The Final Cut. All the discs come in a standard Blu-ray case, in a larger cardboard box packaging, with additional swag items. These include a 72-page hardback photo book (including The Art of Blade Runner and Blade Runner: From the Archives), a different replica Spinner from the 2007 briefcase set, and a lenticular art card. You also get access to a Digital Copy version of The Final Cut. SRP is $79.99. Here’s the cover art (left), the outer box (right) and a look at the contents (below)…

                                Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Blu-ray Disc box)     Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Blu-ray Disc box)

Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Blu-ray Disc box)

 

Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (3-disc Blu-ray book edition)

Includes three discs. Disc One – The Final Cut, Disc Two – Archival Versions , and Disc Three – Workprint and Special Features are all Blu-ray Discs. Disc Three combines all the content from the original Discs Two, Four and Five from the 2007 release, though the video material originally released on DVD is still only in standard definition. However, this disc does add the various image galleries (including a Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Cover Gallery, The Art of Blade Runner, a Unit Photography Gallery and a Marketing & Merchandise Gallery) that were missing from the 2007 release and they are presented in HD. The Workprint remains in HD and also now includes English 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio. All the discs come packaged in a 36-page Blu-ray photo book (including The Art of Blade Runner). SRP is $19.98. Here’s the cover art and a look at the contents…

Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Blu-ray Book edition)

 

Conclusion

The Final Cut is a breathtaking experience – truly the ultimate version of a classic. It offers one of the most fully-realized fictional worlds you’ll ever seen on screen, and its vision is even more relevant today than it was back in 1982. As for these discs, well... this special edition was an awfully long time coming, but I’m happy to say it’s been worth the wait. I haven’t had this much fun in my home theater since the Alien Quadrilogy or The Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions.

Simply put, Blade Runner: The Final Cut is the must-have Blu-ray release of the year and is destined to become one of the best-ever releases on the format. It delivers everything we love about the thoughtful, hand-crafted approach to creating special editions – the kind made for enthusiasts by enthusiasts – and brings that level of quality and comprehensiveness to the high-definition arena for the first time. Best of all, it does this without resorting to gimmicky pop-ups, picture-in-picture and other interactive trickery. There’s a lesson to be learned there. Everyone involved in this effort should be extremely proud. It’s the kind of release we live for. It deserves, and receives, our highest recommendation.

- Bill Hunt

 

March 2015 Postscript

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (poster by Drew Struzan)With all the recent breaking news that a sequel to Blade Runner is in the works, apparently set to see the return of Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard and (currently) due to be directed by Denis Villeneuve of Prisoners and Enemy fame, I thought it worth adding a couple of additional notes here about the possibility of yet another future and likely Blu-ray re-issue of the above material from Warner.

Producer Charles de Lauzirika has told me that he does indeed have additional special edition material that could be included in such a release, some of it already produced and some that could be created from scratch from the interviews and archival material he already has in hand. This includes an existing but as-yet-unseen featurette on the Spinner vehicles in the film. It’s also worth noting that his outstanding Dangerous Days documentary was originally produced in full high-definition but has never been seen that way. So that could be upgraded to HD for a future Blu-ray release as well. And no doubt Warner Bros. could create a bounty of new swag items for inclusion in a future box set.

In any case, it’s virtually certain that when the Blade Runner sequel finally emerges, possibly in 2016, Warner will release a new and still more comprehensive Blu-ray edition of Blade Runner: The Final Cut, including all the previously released special features, with complete HD upgrades and new material too. Until such time, however, the existing BD sets remain among the best special edition releases ever produced. They are must-own titles for any fan of the film or the Blu-ray format.