The Blade Runner five-disc complete collectors edition that comes shaped like Rick Deckard's Voight-Kampff suitcase contains all five known versions of the Ridley Scott classic: US theatrical, International Theatrical, Directors cut (all on disc 3), the work-print (disc 5) and the Final Cut (d-1) as well as the Dangerous Days documentary (d-2) and a plethora of extras on the 'Enhancement Archive' (d-4). But - and this is a big but - there is yet another to be found inside this Archive: a TV episode length version made up out of alternate takes, deleted scenes and almost wall to wall discarded voice-overs. Whether you look at it a companion to the Final Cut, or the anti-directors cut, this sixth version of BR has instantly become this reviewers favorite version.
For starters, the film now opens with stunning 'Tears in the Rain' opening titles featuring giant raindrops falling in tune to Vangelis' score with some nifty sound effects for each one that hits bottom, exploding with a splash. We are then immediately introduced to Harrison Ford's character who's narration fills in the gaps in the story (most of the action and death scenes occur off-screen). He fills us in on his replacement Holden getting wasted and his own wife leaving him for a rich guy off world. Now people who like to complain about the narration in the original version are obviously going to hate BR:D+AS (or version #6), but viewers like me who were introduced to the film by way of the Marvel Comics Super Special (which used quite a bit of the original, deleted narration by Fancher & Peoples) will love the extra pieces of information we get from Rick's inner monologue.
In fact, this time around the V.O. is so all encompassing, it hardly lets any other character get a word in edge ways. It is through Deckard's eyes we meet smart-ass Gaff & under qualified Bryant, head of the Blade Runner unit with his particularly blue point of view. Ricky D. then visits his colleague Dave Holden, now on life support and re-reading Treasure Island for the umpteenth time. Not entirely unsurprisingly, Holden turns out to have the foulest mouth in all of L.A. 2019. Deck then goes over his skin-job prey by going through the Rep detect file while Gaff flies his Spinner around town (passing the Coca Cola billboard several times). The Gaffer & R.D. actually spend a lot more time together in this version. First they visit Tyrell's pyramid to test Rachael (who's no zero-zero-zero), then they go to Leon Kowalski's hotel room at 1187 Hunterwasser, combing it extensively before Harrison's double Vic Armstrong finds the all important flake in the tub. In rather a startling twist, Leon appears in the house moments after the pair of 'Bleib Ruhig' leave, finding Gaff's origami but not the pictures he came for. He then rendezvous with Roy Batty outside the Vid-Phon booth before they check out Chew's specialty (off-screen of course).
Meanwhile, oddball genius J.F Sebastian meets Pris, who in this alternate footage does not break the window of his Armadillo van as she pretends to flee. At his Frank Lloyd Wright home Decky immerses himself in his own memories and those of the Andies (another word for Replicants) Note the film zooms in on the actual pictures instead of the ones we see on the ESPER screen. Same thing for the close-ups of the snake-skin after RD has some food for thought (he's more obsessed with eating in this version than any previous one). Many new angles are used on the street of bad dreams (including those hockey-masked bikini babes) as Rick heads for Taffy Lewis' place. There he gets a useful tip from the normally uncooperative bartender: use your badge as a backstage pass to talk to the Sexies. We jump-cut to the Zhora's death, followed by Rick taking a distressed Rachael home (making it seem like she's upset about the snake-dancer instead of Leon). Still, heartless private dick Deck insists on getting some food for himself first with a snippet of The Ink Spots' "If I Didn't Care" playing in the background. During his extended washing up scene, the Bureaucratic Exterminator pulls a disgusting piece of bloody cotton from his nostril (he applied it there on the way home) and we get a better understanding of his conflicted emotions concerning the fugitive he's harboring, as well as a lot of longing on her part. This all leads to the more explicit and less brutal love scene between Rick and Rachael. In another intriguing twist, we witness Gaff and Bryant spying on Deck during his second visit to Holden, who suspects his successor had sex with 'washing machine' Zhora.
Roy's murder of 'father' again happens off screen, though he is clearly heard to say the f-word (missing in the Final Cut). Instead, we focus on Batty having a breakdown in the lift crying for his mommy while clutching Sebastian's coat - which proves J.F. is also pushing up daisies, making it harder for Batty to bypass the Tyrell Security protocol than it was on the way in. Ripe to be added to the list of beloved goofs is the scene after Deckard has to proved his identity to a Spinner cop, when not only the wires pulling up the vehicle are visible, but also the cable hoisting the entire thing up. Again we skip all the action stuff and go straight to Batty's final soliloquy, followed by the only piece of narration that made it into the Workprint. Of course the inclusion of the V.O. is almost synonymous with the infamous happy ending, so naturally it is included here - in two different versions! First Ric-a-Dic explains he's taking his beloved Andy up the old Richter route past the mountains. After the fade out Rachael concludes the pair of them were 'made for each other'. There's another Deck-a-Rep clue if ever I heard one.
10 out of 10
For starters, the film now opens with stunning 'Tears in the Rain' opening titles featuring giant raindrops falling in tune to Vangelis' score with some nifty sound effects for each one that hits bottom, exploding with a splash. We are then immediately introduced to Harrison Ford's character who's narration fills in the gaps in the story (most of the action and death scenes occur off-screen). He fills us in on his replacement Holden getting wasted and his own wife leaving him for a rich guy off world. Now people who like to complain about the narration in the original version are obviously going to hate BR:D+AS (or version #6), but viewers like me who were introduced to the film by way of the Marvel Comics Super Special (which used quite a bit of the original, deleted narration by Fancher & Peoples) will love the extra pieces of information we get from Rick's inner monologue.
In fact, this time around the V.O. is so all encompassing, it hardly lets any other character get a word in edge ways. It is through Deckard's eyes we meet smart-ass Gaff & under qualified Bryant, head of the Blade Runner unit with his particularly blue point of view. Ricky D. then visits his colleague Dave Holden, now on life support and re-reading Treasure Island for the umpteenth time. Not entirely unsurprisingly, Holden turns out to have the foulest mouth in all of L.A. 2019. Deck then goes over his skin-job prey by going through the Rep detect file while Gaff flies his Spinner around town (passing the Coca Cola billboard several times). The Gaffer & R.D. actually spend a lot more time together in this version. First they visit Tyrell's pyramid to test Rachael (who's no zero-zero-zero), then they go to Leon Kowalski's hotel room at 1187 Hunterwasser, combing it extensively before Harrison's double Vic Armstrong finds the all important flake in the tub. In rather a startling twist, Leon appears in the house moments after the pair of 'Bleib Ruhig' leave, finding Gaff's origami but not the pictures he came for. He then rendezvous with Roy Batty outside the Vid-Phon booth before they check out Chew's specialty (off-screen of course).
Meanwhile, oddball genius J.F Sebastian meets Pris, who in this alternate footage does not break the window of his Armadillo van as she pretends to flee. At his Frank Lloyd Wright home Decky immerses himself in his own memories and those of the Andies (another word for Replicants) Note the film zooms in on the actual pictures instead of the ones we see on the ESPER screen. Same thing for the close-ups of the snake-skin after RD has some food for thought (he's more obsessed with eating in this version than any previous one). Many new angles are used on the street of bad dreams (including those hockey-masked bikini babes) as Rick heads for Taffy Lewis' place. There he gets a useful tip from the normally uncooperative bartender: use your badge as a backstage pass to talk to the Sexies. We jump-cut to the Zhora's death, followed by Rick taking a distressed Rachael home (making it seem like she's upset about the snake-dancer instead of Leon). Still, heartless private dick Deck insists on getting some food for himself first with a snippet of The Ink Spots' "If I Didn't Care" playing in the background. During his extended washing up scene, the Bureaucratic Exterminator pulls a disgusting piece of bloody cotton from his nostril (he applied it there on the way home) and we get a better understanding of his conflicted emotions concerning the fugitive he's harboring, as well as a lot of longing on her part. This all leads to the more explicit and less brutal love scene between Rick and Rachael. In another intriguing twist, we witness Gaff and Bryant spying on Deck during his second visit to Holden, who suspects his successor had sex with 'washing machine' Zhora.
Roy's murder of 'father' again happens off screen, though he is clearly heard to say the f-word (missing in the Final Cut). Instead, we focus on Batty having a breakdown in the lift crying for his mommy while clutching Sebastian's coat - which proves J.F. is also pushing up daisies, making it harder for Batty to bypass the Tyrell Security protocol than it was on the way in. Ripe to be added to the list of beloved goofs is the scene after Deckard has to proved his identity to a Spinner cop, when not only the wires pulling up the vehicle are visible, but also the cable hoisting the entire thing up. Again we skip all the action stuff and go straight to Batty's final soliloquy, followed by the only piece of narration that made it into the Workprint. Of course the inclusion of the V.O. is almost synonymous with the infamous happy ending, so naturally it is included here - in two different versions! First Ric-a-Dic explains he's taking his beloved Andy up the old Richter route past the mountains. After the fade out Rachael concludes the pair of them were 'made for each other'. There's another Deck-a-Rep clue if ever I heard one.
10 out of 10
