TV Shows Dangerous Days: On the Edge of Blade Runner

This documentary was shown on BBC a few nights ago and I thought it would be of interest to some Sci-Fi fans. It's just under 100 minutes long and whilst I didn't watch the whole thing when it was on, what I did see of it was very detailed and interesting and I recorded it on Sky+ to watch when I have time. It's available on iPlayer until Monday night at the following link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vy84g/dangerous-days-on-the-edge-of-blade-runner

 

Is it just me who expected this thread to be about Oscar Pistorious?

 

I noticed they showed the film a few nights ago and was cursing myself for not watching it (odd the things you still watch on normal TV even though you have the DVDs). Good shout, I'll be sure to pick this up on iPlayer.

 

For the real indulgent Blade Runner superfan experience you need to see the full 213 minute (3.5hr ) version of the documentary that came with the Final Cut.

An epic documentary for an epic film.

Well worth it, especially for the stuff about the SFX. A true high water mark in miniature/matte painting/in-camera work.

 

I really should watch Blade Runner some day soon, it's been on my 'to watch' list for about 25 years but I'm pretty sure I've never seen it from start to finish, despite owning the fancy DVD boxset.

 

For the last time, Rick Deckard is not a replican.

 

My all time favourite film. Thanks Unicorn

 

The film itself (though I'm not sure which cut, original theatrical or otherwise) is also on iPlayer until Sunday night/Monday morning which I thought was a pretty cool touch from the BBC.

When you say the final cut, do you mean the special collectors edition steel book? Because whilst I have it, I don't think I've seen everything that came with it, and was certainly not aware that it contained a 3.5 hour documentary!

 

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe..... attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-Beams glitter in the darkness at Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost, in time....like.... tears in rain.

Time to die"

Incredible, incredible movie.

 

One of my favourite quotes from any movie, ever. One of my favourite movies, ever, in fact. And yes, I do have the 5 disc final cut limited edition steel book, and I did watch the 3.5 hour version of 'Dangerous Days' again. I realised that I'd watched it before when I first bought the set but watching it again was certainly worth it. The way this movie was shot with in-camera special effects and miniature sets absolutely blows my mind.

By the way, respect for posting the clip from the final cut version, without that stupid Deckard voice over at the end!

 

So is the consensus that the 'Final Cut' is the definitive (best) version to watch?

 

In my opinion, yes.

It's is basically a refined, cleaned up version of the director's cut, which for me is the film Blade Runner is meant to be.

I think the majority would agree, but it's not definitive for everyone.
A significant number of people think the original theatrical release with the voice over is preferable, generally because they like the film noir detective story aspect.

 

Ridley Scott stated in an interview that he thought it had been made pretty obvious that he was.

 

A truly wonderful masterpiece of a film at a time when Ridley Scott was knocking them out of the park with stunning movie making techniques and direction that sometimes even the studios just didn't understnd.

 

In all these years I've never watched Blade Runner from start to finish. Something I'll have to rectify asap I think.

 

It is an epic piece of cinematic art. Moreover I believe it put Sci-Fi films on the map as serious cinema.

Of course, if you grew up on mainland Europe, you would have been familiar with the comic book art of Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Moebius) whose futuristic cityscapes and characters were a huge source of inspiration for the film sets (The Fifth Element did not copy Blade Runner; it drew from the same artist). Jean Giraud was also commissioned to do concept art for ALIEN.

Other sources of inspiration were of course conceptual design artist Syd Mead (again well-known to Sci-Fi fans) and Ron Cobb, a cartoonist and film design artist. He also worked on ALIEN.

 

Yes, when I have caught some of it, including last week when it was on TV, I'm always struck by the artistry. Visually it's stunning but there's something else too, possibly the slow pace of the dialogue - the long, deliberate spaces - that makes it so compelling.

 

Vangelis composed the soundtrack. But I agree: it has a really good use of silence and pause.

 

Without a shadow of a doubt. It's the film that Ridley wanted Blade Runner to be, and the only one where he had complete control over everything that went into it. It also has the added benefit of modern polish (rescanned, remastered, remixed and generally as good as it's ever going to look or sound) as well as having all the little mistakes and unavoidable inaccuracies which occurred during filming corrected. Things like the more accurate sky scene where the dove flies off at the end, Zhora's death scene, the full Unicorn dream clip and even the deleted fight scenes which were not included in the international releases.

I never assumed anything different after seeing the Director's cut, and this has been widely known in the fan community for years now. From the unicorn in his dream to the origami unicorn Gaff left for him at the end, to the (piano) music and the fact he has never taken the VC test, the film is full of clues that he is a replicant.

 

Not only that, but also his confusion at experiencing feelings after shooting Zhora ("There it was again....feelings...for her...for Zhora."), a mirror of the replicants developing human emotional responses; and Gaff's cryptic: "Too bad she won't live --but then again, who does?".

In one of the out-takes Deckard makes a hospital visit to his colleague Holden, who was shot by Leon during the VC test at the beginning of the film. The most obvious hint is dropped in that dialogue: