25 years after Ridley Scott's masterpiece was first released, another version is nearly upon us. Blade Runner: The Final Cut is coming December 18. What I find most cool about this is not the new cut, but rather the original. When it was released in 1982, the movie had a voiceover by Harrison Ford. When It was re-cut in 1992 as the Director's Cut, the voiceover was left out. Many disagree with me, but I actually liked the voiceovers. I would prefer that they be there. Alas, the only version to have made it to DVD has been the director's cut. Now, along with this new cut, there will be a collector's edition DVD set which includes the original cut as well. Looks like I'll be buying this movie one more time. I'm crossing my fingers that perhaps the new cut will be accompanied by some sort of limited theatrical release. It's been a long time since I saw Blade Runner on the big screen. There are a few video clips from the new cut here.
I had a friend in London who saw an "original" version (more violent, no voice-over) on first release. It was withdrawn and replaced with the "easier" version. On his description, as I remember it, it was slightly different than the 1992 "directors cut". There were, of course, many slightly different pre-release and market cuts. Nowdays you get TV/cable/DVD/inflight/english/american/australian, and that is just a start.
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