Blade Runner 4K UHD (1982)

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by BenjaminG

So if I'm not mistaken, it looks like this edition has all the extra features from the 30th anniversary except for the commentary for the workprint, as well as the "All Our Variant Futures: From Workprint to Final Cuts" featurette.

Seems like a pretty solid package to me. Hoping Dolby Vision might be included, but I won't hold my breath.

Looks like most of it, yep, aside from the commentaries exclusive to other cuts as you say. Heck, if Warners were just gonna be lazy about it then they could port across the 3rd disc from the 30th anniversary set (Workprint + SD features), but no mention of the workprint means that the extras must be housed on something other than the existing DVDs and BD. I hope that means we're finally getting Dangerous Days in HD, I'd love it if the deleted scenes assembly was in HD too but beggars can't be choosers. Final Cut in 4K, Dangerous Days in HD, most of the other extras too, this one gon' be AWESOME.

[kidglov3s]

Originally Posted by bigbadwoppet

The 1992 DC remains my prefered version, even though I first saw BR back when it was released.

It solves the basic problems in the original release but with roughly the same technology as ten years before (edited on film, no digital fixes).

I loved BR when it came out. It's my all-time fave film and I've never had any problem with those fixes, as they are integral to making it a better film. In fact, I think the happy ending (completely out of place in such a movie) and the voice-over (as bad a voice-over as you're ever likely to get) were the only things that held the film as originally release from actually being perfect.

Fans who only like the original release see it as perfect in that iteration. They are incapable of realising that the only reason one can oversee those annoying details is because the film is so perfect that they can't detract so much from it but they would have ruined a lesser film.

The fixes are so little that anyone complaining that they ruin the film are probably more obssesed about the details than really in love with the film as a whole. The DC and FC do not extend the film with additional scenes, messing up the pacing unnecessarily. In fact, by March '82 when the film first previewed in London, the scenes that were in had already been locked. The Workprint does not include the happy ending, there was never intended to be one. Do these people dislike the workprint as well then? There's no excuse of it being "revisionist".

I once caught a showing of the DC on cable with the wrong subtitles. They didn't bother to change them and Spanish translation for the voice-over appeared over the wordless scenes. By then you couldn't find the original release cut for a while and it really shocked me how utterly awful the writing was. Even the best movies have bits that make us cringe but the fact that we still love those movies doesn't make those bits less cringe-worthy.

For me there are different reasons I prefer the international cut.

- Over the US theatrical because of the extra violence.
- Over the director's cut because of the extra violence, I believe that the added material in the DC removes ambiguity limiting the possibilities of the narrative and I feel like the voiceover makes the world seem bigger.
- Over the final cut for the same reasons as the DC and for digital revisionisms.

It's not like Blade Runner is ruined in any of the different cuts (though I've no interest in watching a 1982 movie augmented by digital tools and reshoots in 2007), I just have a version I prefer for specific reasons. If I believed that the happy ending was a legitimately happy ending I would prefer the DC but I don't see a big problem with them exiting the elevator and driving off into the unknown. I don't think it removes doubt and uncertainty about their future to show them driving down a road, and I certainly don't believe that Deckard is a reliable narrator or that Tyrell's words to Deckard as related in the ending VO are reliably the truth. Writing all this out and thinking about it a bit I would say that the landscape of the ending is incongruous and inappropriate, and that the movie is better without it. I suppose if the DC had simply removed the VO and the ending and had the extra violence it would be a more pure tossup between the DC with me likely leaning toward the DC, but it made changes beyond that which I feel are more detrimental to the experience than the ending is.

I understand that that's not a popular reading of the film and the different cuts but it's the one I arrived at. Even with my preference for the IC I would absolutely buy a better presentation of the theatrical or director's cuts, as I feel that on the whole the differences between them are relatively minor. It's a shame that as the details come out the outlook for getting such an upgrade doesn't look very good right now. It's frustrating that as much as the movie was hampered by being one of the first DVDs out of the gate it's also hampered by being an early Blu-ray (VC-1 and lossy audio). Can't complain too much as the Blu-ray of the IC looks a hell of a lot better than the Criterion LD.

[BenjaminG]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Looks like most of it, yep, aside from the commentaries exclusive to other cuts as you say. Heck, if Warners were just gonna be lazy about it then they could port across the 3rd disc from the 30th anniversary set (Workprint + SD features), but no mention of the workprint means that the extras must be housed on something other than the existing DVDs and BD. I hope that means we're finally getting Dangerous Days in HD, I'd love it if the deleted scenes assembly was in HD too but beggars can't be choosers. Final Cut in 4K, Dangerous Days in HD, most of the other extras too, this one gon' be AWESOME.

Bill Hunt has previously reported that DANGEROUS DAYS will be in HD this time, so hopefully Warner have authored a new Blu-ray extra features disc.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by BenjaminG

Bill Hunt has previously reported that DANGEROUS DAYS will be in HD this time, so hopefully Warner have authored a new Blu-ray extra features disc.

He has a nice clickbait site. I'll wait for other sites to report.

[Dubstar]

what's the beef with Bill Hunt - I know when his name is uttered around here, folk cringe but why ???

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

what's the beef with Bill Hunt - I know when his name is uttered around here, folk cringe but why ???

Too many false hopes I think.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

what's the beef with Bill Hunt - I know when his name is uttered around here, folk cringe but why ???

Eh, the too-cool for school crowd.

People are still butthurt he saw the writing on the wall and endorsed Blu-ray over HD DVD before the format war ended.
I made that call way way before then back in 2005 when Toshiba announced their desperate attempt to hang on to their DVD patents.

[Dubstar]

If Bill Hunt is right with his news source/assumption that it's getting an Atmos remix - that's pretty kick ass

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Eh, the too-cool for school crowd.

People are still butthurt he saw the writing on the wall and endorsed Blu-ray over HD DVD before the format war ended.
I made that call way way before then back in 2005 when Toshiba announced their desperate attempt to hang on to their DVD patents.

It was around 2003 or before with his site and him which I never bothered to frequent anymore.
No idea why the 3-Disc 30th Anniversary BD is fetching such insane prices online. Doesn't matter, I'm never going to sell it. Keeping my custom 8-Disc set too!

[BenjaminG]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

If Bill Hunt is right with his news source/assumption that it's getting an Atmos remix - that's pretty kick ass

It's confirmed. Check press release on previous page.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by BenjaminG

It's confirmed. Check press release on previous page.

Press Release > Bill Hunt.

Anyone else played the 1997 Westwood Studios video game? The story ran parallel to the movie and I personally highly recommend it. Many of the same actors too reprise their characters.
Was gonna mention the Blade Runner sequel books by K.W. Jeter but I've largely forgotten them. The Paul M. Sammon book FUTURE NOIR: The Making of BLADE RUNNER is a very highly recommended read. Even BOOM! Studios adapted the original Philip K. Dick story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep into a comic book series. The single season TOTAL RECALL 2070 is more BLADE RUNNER than TOTAL RECALL and is also recommended viewing.

Can't wait to see BLADE RUNNER 2049 and buy BLADE RUNNER on UHD.
(What happened to the 2047 other BLADE RUNNER movies?!)

[Show spoiler]

[Pieter V]

Amazon Germany - pre-order

[Lensman]

Originally Posted by Pieter V

Amazon Germany - pre-order

No it's not ... it's a placeholder with a notification option

[Pieter V]

Originally Posted by Lensman

No it's not ... it's a placeholder with a notification option

It will go live anyway.

[Marcuslaw]

I updated the lead post with data from the WB announcement and the new cover image. Also, thanks Pieter for the good finds - credit given. BTW, I'm thrilled the UHD disk will contain an ATMOS track.

As far as Bill H. is concerned, his "rumor mill" announcements have turned out to be duds on a few occasions but they've mostly turned out to be true (Blade Runner being the latest example). When his predictions/announcements/"rumor mill worthies" don't pan out, I'm willing to bet it's due far more often to changes in the minds of suits in marketing departments than anything else. Whatever the reason, my biggest disappointment had to be Bill's announcement of the possible releases of the Star Wars prequels on Blu-ray 3-D.

[Pieter V]

Thanks for updating the OP. If you like you may add this as well, replace it for the Front cover:


Blade Runner (1982) 4K Blu-ray

[DJR662]

I've only seen this once (a great mpeg2 transfer btw) so with this UHD release, I think it's time to appreciate this movie more.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by trippledx3

I have never seen this film and with all this hype i am more than looking forward to see it for the first time in 4K!

Why dont you try watching it in the meantime?

[AlanHarper]

I see it also features the normal blu-ray, so i'll just swap that one out with the blu-ray containing the other cuts of the film, and it'll be the complete package!

[L32GTPCompG]

It looks like we're missing these extras from the Final Cut disc and the workprint disc:

Commentary with Writers Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, Producer Michael Deeley, and Production Executive Katherine Haber

Commentary with Visual Futurist Syd Mead, Production Designer Lawrence G. Paull, Art Director David Snyder, and Special Photographic Effects Supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, and David Dryer

All Our Variant Futures - From Workprint to Final Cut

I'm going to e-mail Bill Hunt later so that he can confirm if these will be or not be included in the 4K release.