The Many Faces of Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a film that has experienced constant revisions and re-releases for monetary and aesthetic purposes. The first original vision for Blade Runner was Philip K. Dick's science fiction classic Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,  and the film is loosly based off of its story, but the film was created from Hampton Fancher's screen play. After some time, Ridley Scott signed on as the director and he asked Fancher to rewrite the screen play, making for multiple revisions. Scott soon decided that Fancher's writing was unfitting for his vision of the story, and hired David Peoples to make the final version of the screen play.

The film making itself was marred by conflict between Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford, as Ford wanted more direction for the acting, whereas Scott was more focused on the visual aspects of the film. The battle that catalyzed the production of the many versions of Blade Runner was the fight between Scott and the studio producing the film. The Ladd production company felt that Scott's vision of the film was too complex for viewers, and as Scott had ran the film over budget, took control and produced the theatrical version.

Versions of the Vision

There are many types of allusions to be made from each version of this film especially questions about the Replicants.The original work print version, which was released in 1982, and runs 113 min. This is the original uncut version of Blade Runner. The print was modified when the film was released due to negative reactions from test audiences. The San Diego Sneak Preview is another version that was shown only once in May 1982. The San Diego Sneak Preview contained much of the same material comprising the studio’s requested cut of the film; however, it also contained three unseen scenes. The U.S. theatrical version was finally show in December of 1982, with a running time of 116 minutes. This version is also known as the original version or Domestic Cut and it was released on VHS in 1983 and laser disc in 1987. The International version  also known as the "The Criterion Edition" was released in 1982 as well and it runs 117 min. This version contained much more violence in the action sequences than the U.S. version. The U.S. Broadcast version was shown in 1986 and ran for 114 min. What else would you expect with the title and the significant time cut? This version was edited to meet the standards of American television, which in the ‘80’s, was quite difficult to do for a film like this.

Cult Revival

The Original work print was shown again to cult audiences in the 1990's, as an unofficial directors cut, and received reviews which were more favorable than those of the one the studio had received for the US theatrical release. The Ridley Scott approved Director’s Cut came out in 1992, with a run time of 116 min. This version contained many significantly changed scenes, including the removal of Deckard's voice-over, re-insertion of the particular unicorn sequence and removal of the studio-imposed happy ending, which was taken from Kubrick’s The Shining. Ridley Scott’s Final Cut was released in 2007 and ran for 117 min. This version is special because it is the only version over the ridiculous arbitrary release history of this film over which director Ridley Scott had complete artistic control and fits nicely into the American sense of the auteur's superiority in deciding the true vision of a film. It is also commonly referred to as the “20th Anniversary Edition.” This version was also released with a 5 blueray disc package consisting of bonus features, deleted scenes, and hours of interviews. In the clip below you can see one version's ending with both the commentary and the blatant question of whether Deckard is a replicant.

edit notes: PLEASE add some interpretation, I got totally caught up in the formating that I forgot to add why each version can be viewed differently. Thanks--Air

Works Cited

"Versions of Blade Runner" wikipedia.org n.d. Web. 3 December 2009.

"Blade Runner" wikipedia.org 4 December 2009, Web. 3 December 2009.

Kuersten, Erich. "What's Your Edition Number" Bright Lights Film Journal n.d. Web. 3 December 2009.