From: lcc@WIN.ICL.CO.UK (Kerr Avon)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.cinema-l
Subject: Re: "bladerunner"
Date: 10 Nov 92 16:29:46 GMT
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU

Xposted to CINEMA-L...

>From: Geoffrey Alan Smith <galan@ECST.CSUCHICO.EDU>
>
>As was mentioned, the director's cut of Blade Runner is not 4 hrs. long.  It
> does remain unclear, however, exactly how many scenes were shot that remain
> unsed in both the original release and the director's cut.  I've heard of a
> scene where Deckard goes to visit the first Blade Runner guy in the hospital
> and of other scenes with Gaff (Edward James Olmos).  Since the director's cut
> that's been showing around the country was Ridley Scott's personal 70mm print,
> and all of the director's cut prints were knocked from that print, we know
 what
> the state of the movie was before Scott sent it to Warner Bros.  Anyone have
> information on still unseen passages?

According to _Empire_ magazine (November issue, out today), the director's
cut is slightly _shorter_ than the "original" thetrical release.  The running
time is 116 mins.

According to the review (there is also a multi-page article):-

"Whether this version is realy _that_ different---the film is still missing
several scenes from a rough cut screened in the US that have since passed
into cinema lore---is debatable..."

Also, regarding whether the version that's been showing is Ridley Scott's
personal 70mm print, the article claims that in October `89, Michael Arick,
head of film restoration came across a 70mm print of Ridley Scott's
_Blade Runner_.  He thought nothing of it, until, months later, the
management of the Cineplex Odeon Fairfax in Los Angeles asked for a 70mm
print for a classic film festival.

Neither Arick nor the cinema screened the film prior to it's public
presentation at the festival, and only then did it become obvious that
it was not the version that was released.

It turned out that it was not quite Scott's own cut, but rather, Scott
said, a rough-cut, work-in-progress.  It was missing the voice over and
tacked on "happy" ending, the score was different in places, and a few
new scenes were included (but not the now-legendary unicorn dream
sequence).

Warner's tried to release _this_ version, which annoyed Scott, since they
were toting it as "The  original director's version of the movie that was
light years ahead of its time!"  Scott had been talking with Arick about
adding the unicorn footage, but Arick had parted company with Warners.

A compromise was reached, the newly discovered print was released in two
Californian cinemas, and it's box-office was so good that Warners agreed
to let Scott add in the Unicorn stuff, improve the soundtrack (where
Ford's voice over had been removed) and leave the original, downbeat
ending.

So now you know,
			Liam.
			====-
                                   *"There's one who looks like Al
                                   * Capone.  There's another like
     KERR AVON    |   Work: ICL,   * Mussolini.  Richard III, Napoleon
 aka Liam Cairney |Reading, England* ... smeg!  It's like all the worst
  All e-mail to:- | Home: Glasgow, * people in history have been brought
lcc@win.icl.co.uk |    Scotland    * together in one place.  Oh my God!
                                   * There's James Last!"
   "I belong to Glasgow..."        *         -- Lister (Red Dwarf IV)
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