From: bk@Turing.ORG (Brian Knatz)
Subject: Re: Blade Runner Director's Cut
Organization: The Turing Project, Charlottesville Virginia.
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 14:36:41 GMT

In article <gcjnhh_.tmaddox@netcom.com> tmaddox@netcom.com (Tom Maddox) writes:
>	This same director's cut will apparently be shown at the Grand Lake
>Theater in Oakland, California, beginning September 11, 1992.
>
>	Which might tell us that there's going to be a rash of such showings.
The following is printed w/o permission:

Article: 2328 of clari.news.features
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (VERNON SCOTT, UPI Hollywood Reporter)
Subject: 'Blade Runner' chases cult
Keywords: movies, people, human interest, entertainment industry,
	misc industry
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 22:08:08 EDT
	
 _U_P_I _A_r_t_s _& _E_n_t_e_r_t_a_i_n_m_e_n_t -- _S_c_o_t_t_'_s _W_o_r_l_d
	
	HOLLYWOOD (UPI) -- The terrible thing about ``Blade Runner,'' a rare,
big-budget mainstream sci-fi cult movie, is that it's coming true.
	For that reason and others, Warner Bros. is re-releasing director
Ridley Scott's horrifying future-look at Los Angeles smothering in filth
and pollution, escalating street crime, climatic deterioration and
bloody anarchy.
	Starring Harrison Ford as an heroic cop in a losing battle against
terrorist androids (called replicants), ``Blade Runner'' finds the city
mired in mindless, lawless disaster.
	Advertised as ``The original director's cut, the original cut of the
futuristic adventure,'' it is possible ``Blade Runner'' will earn as
much or more than the $27 million it grossed when first released in
1982.
	Why might the picture do better a decade later?
	First, there isn't a worthwhile sci-fi film to be seen this summer.
	Director Scott's reputation has soared considerably since this, his
first Hollywood film.
	Hitherto unknown Sean Young, a dazzling beauty, plays her first major
role. And such other cast members as Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah and
Edward James Olmos have since risen to fame. Bill Sanderson, too, has
become established for his off-beat performances.
	``Blade Runner'' created a mood and style that set standards for such
later movies as ``Mad Max.'' The picture is a depressing view of Earth
victimized by global heating, ecological disaster, overpopulation, the
hot-house effect, holes in the atmosphere and other catastrophies.
	The tragedy of American society in the 21st century is a palpable
element in the picture, perhaps surpassing the performances of its top-
flight cast.
	Based on Philip K. Dick's science-fiction novel, ``Do Androids Dream
of Electric Sheep?'' ``Blade Runner'' is more terrifying the second time
around.
	Said director Scott, ``Normally, once I've finished with a movie I
don't see it again, because I've looked at it so much for so long.
	``But when I saw this one (earlier this year), I was rather pleased.
Many changes in American cities and life over the past decade have
parallelled what we showed on the screen. It's rather chillingly
accurate in some ways.
	``I think this dark view of the future was a bit shocking at the
time. Today, it's much less so.''
	Scott has re-cut the picture, saying there were elements he wanted to
include at the time of release that were now possible. He eliminated the
original narration and the chase-and-escape ending, making the finale
even more bleak.
	Warner Bros. had kept Scott's original cut, which they exhibited in
Los Angeles late last year. Audience response was more enthusiastic than
it was 10 years ago.
	Scott said, ``After the studio showed this version to me, I thought,
'We've gotten so close; why not complete this as I'd like to see it
today, for audiences who appreciate this material and who are ready to
see it in its undiluted form.''
	Sanderson, who plays a painfully shy genetic designer suffering from
premature aging, found the revised version stunning.
	``It was really overpowering,'' he said. ``I think it's a big
improvement on a picture that was terrific to begin with. Ten years is a
short time span for a movie to be re-released, but this is a special
case.
	``It ran in one theater here for five or six weeks not long ago. When
I went to see it people were sitting in the aisles and lined up around
the block.
	``The picture is fresher than it was 10 years ago because it seems to
mirror what's happening to our society. When Ridley first came here from
England he said, 'L.A. is a city on overload.' His vision is coming
true.
	``A New York reviewer called it a fascinating failure because it
wasn't a big hit. But it's had a big cult following.''
	The time frame for ``Blade Runner'' is the year 2020. Millions of
people have been forced to colonize other planets due to ruinous
overpopulation.
	Lifestyles have changed dramatically. Genetic engineering has become
a growth industry. Artificial animals become pets because most of the
world's animals are extinct.
	The antagonists are androids called Nexus 6, ultimate replicants with
the strength and intelligence of several humans. They are
indistinguishable from living human beings.
	Replicants are outlawed on Earth, intended only for work on other
planets, but occasionally a few manage to return and pass as humans. The
blade runner's job is to find and eliminate them.
	Best of the blade runners is former detective Rick Deckard (Ford) who
falls in love with a mysterious beauty (Young) who is, of course, a
replicant. Hauer plays the leader of the treacherous replicants.
	``Blade Runner'' opens later this month in 60 cities nationwide and
in October Warner Bros. will expand its release.


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