Sexier Than Star Wars, Deeper Than 2001 A Space Odyssey.....

Rating: 10/10 (31 July 2002)

Any movie brave enough to ask the question, 'what does it mean to be human?', deserves some credit. But not only is this a fantastically deep movie, that repays your level of attention 10 fold, it is the visual masterpiece of all time.
It is the common opinion that the 1992 directors cut, is the definitive vision. On face value, this may appear to be true. The dead-pan voice-over is gone, as is the 'Hollywood happy ending'. However this takes from the original vision Ridley Scott had, a vision of a classic Bogart-style detective story, set in the future. In the original 1982 cut, all of the detective story cliches are in abundance. Yellow, murky light through Venetian blinds, smoky bars and a monotone voice-over from the hero. Also, the amazing cinematography, that has become to trade mark of Blade Runner, is constantly dark and overwhelmingly moody. But in the Original cut, this dark/pessimistic view, is broken at the 'Hollywood happy ending' by a sun-drenched mountain drive, which comes like a breath of fresh air. The one instance in which the directors cut surpasses the Original cut, is the inclusion of the famous 'Unicorn Dream', which was the main clue to Deckard being a replicant. If this dream sequence was inserted into the original cut, a movie so perfect would be created, that it would rival 'Shichinin No Samurai' as the most flawless movie ever made.
So, for the record, Deckard is a replicant, and the directors cut is not nearly as good as the Original.