Director's Cut.

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2004)

Blade Runner is undeniably one of the essential building blocks of the science fiction genre. Not only does it's visual style blow one's mind and open one's imagination, it raises important questions about life through the eyes of beings that are superior to humans in almost all aspects except for life span...all with a minimal but masterful plot. Add that to the fact that this is one of the few sci-fi films that doesn't rely entirely on special effects, wars and explosions to make it's story interesting and you have a classic. And the Director's Cut just makes the original better by giving the axe to Harrison Ford's abysmally bleak voice over and removing the light-hearted ending. Basically, it makes the film is more ambiguous which makes it far more interesting in my opinion. Ridley Scott wanted it to be released in exactly this fashion, and it's easy to see why.
The visual and environmental similarities between BR and Scott's prior work, "Alien" (1979), are easy to spot right from the get go. It's fairly simple, they're both dark and use scaled Gothic models with Swiss precision, creating an entire world worthy of the dizzying imaginations of the audience. I would not be surprised at all to find out if both films had some of the same special effects people. That said, BR is a beautifully dark and futuristic world that is very convincing to the eye even though there's no CGI...which is a good thing because a lot of times models are more accurate and realistic. And believe it or not, for the most part, these effects easily hold up in today's world and look only slightly aged. And on top of it all, it has an excellent score that's a perfect fit.
The story and plot are very simple but hold many smaller lessons. Deckard (Ford) is sent to kill the runaway replicants, but as he progresses throughout his journey, he begins to question if what he is doing is actually the right thing. Aren't they alive and conscious too? Don't they have hopes and dreams? How different from us are they really? Simple but extremely effective. Most sci-fi's nowadays are too busy trying to cast Vin Diesel or buy the best CGI effects without really worrying about the story. It's sad, but it's all about money. It's also why we don't see films like these any more....money is more important than making a quality film, but you don't need me to tell you that. What it all boils down to is a minimal story that works wonders for the movie and the audience's imaginations.
Superb acting from all involved, masterful direction, incredible cinematography, world-creating special effects, and a great story make this one for the ages. Not soon to be forgotten. Undoubtedly, a true classic.