A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2005)

Ridley Scott's signature film Blade Runner is a film so profound in its mythology and history it strikes an indelible chord with those who see through its relatively straight-forward narrative. It's a mature film with unique undertones designed to evoke emotion and thought and for some it's a daunting and depressive ride while for others it's a revelation both intellectually and emotionally.
Blade Runner is film that needs to be watched more than once. It's an atmospheric film, both science-fiction and art - a study of dehumanization and environment which reaches a higher plain than most, asking the question what it is to be human and where are we going. The film is striking on so many different levels from its heartfelt performances and characters - and their desperate plight for life. It's ambient and evocative score by Italian composer Vangelis, its amazing set design and nostalgia inducing atmosphere.
Plagued by production troubles since its inception, and a box office failure Blade Runner would be rediscovered on the video market over the years after a chance screening of a work-print cut in Colorado and evolve into a cult hit, and one of the most influential science-fiction film of all-time. The resurrection as also sparked with the release of the 1992 "Director's Cut" which was by all accounts a "rush job". The version omitted the drowsy voice-over narration by Harrison Ford and the out-of-place, and studio enforced happy ending.
In 2007, The Final Cut arrived and with it closure to the classic film's troubled history as Director, Ridley Scott's vision has finally been realized twenty-five years after the film's initial theatrical release. Whichever version you choose whether it be the Theatrical, Directors Cut, Work-print, European, or the Final Cut Blade Runner is a science fiction masterpiece.
On a personal level it makes me feel lost and long for something more, it makes me long for "time and place that never really was" and no other film has stayed with me quite like Blade Runner.