You know, despite my penchant for well-crafted, broody sci-fi, and, my appreciation for the stellar (pardon the pun) works of Ridley Scott and mind-blowing creativity of Philip K. Dick, I was never an uber-fan of Blade Runner. Oh, now don't get me wrong, I did like it and watched it several times, but there was just something about it. Kinda like another classic sci-fi cinematic adaptation people love to shit on, I, Robot, I thought it could have been done better. Well today I saw that "better."
YouTube, my never-ending surprise box of "movies you didn't know you were going to watch today but you're glad they were available and thrilled that you did," has done did it again. This time offering both Blade Runner 2049 and Blade Runner: The Final Cut (of the 1982 film).
I actually found these two a couple days ago and it took me as much time to get through 'em what with a combined runtime of something like "until that dystopian future becomes "today." Oh wait, what am I talking about. In the context of the timeframe of the original film, set in the year 2019, we're past it. And in the context of dystopia -- oh brother, have you had a look-see around lately?
I'd seen the 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049, back in 2020 (oh man, a lot of dates being thrown around here...yes Dorothy, stay with me) or so and I think I liked it better on its second viewing. Summation: feels authentic to the "vision" but maybe just a smidge on the pretentious side. Just a smidge. Oh, and what the fuck was it about? I couldn't remember when I fired it up yesterday and I barely recall today. Robots having babies? Like anyone in that universe would really give two fucks. I mean, humans would still treat 'em like slaves (being human never stopped us before) and the "Corporation" needed them to naturally reproduce because they couldn't manufacture them fast enough? Really? That route would be cheaper and more timely? I frankly just geeked at Old Deckard's awesome radioactive Vegas hermit pad, up there in some ol' casino penthouse with an almost-working hologram of The King singing "Can't Help Falling in Love." Sweet!
But watching "The Final Cut" of the original film was like seeing a whole new version. Well, I guess it was. Last time I saw the '82 movie, it must have been back in the Netfix DVD days, I'm sure. And it was, I'd guess, the US theatrical version which I watched on a CRT television. This Final Cut version was edited and enhanced in 2007 so it looks phenomenally better. The added scenes, the omission of the voice-over narration (which I "got" as a throwback to the "film noir" genre but I didn't really like) and it seemed even the pacing issues may have been addressed (I may be imagining this, like a dream of a unicorn running through the forest).
My "eye for art" picked up a lot of "homages" this time 'round as well, and I'm sure I'd see more if I gave it more run-throughs. For instance, I saw references to Frank Lloyd Wright, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Moby Dick, Frankenstein, Alien (of course), the then-new-to-the-west anime and manga influenced advertising and signage, and even "Dutch Masters" such as Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait depicting a round convex mirror in the background which, upon very in-depth inspection, reveals detailed imagery not seen otherwise in the painting.
But alas, as we know, with my Shameless mind, as glitchy as that nuked-out casino showcase room's hologram system, for all its art and impactful statements on what it means to be human, my memory of these things I've seen will, like tears in rain, be soon gone forever.