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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2500 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Sci-fi club no. 33: Blade Runner

My wife watched the "director's cut" (circa '91) without me and expressed confusion. I explained to her that sci fi nerds bag on the theatrical cut and its substandard narration, but then, they've all seen the substandard narration. Then I put in my VHS tape of the international theatrical cut.

"Oh."

"Ohh!"

"Oh?"

"Oh...."

Die-hard fans of Blade Runner have a hard time admitting that it's a flawed work, but the execution of the script is lacking in many ways (and the script is lacking in more). Blade Runner is, more than anything, a miraculous convergence of pressure and time rendered as cinema, a visual aesthetic and a lyrical narrative that form something far greater than its parts. But if you sit and watch it objectively without hitting yourself over the head with it again and again and again, the flaws take on prominence.





user-inactivated  ·  2500 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I think the first time I watched Blade Runner was when I was in my early 20s because a bud of mine wanted to start a game of Shadowrun and invited me to play. He told me to check out the movie because it would give me a good visual idea of what the Shadowrun world was kind of like. I got the Director's Cut cause everyone told me the Director's Cut was better, remembered that the scenes jumped around a lot, and the ending felt kind of strange because the victory over the final android didn't really seem like a victory (if I remember right, the guy was gonna die anyway). We never got to play Shadowrun.

The other two times I saw it, were both around the time I got the Blu-Ray. I saw it, and was surprised that the scene jumping was even more abrupt than I remember, but decided to watch it again a few weeks later and the scene jumping was less shocking because I kind of expected it at that point. When I talk about movies and TV a lot (and chances are if you look back at my mentioning of Star Wars TFA, Princess Monoke, Samurai Jack, Fistful of Dollars, etc.) you'll see that I bring up pacing a lot. I don't know why, but for me, that's one of the things I care most about when I watch stuff.

Anyhow. Blade Runner sure is pretty. They did a hell of a job on it. I think though, I like Alien much better, if only because it seems less flawed and just as pretty. That said, I only like Alien. I really don't like any of the sequels because they just don't seem to be as good.

Edit: Lord, Mercy. I just re-read that and I sound like a five year old. Working a full day after only sleeping for a couple of hours and then trying to type out complete thoughts just don't work. I feel the need to apologize.