The official BLADE RUNNER SE thread. (Check out page 8 and #790.)

I'm sure you've seen The Godfather.

The 'offer' doesn't involve money, but something like 'either your brains or Bladerunner SE will be on these three versatile discs, Mr. Perenchio'.

Mr. Yorkin and Mr. Perenchio own the entire property of the film itself, not simply the 1982 cut. Any subsequent version of the film had to have come into existence with their permission. New releases with new transfers and supplements also appear to require their permission. The "interim" solution being proposed of late in this thread will not avoid the need for Yorkin and Perenchio's go-ahead. Warner are distributors of the film under license from Yorkin and Perenchio and presumably cannot go forward with such releases as they wish on their own. If Warner can't do a big special edition, they can't do a more scaled-down new release, either. This isn't some simple problem regarding a supplement in which that supplement could be removed and the release could go on ahead without it.


As a side note, copyrights do not need to get renewed for works made beginning in 1978. They simply run for the full length of their term (95 years for works made for hire such as Blade Runner).

DJ

never knew there would be so many problems involved with releasing a SE.

Thanks for all the info

Forget about a SE, I want the Dir Cut w/ new 16x9 transfer and DTS soundtrack and Ill be happy

If what Damin says is true, then the petition is pointless, yes. What would be really good is a definitive statement on this from WB, and some idea of whether negotiations are continuing, or in complete shutdown.

Thank you Damin. The petition, or any of the sort, would at least raise even more awareness that there are profits to be made. If anything can awaken this dead-horse of a machine, I would think the dollar to prevail. I've already mailed Mr. Perenchio and WB a blank check with a note stating "Take whatever you need"

Jack, I much prefer this new and improved title. Add an ARRGH!! and you'd have a winner.

Such a shame this has to happen to this film.

Why couldn't something deserving of a DVD impasse like intolerable cruelty get stuck in legal hell instead.

*sigh*

Hey, pick on another movie, bub! I *love* Intolerable Cruelty.

There's a very happy flunky in the WB mailroom right now

seriously though, I hold little hope this will get solved, but hey, you never know.

Thanks for that post, Damin

In post #154 by JonZ:



I could not be happier then to get the 1982 version with DTS or DD 5.1 and a good video transfer together with (a new) Directors Cut and a commentary track by Sir Scott (and maybe some others.. How about Ford ) and the dream would be to get an audiotrack with Vangelis wonderful music as an option.

Sure, I think that Warner Bros. should release a new DVD edition of the "old" Directors Cut if they can. The one that's out now (I think it's withdrawn and/or no longer available atleast here in Sweden) is not what it oughta be, all respect that it's a early DVD release from Warner Bros. but they should have done it better by now..

I guess all we can do is hope for the best and pray that the parties involved get together and solve one of the biggest tragedies (atleast it is one for me) in the history of DVD.

(Sorry but it seems I need to go back and edit every post here..)

Nicklas, thanks for chiming in. I concur with an isolated Vangelis score. We both should be used to the treated this film has received huh? Think how we waited for a subpar 94 "soundtrack" release, which was not a soundtrack or score but a high quality "noodling" by its' tempermental composer. The amount of money I have spent to bring the full score home. These unmentionables would also be squashed with a high quality release.
What is it with people involved with this film? They are content passing up a goldmine daily.

Have enjoyed your site for years and have the t-shirts to prove it.

Well to each their own I suppose as I love the 94 soundtrack, I certainly wouldn't call it "subpar" as much as different yet the same & at least the original artist is the one who did the "noodling".
IMO it isn't all that different from the "noodling" that Vangelis did with the 1981 soundtrack album for Chariots of Fire, that album didn't sound exactly as the film music did but I didn't hear anyone complain at the time.
Nonetheless I agree that an isolated score would be remarkably cool but in all reality I fear that is a dream that won't come true anytime soon. It would be nice though.

Kevin, and I may have been a bit harsh but take a second and think 12 years later we received a single disc outing that is not a soundtrack. Hearing the score in its' entirety is a much different experience. I respect your counter though and I'm a huge fan of Vangelis.

Fair enough, but unlike a true cock up like, let's say Silva/Alan Howarth's oddball remix of Escape from New York, at least Papathanassiou included four or five "un-enhanced" themes from the film...THIS PRIVATE RELEASE might just make you jealous of anyone who was lucky enough to get a copy.

...you know after listening to the clips that site offers I would have liked some of the themes not presented on the 94 CD such as "Prodigal Son brings Death" & an untouched "Deckard meets Rachel".

HERE is the site it came from.

An interim release even of the "Director's Cut" is all very well, but would still have problems. First, I don't know if Warners would be allowed to release a remastered copy with full 5.1 sound because even this would require access to original footage to create and would by definition be a different version. How does that fit with copyright? (I don't know, but it sounds unlikely.)

But when we all know that Scott already created the Special Edition cut, it is such a bad situation that we can't buy that. I know there are lots of people who think an interim release would help, but I don't. It would not satisfy me at all. I want Scott's real cut and the works on all the extras. I know there is enough to create a 5 disc version and of course I'd love the isolated music and absolutely everything else conceivably sensible to put on any DVD release. I want the Special Edition and I want it last year! Don't go giving me some interim thing to keep me quiet. I want the BR:SE 3-DVD set!

Putting my business hat on, I really don't think that it is commercially sensible to put out an interim release of the same thing. The original DVD will sell well enough and so there is no point putting extra costs into creating a better version unless it is guaranteed that there won't be another for at least another 5 years. (And we so hope it won't be that long...)

I'm sorry I haven't supported the petition, but I think that actually it is not helpful. Don't get me wrong - I fully support the effort to make something happen. But given the sensitivities of those involved, I think it would actually be annoying to them, to the point where it could make people harden in their positions. The last thing we want is for Perenchio et al to just turn around and say they aren't even going to talk about it any more before they die. And Warners surely want the BR:SE to be released regardless of how much is so far invested in the project. The fact that the film still rides high in "Favourite Film" polls shows there is plenty of market out there.

To summarize, what we all really want is the BR:SE set to be released. If anyone can tempt the parties concerned with something other than money then please do. I will not be happy until I get my BR:SE!

I prefer the theatrical version with the voice-over more than I do the director's cut. One of these days (years) it will probably be released.

I predict it will be released in 2019!

Me too, I dislike the directors cut because it's not the movie I saw at the cinema back in 82. Now we have a new slant to the story... with a groan-inducing coincidence that would make even the great George Lucas roll his eyes, Deckard's a replicant too! yes, and so is his boss, his girlfriend and his tailor, and the Chinese guy who makes eyes just eyes, everyones a replicant, they're here, they're there, they're everywhere, run for the hills.

ps. WB, I'd love a remastered special edition of this classic, just make sure you include the original 1982 edition in the package, ta!

I was a youngster when I saw it in 82. Honestly, I didn't care for the film very much at 15. Since, I don't care for the "hold my hand and walk me through the story" version. I prefer the director's cut afterthoughts aside.


Yes, but nowadays it's just too difficult to verify if your getting legit edition. That is unless you physically meet with the seller. I'm a lucky guy.


I suspect that this man is not that much of loon. He is a successful businessman that I'm sure is well aware of its'(Blade Runner's) strong fan base.

I agree with David, I don't really care for an interim release. I've demanded an all out version. I'd sure hate to settle for something less, again. I respect your motivations guys, but the fan deserves more.


David, stay tune, a certain HTF member is working on a new petition for the BR:SE release. Once I work out some particulars , there will be frequent visits to Perenchio. How close I get, is another story. Still in early stages.

Meaning, I assume, that you have this version? ...so what the hell are you complaining about?

Oh I see, you prefer the "hold my hand and show me that Deckard really is a replicant" version... Deckard dreaming of unicorns, Gaff leaving the paper unicorn for Rick to find and... oh what a giveaway!

Nothing wrong with having a Philip Marlowe voiceover in a sci-fi detective story, I thought it made it unique, well it was unique until the directors cut supplanted it.

Uh, Gaff left the unicorn in the "I wanna hold your hand" version. Even before the unicorn splice in the DC, I felt the oragami unicorn (among other things) could have implied that Deckard was a replicant. Either way, it doesn't void Batty's lesson to him.
OOOPS, wrong thread.


That was done way after production. He (Ford), among others, didn't want to do it. After knowing the history of that voiceover and revisiting it, it's very bland, almost purposely (count his intentional sighs). Don't get me wrong Steve, I still like it a wee bit, my VHS version of this is tore up. But IMO, this most "unique" film didn't need to rehash a tired Marlowe Voice Over to make it so.

I disagree with the rock solid "giveaway" that you see, to me it is just ambiguous enough for me to disregard and stick with my (and the author P.K. Dick's) viewpoint that..
Warning Spoiler! Click to show
nonetheless even in the director's cut the Unicorn dream is presented in such an ambiguous way that it could just as easily represent his desire for freedom from the violence of his job and the city...to me at least.

However Zen Butler is right, this is a topic for a different thread.

[looks around] um why? This isn't in the studio feedback area and a lot of the posts here are all over the map, or should we stick to the simple "I'll buy one too" type posties?

ps. In the 1982 edition Rick found the origami unicorn and in the voice-over he says that Gaff had been there and let her live, a lot different to the 'sheet does this mean I'm a replicant too!' ending of the DC. To each his own, personally I hate the idea that Rick isn't human and it is a groan-worthy 'Twilight Zone cop out'.

uh oh yeah... I'll buy one too.

The voice over was a forced add-on only created out of panic. Ridley originally had only a voice over after Batty's speech at the end. Either way, Gaff was there in both cuts and let her live. So nothing inaccurate there.

Except when said voice-over is so remarkably bad, in both writitng and execution.

-Lyle J.P.

Oh.. and the duff dialogue in the rest of the movie was Oscar worthy?

"Is this testing whether I'm a replicant or a lesbian Mr.Deckard?"

Just a random question...

Does anyone else have the VHS of the workprint or is it just me? They had a showing somewhere a few years ago and I paid for a copy of the videotape of it. Pretty good too. Anyone else?

I have a Pan and Scan version of Blade Runner with the narration.

Uh, I don't have the workprint and I'd sure love to have a copy of it. I have the Criterion LD with the narration/widescreen/extra violence