The official BLADE RUNNER SE thread. (Check out page 8 and #790.) - Page 13

I would imagine one of the Ridley Scott titles that Charlie is referring to is his new movie that's currently in production about the Crusades, no?

Vincent

Vincent,

You're thinking about Kingdom of Heaven, which won't be released theatrically until May, 2005 (bummer). I doubt the DVD will be out by next summer. I suppose it's possible this is one of the two DVDs he is talking about if he means finishing work on it next summer and releasing it in the Fall...?

It could also be Someone to Watch Over Me, which only has a movie-only disc out at the moment.

Just chiming in belatedly on Charlie's 7/18 post, re: BR in 70mm...

When originally released, the film was indeed shown in 70mm on opening day & through the rest of it's run here in Seattle at The Cinerama - I saw it 3 times that week (skipped work to do so).

It was shown again in 70mm a few years later during the Seattle International Film Festival, again at The Cinerama, as part of an all-night 70mm film fest which also included "The Road Warrior" and "Tron" - "Altered States" was also shown, but a 35mm print had been mistakenly sent instead of 70mm.

Additionally, at a later S.I.F.F., the Director's Cut was shown in 70mm at The Egyptian theater here - absolutely gorgeous print!

Lastly, a few years ago the Original Theatrical Release was advertised to be shown, again at The Egyptian in Seattle - I went, but as the curtain rose I was stunned to realize (having read Sammon's book) that I was watching the fabled Work Print - a chat with the staff at the theater revealed that the distributor had sent the WP by mistake! I went back 2 more times during the all-too-brief one week run.

Watching the WP is definitely an awesome experience & and it's an absolute MUST SEE for any BR fan - let's hope it makes it's way onto DVD someday!

Just my Seattle BR experiences...

Thanks for the tease, Scott!;-)

What was/is it about the work print, that caught your 'eye'?

Hi, Ed!

Sammon's book gives an accurate description, but obviously it's not the same as actually experiencing the WP...

Basically, everything about it caught my eye, but this is what I recall right now, today, in no particular order (remember, this was a few years back):

the opening credits are quite different, short/abrupt, with the same sound effect Sammon describes - kind of like two knife blades scaping against each other at the edges... (this was when it began to dawn on me that this wasn't any Blade Runner I'd seen before).

About 1/2 way through the film the music changes completely, using various music cues from other sources/films - not at all Vangelis' (score not yet completed).

The "look" of the print (not color corrected) and the "sound" of the soundtrack have a much more "raw", work-in-progress feel to them. The sound seemed much more "immediate", very "up front/in-your-face" and was much louder than the other BR presentations I've seen.

The bit at the end with Deckard & Batty on the rooftop was quite a bit different, esp. the voiceover by Deckard about how he watched Batty die.

I remember (w/o "Future Noir" to refer to right now) that a lot of the "background SFX" were either missing completely or unfinished (the rain comes to mind - only whatever rain was used on the sound stage during shooting, apparently - no enhancement).

These are the things that stick in my mind at this moment as I sit here at my computer.

The overall feeling & tone were of "rawness", "harshness", "edginess" - in fact, much "edgier" than either the original release or the Director's Cut, as if the corners hadn't been smoothed off (of course, they hadn't), a much more "immediate" feel to it.

The first time I viewed it, I went right home and pulled out Sammon's book and he has all the differences right there, if you want more specific info.

Hope that helps...

My wish would be for every BR fan to be able to see this in 70mm on as big a screen as possible... and at some point in time, it just HAS to be made available on DVD!

p.s. - as I sit here, I realize that all the various theatrical presentations I've seen of BR have been in 70mm...

"If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes..."

Scott - Envious now. Wow, to have seen the WIP print on 70mm would have truly been great.
Hoping one of these days it will end up on DVD.

A gang of us went to the Moore, with a sneaky feeling....just hoping, against all odds that they would make the mistake that they had made-sending the 70mm WP!
What a wonderous feeling.

Charlie, a Happy Birthday to you.

I second the thought, Zen: Happy Birthday, Charles, and thanks again for all the good work you've done on my behalf.

...and, uh, *ahem*, the behalf of all those other DVD fans, too.

agreed Douglas and Zen!

JACOB

Thanks, guys. Hopefully, someday in the future, we'll all be unwrapping a certain gift that's long overdue.

Hello,

I can't wait for any new release of Blade Runner.

François

I know this isn't quite on point, but I am glad to hear that Tony Scott appears to have recorded a commentary track with Susan Sarandon for his first film, The Hunger, which will be out on DVD on October 5th.

When this disc was announced earlier, it was completely bare bones. The commentary was only revealed recently. Thanks to everyone at ScottFree who may have been involved in making sure it got at least some of what it deserved.

Re: "The Hunger"

I recorded Tony's commentary in L.A. and Susan Sarandon's commentary in New York. It would have been great to get them in a room together but this is the best we could do given the circumstances. If all goes well, there might be a couple of other minor extras on there as well.

You're breaking my concentration... how can I whine about Bladerunner when you shift my thought process??!!!??

(BTW, Isn't Susan Sarandon just little "more human than human?") ARGHHH! Now I'M doing it!

Charlie, you did the DVD for The Hunger, too?

...have I mentioned recently that I love you?

That's really nice. Thank you for doing that.

By the way, author Whitley Strieber (who wrote the novel "The Hunger" and its two written sequels "The Last Vampire" and "Lilith's Dream") is planning on recording an independent commentary about the film and his book, which will likely be made available as a download from his website (probably in the subscribers section). He records a regular weekly interview program so he's got the technical chops to make this so, and be assured he is aware of the legal restriction that his commentary can't have any of the Hunger audio leaking in. Should offer internet-savvy Hunger buffs even more reason to pick up this release.

Whoops, the picture of Susan Sarandon and a vampire can't be linked to directly. It was a good one, sorry.

Any news out there? I just bought the current version. I figured $9.44 isn't bad and it will hold me over till the new versin comes out.

Warner is working on a new release of the 'Director's Cut' as part of their 2-Disc Special Edition series and hope to have it out by Q2 of 2005.

So far all we know is that it wont include the original theatrical version (for legal reasons that are widely known and discussed) and will only include the 'Director's Cut'. It will on the other hand be remastered from a new HD transfer and will include several documentaries which may shed further light into the legal issues involving this film. I hope they are able to record a new commentary track with Ridley Scott as I'm sure he has quite a few things he would like to say regarding the unfortunate status of his film - well technically speaking it is not "his" film otherwise we would be seeing an entirely different release.

I suspect we will get more details in the coming months, perhaps weeks.

Wow. This is all news to me. Where did you hear this?

I believe it was taken from The Rumor Mill on The Digital Bits:

Sooooo, is Charlie telling us that it is not coming out at all, or just that it will not include all the other stuff? I just want my Director's Cut with better video and audio.

Charlie, you're within reach of the powers that be. Can't you just smack them upside the head?

I think if we are lucky we will get a hd remaster of the director's cut and the BBC's "on the edge of bladerunner" documentary. I doubt much beyond that. I would be happy for now if that were to happen!!!

I'm in agreement, I just watched the original (only) release again on Wednesday night, and it's just a shame because I know this film could look and sound GREAT. It's such a wonderful and unique film and deserves better. Bring it on.

Aw nuts!

Either Charlie has a very dry sense of humor (which I can appreciate in a twisted sort of way ) or he really is unaware of this release.

Don't tell me this was all just another baseless rumor.

That is the same DB announcement that got our juices flowing on page 8.

I think Nils was simply trying to get Chet up to date to what us regulars here already know. His post was simply sprinkled with a bit of speculation or just some very loose paraphrasing.

Quick question for all you BR knowledgables: In my art class my professor showed a clip from Blade Runner on VHS. The scene was when Pris attacks Deckard in the old building. In the clip there seemed to be a few extra seconds when shes on top of him where she jams her fingers in his nostrils and pulls(hard. looked like it hurt). I checked my Director's Cut and sure enough it wasnt on there. So does my prof have the original cut, or workprint or what?

Thanks,
Kyle