John's Movie Musings

I have a confession to make. In all my years of movie watching, pop-culture references, and internet memes, I'd never seen Blade Runner. Sure, I'd watched scenes here and there. And with the internet and every SF movie borrowing from it, I knew the basic premise. But I never took the time to watch it in one sitting.

Finally, I can scratch that one off my list. But here's where it gets funny (funnier?). I watched the Final Cut version. How's it different than the Theatrical Cut, Director's Cut, and Give the Studio More Money Cut? I have no idea. But I do know a few things.

First, the Final Cut was Ridley Scott's "favorite cut." I know this because he says so in the bonus features. My guess is that bonus feature was also included in the Director's Cut, but who am I to judge?

I also know that Sean Young came back last year and filmed some new scenes for this cut. What are they? Again, I have no clue, but there's a section in the middle where she starts playing the piano that looks "newer" than everything else. They are also the only scenes where she's not in the same frame as young Harrison Ford.

But here's the best part. Edward James Olmos is in this. For those that don't know, he's in the new Battlestar Galactica. In Blade Runner, the replicants are called "Skin Jobs" - the same name they call the human cylons in BSG. See the connection?

Yeah, I just watched the most classic SF movie ever, and the most I got out of it was the "Skin Job" reference. But really, this movie is awesome. It's a classic for a reason. Is this version better than the others? No clue. But if you do, lemme know!

Grade: A