Blade Runner – The Deep Cut

One of the main reasons I love Blade Runner is precisely the hypnotic, reflexive pacing, so from the start I knew this wouldn’t really be for me, yet I liked how you timed the music to the images in the YouTube video of the intro you posted so I gave it a chance. This delivers exactly what it promises: a shorter and much faster paced BR, and does so in a technically mostly excellent way. Editing is totally professional except for that jump during the Leon/Deckard confrontation, and I even thought some of the newly placed music worked (Zhora, yes. Climax, no). However, I stick to the original. This feels too much like a standard action movie and lacks a lot of what makes BR special (for my tastes). Anyway, you are a very good editor and I hope I can see more from you in the future. And the edit I’d recommend to those people who don’t much like the original because of the slower pacing: better an abridged BR than no BR at all, and this could even help make the film grow on them. 7/10.

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

VERY well done, but like most of the BR fans I want more, not less! ;)

White43 already said more or less what I think (exept that I like the new score over the Zhora’s scene.)
7/10, could have been 8 but this cut did not surprised me a lot, it’s still BR, but shorter.
From this point of view it’s a good edit.
It’s just that in the case of BR I like more, or else it should change the vision of the movie and plot in a more radical way.

That said I did enjoy this edit. Good job.

Last time I saw Blade Runner it was the Director’s Cut, and I was probably 10 or 11. At the time I thought it was long, kind of confusing, and mostly boring. Of course I was pretty young, so there is no telling how tastes change, but I still never had a desire to watch the movie again. This edit, being so drastic, seemed perfect for me.

PLOT
I remember the movie well enough that I recognized every scene in your edit, but not well enough that I could remember the scenes you cut. So I never felt like I was missing out on anything, and I didn’t have any behind-the-scenes knowledge that might help me fill in the blanks in case you created a confusing plot or plot holes. I’m happy to say that the you have done an amazing job of cutting so much, without confusing a new viewer or creating any plot holes. Really fantastic. Whatever that photo enhancement scene was, it was not necessary at all, I completely bought the detective work that led Decker to Zhora. Also, unlike White43 I thought it worked really well when Deckard went over to Rachel on the piano and said “I dreamed music.” It really felt the mood of the movie for me, and required no additional explanation (who hasn’t heard music while they are asleep and had it incorporated into their dreams?).
Your ordering of parrallel scenes worked flawlessly, and was much appreciated. I especially loved after Roy is told to seek our Sebastian how I was left wondering why Darryl Hannah was hiding in the trash of an ally… and then when Sebastian introduces himself, it all falls into place.
When I saw the origami unicorn I didn’t know what it meant, although I figured maybe it was from the other detective guy, but it didn’t really matter to me what the meaning was. It just seemed mysterious, and that was fine by me. Of course your meaning is completely right, and would have been obvious had I been paying better attention, that the other detective had been there and spared Rachel’s life.

EDITING
For me the editing was flawless. There was no single part where I felt like I was watching a fanedit, instead of a professionally released film. Your addition of the new scoring for the Zhora chase and the finale were great in my opinion. You said you wanted a more frenzied feeling for Roy chasing Deckard, and that is exactly how it came off.

SOUND / VIDEO
I saw the MOV file, not the DVD, but I had no complaints about either audio or video.

ENTERTAINMENT
Well… here’s the problem. Even at just over an hour, I was still bored. I know it must be something wrong with me, but I’m not a fan of Blade Runner. Your edit got to the point so much faster, and was really focused on actually progressing the plot, but it still couldn’t fix it for me. How can a 74 minute movie still feel slow paced to me? I don’t know, but it really dragged for me. Still, it was entirely watchable, and for me it was entertaining in the sense that I love seeing good editing, especially when it is so drastic. I must impress on anyone reading this review, that this is my own opinion only, and a minority one at that.

I figure 7 stars is fair for a flawlessly edited film, that I would probably only give about a 5 for personal enjoyment.

November 21, 2009
*This rating was given before reviews were required*