Review Detail
9.5 18 10
(Updated: August 11, 2021)
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
9.0
I felt that the visual quality could be relatively soft for an HD edit, which I assume is a result of the choice of sources. I know that a lot of different visual sources were used, so it goes up and down. I think some of the lower res footage was chosen because the editor felt it made the polluted city look grittier, but I'm personally not sure if it's worth it. Overall it's certainly not bad. The grading choices were good and generally seemed to be consistent.
Audio quality and volume could vary quite widely, so I'm assuming a variety of audio sources were being used as well. It was never an issue in terms of controlling my TV volume, but it was noticeable.
Audio editing is generally solid. I think there were maybe two transitions that felt a bit quick to me. Score choice wasn't always to my taste, but I think I'm so used to the score for the final cut that I wasn't keen on hearing much that was alternate. This is subjective though. I am curious as to where the scoring came from for when Rachel is playing the piano, though? I found it a little odd that her playing wasn't synced to the music, though if that's how it is on the source that's fair enough. I don't think that's the same music that plays on the Final, Director's, Theatrical or Workprint cuts though, is it?
Visual editing: Between 54:57 and 54:59 there is a frame jump, which I believe was created by a line being cut (I think a date reference?). This is jarring and shouldn't have been made IMO. A cut like this can be done but the gap needs to be seamless. I have managed to get away with some similar cuts by using software like RIFE or DAIN to replace the missing frames, so that's something I'd recommend trying; otherwise I think I'd try something else, like tweaking what he says as opposed to removing it. Other than this, I think there was one shot during the Bryant briefing that seemed a bit too quick to have been in the original, but I wasn't certain.
Narratively, I think this works very well and is a solid option. It felt a little unnatural that there was less time spent with Sebastian and Priss, like maybe we spend a little too much away from that part of the story, but I'm honestly not sure if this is just because I'm used to something different. Because of that, I hesitate to let it affect the score.
I have seen an edit try to remove the date-rape with Rachel and not execute it very well IMO, but here Wakeupkeo just makes a very simple cut - one I'm surprised to have not seen utilised before - and it works nicely. The pacing is great, and I've always felt Blade Runner was a bit indulgent - I'm not sure if there were many trims for pacing... I don't see mention of it on the cutlist, but it really did feel like it flowed better. The photo analysis scene seemed mercifully short - thank the heavens!
On a subjective level, I prefer "father" to the F bomb - I'm not sure why there's an argument there. The F bomb just seems random in the context of the scene, and father is more thematically appropriate IMO - but each to their own! I also didn't think the deleted/extra scene with Olmos added anything, personally, and was the most obvious in terms of a quality shift.
Overall, I enjoyed this a lot. Not the first BR edit I've watched, Won't be the last. There is no perfect cut and I find all these different interpretations interesting. Keep on hacking, folks. Chop it into fine dust :)
Audio quality and volume could vary quite widely, so I'm assuming a variety of audio sources were being used as well. It was never an issue in terms of controlling my TV volume, but it was noticeable.
Audio editing is generally solid. I think there were maybe two transitions that felt a bit quick to me. Score choice wasn't always to my taste, but I think I'm so used to the score for the final cut that I wasn't keen on hearing much that was alternate. This is subjective though. I am curious as to where the scoring came from for when Rachel is playing the piano, though? I found it a little odd that her playing wasn't synced to the music, though if that's how it is on the source that's fair enough. I don't think that's the same music that plays on the Final, Director's, Theatrical or Workprint cuts though, is it?
Visual editing: Between 54:57 and 54:59 there is a frame jump, which I believe was created by a line being cut (I think a date reference?). This is jarring and shouldn't have been made IMO. A cut like this can be done but the gap needs to be seamless. I have managed to get away with some similar cuts by using software like RIFE or DAIN to replace the missing frames, so that's something I'd recommend trying; otherwise I think I'd try something else, like tweaking what he says as opposed to removing it. Other than this, I think there was one shot during the Bryant briefing that seemed a bit too quick to have been in the original, but I wasn't certain.
Narratively, I think this works very well and is a solid option. It felt a little unnatural that there was less time spent with Sebastian and Priss, like maybe we spend a little too much away from that part of the story, but I'm honestly not sure if this is just because I'm used to something different. Because of that, I hesitate to let it affect the score.
I have seen an edit try to remove the date-rape with Rachel and not execute it very well IMO, but here Wakeupkeo just makes a very simple cut - one I'm surprised to have not seen utilised before - and it works nicely. The pacing is great, and I've always felt Blade Runner was a bit indulgent - I'm not sure if there were many trims for pacing... I don't see mention of it on the cutlist, but it really did feel like it flowed better. The photo analysis scene seemed mercifully short - thank the heavens!
On a subjective level, I prefer "father" to the F bomb - I'm not sure why there's an argument there. The F bomb just seems random in the context of the scene, and father is more thematically appropriate IMO - but each to their own! I also didn't think the deleted/extra scene with Olmos added anything, personally, and was the most obvious in terms of a quality shift.
Overall, I enjoyed this a lot. Not the first BR edit I've watched, Won't be the last. There is no perfect cut and I find all these different interpretations interesting. Keep on hacking, folks. Chop it into fine dust :)
User Review
Format Watched?
Digital
T