Good Guy Deckard

Blade Runner is pretty much my favourite film and usually takes the top spot. It's always a bit awkward when your asked, "So, which edit do you like the best?" and that's tricky for me as I like different themes from all the edits. Narrative wise with "Good Guy Deckard" I'm personally glad the Unicorn scenes are gone as I never liked the whole Deckard replicant storyline and the sequel (if you bother to follow the sequel or accept it as canon) pretty much dismisses it anyway.

But with good comes the indifferent. I'm indifferent to this edit slightly as I think the whole Deckard and Rachael storyline is somewhat dead. Deckard seems more like her friend or fatherly guardian apart from towards the end where we see him approach her sleeping. This feels awkward and confusing to the audience since we aren't really given many romantic signs that have led us to this moment. So I'm afraid from a narrative point of view and with very little footage for the editor to play with, it just didn't work.

On another smaller note with the editor's vision, I'm not really sure if I felt any more or less sympathetic to the replicants. I felt we saw them less. But that didn't really make me feel anything remotely different towards the replicants from other edits.

As for the visuals, it all looks in place and the quality is great. Pollution-wise. I honestly couldn't see much difference. I'm not sure what was supposed to be more grainer and polluted? I'd probably have to see a side by side representation for comparison. But it looked pretty clear to me.

And onto the audio, the scene that leads up to the Vangelis "Love Theme" score where Rachael plays the piano, this didn't quite align unfortunately as I assume Rachael is playing to the soundtrack. I don't think the "Love Theme" is played at all throughout the film, but I'm happy to fall on my sword if I'm wrong. I couldn't fault the audio itself. Who can fault the Blade Runner soundtrack?

So overall it's an interesting take. I don't think it's my favourite. But it was different and it was worth watching to see what someone else could do with the footage that's available. It seems to have pleased a fair amount of people on here very recently so that's a recommendation for everyone else to watch it and see what they think for themselves. It's another experience to view Blade Runner.

TRIGGER WARNING: HERETICAL CINEMATIC BLASPHEMY FOLLOWS

BLADE RUNNER was one of those films that I just HAD to watch when I was a wee teenage lad due to the sheer legendary status that surrounded this film. What they were able to do in terms of sets, special effects, costumes, and a truly tangible atmosphere is simply astounding for a film that was made in 1987; and it's a film that has truly transcended time and still feels relevant today. But MAN does it DRAG! The film is gorgeous to look at, but there's only so much beautiful slow shots that one can take before the beauty just becomes stale from the constant bombardment of said beautiful slow shots! I wanted to like it, I swear! But the way the story was told was just dreadfully boring. Keo has a warning that states, "this edit is for a VERY small audience," but I insist that I could not be in the minority in finding this film a drag; I insist that most people say they like this film simply because they're afraid to go against the cinematic religious belief that "BLADE RUNNER IS A MASTERPIECE." In other words, most people are lying when they say that they enjoyed BLADE RUNNER. There, I said it!

That being said, this edit has really done a phenomenal job in streamlining the film without sacrificing AT ALL the atmosphere, story, and overall message of the film. In fact, the message was actually improved and made clearer in this edit! I mean, seriously, how could anyone find the Replicant gang sympathetic when they look so sinister and they kept casually killing people with little to no remorse throughout the film?! Keo fixes that. For the first time ever, I TRULY felt bad for Roy Batty in the end. And the pacing is dramatically improved, not ONCE was I ever bored watching this. And thank you for not including the goddamn unicorn sequence. It's a neat idea, but it does feel ultimately shoehorned in and it didn't really add much except forcing a "mysterious twist" within a film that didn't really need it.

My only complaint is not adding the year and all mentions of the year. I mean, why do that? Is it because the film takes place in 2019 and we're in 2022 and thus ruining the "immersion magic"? I mean, sure, but how hard is it to just imagine that this film takes place in an "alternate universe?" Eh, just a minor nitpick.

Thank you Keo. You've helped me to FINALLY appreciate the claims that this film is a "masterpiece." An excellent edit, plain and simple. And if you ever do a version that includes the voice overs, I would be intrigued in watching that as well!

Honestly this might well become my definitive version of Blade Runner. Deckard is left a little more of a mystery as his reactions to "retiring" the Replicants grow--it's a dark world and perhaps the reason Deckard retired in the first place. What I truly enjoy about this version (apart from the absence of Harrison Ford's tired narration), is how it refocuses the narrative on choice.

Rachael's arc is perhaps the best shown by this, from her attempt to prove her own humanity to her choice to save Deckard, this edit brings Sean Young's marvelous and nuanced performance to the fore. The bond between her and Deckard is still one forged of desperation, but now it's also a shared vulnerability and kindness. It also makes the parallels between Batty/Pris and Deckard/Rachael more compelling, and Deckard's fear at the end all the more palpable.

This extends to the adjustment of Sebastian's motivation and fate. While elements of manipulation and danger remains, it feels so much more fulfilling leaving that to the background. Instead we get a feel for this lonely man who knows what it is to be dying, who lets his sympathy blind him to the anger and despair that Batty is cycling through. Leaving his fate ambiguous also makes more sense given what we've learned about Batty: namely that beneath the fire is a scared man desperate to be free.