Blade Runner: The Penultimate Cut

All I can say is just WOW! I own the five disc blu-ray collectors set, and for some reason have only watched the Final Cut for the longest time, never liked the harsh teal tint, but it was a solid movie. Watching the original home release to see why everyone seems to dismiss it, and the FC, this edit quite literally the penULTIMATE cut, loved it from beginning to end.

After years of having watched the original "Director's Cut" of this movie and appreciating the rich colour grading, I nevertheless was disappointed at some of the moments missing from the story which were included in the Final Cut. By taking the final cut and regrading it, TM2YC has edited a movie which I personally would consider the closest to Ridley Scott's original vision for the movie. Very well done.

I gave myself sometime to sit and digest the edit, and I've come back 23 days later after watching the first time and mid-way through my second viewing with one of the included commentary tracks. All I have to say is I am seriously impressed and glad to be able to watch it in this form, it improved the viewing experience and felt entirely seamless. Amazing work.

I've seen Blade Runner more times than I can remember. Ridley Scott + Philip K. Dick + Syd Mead = CYBERPUNK. Often imitated, never duplicated; 2049 didn't even come close. I saw The Final Cut when it was first released on the silver screen and thought I'd seen the best version the best way.

But even back in 2007, something bothered me. I couldn't put my finger on it at first. The era of digital color grading was still fairly young, and so was I, unaware of such things. Every version I've watched since, always in a newer format, has had the same unidentifiable issue. Years later I figured it out, but what options did I have?

I've been subconsciously waiting for this correction, I only wished I watched it sooner. With the exception of some slight audio glitches where the soundtrack seemed to strobe or pulse (and only for a couple of minutes early in the film); I don't recall that on any other mix, but I could be wrong. I'm still grading A/V a 10, because the color is perfect. It could also be the smaller 720p file I watched. I'll have to see the 1080p and compare. Either way, who cares, this is the only way I'm watching Blade Runner.

1/7/23 Edit: I compared the 720p version to the 1080p; I found no audio issues with the 1080p.

This painstaking restoration will likely remain unparalleled for the next decades and generations of Blade Runner fans. TM2YC took the time to analyze scene by scene any missing visual detail/fidelity in the Final and Director's Cuts which was then re-inserted by rotoscoping it in from other sources! Damn fine work! The only extra audio track I wish I had now is the Final Cut 5.1 mix (sounds just beautiful) with the word "Father" (Final Cut) changed to "Fucker" (original release). This would give me the best audio and visual quality currently available to humanity, maintaining the spirit of the original color grading palette-- as well as the ORIGINAL DIALOGUE. For me to get the original dialogue I unfortunately have to downgrade to the Director's Cut audio. But this release is really just perfect; I have nothing but praise hence the perfect scoring across the board. And if really I want Roy to be foul-mouthed in glorious Final Cut 5.1 I can easily make that little adjustment myself. Thank you TM2YC!