Celebrating the 25th anniversary of iconic sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner, the 5-Disc Ultimate Collectors' Edition is the definitive Blade Runner collection. Packaged in a lenticular collectible tin with art cards and even a letter from director Ridley Scott, the Collectors' Edition brings together for the first time all five versions of the film, including Blade Runner: The Final Cut, which saw Ridley Scott go back into post production to create the long-awaited definitive version of the classic film.
The 5-Disc Ultimate Collectors' Edition also includes an entire disc with hours of enhanced content, including new featurettes and galleries devoted to more than 45 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes recently discovered in deep storage and approved by Ridley Scott. There is also background on author Philip K. Dick, script development, abandoned sequences, conceptual design, anaylsis of the overall impact of the film and how it lead to the birth of cyberpunk.
Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, Joanna Cassidy, Sean Young and Daryl Hannah are among some 80 stars, filmmakers and others who participate in the extensive bonus features. Among the highlights is "Dangerous Days", a brand new, feature-length documentary by award-winning DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika, with an extensive look into every aspect of Blade Runner: its literary genesis, its challenging production and its controversial legacy. The definitive documentary to accompany the definitive film collection.
To call this cut of Blade Runner long awaited would be a heavy, heavy understatement. Its taken 25 years since the first release of one of the science-fiction genres flagship films to get this far, and understandably, Blade Runner: The Final Cut has proved to be one of the most eagerly awaited DVD releases of all time.
And its been well worth the wait. Director Ridley Scotts decision to head back to the edit suite and cut together one last version of his flat-out classic film has been heavily rewarded, with a genuinely definitive version of an iconic, visually stunning and downright intelligent piece of cinema. Make no mistake: this is by distance the best version of Blade Runner. And its never looked better, either.
The core of Blade Runner, of course, remains the same, with Harrison Fords Deckard (the Blade Runner of the title) on the trail of four replicants, cloned humans that are now illegal. And he does so across an amazing cityscape thats proven to be well ahead of its time, with astounding visuals that defied the supposed limits of special effects back in 1982.
Backed up with a staggering extra features package that varies depending on which version of this Blade Runner release you opt for (two-, four- and five-disc versions are available), the highlight nonetheless remains the stunning film itself. Remastered and restored, it remains a testament to a number of creative people whose thinking was simply a country mile in advance of that of their contemporaries. An unmissable purchase. --Jon Foster