Along with my friends Ken and Cindy (thanks, guys), I had the chance last night of being one of the first few hundred people in NC to see Ridley Scott's "final" version of "Blade Runner" on the big screen. From a purely technical standpoint, the Carolina Theatre in Durham was perhaps not the best venue for such a screening (the sound system, especially, seemed limited compared to more modern cinemas), and I was surprised at how much wear the print already showed at a couple of points. Nevertheless, it was gratifying to discover that I can still safely consider a personal favorite to be one of the best science fiction movies of all time. Twenty-five years after its incep date, Blade Runner shows no signs of losing its power and relevance, a rare feat in the world of SF.
Although far removed in plot from its source, Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," Blade Runner investigates the same central question as the novel--what is it that makes us human? "More human than human" is the Tyrell corporation's creepy motto for its artificial people who are stronger, faster, and at least as intelligent as their creators. Roy Batty's final act of mercy turns the motto on its ear; despite the "questionable things" he has done in the past, when Roy decides to spare the life of his lover's murderer, he proves himself more human than Deckard, the "little man" who is by no means proud of himself.
Most of the differences I noticed between the "final cut" and my memory of the previous director's cut seem pretty minor, with a curious exception. When Roy finally "meets his maker," Tyrell, he says, "I want more life, Father." My memory of that line from previous versions was, "I want more life, fucker." That's a lot different. Sure enough, when I replayed the line (three times) on my DVD of the director's cut, Roy clearly says "fucker"; his lips, however, seem to be forming the word "Father." For whatever reason, the line seems to have been filmed as "father," then dubbed as "fucker" until this final cut. The final version works much better, and not just because of any prudishness on my part. Calling Tyrell a "fucker" merely adds a note of menace to Hauer's already highly menacing performance; calling him "Father" reinforces Roy's fulfillment of the Frankenstein archetype--the monster returned to punish his creator for cursing him to an incomplete humanity.
I see Ken has also posted to his blog about the final cut--check out his thoughts here. I discovered last night that Ken and I are in near complete agreement about Blade Runner, but his post raised one very minor point on which I disagree. His description of the death of Pris indicates that he envisions the replicants as some kind of very sophisticated robots that merely appear human. I always imagined them as entirely indistinguishable from people, wholly flesh and blood. What do you think, Ken? Does that make any kind of difference at all?
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I've since edited the blog post you linked to in order to correct that implication on my part. My friend Doug noted the same problem, suggesting that the Replicants were/are genetically engineered humans.
Yes, I think that makes some difference but not a substantive one. If anything, it would make stronger the claim of the Replicants for basic human rights.
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