Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?

[twietee]

Hmm, like I said, I only know the Final Cut (fifth edition of the movie). It is my understanding though, that the original release got quite butchered to meet more the mainstream expectations (won't do any spoilers here), also mind that the '82 release was differentiated into a US version and an international version, not sure which one iTunes is offering, I think the US version is generally thought inferior. It also got a voice over narration.

The 2007 release is the Final Cut, with some extra footage and the ending initially intended by R. Scott. I'd say this is what you should get, although it won't be night and day differences. Hope you have more fun this time!



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Myself, just saw The Great Gatsby in the cinema. Liked the movie poster. Missed opportunity

 

[Shrink]

Okay, I need your help. Which version of Bladerunner should I watch (rent)? iTunes has two of them; the director's cut from 1982 and the 30th anniversary edition from 2007.

Hmm, like I said, I only know the Final Cut (fifth edition of the movie). It is my understanding though, that the original release got quite butchered to meet more the mainstream expectations (won't do any spoilers here). It also got a voice over narration which is in general always seen quite ehm, controversial. But I think it fits into the Noir canon..

The 2007 release is the Final Cut, with some extra footage and the ending initially intended by R. Scott. I'd say this is what you should get, although it won't be night and day differences. Hope you have more fun this time!

Myself, saw The Great Gatsby in the cinema. Liked the movie poster and some car chases best. Missed opportunity

If only the original has the voice over, then I strongly recommend the original. twietee is right that the voice over is essential to the noir style. And since, IMO, the film was an homage to the noir style, losing the voice over is a real loss.

 

[twietee]

If only the original has the voice over, then I strongly recommend the original. twietee is right that the voice over is essential to the noir style. And since, IMO, the film was an homage to the noir style, losing the voice over is a real loss.

Voice over isn't the 'problem' I think. It's more about the altered ending in my understanding. But yeah, whatever version, enjoy it!

 

[AlabamaSlammer]

The girlfriend just picked this up from Redbox.

 

[S.B.G]

If only the original has the voice over, then I strongly recommend the original. twietee is right that the voice over is essential to the noir style. And since, IMO, the film was an homage to the noir style, losing the voice over is a real loss.

Voice over isn't the 'problem' I think. It's more about the altered ending in my understanding. But yeah, whatever version, enjoy it!

Well, I'm fairly sure I saw the 1982 version the first time as I do remember a voice-over. I will try the 2007 version today and see what happens.

 

[mscriv]

Interesting to read your impressions.

As a huge fan of film noir, I felt that "Bladerunner" is the only true post 50's neo-noir, and the only color film that I consider a noir film. (I just read that sentence over...so snotty!) For me, it was an homage to the film noir genre.

I thought the use of the 40's noir structure and the cinematography was excellent.

I'm curious as to what you found disappointing about the film. Or if not disappointing, what was it that you found less than impressive?

Trying to recall my mindset at the time, I believe that my expectations were different for the film that it actually was. I was expecting some kind of futuristic action film and not a slower investigative, thought provoking one.

What I saw was on Starz so I think it was just the original 1982 USA release. I think, like SandboxGeneral, I had different expectations thinking it was going to be a sci-fi action movie more akin to Alien, Predator, Judge Dredd, or Total Recall. I don't think the movie was bad and I do appreciate the noir style. I watched it late at night when I was already a little tired and really had to fight falling asleep for the last 30 minutes. I really thought it was going to be an up beat or thrilling movie that would keep me awake with action and suspense as opposed to a contemplative drama.

The thing about other noir films I have enjoyed is the way mystery drives the story. For example, I really liked Memento. There was no mystery in Blade Runner that kept me on the edge of my seat. And, there was no real action or suspense to the chase/man hunt aspect of the movie and thus it didn't keep my focus very well at the time. I do get the various human issues and ethical/moral dilemmas as presented in the story and if I had known that these were the main focus of the movie I would have approached it differently.

 

[S.B.G]

I don't think the movie was bad and I do appreciate the noir style.

I finished watching it (Bladerunner) a little while ago and I have to agree with everything you've said about the movie and I still feel inline with my original comments and my memories of it.

The thing about other noir films I have enjoyed is the way mystery drives the story. There was no mystery in Blade Runner that kept me on the edge of my seat. And, there was no real action or suspense to the chase/man hunt aspect of the movie and thus it didn't keep my focus very well at the time. I do get the various human issues and ethical/moral dilemmas as presented in the story and if I had known that these were the main focus of the movie I would have approached it differently.

Again, agreed. The movie was fine, it was just a slow action film and lacked any real mystery. From the beginning you knew who the Replicants were and you knew what had to be done. It was just a matter of Rick finding and eliminating them and there wasn't much effort in accomplishing that task either.

Watching the sequence unfold was more like attrition; I knew what was going to happen, and I had to wait it out until it was done.

That is my opinion of the plot line and the way it was executed.

As for the cinematography, that was superb and the use of neo noir (I had to read up on these noir terms before writing this) was great.

I think that the execution of the storyline did not match the motif and neo noir mood of the movie. The mysterious mood was present, but the mysterious storyline was not.

I ended up watching the 1982 directors cut version because the iTunes description said it had removed the "uplifting" ending. It also did not have the voice-over that the 2007 version supposedly has. Either way, I was confused by iTunes because both versions were listed as 117 minutes long and one of them was supposed to have extra scenes in it - I dunno.

 

[Shrink]

I finished watching it (Bladerunner) a little while ago and I have to agree with everything you've said about the movie and I still feel inline with my original comments and my memories of it.



Again, agreed. The movie was fine, it was just a slow action film and lacked any real mystery. From the beginning you knew who the Replicants were and you knew what had to be done. It was just a matter of Rick finding and eliminating them and there wasn't much effort in accomplishing that task either.

Watching the sequence unfold was more like attrition; I knew what was going to happen, and I had to wait it out until it was done.

That is my opinion of the plot line and the way it was executed.


As for the cinematography, that was superb and the use of neo noir (I had to read up on these noir terms before writing this) was great.

I think that the execution of the storyline did not match the motif and neo noir mood of the movie. The mysterious mood was present, but the mysterious storyline was not.

I ended up watching the 1982 directors cut version because the iTunes description said it had removed the "uplifting" ending. It also did not have the voice-over that the 2007 version supposedly has. Either way, I was confused by iTunes because both versions were listed as 117 minutes long and one of them was supposed to have extra scenes in it - I dunno.

Very nice review...I enjoyed reading your comments.

Just a quick comment...it is my opinion of the film noir style that action was not an important component, not was mystery, who-done-it the point either. Two examples of classic film noir, "The Asphalt Jungle", and "Double Indemnity" were neither action orient nor who-don-its". To me, film noir was about character, the femme fatale running a scam on the male lead, chiaroscuro, cinematography, cynicism, and grittiness. That's just my take on the genre.

 

[Huntn]

The girlfriend just picked this up from Redbox.

It got a good rating from Rotten Tomatoes. I plan on watching it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I finished watching it (Bladerunner) a little while ago and I have to agree with everything you've said about the movie and I still feel inline with my original comments and my memories of it.



Again, agreed. The movie was fine, it was just a slow action film and lacked any real mystery. From the beginning you knew who the Replicants were and you knew what had to be done. It was just a matter of Rick finding and eliminating them and there wasn't much effort in accomplishing that task either.

Watching the sequence unfold was more like attrition; I knew what was going to happen, and I had to wait it out until it was done.

That is my opinion of the plot line and the way it was executed.

As for the cinematography, that was superb and the use of neo noir (I had to read up on these noir terms before writing this) was great.

I think that the execution of the storyline did not match the motif and neo noir mood of the movie. The mysterious mood was present, but the mysterious storyline was not.

I ended up watching the 1982 directors cut version because the iTunes description said it had removed the "uplifting" ending. It also did not have the voice-over that the 2007 version supposedly has. Either way, I was confused by iTunes because both versions were listed as 117 minutes long and one of them was supposed to have extra scenes in it - I dunno.

Excellent and very well thought through review; I like the distinctions you make, and your comments remind me of my response when I first saw the movie. I thought it good (especially, as Shrink says below, for lighting, noir mood, cinematography, chiaroscuro (nice one, Shrink, a lovely word) and so on) but not excellent. At an emotional or psychological level, it failed to engage me, in that I didn't really care what happened to the characters. In fact, as a story, I thought it underwhelming, and left it thinking 'interesting' rather than ' superlative', or' I really would like to think about that a bit more'.

Above all, I like SBG's observation that the mysterious mood was present (and was superbly portrayed) but the mysterious storyline was not - succinct summary of the movie's narrative shortcomings.

Very nice review...I enjoyed reading your comments.

Just a quick comment...it is my opinion of the film noir style that action was not an important component, not was mystery, who-done-it the point either. Two examples of classic film noir, "The Asphalt Jungle", and "Double Indemnity" were neither action orient nor who-don-its". To me, film noir was about character, the femme fatale running a scam on the male lead, chiaroscuro, cinematography, cynicism, and grittiness. That's just my take on the genre.

I agree re the classics you have mentioned, but beg to differ over 'Bladerunner', which I thought good (above all for atmosphere) but ultimately, lacking that je ne sais quoi.

 

[mscriv]

Very nice review...I enjoyed reading your comments.

Excellent and very well thought through review; I like the distinctions you make, and your comments remind me of my response when I first saw the movie.

I'm feeling a little left out...

Since you guys agree with Sandbox General and Sandbox General agrees with me (he quoted me in fact)... does that mean I can maybe apply a little of your gushing compliments towards him as positive praise for me as well?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I'm feeling a little left out...

Since you guys agree with Sandbox General and Sandbox General agrees with me (he quoted me in fact)... does that mean I can maybe apply a little of your gushing compliments towards him as positive praise for me as well?

Sorry, my eyesight is poor, and I hadn't realised that you were discussing Bladerunner; actually, I noted that you had mentioned Memento in bold, which, as I hadn't seen the movie, - and had never heard of it - did not strike me as something I needed to pay close heed to. Your initial sentence mentioned 'it' (which I hadn't realised was Bladerunner), rather than mentioning the title of the movie, as I skimmed swiftly through the post.

But, yes, re-reading it, your points echo much of what I thought when I saw the movie. I couldn't see what everyone thought was so 'timeless or great' about it; good, yes, and beautifully shot, with a brooding atmosphere, but strangely lacking. I really liked the soundtrack, though.

 

[George3cha]

Just watched Fred Claus last night. Pretty funny. It was better than I thought it would be.

 

[twietee]

I ended up watching the 1982 directors cut version because the iTunes description said it had removed the "uplifting" ending. It also did not have the voice-over that the 2007 version supposedly has. Either way, I was confused by iTunes because both versions were listed as 117 minutes long and one of them was supposed to have extra scenes in it - I dunno.

Well, that's mysterious!

Guess you mean the 1992 Director's Cut? I think that most of the changes made in 2007 was technical stuff (dolby 5.1 and crisper picture / more details). So I guess storywise, these two are almost on par (did it have the unicorn scenes, sandboxgeneral?).

And just a sidenote: since Shrink mentioned it, I couldn't sleep and had yet some time to think about it: leaving out the voice-over narration isn't a decision basing on taste, it wouldn't make sense with the altered ending anymore imho. Heck, now all this talk made me thirsty, think I'm going to watch it today. Hope I can find a BluRay with the mysterious Workprint version. Has anyone here read the Philip. K. Dick novel "Do Androids Dream of Sheep" were it is loosely (?) based on?

 

[mscriv]

Sorry, my eyesight is poor, and I hadn't realised that you were discussing Bladerunner; actually, I noted that you had mentioned Memento in bold, which, as I hadn't seen the movie, - and had never heard of it - did not strike me as something I needed to pay close heed to. Your initial sentence mentioned 'it' (which I hadn't realised was Bladerunner), rather than mentioning the title of the movie, as I skimmed swiftly through the post.

But, yes, re-reading it, your points echo much of what I thought when I saw the movie. I couldn't see what everyone thought was so 'timeless or great' about it; good, yes, and beautifully shot, with a brooding atmosphere, but strangely lacking. I really liked the soundtrack, though.

Thanks Sceptical, I was really just giving you and Shrink a little teasing.

 

[twietee]

Ok, I stand corrected. Wiki says there are 7 (!) versions available, it's not really clear though where the 1982 Director's Cut differs from the International Cut. Interesting, still the '82 Director's Cut wasn't approved by Scott, actually only the Final Cut is. Very interesting, may have look at the '82 one as well then.

Mscriv, what about [WW], you retired?

 

[ritmomundo]

Man of Steel exceeded my expectations. Sure, it was a little slow at times, and a little excessive with the fight scenes, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I may even go see it again.

 

[S.B.G]

Well, that's mysterious!

Guess you mean the 1992 Director's Cut?

Nope, iTunes says 1982.

(did it have the unicorn scenes, sandboxgeneral?).

Yes it did.

Ok, I stand corrected. Wiki says there are 7 (!) versions available, it's not really clear though where the 1982 Director's Cut differs from the International Cut. Interesting, still the '82 Director's Cut wasn't approved by Scott, actually only the Final Cut is. Very interesting, may have look at the '82 one as well then.

Well, I know of 3 versions; the 1 I saw on Netflix and these two iTunes versions!

 

[twietee]

Well, I know of 3 versions; the 1 I saw on Netflix and these two iTunes versions!

Apparently, there are two version called Director's Cut, I didn't know that. One showed pre-first release in 1982 and was afterwards altered / re-edited to get split into the US/Domestic - and the International Cut. Like you said, with the uplifting ending and voice over. In 1992, a Director's cut was officially released. I read that Ridley Scott didn't approve of any of those Cuts and so in 2007 another one was released by him, the Final Cut. Let's talk about confusion! But I find it very interesting that iTunes seems to have access to the very first one (the German iTunes store doesn't, though), which isn't even included in this very nice box-set. Which also rose during the last two days from £ 75 to £90!

Although I find things like that quite entertaining (that is if it isn't an obvious attempt to fool the customers) enough of that from my part, rather tedious I suppose.

 

[S.B.G]

Although I find things like that quite entertaining (that is if it isn't an obvious attempt to fool the customers) enough of that from my part, rather tedious I suppose.

LOL, well, I've watched it twice and came to the same conclusion with my review for each of them. As you said, enough of that movie.

Now on to more important things; which movie to watch today that is good enough for me to write a review for!

 

[Huntn]

This is the End is getting good reviews. I'll still probably rent it.

Just watched Fred Claus last night. Pretty funny. It was better than I thought it would be.

Vince Vaughn has just about worn out his welcome with me. His unique mannerisms over and over, playing the same character in every movie. Was he the same Vince Vaughn in this movie?

I ended up watching the 1982 directors cut version because the iTunes description said it had removed the "uplifting" ending. It also did not have the voice-over that the 2007 version supposedly has. Either way, I was confused by iTunes because both versions were listed as 117 minutes long and one of them was supposed to have extra scenes in it - I dunno.

Interesting because I thought the Directors cut was supposed to have added more of an uplifting ending? Or was this after the Director had second thoughts after the first cut? Lol. Bladerunner was too dark for me, I mean physically dark. Maybe it was because the first time I saw it in a drive in theater, but decades later watched it again and it's merely ok.

 

[ValtermcPires]

- Timecop (1994) - 7/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111438/

- Creature (2011) - 3/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1686018/

 

[Huntn]

Streamed Warm Bodies today. A sincere attempt to bend the gender, but ehh.

 

[costabunny]

Streamed Warm Bodies today. A sincere attempt to bend the gender, but ehh.

Shouldn't that read 'genre', or are you watching the x-rated version...

 

[Tsuchiya]

Saw Man of Steel this morning with my dad.

Overall it was alright, but not nearly as good as I had been expecting. It just lacked that spark that made Nolans Batman trilogy so great.