Tag: Final Cut

This was posted at the hometheaterforum.com and gives us some insight to why we still don’t have the “Blade Runner: Special Edition”
I just attended a lecture at my college being given by producer Alan Ladd, who was one of Blade Runner’s many producers. Thankfully, there was at least one person in the audience who couldn’t resist asking about the film’s troubled DVD release, and here’s what Mr. Ladd had to say:
-Ladd insisted that Ridley Scott wanted the narration when the film was first released. Ladd said that Scott came to him when the film was in post and asked for permission to do a narration. Scott said that he wanted the film to have a noirish-old detective movie feeling. Ladd says that Ridley Scott’s comments after the film’s release claiming he never wanted it was just not true.
-As has been widely reported, Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott did not like each other at all. Alan Ladd said that Scott and Ford didn’t even talk to each other after the first day.
-Ladd claimed the version originally released was the cut that Scott had presented to the studio as his director’s cut. Ladd expressed unhappiness at the current DVD release being labeled as a director’s cut because it was just an unfinished earlier workprint of the film.
-Ladd said that Scott filmed the unicorn sequence originally and it was Scott’s decision to pull it from the film initially.
-Ladd says that one of the film’s other producers, Jerry Perenchio, has the final say over whether or not any new versions of the film can be issued. Ladd said that Perenchio and Scott absolutely loathed each other. Perenchio is a billionaire, and has no financial need for the film to be reissued. He believes that it’s in legal limbo because Perenchio hates Scott and is suppressing any new versions purely out of spite.
-Ladd says at one point people were being brought together for work on a special edition DVD, and that he was interviewed, or at least contacted about being interviewed, before legal issues brought the film to a halt. Ladd says that Scott was considering having Ford re-record a new narration before the plug was pulled on the project.
…and, of course, the question on everyone’s mind:
-Ladd is not optimistic at all about the film being reissued or redone. He actually stated that he believes because of the conflict between Perenchio and Scott that it will never happen.
So I guess some of that is stuff we all know, and maybe a couple new little tidbits, or maybe not. As the film was made over twenty years ago, it is possible that some of Ladd’s recollections may not have been completely accurate. However, I will say that Ladd spoke about a great many films and his knowledge and memory of the work he had done seemed pretty good. I wish I had better news to report.
As it says above, Blade Runner was made over twenty years ago and hopefully Ladd’s memory isn’t 100% accurate, but then again this might be the reason to why we should (?) forget about ever getting a “Blade
Runner: Special Edition”..

Source: The Alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup.
The Home Theater Forum: Some Blade Runner info from Alan Ladd (producer)

The New York Times article published December 14’th entitled “The Greatest DVD’s Never Made” might tell us why we still can’t own a definitive version of Blade Runner (The Workprint, The original theatrical cut and a “Directors Re-cut”).
It seems like this “Special Edition” still is a long way from becoming a reality and below you can find out why..
It really comes down to whom has the ownership over the original negatives (Warner Bros. only has the distribution rights for the theatrical version and home video distribution) One of the “money men” whom financially saved Blade Runner when it had gone way over budget is Jerry Perenchio (Now C.E.O of the US broadcasting Spanish language channel Univision) has the legal rights to the original negatives and he is not releasing them.
It is now three years since Sir Ridley Scott announced that he was working on a “Special Edition” of Blade Runner and that the 1992 “Directors Cut” really was done too fast (and that the final “Directors Cut” really wasnt his final version of Blade Runner). Warner Bros. was going to distribute the “Special Edition” and in may 2002 reports of some “pesky legal problems” started to appear in magazines.
Whom knows why Mr. Jerry Perenchio wont release the original negatives, it’s well known that there where alot of fights during the making of Blade Runner and that Sir Ridley Scott even got fired during the production of Blade Runner so a wild guess is that it’s some old stuff behind why we don’t get to see “Blade Runner: Special Edition” any time soon. Until some agreement can be reached between whom ever that’s in this legal quarrel we will sadly be without the final version of Blade Runner.
The only available DVD release of Blade Runner the Directors Cut and it’s one of the earliest DVD releases and it’s without any special features and the audio format is Dolby Digital 2 Channel stereo. Blade Runner deserves a much better DVD than this and it’s tragic that such a masterpiece is kept locked up in some vault somewhere. People deserve a much better version containing atleast the original theatrical version together with the 1992 Directors Cut (or a Directors Re-cut) with Dolby 5.1 or DTS surround sound, the “On the edge of Blade Runner” documentury together with some more special features (An isolated movie score audio track would be perfect..)
There are now homemade bootleg versions of this “yet to be” Special Edition (Some versions containing both the 1982 Theatrical Version and the 1992 Directors Cut (and maybe even the workprint) together with the “On the edge of Blade Runner” documentury) on ebay.
You can find the original the NY times article here (Registation required)
Source: The Alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup &
The New York Times article: “Greatest DVD’s Never Made:A Most Wanted List”

Video Business magazines along with other magazines has started to report that
“Those pesky legal clearances will delay Warner’s planned 20th anniversary DVD release of Blade Runner until at least the film’s 21st anniversary in 2003”
I guess most of us have nothing against having to wait until 2003 for the DVD IF the reason for the delay was production stuff, but “pesky legal clearances”.. This is really sad news

Source: The alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup

Swedish tv channel TV4 had an interview with the man himself, Ridley Scott in their movie show “Bionytt” in February. I “managed” to miss the show (even on the re-run) but Niklas Hermansson from the alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup was kind enough to pass the information onto the newsgroup.
In the interview, Ridley Scott briefly talked about the upcomming “Special Edition” and what we can expect, this is what they are planning.

• 3 Discs

The 3 discs would include the most known versions of the movie, these are.

• Workprint
• 1982 “Theatrical” release
• The old “Directors Cut”
• A new re-cut, final “Directors Cut”

In the interview, Ridley also says that we also can expect interviews and artwork. The specifications are not yet final, but I think that we also can expect a direcors commentary track.

Source: The alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup The alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup homepage.

Video Premieres Magazine has an interesting Q&A with “Special Edition DVD” producer Charles de Lauzirika. In the Q&A they talk about many interesting things about producing & creating a DVD.
They also talk about the Special Edition of Blade Runner which is due to hopefully be released this year, This is what they we get to know about the Blade Runner “Special Edition” release…
Lauzirika also says that there is enough material to (hold on to your seats..) fill five discs. There is tons of stuff that has been found in a storage facility in Burbank.

“We got there to check it out, and we found out that all these boxes it was like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark with all the crates and stuff had been marked for junk back in 1988. So this stuff had basically been on death row for 13 years.
At any point, in the past 13 years, that stuff by all rights should have been thrown away, and it wasn’t. To me, that was such a stunning realization, that we could have lost all this precious negative footage and original camera negatives. Someone at the storage facility just didn’t get it thrown away. God bless them.”

On the question about an release date and if he has a deadline when the production must be complete or if he can make it a labor of love and hand it over to Warner Bros. when he feels that he is done, this is what Lauzirika says:

“It’s going to be a long, slow boil on this one. My personal goal is to make it right. However long it takes, so be it. But I realize that the studio has its timeline, which it is still trying to figure out. I know the fans want it yesterday, so there are a lot of different factors to juggle.”
“It’s a little of both on this one. When we first started talking about it I think it was two years ago originally it was going to come out in 2001. Then we were thinking, well, the 20th anniversary is coming up, so maybe that’s a good time to do it.”
“And there were some rights issues with the partnership that owns the rights to Blade Runner. There was a lot of massaging that had to be done on the technical front, on the legal front and on the creative front.”

On the subject of adding new scenes, the “Directors Cut” and all the other versions of Blade Runner, this is what Lauzirika has to say:

“The thing is, the 1982 director’s cut is really misnamed. It’s not a true director’s cut. It was called a director’s cut because really, there was nothing else to call it at the time.”
“Ridley, although he wasn’t 100% happy with it, signed off on it because he hit most of the major fixes: removing the narration and the happy ending and including the unicorn. But it wasn’t finessed and it wasn’t exactly what he would have called a director’s cut. So now, that’s what we’re trying to do; just make that final little polish that will make him rather happy with the film.”
There will be a new and improved version of the unicorn scene, Charles de Lauzirika:
“It’s just more obviously a dream sequence. In the 1992 version, it just sort of arbitrarily dissolves in and dissolves out. There’s no reaction on Deckard’s [Harrison Ford’s] face. You know it’s a dream, but it’s not tied in. The original scene as shot and cut back in 1982 is more of a moment with Deckard at the piano. You see it on his face; he’s reacting to the dream. It’s more of a reverie he’s in.”
“The shots of the unicorn are different as well; you actually see the forest before the unicorn enters the frame. It comes out of the mist. It’s a bit more magical.”
“Contrary to a lot of fan rumor, the unicorn footage is not from Legend [the film Scott immediately shot after Blade Runner]. It was actually shot for Blade Runner back in 1982. I know because I’ve seen the camera slates on the dailies. So we can put that rumor to rest.”
“That’s just one of the restorations. There will be a couple of other fixes and continuity problems that have nagged Ridley. I really feel like every day is Christmas and I’m opening presents over there, because there is just so much material that I never knew existed. We found some screen tests the other day and Ridley lit them as though they were scenes from the movie. They’re beautiful. Those were in Warner’s vaults.”

You can read the whole Q&A session between Video Premieres Magazine and Charles de Lauzirika here. In the Q&A you can find information on more upcomming special editions, information on producing a DVD and much much more.

Source: Video Premieres Magazine.

Cool news from The Digital Bits, this is so far just a rumour, if anyone can confirm that this is true, please contact me (If you have the interview saved as mp3, please email me). The Digital Bits are one of the best sources on DVD news, their news can most times be taken as “offical” news. For those of you whom missed The Digital Bits interview with Charles de Lauzirika whom currently is working with the upcomming Special Edition of Blade Runner, You can still find the interview here
Now, this is what I found at The Digital Bits, remember, it’s so far just a rumour…
“director Ridley Scott confirmed, during an Atlanta radio interview, that the forthcoming Blade Runner: Special Edition (due late in 2002) would likely be a 3-disc affair”
I guess that this is better news that anyone could have expected, let’s just hope that it’s true. So, if anyone can confirm this new Ridley Scott interview, please contact me (If you have the interview saved as mp3, please email me).

Source: The Digital Bits

I found this in the alt.fan-blade-runner newsgroup, it originates from the website Ain’t It Cool News which usually is a good news-source. Im not sure about if this is 100% true thou, it sounds a bit “too much” for me. Check out the “aint-it-cool-news” website for and check out the complete article.
Here are some of the things that can be found in the article at “aint-it-cool-news”.
According to newspost in aint-it-cool-news, the new special edition is going to have “some” of Harrison Ford’s voice-over left, new sound design will be used for some of the cars (Spinner or ground vehicles ?) and also for some equipment. This because Ridley Scott thinks that some of the technology assumptions (i.e. hydro electric power sources) is not in tune with the reality of today – look for some “combustion” in new sounds. All the special effects will be re-matted via computer and wire removal is assumed. Some new background details (flying cars) might be added as well…
The Unicorn sequence from “The Directors Cut” will still be around, but it’s effect/placement will diffrent due to “a new scene”. The bad lip synch will be fixed and some of the scenes with stunt doubles will also be fixed.
There is a new scene that we have never had a look at. It was “lost” during the original film processing and was “re-discovered” when the archive of the original footage took place.
3 to 7 min of “original” footage will be trimmed and cut to make the edit flow better
The biggest news are the comments that Ridley Scott made often during the production review:
When looking at certain sections of the film, Ridley Scott mention that he could not “believe that they (the audience) can’t see he’s (Decker) a replicant”. This is the sub-text that he is using for the film. Deckard (in Ridley Scott’s mind) is a replicant. Ridley feels that the new shots and edit will make this issue clear to all. The projected production completion date is 5/02 – no word on re-release dates or if it’s going straight to DVD.

Source: alt.fan-blade-runner, Ain’t-it-cool-news: BLADE RUNNER THE SPECIAL EDITION!

DVD News source #1 The Digital Bits reports the street dates for some upcomming titles on DVD. According to them the Special Edition of Blade Runner will be released sometime 2002. Here is what they say:
Word is that a number of science fiction titles are being prepped for DVD release this summer, including several Babylon 5 titles. And to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary, look for an awesome, multi-disc Blade Runner: Special Edition in 2002 as well.
Since The Digital Bits have done an interview with the Charles de Lauzirika, supervisor the DVD section for Scott Free Productions and also has proved to be right on alot of information, I think we all can be sure that this is information is correct.

Source: The Digital Bits Rumor Mill

The following was found while I browsed thru the alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup. According to this then the lost hospital scene will continue to be lost. I do hope that they have both The Directors Cut and The Original Release in this special edition set.

>> Forum: alt.fan.blade-runner
>> Thread: Back to Business. Scott on BR DVD
>> Message 1 of 3
>> Subject: Back to Business. Scott on BR DVD
>> Date: 02/04/2001
>> Author: pod
From the March issue of Total Film…….
TF: You’ve embraced DVD with commentaries on Alien and Gladiator. What about one for Blade Runner
RS: It’s funny, I was in a slum area of Rabat recently and saw Blade Runner. It gets everywhere. I am aware that Blade Runner has been reprinted, and that there is no commentary. But I have now done the commentary and it’s about to be released, as a double box-set. There have been rumours about vast payment for my commentary, but I did it free of charge. Not a penny. I did it as a service to the film, because it’s healthy for the film business.
TF: Will there be any new cuts of the film, including the hospital visit?
RS: The hospital visit was not worth it. I revisited it and I took it out. Where we have it now with my cut, is right. The only puzzling question is when they drive off happy at the end, which I still think is bloody silly.

Source: The alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup.

The website The Digital Bits which is focused in delivering the latest news on DVD releases has an interview with Charles de Lauzirika, whom is supervising the DVD section at Scott Free, Charles is now working on the “Gladiator” and “Legend” DVD’s (Both Special Editions). Charles is also currently working on next years release of “Blade Runner – Special Edition”.
The interview contains a lot of good reading, most of the interview is focused on the upcomming Special Edition that’s supposed to be released sometime 2001 (Only on DVD). Currently their prime objective is to restore the film and creating an archival negative. Mike Arrick who was in charge of creating the Directors Cut in 1992 is now, together with Warner Bros working on doing a “final restoration”.
Charles says in the interview that: “Everything else will follow in the wake of that effort. Blade Runner is arguably Ridley’s signature film, so everything about it has to be done right, both the restoration and the DVD.”
One thing that Charles says may be on the Special Edition DVD is the documentury “On The Edge of Blade Runner”, which brought some never before seen footage from Blade Runner, as well as interviews with cast, crew and even Phillip K. Dick. Obviously their where more Blade Runner documenturies in the making the same time as “On The Edge of Blade Runner” where made, but “On The Edge of Blade Runner” is currently only one which is official. There might also be an commentary track (Also one of the good things with the space you have on a DVD, being able to have both the ordinary movie dialog or listen to another track in which you watch the movie but with the director guiding you thru every scene, which is like watching the movie together with the man behind the movie).
When it comes to extra footage and “never before seen” scenes being added their is still very much work to be done. The, by now famous “Hospital Scene” with Deckard and Holden has been screened by Mike Arrick, Charles de Lauzirika and Ridley Scott but that scene together with other scenes that didn’t make it into any of the official versions do need alot of work if they will make it into the new special edition.
Charles continues saying: (Quoted directly from the interview) “It’s not just a matter of dropping these bits back into the film and calling it a day. Mike still has to do some significant picture and sound restoration before we can even begin to talk about adding footage back in. And, to be honest, I’m not even sure if any of that footage will actually make it back into the film, or if it would be presented separately as deleted scenes on the DVD. Just because extra footage exists doesn’t mean that it should automatically get added into the film… I mean, some of those scenes were cut out for a reason. And there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome. Going back to what I mentioned about the creative, legal and technical challenges of producing for DVD, Blade Runner is a tangled web of all three. But I hope it all works out for the best because the film, and the fans, deserve it.”
If you want to know more, head on over to The digital bits and the interview which contains more information on what’s cooking. All I can say is that I think we’re in for a real treat when the DVD is done, for everyone who is thinking of getting a DVD player.. Here’s the top reason: The Special Editon of Blade Runner.
Source: The Digital Bits – A Chat with DVD Producer Charles de Lauzirika.
Thanks to Sean Milliff for telling me about the interview.