Warner To Release The FINAL "Blade Runner"

Great. Just great. Here's another DVD from my collection that I'll have to "upgrade" with a "better" edition. Ah well. It's "Blade Runner." We've been waiting for this release for a while, so I'll deal.

According to Variety, Warner has finally untangled the sci-fi classic from its famously thorny rights issues, to clear the way for a September reissue of the remastered "Director's Cut" version, followed by a theatrical and DVD release of a version promised to be truly Ridley Scott's final cut.

Did ya catch that? Let me explain a bit.

The film - based on Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" - has had a "checkered" past, to say the least.

First, when Scott ran over budget, completion bond guarantors took control of it and made substantial changes before its 1982 theatrical release, adding the much criticized voiceover and happy ending.

With fans growling over the ending and an unauthorized director's cut hitting the underground in 1991, the Ridley Scott-approved Director's Cut was released in 1992. However, Scott expressed his displeasure with that release, complaining that he was rushed and unable to give it proper attention. Thus far, it has been the only version officially released on DVD.

Scott started working on the "final cut" version in 2000. During the process, a new digital print of the film was created from the original negatives, special effects were updated and cleaned, and the sound was remastered in 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. What happened to that version? Well, the project was shelved by Warner in 2001 because the studio couldn't come to terms with the bond guarantors over rights issues.

Clear as mud? Yeah. Well. I could go on, but avid fans like those at BRmovie.com are better suited to provide lots more info if you're interested. Here's what's happening now - Warner has finally be able to negotiate a long-term license from the bond company and things are rolling again.

At long last, the restored "Director's Cut" will debut on DVD in September. It will remain on sale for four months only, after which time it will be placed on moratorium. What??? That would be crazy, devastating news to fans who have been waiting more than two decades for the "definitive" version to be released, if not for the fact that the restored "Director's Cut" isn't the definitive version.

"Blade Runner: Final Cut" will arrive in 2007 for a limited 25th anniversary theatrical run, followed by a special edition DVD. Finally, fans will get what they've been craving. This "special edition" DVD will contain the three previous versions offered as alternate viewing - the original theatrical version, the director's cut, AND the expanded international theatrical cut. Oh, and there will also be other "bonus" materials.

We've been teased with this release for so long now, I'm probably not alone in thinking that something will probably pop up and throw a wrench in the works. Resisting the urge to buy the restored edition this Fall (out of paranoia that the "Final Cut" will never actually arrive) will be tough. It'll happen for sure this time, right? Right? I guess we'll find out. -- Shannon Nolley

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