Houston H. Haynes

Again, HDNet comes through with a classic film. This time it’s Blade Runner, Director’s Cut. I watched the original cut a few times on VHS – and might have watched the director’s cut on a standard DVD once upon a time – but this is the first time I’ve seen the Director’s Cut in HD. Vangelis’ score sounded great – and I was blown away by the richness of the sound design.

And of course visually it’s an amazing film. Since the film was set in the year 2019, which is the not-too-distant future these days – it’s a definite challenge to create a recognizable-yet-foreign atmosphere. But you have to admire the layer-upon-layered-ness of that world. Philip K. Dick got to see 20 minutes of test footage before he passed away (he didn’t live to see the full release) and told Ridley Scott that the imagery was exactly as he imagined it. It is the kind of artistic achievement that can restore your belief in the artistic power of true film making. In today’s world of traipsing in front of a green screen, Blade Runner has a palpable 3D quality to it.

If Lawrence of Arabia doesn’t have a word wasted – for Blade Runner it’s the complete and utter lack of unused visual space in each frame. LoA was expansive – Blade Runner showed us a dark and convoluted interior of human experience in a way that was much more personal than Ridley Scott’s “Alien” from a few years before. And getting to see and hear all of that richness in high definition on a large screen is a real treat for the eyes and ears. I might just have to go out and buy the Blu-Ray box set… Blade Runner is certainly worthy of the additional viewings.