I am a HUGE FAN of the original theatrical release version of BLADERUNNER that came out in 1982 (The Criterion Edition), and so I am waiting in GREAT anticipation for the upcoming release of Ridley Scott’s ULTIMATE EDITION of BLADERUNNER which will include the Original theatrical release, the Director’s Cut, and a new 2007 updated Director’s cut ( which will first be shown in the theatres)…come on guys, let’s get that BALL ROLLING ALREADY! :)
I realize I am clearly in the minority when I say I prefer the original 1982 version of the movie more than the Director's Cut. Countless scores have been written praising the Director's Cut against the Theatrical one. But for me, I have to agree with Harrison Ford. He didn't want Deckard to be revealed as a replicant in the end, and for that matter, the Philip K. Dick book that it's loosely based on didn't have Deckard as a Replicant either.
The reason I’m such a fan of the Theatrical(Criterion) version is because so many of my favorite scenes have so much more meaning if Rick Deckard is a Human Being rather than a replicant.
I think that it’s important for Deckard to be human to clearly illustrate the question posed in the scene where he is “testing” Rachel at Tyrell Corporation. When she askes hi if he’s ever taken the test himself, she is (in a way) asking just what it is about someone that makes him “human”. Rachel feels, she loves, she cries… She is portrayed as more “human” than Deckard’s superiors.
And the scene at the end…the incredible scene with Deckard and Batty, probably the greatest final scene in any Science Fiction movie: With Deckard as a human, the message is clear when he voice-overs “I don’t know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before…not just his Life…Anybody’s life. My life.”
The message here is to cherish life, because living and breathing is such a precious thing, so precious that you shouldn’t waste it for any reason.
