Blade Runner

I'm seeing Blade Runner 2049 on Friday and realised that I hadn't watched the original. Fortunately, Sky currently have it on their current rotation. Or they have one of the versions. I've since discovered that the Final Cut is considered to be the definitive version of the film. I believe Sky have the International Cut, which is the original with a couple more violent scenes.

I find Harrison Ford to be watchable in pretty much anything and he proves so again here, although I can't say I took to the film as a whole and his narration (absent from the newer versions) doesn't add a lot. I can understand why its murky, noir aesthetic has inspired countless filmmakers since (the most recent film version of Ghost In The Shell comes to mind), but the plot failed to grab me. The tacked on happy ending is also a total cop out.

Still, I enjoyed the showdown with Rutger Hauer at the end and it's good to hear the "Lost like tears in rain" speech that I know of through cultural osmosis. I think Fightstar have at least two songs named after it. I sense generally that it was a film ahead of its time, which is one of the reasons why it now enjoys a cult following. I'm cautiously optimistic that a modern take on the source material can reach the demands of its scope.

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