However, this should be righted later in the year for the new 30th Anniversary edition of the film, which promises even more bonus features than on the so called Ultimate Edition. Unfortunately, this two disc 'Final Cut' version of the film eschews the majority of extras prepared for the 2007 five disc Ultimate Edition Blu-ray, which is now sadly out of print (and fetching big dollars on eBay). Unlike any potential future 4K release of the film, I don't think the film will ever sound better than it does now. Once again, there is just no way that Blade Runner has sounded better. It's mixed very immersively and sounds quite grand. Vangelis' score has grown on me over time. There is some excellent split surround usage (far more proficient than on the previous DVD mix) and some dialogue intelligibility has been rectified. Whilst occasionally, the limited fidelity shows evidence of its 30 years of age, overall this is a really killer audio track which transcends its age. Restored from its original six track elements, Blade Runner finally includes a glorious audio track, righting the wrongs of all of the previous releases. In fact, in many ways the audio restoration is even more pleasing. It would have been a shame that with such fine work performed on the video transfer that the audio would find itself shortchanged. 2īlade Runner is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, at 16 bits. I know it sounds cliche, but the film has truly never looked better. Throw away the DVD and do your part to make sure this is the way that Blade Runner is seen in the future. Overall, its nigh impossible to be disappointed to see such a beautiful print of the film, and I'm so pleased that the film has finally gotten the attention it has always deserved. Hopefully Warner take the opportunity to re-encode the film for its forthcoming 30th anniversary release later this year, however their track record suggests that this probably won't occur. Very occasionally, the relatively low bitrate of the film becomes apparent, especially in the background of some of the smoky city scenes, but considering the film is encoded on a single layer Blu-ray, the results could have been far worse. Black levels are at a good place - dark enough to reflect the production design, but not too dark as to result in black crush. The transfer is incredibly filmic, with a fine grain structure and colors which let the neon's of the city shine like never before. Whilst this is amazing in itself, the job was made easier by some fore thought by the original production team - special effects were shot on 65mm film, which features a finer grain structure and most importantly, an increase in resolution. Gone are the mis-aligned matte paintings and wirework and even the obvious stunt double for the replicant Zhora has been partially re-filmed, along with some clever work to fix lip sync issues. A labor of love for Blu-ray producer Charlie de Lauzarika, the film has been remastered at 4K resolution, whilst carefully attending to issues that have plagued the film since its release. This is high on philosophy and ideals and may bore younger audiences - but when the time is right, I think most people can come to appreciate this one of a kind experience.īlade Runner is presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC1 compression.įor its 'Final Cut' release, Blade Runner has had some significant restoration work performed and it shows. I love Blade Runner, but this is not Star Wars style sci-fi. And rightly so - it's a watershed moment in visual effects, with an impressive cast and a storyline that has only become more relevant over time. Thirty years later, Blade Runner is referred to as a classic. Many critics, including most famously, Roger Ebert, who criticized the films "lack of humanity", while Gene Siskel labelled it "a waste of time". Upon release, whilst it was admired for its signature visual look and sophisticated visual effects, audiences stayed away, instead flocking to Steven Spielberg's feel good E.T. Tyrell (Joe Turkel), who's assistant Rachel (Sean Young), a technologically superior replicant, becomes entangled in the fight. The particularly violent leader of the group, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) will stop at nothing to reach their maker, Dr. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a 'Blade Runner' a retired police officer, who has been tasked with hunting down and destroying four wayward replicants - off world androids workers who have returned to Earth seeking to extend their four year lifespans, which are fast coming to an end.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |