… Speaking of Blade Runner
I have just paused Blade Runner: The Final Cut. It has taken me, what, two years, to watch this version, I guess because I’m so attached to The Director’s Cut that I was afraid of being disappointed. But this version is better (so far). The changes are very subtle, almost unnoticeable (mostly slight editing tweaks), and they are all spot-on improvements (as if the previous versions needed improving). I’m reminded yet again why this is one of the best films ever made and why it has always been my favorite. I’ve seen this movie, in various versions, more than any other movie, and I’m always sucked right in. I never stop noticing new nuances, and never stop loving it.
This time I am astonished at the beauty of just a momentary beat in the film: the bicyclists outside of Eye World. Maybe the harp music has been slightly amplified. But this postapocalyptic LA is such a beautiful place. If there’s a nuclear war I hope it makes the world like this.
I was on the road with my band, playing in Ft. Lauderdale, when I saw the words: ‘Blade Runner: Final Cut’ on the marquee of an old, restored theater there. What a thrill it was to see the film again on the big screen; it looks spectacular. Black sheets of rain falling on the glorious neon cityscapes soaked me in my seat, and the details in that film… Ridley Scott is a true visionary.