Dreaming Androids, Format Wars

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, released in 1982, is one of the most popular science-fiction films of all time. Based on Philip K. Dick's masterful novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", the film was originally released in theatres with a gratuitous voice-over track implemented at the request of film executives who thought the public wouldn't understand the narrative without being told exactly what was happening. Ridley Scott, along with many true fans and some critics, abhorred the instigation of the voice-over device, seeing it as unnecessary and detracting from the dark introspective nature of the bleak future in which the novel is set.

The director and other members of the original crew — including producers and financiers Bud Yorkin and Jerry Perenchio — have recently completed restoring the original print in preparation for a limited theatrical release this week at the New York Film Festival and in LA, and ahead of a major high-definition DVD release akin to what was done with the Matrix ten-disc box set a few years ago.

The December release will span five discs and will be released in both HD-DVD and BluRay, two digital formats which could both be said to define state-of-the-art in digital video production and distribution. The formats are currently locked in a war competing for market share, with BluRay being backed by Sony and implemented in its upcoming PS3, and HD-DVD being ostensibly backed by Microsoft; more on the format war over at Wikipedia.

The re-release of the film on optical digital discs prompted by the massive advances in digital formats in recent years has allowed for the meticulous re-touching and re-working of key scenes, especially those involving digital SFX. From the New York Times article by Fred Kaplan:

"For the new director’s cut, the special-effects footage was digitally scanned at 8,000 lines per frame, four times the resolution of most restorations, and then meticulously retouched. The results look almost 3-D."

The re-release will feature the original theatrical cut as well as the new "final cut"; numerous special features and documentaries including Channel 4's spectacular 2000 documentary On The Edge Of Blade Runner.

Here's the Final Cut trailer: