Gaspari: Director's Cut

The director's cut of Bladerunner shows how the production and editing process can change a film. The most notable difference I took in the director's cut was the omission of the voice-over. This to me was a smart choice, because in the the original cut there was very little use for it, and it seemed to make the film blatantly obvious. Part of the appeal of the film comes from Ridley Scott's portrayal of the scene, and uncertainty and mystery definitely are important themes that are expressed in the film. By removing the voice-over the feeling of film-noir, cop detective style drama is accented so that there is a more natural feeling of suspense in the film.
      Another interesting edit we see in the director's cut is the additional dream sequence scene. "Scott…insisted that the unicorn dream sequence be inserted into the film. Although the studio had originally vetoed the inclusion of the unicorn, this time Warner Bros. agreed” (Pfeiffer 127). The presentation of this scene in the film can lead the audience to several different conclusions. The unicorn represents a rarity, a mythical species. The tracking shot of the unicorn could also relate to many themes in the film, it could relate to Gaff's origami unicorn. In this sense it could relate that Deckard is a replicant and that the dream of the unicorn is a memory that has been pre-recorded for him. On the other hand it could reflect a complete different meaning, it all depends on how this dream is interpreted.
     



       The end of the director's cut is changed as well, which in my opinion is for the better. Instead of keeping the happy ending, driving into the hopeful horizon, this image is omitted from the end of the film. I think that this is a good edit, because in the original there is a seeming cliffhanger with this happy ending, nobody was really happy or hopeful the entire movie and then suddenly the spectrum shifts. This changed ending works well because it shows a more gritty reality, and in that way it matches up better with the rest of the film.