Sanderson - Blade Runner Revised

            

             The decision to add the voice over in the film not only changed the flow of the film but it also changed the way the audience watches the film. The decision to take the voice over out of the film helps the flow of the film a lot more than I thought it was going to. While Deckard (Harrison Ford) is narrating the voice over I found myself not paying attention as much to what I was seeing. I was missing out on a lot of the visual aspects of the film. I felt as though the voice-overs also slowed the film down. It kept giving me narrative for things that I felt I could found out for myself. The decision to add the voice-over has dumbed the film down and taken credit away from the audience.

            “’I was desperately unhappy with it (the first cut). . .The final version (the first cut) was something that I was completely unhappy with” (Pfeiffer 119). It seems it was obvious to everyone, audience, director and leading actor that the voice-over is an unnecessary addition to the film. The films meaning changes the way we view the characters. Instead of being able to make out the characters thoughts/feelings by watching the images and actors reactions, we are force fed what the narrative tells us. The voice-overs in the 1982 version force a lack of thought from the audience. In the revised version of the film we are left to ponder more about the Deckard’s thoughts and we are forced to make our own unique opinion about the character. It also makes us pay more attention to the actors and to the images that the director has carefully chosen to show us at certain times. Ford was upset with the decision to add the voice-overs and I feel as though he was upset because he probably feels that his acting was enough to tell the story.

            I like the version without the voice-over much more because the voice-over gives the film a very corny feel. I found myself laughing at the film at serious parts just because I felt that Ford’s added narrative was half-assed and also corny. You never want to add things to a finished piece. If I didn't know that there was a version without the voice-over I wouldn't really have thought about the voice-over nearly as much but I would have left the film think that Blade Runner was an old corny movie. I’m glad they decided to do the right thing and go back and take out the voice-over. I’m actually surprised it ever was released with the voice-overs. In most cases its better to allow your audience to think about the film’s deeper meaning themselves and form their own opinions.