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Image Vault additions for week ending February 16, 2008

February 16th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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NBC Peacock Logo

I went in and alphabetized the photos in the Smoking Celebrities album. Here are this week’s additions: Summer Altice, Brigitte Bardot x 2, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Monica Bellucci, Penelope Cruz x 2, Mylene Farmer, Romola Garai, Melissa George x 3, Eva Green, Eva Habermann, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich x 2, Kerry Katona, Diane Kruger x 3, Eva Longoria, Sophie Marceau, Demi Moore, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller x 3, Brittany Murphy, Hayden Panetierre x 2, Michelle Pfieffer, Christina Ricci x 3, Shannyn Sossamon, Shu-Qi, Sharon Stone, Audrey Tautou, Charlize Theron x 5, Uma Thurman x 3, Michelle Trachtenberg

Jerry Lewis’ The Family Jewels – 13 Images
2 color shots of Jack Nicholson as “The Joker” in Batman and 2 from The Pledge
Blade Runner – 13 Images
Drew Barrymore in Poison Ivy (3) and Batman Forever (1)
3 color portraits of Sharon Stone in Casino
 Adolf Hitler Wanted Poster
Liv Tyler – 2 Images
On the Town – 10 Images
Anchors Aweigh – 5 Images
Johnny Depp – 34 Images
Alfred Hitchcock – 3 Images
Mommie Dearest - 17 Images
On the Waterfront – 3 Images
George Peppard in Home From the Hill, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (4), The Carpetbaggers (2), and The A-Team - 8 Images
The Pink Panther (1964) - 2 Images
Cinderfella - 4 Images
Cinderfella Record Album - 19 Images
T.V. Cartoon Blow Ups: Header card featuring all your favorite Hanna-Barbera characters plus the Huckleberry Hound Blow Up
Beau James - Soundtrack LP featuring Bob Hope
Postcards of Movie Stars Homes — Cary Grant, Jerry Lewis, Jack Benny and Groucho Marx

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Filed Under Image Blog

BLADE RUNNER / Ridley Scott (1982)

November 28th, 2007 by Scott Marks

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Blade Runner (1982)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Hampton Fancher & David Peoples
Based on the novel by Phillip K. Dick
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah. Edward James Olmos, M. Emmett Walsh, Brion James
Running Time: 117 min.
Aspect Ratio: cinemascope5.jpg

Rating: ★★★★★

Maybe it’s true that your first love never fades, because no matter how many times Warner Bros. attempts to repackage Blade Runner, nothing beats my initial introduction.

I saw it in 70mm opening day at the Morton Grove Theatre in Morton Grove, IL, a suburb on the outskirts of Chicago. From the outside it was nothing to behold; a big, brick square that bookended a strip mall with a small marquee aimed at drivers on Dempster St.

Even the lobby was nothing special, a far cry from it’s luxurious sister theater the Golf Mill. The auditorium may have been equally shorn of glamor, but their ‘Scope screen seemed to stretch for blocks and you could cut flank steak with the razor sharp focus.

After being bored by Star Wars, repulsed by Raiders of the Lost Ark and alienated by Alien, the prospect of a collaboration between Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott had me convinced that the freshest thing I’d consume that afternoon would be the popcorn.

Even though the current press release still insists on calling this “action packed,” unlike the films of Steve and George, Blade Runner feels no need to climax every ten minutes. It’s set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic downtown Los Angeles, not a galaxy far, far away populated by stuffed animals and midgets in garbage cans. The locals wear clothes, not latex costumes and carry functional neon umbrellas instead of flashy light sabers. With the exception of one chase, there is very little in the way of action.

The other major difference that sets the film apart from the Star Wars and Indy slop is that Blade Runner answers to a cinematic calling higher than the cheap Republic cliffhangers Steve and George grew up on. Scott’s dystopian metropolis (with equal doses of Mitchum and Welles mixed in), turned out to be the most visually sumptuous glimpse into a not-so distant future since Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and there hasn’t been anything quite like it since. (Strange Days comes closest.)

My eyes were on fire and it took several viewings before plot coherence could even be considered. Does everything make sense? A lot has been corrected in The Final Cut, but one nagging question remains. The scene where Deckard examines the photograph through the electron microscope always struck me as a bit superfluous. He’s already seen file shots of the replicants. Other than paying tribute to Blow Up and showing off a cool device, this scene adds nothing.

Nor am I sold on the “director’s cut” and as much as I love this film, I never bought the DVD pressing. From what I gather, Ridley Scott didn’t participate in the venture, so how is it a “director’s cut?” After one viewing I never went back, relying instead on a VHS dub (off Laser Disc )of the original version when in need of a fix. The addition of the unicorn dream to somehow imply that Deckard is a replicant seems a fanciful tack on at best. And am I the only one on the planet that misses the film’s much maligned voice-over narration? Scott wanted to combine the “dead inside” sound of Martin Sheen’s Apocalypse Now narration with that of a typically doomed film noir protagonist. Gossip reports claim that Ford did not like the narration and purposely gave it a lackluster read. As big a log as he is, I can’t imagine he’d sabotage a film in such an unprofessional manner. Besides, it’s Harrison Ford. The guy’s incapable of delivering anything but lackluster. According to Ford, he recorded several different versions and the studio went with the worst.

I used to joke that this is the definitive Harrison Ford performance. After all, who better to play a robot than Harrison Ford? Seeing it again after many years, I had forgotten about all the eye-rolling and grimacing that goes on for the first two reels. Ford is only convincing when the dialog ceases and he is asked to walk around brandishing his gun. Otherwise, he stinks on ice!

If I am in the minority when it comes to the narration, I stand alone in regards to the ending. Gone is the smoky Vangelis score beneath our two characters ride off into stretched-out stock footage from The Shining. How is this any less of a downbeat ending than a fatalistic cut to black? There is no way these characters are going the route of happy ever after. While “It’s too bad she won’t live! But then again, who does?” is a nice riff on Lady from Shanghai’s curtain line, the finale in the director’s cut is too abrupt. Maybe it’s the kid in me not wanting what he already has taken away from him.

From 70mm to 35 to digital, I’ve seen them all. With only a handful of 35mm prints crossing the country, they screened a digital copy for the press. When the film opens at the Ken this Friday, a newly mastered 35mm print will be shown. Darn! I guess I’ll just have to see it again.

The focus was perfect, something not always the case with UltraStar’s digital projection. The film looked considerably brighter and with the digital clean up many of the matte paintings resembled comic strip panels. Ouch! I remember a TCM filler piece where a telecine colorist proudly boasts that modern day technology enables us to see Dorothy’s freckles in his newly remastered version of The Wizard of Oz. Upping the brightness also dilutes the original burnished Technicolor hues. When did guys sitting in digital labs get final cut? I’ll withhold further comment until I see it in 35mm.

Surprisingly, the changes in The Final Cut are not disconcerting, due in large part to their smooth incorporation into the film’s densely populated visual scheme. Below you’ll find a list of alterations that I spent an afternoon seeking out on Blade Runner fan sites. When it comes to this film, I proudly proclaim myself a member of the Blade Runner Geek Squad!

What’s different about The Final Cut?

Scott was never happy with Zhora’s death scene. Not only does Joanna Cassidy’s stand in look like Mike Mazurki with an Afro, at one point you can see the wig begin to fall off. Ms. Cassidy came in for retakes and her head was digitally superimposed over her stunt double’s. It’s seamless; you’d be hard pressed to tell where the new and old footage begins and ends.

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1982

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2007

In the original version, Roy’s slo-mo white dove flaps its way towards a clear horizon. Not only didn’t the shot match anything that came before or after it, watching the bird make its escape against a newly digitized overcast skyline makes much more sense.

The continuity error, where Bryant (M. Emmett Walsh) informs Deckard that two replicants, not one were killed trying to break into the Tyrell Corporation, has been audiophonically corrected.

After Roy kills the genetic designer/toy maker, the line “I’m sorry, Sebastian” has been added.

In the 70mm version, cables lifting Deckard’s Spinner could clearly be seen. No strings attached in The Final Cut.

I’ll have to look carefully for this one when I see it again next week: In the 1982 cut, Deckard’s dialog in the scene with the snake dealer didn’t sync up. They brought in Harrison Ford’s son, filmed a tight shot of his mouth and pulled a digital Clutch Cargo

Originally, the serial number that the old Asian woman reads to Deckard didn’t match the one we saw under the microscope. Her dialog has been redubbed.

Without the narration, certain shots that went on too long were slightly trimmed.

In 1982, the optical printing process was not sophisticated enough to show any movement in the eye that opens the film. The pupil now irises in reaction to the fire explosion.

Unless it was in the airplane edition, I don’t ever remember seeing table-dancing hockey players.

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If anything else comes to mind during next week’s screening, rest assured that I’ll get back to you. In the meantime, if you have seen all the Star Wars, X-Men, and Matrix sequels, but have yet to see Blade Runner in any form…well, you’re an idiot who is probably too late to be converted. Stay home and watch the new Battlestar Gallactica instead.

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