Blade Runner: The Final Cut

Blade Runner looks wonderful. It always has, but the new digitally tweaked version being shown at the Ziegfeld is extraordinary. I still find it problematic as a narrative, as drama, as a movie. The minimalist story reveals no new nuances on a second or third viewing; the characters remain barely sketched ciphers; and the restored pessimistic ending may leave an audience feeling cheated of any real resolution, so it’s understandable that something more conventional was tried in the original release. In addition, I find the recent claims that Ridley Scott “predicted our future” in this film to be fatuous nonsense. But as a futuristic fever dream experience, it remains one of a kind.