Harrison Ford picks his favorite cut of Blade Runner…sort of
We all know Ridley Scott loves his director’s cuts. But none top them in sheer numbers like Blade Runner, which has five notable five cuts in its history: the U.S. theatrical cut, the international cut, the 1982 workprint, the director’s cut from 1992, and the final cut from 2007. As we know, the version released domestically added both a voiceover from Rick Deckard and a happy ending, a victim of studio meddling. And while we know that Scott prefers the final cut of Blade Runner, star Harrison Ford has his own take.
Speaking with Variety, Harrison Ford said of his preferred Blade Runner version, “I like any cut without the voice-over. When we first saw the film in script form, it had a narration. I felt strongly that the narration was not right for the film — I played a detective, and I really talked about the detective part of my job, but I didn’t appear to be doing it. So Ridley, the screenwriter, a producer and I spent three weeks at my dining room table taking the information that was in the voice-overs and making it part of the scene experience. And then at the end of the film, Warner Bros. said, ‘What the hell is going on here? I don’t understand this at all. Explain it.’ And the voice-over came back. I did the voice-over about six times, and nobody was ever happy with it. So I was glad that the film was finally released without it, which I think encourages the audience to be present in the story.”
The Harrison Ford voiceover and happy ending of Blade Runner has long been a stain on the film, as well as a prime example of a major studio neglecting to trust the directors and their audience. And while the final cut would be the one to watch if you were only making time for one, the original theatrical cut is absolutely worth seeing if you were going to check out more versions, even if just to compare it to the others.
What are your thoughts on Harrison Ford’s voiceover in Blade Runner? Should people see multiple versions to better judge it?
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