Blade Runner – The Director's Cut

More notable for what's been removed than for what's been added, this restored version of Scott's seminal sci-fi movie makes it clear that all its former faults were introduced by nervous studio executives, who thought the narrative too confusing, the ending too bleak. Gone is the redundant noir-style voice-over by Harrison Ford's blade runner (the plot makes more sense without it). Gone, too, the obviously tacked-on happy ending in which Ford and the replicant (Young) flew off into the sunset (which contradicted what we already knew about the replicant's built-in obsolescence). With one crucial exception, the effect of the restorations is less radical, although the extended romantic scenes between Ford and Young do flesh out their relationship. More cryptically, Ford's restored 'unicorn dream' is echoed later by an origami figure left by police chief Bryant's right-hand man Gaff (Olmos) - possibly hinting that Ford himself is a replicant. Perhaps this, too, like Young's treasured childhood memories, is just an implant. In its earlier incarnation, the film was a flawed masterpiece; in Scott's restored version, it is, quite simply, a masterpiece.