FILM FOUR: BLADE RUNNER/ALIEN(S)

Bolt-01 · 22 February, 2003, 05:11:22 AM

Did anybody else see the documentaries tonight?

Thought the ALIEN one was okay, but the BLADE RUNNER had an unused scene between Deckard and Holden (the Blade Runner killed by Leon. Interesting.

rotts

Smiley · 22 February, 2003, 05:22:39 AM

I don't have Film Four, Dave. Is that the same docu where Ridley Scott says Deckard really was a replicant?

Buddy · 22 February, 2003, 07:55:05 AM

I think this is the same docu...

About that scene with Decard and Holden, why the frick did they leave that out (I'm assuming it's the scene where Holden, on his death bed declares 'They're almost us!!!'.

A VERY powerful scene and a major plot point in the story disregarded in the final cut of the film.

'They're almost us' implies that humans are just about obsalete (sp?) and given time the replacants would superseed the human race. (or am I just reading too much into this).

And yes Decard IS a replacant. When you know this the movie makes more sense. Just imagine the Decard replacant was activated seconds before the film starts and watch the story unfold from there.

Anyway it frickin brilliant (is it on DVD yet?)

Link: http://www.ximoc.co.uk" target="_blank">http://www.ximoc.co.uk

Bolt-01 · 22 February, 2003, 01:44:05 PM

Yep, bang on lads.

Uncle: you are SO right about that scene, it would be lovely to see it in the DVD. Except that Holden is wearing a UN issue chemical suit and looks rubbish.

Top film and so glad it has never been subject to endless sequels, just the directors cut.

rotts.

The Monarch · 22 February, 2003, 06:05:10 PM

it is a good film

Buddy · 24 February, 2003, 01:50:19 AM

There was a sequil novel written a few years ago but I have no idea what happened in it (don't want to either).

It has been long rumoured the James Cameron was to make a sequil to the movie. Thank frick that never emerged, he's already fucked up one Ridley Scott film and would be wise to leave the rest of them alone.

Smiley · 24 February, 2003, 03:48:33 AM

Yeah, there were a couple of sequel novels by K.W. Jeter based on the movie, Edge Of Human and Replicant Night. By all accounts they're apparently *gasp* not all that bad. It'd take more than that to convince me to read them, though.

The Enigmatic Dr X · 24 February, 2003, 03:30:31 PM

Regarding Alien - if you ever get a chance check out the cut scenes on the DVD. There;s a great scene that was to have been towards the end of the film, where Ripley finds all the crew members being turned into eggs (remember - there was no queen in the first film). In the commentary, the scriptwriter (or Scott, can't recall) says they wanted to explain the whole alien to egg to alien cycle, but the scence was cut because they thought it dragged down the pace of the film. It's a pity - you see the captain, his legs and body mutated partly into an egg, and he begs Ripley to kill him. Apparently in the first version of the film there was no blood when the alien killed someone - just disappearing bodies explained by this scene. On the other hand, if they kept this in then Aliens would have been different - so maybe it's no bad thing. Worth seeing though.

Quirkafleeg · 24 February, 2003, 06:17:32 PM

The rumours persist that Scott want's to do the next Alien... a flashback to explain the Alien's origins as a biological weapon.

The Alien DVD is top, great commentry by Scott and the film's not aged at all.

Art · 24 February, 2003, 06:40:16 PM

The Alien Commentary is quite good. I once watched Alien with commentary back-to-back with The Thing with commentary, and there's a lot of interesting compare-and-contrast stuff there.

The DVD of Blade Runner I have has no bloody commentary. It's a disgrace!

Quirkafleeg · 24 February, 2003, 08:13:27 PM

Well I'm sick of the bring out basic dvd then follow up years later with a special edition... why can't they all be like LOTR, a still pretty spiffy basic version then a few months later a full bells and whistles version for the hard core fans/film nuts?

Bolt-01 · 25 February, 2003, 02:48:28 AM

The scene with Dallas is covered pretty well in GIGERs ALIEN book, and was in the novelisation too. I always thought that it was possible for both methods of reproduction to occur (Egg mutation leading to Queen egg or something like that.)

Rotts

The Enigmatic Dr X · 25 February, 2003, 03:02:11 PM

Never read the Alien novel. When I were a lad, I did read the novelization of Aliens. One line (from Hicks) that wasn't in the film always stuck in my mind: "We came to kick ass, but when we try we just get our legs bitten off." (Or something very close).

Arf! You've gotta laugh.

Tiplodocus · 25 February, 2003, 07:18:19 PM

I never went for the Deckard is a replicant line of thought. If I recall, I thought he had too much history and backstory, people acting as if they'd known him for ages etc. However, the reinserted unicorn dream sequence does seem to contradict all that.

Strangely, I remember reading that the French picked up on him being a replicant even in the original version.

Anybody here actually prefer the original version with the voiceover? I think a lot of the plot would have been too hard to follow without the original narration (I have a maet who only ever saw the Directors cut and he was confused despite being a clever chap). I'm not suggesting that we include all the "Gee, I guess if an android can find love" crap at the end but you could drop the voiceover thirty minutes from the end.

I also didn't buy into the line that "The original had a crap happy ending but this director's cut has a grittier one". Being a positive sort of person I always thought that even the directors cut had a happy ending even if you don't get to see them flying over outtakes of the shining.

Inserted scenes in Aliens I did like were the bits with the autoguns (explained why the aliens didn't just over-run them) and that bit where Hicks says "Don't be gone long Ellen". All that stuff at the start about the colony (is that the same guy from Red Dwarf) and Ripley's daughter got in the way of the shooty bangs.

Eric Plumrose · 25 February, 2003, 09:35:55 PM

Well, to clarify, Dallas is COCOONED in Alien, presumably in case the wee beastie needs some comfort food when it realizes it's got only Jones the cat left for a midnight snack.

I've never bothered reading those Jeter novels but, iirc, SFX was pretty scathing of Edge of Human. As for Blade Runner itself, it's rumoured there's going to be a three-disc set released later this year. No word on what extras it'll feature but it's purported to have three versions of the film, presumably the original theatrical release, the inappropriately titled Director's Cut, and a completely new cut for DVD.