Versions of Blade Runner

Seven distinct versions of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner exist.

Seven versions of Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner have been shown, either to test audiences or theatrically. The best known versions are the Workprint, the US Theatrical Cut, the International Cut, the Director's Cut and the Final Cut. These five versions are included in the 2007 five-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, the 2012 30th-Anniversary Collector's Edition, and the 2017 4K Ultra HD Special Edition releases.

Quick Facts

Film: Blade Runner
Director: Ridley Scott
Year of release: 1982
Number of versions: Seven

Facts from the source article.

Versions

The workprint, which runs 113 minutes, first screened for test audiences in Denver and Dallas back in March 1982. It later surfaced in Los Angeles and San Francisco during 1990 and 1991, billed as an Original Director's Cut, though director Ridley Scott had not approved those showings. The negative feedback from those early test previews pushed the studio to make changes, which led to the American theatrical version. On the flip side, the positive reaction to the 1990 and 1991 screenings convinced the studio to greenlight an official director's cut. That workprint was eventually released in 2007 as part of the five-disc Ultimate Edition, using a new transfer from the last surviving print. The picture and sound were restored as much as possible, but it still looks rough compared to other versions.

A San Diego sneak preview, shown just once in May 1982, is almost the same as the 1982 American theatrical release, except it includes three scenes that have never appeared anywhere else. These scenes were not included in the 2007 Final Cut. They feature Batty being introduced in a VidPhon booth, a shot of Deckard reloading his gun after Batty breaks his fingers, and a scene where Deckard and Rachael ride off into the sunset.

The 1982 American theatrical version, put out by the studio, came with a "happy ending" and a voiceover from Harrison Ford. While earlier script drafts had included some form of narration to help explain the story, Ford and Scott had decided to shoot additional scenes to convey that information instead. But after test audiences said they had trouble following the plot, the financiers rewrote and inserted the narration during post-production. Scott did not have final cut approval for this cinema release.

Ford later said in 1999, "I contested it mightily at the time. It was not an organic part of the film." Some have suggested Ford deliberately delivered the voiceover poorly, hoping it would be cut. In a 2002 Playboy interview, he explained, "I delivered it to the best of my ability, given that I had no input. I never thought they'd use it. But I didn't try and sandbag it. It was simply bad narration."