Dystopia: Blade Runner

A couple of days ago, I received the Bluray version of the Blade Runner Ultimate Edition (the 5-disk one with all the different versions and documentaries). I had already had the DVD version–the super-duper one that comes in a little Voight-Kampff briefcase, with a Hot-Wheels-like flying police car model and an origami unicorn–but I had never watched it. When we got our HDTV and PS3 recently, I decided I had to get it in Bluray, and I wasn’t going to watch no steenking normal-def DVD until then. (Also, the non-briefcase Bluray version was only about $25 to order.)

Yes, I’m a geek. I used to be quite the completist-collector, and though I’ve largely given that up since moving to Japan (limited storage space), there are still a few things where I’ve got to have EVERYTHING. Blade Runner, one of my Top Three Best Movies of All Time, is one of those things.

I watched the Final Cut version the day the disks arrived. Absolutely amazing. Not quite the experience of watching the Director’s Cut version in a small theater in Columbia, Missouri (where I was going to grad school at the time), but pretty damn awesome nonetheless.

I’m tempted to go into the dystopian elements of Blade Runner, but come one–if you’ve seen it, you know. Maybe later, when I’m not running on fumes.

Actually, I want to compare it with another dystopia, Half-Life 2, which I just finished a couple days ago. Why compare? Because I think HL2 is a good example of, not a dystopia, but an anti-utopia, and it’s a good chance to explore the subtle difference and get it straight in my own head.

superdave