While promoting Blade Runner 2049, Harrison Ford revealed which version of the original Blade Runner it is that he personally prefers. While the 1982 sci-fi film is regarded nowadays as being one of the greatest films ever made too, the evolution of Blade Runner's reputation in the film industry is an interesting one, to say the least. Not only was it a commercial failure upon its original release, but it was met with initially mixed reviews from critics. In fact, it wasn't until a few years after Blade Runner's original theatrical run, that filmmakers and audiences began taking another look at the misunderstood sci-fi masterpiece.
As anyone who's an avid Blade Runner fan will already know as well, that's also because the 1982 film was not faithful to Ridley Scott's original vision of the story, with the studio adding a voice-over and happy ending that he thought betrayed the Blade Runner's themes and noir roots. In the decades since that 1982 release though there have been multiple other cuts and versions of Blade Runner, culminating in the 2007 Final Cut, which many (including Ridley Scott himself) believe to be the best and truest version of the film available.
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It turns out, Ridley Scott isn't the only one involved in the 1982 version to prefer the Final Cut either. While appearing at the Blade Runner 2049 press conference is Los Angeles, Harrison Ford confirmed that he likes the Final Cut version of the film the most, saying that he was “much happier with that version." And that won't come as much of a surprise to most Blade Runner fans, considering it's well-known that Ford agreed with Scott about the direction of the film back in 1982, and was not happy with the additional voice-over or scene changes the studio forced into the film.
There have always been discussions about which version of Blade Runner is the best/should be considered canon, but it's become an especially important and popular point of debate leading up to Blade Runner 2049's release next week. Fortunately, director Denis Villeneuve confirmed that the Blade Runner: Final Cut is the version that the long-awaited sequel builds directly off of, and the one that audiences should rewatch before going to see the sequel.
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While the original film wasn't a success back in 1982, that doesn't appear to be the case with the 2017 sequel. In addition to positive early box office projections, the early reviews for Blade Runner 2049 have been very strong this week, with many reviewers going so far as to call the sequel a sci-fi masterpiece. And it's important to note that this is all coming following almost a full year of marketing for the film by Warner Bros., and a wave of initial skepticism from Blade Runner fans, who thought it would be impossible to continue the story in a way that was remained respectful to its predecessor. Now, instead of tarnishing the original, Blade Runner 2049 only looks to be further cementing its place as one of the greatest sci-fi franchises that filmgoers have ever seen.
