The Gamer's Quarter

[seryogin]

So my Deckard briefcase came in the mail today.

I'm sad to discover that it's plastic and that there is no actual signed letter from Ridley Scott (even though it was promised).
_________________

[aderack]

I'm curious about the differences from the 1991 (apparently so-called) director's cut. That's the only version I've seen. I've got a copy, even!

This is a movie I admire more than I enjoy. So although I'm not running to see a new version of it, I'm sort of interested in what's going on.
_________________

[seryogin]

Well,

Many of the diffirences are merely cosmetic: cleaning it up for HD, getting rid of some of the clunky effects (visible suspension wires, errors in continuity), remixing the sound.

The main difference comes from a few not-very-substantial re-inserted scenes and that the film was subtly re-edited. The clunky bits have been streamlined and it just feels a lot more consistent now. It's actually better. I was very surprised by how much more enjoyable the film was when I caught it in the theaters a month ago.

I curious as to why you admire the film more than you enjoy it -- though I can understand your position; I have the same feelings about Fargo -- as it's always struck me as being a film that says many interesting things while maintaining a very enjoyable pace. Something that a lot of people coming from different approaches can enjoy.
_________________

[aderack]

It's just that it's a very cold film. The characters don't really matter. The story doesn't really matter. It's not a human narrative so much as it is a narrative of themes and places and images and ideas. A stark and objective view of rather subjective concepts.

And fair enough. I mean, I adore 2001 for what it is. This is kind of similar, except with enough trappings that it feels like it should engage on a level that it doesn't. So there's this cognitive dissonance that tends to irritate me, and I get bored when it tries to convince me that the story really is important, and that I should care about these things happening to characters I don't care about, that I'm maybe not really even meant to care about.

Granted, a lot of this is deliberate and even part of the point of the movie. I'm not faulting it, really. It's just not something I like to watch, much. I do appreciate it, though.

It's always surprising how much of a difference editing can make. This sounds rather promising -- little bits here and there, rather than sweeping changes.
_________________

[seryogin]

I see. That's interesting, I had the same opinion before, though I've come to appreciate the characters more with each viewing. What made this film standout -- to me -- initially was Roy Batty, who remains the film's most interesting character. I guess, I really enjoyed Rutger Hauer's performance, since he caught something very fragile and gave the character much more depth than he had in the source material.
_________________

[Dracko]

This is relevant: A playthrough of the game, which I'd love to grab at some point.

Apparently, it gets quite bizarre because the plot starts going so out of control while trying to follow both the book and the film.
_________________
"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[sediment]

Is Deckard's narrative intact?

A friend of mine picked up the Director's Cut DVD and I watched it with him - and it had hardly any of the narrative overdub. So we watched my old VHS copy, because I've always felt his narration lends a bit to his character.
_________________

[Shapermc]

Since I was moving I actually canceled my order with Amazon because I wasn't sure where I'd be. But I was out yesterday and bought the breifcase (#43108) and I was really excited about it. My wife had to make another stop on the way home and I opened everything up then and... well the joyful smile left my face. The origami is really cheap plastic, the design for the car is worse than I expected, the film clip is just a waste honestly because it's one of those things that animates as you move it (I thought it would be a real clip of film). The only thing that didn't disappoint was the concept art and the packaging (it's very well secured with foam). I still haven't gotten a chance to watch any of them yet though. I actually can't decide if I want to do a retrospective and watch them in order (work print-theatrical-directors cut-final cut) or just watch the final cut then kind of bounce around. I haven't seen the theatrical version in many years and only remember that it felt like a less interesting film with a voice over. I've honestly forgotten the overall quality of it.

Also, this is one of those few DVD sets where I'm honestly looking forward to the bonus content as much, and at some times more, than the film content. They dug up interviews and commentary from when the film was being made and I'm hoping for some candid PKD moments.

[seryogin]

I'm very happy that they the set has a few PKD interviews on it.

Also, the origami seemed metal to me. And, yeah, the car looked like it came out a 25 cent vending machine. Still, the overall packaging feels really great.
_________________

[Harveyjames]

All I remember about the Blade Runner game is that it they made a massive brouhaha about how the plot phased and shifted organically depending on how you chose to play and the decisions you made, and actually it just had about 4 endings and it showed you a different one depending on how you responded to one question 10 minutes from the end of the game.

Also it was pretty funny how 90% of the secret detective stuff you can discover revolved around that little girl getting fiddled with by most of the ancillary characters. One of the endings saw the main character himself going off in a car with the little girl, anyway, so I'm not sure what we were supposed to get from that. except that in the future if you're not a secret replicant you're a secret paedo. Some people are even both!

[Dracko]

12 endings, actually. Or am I wrong there?

The playthrough is really worth the read, fellows. It's well written, boasts some insightful background knowledge - mainly in how they juggled the book alongside the film - and is unlike any of the otherwise goonish fare you'd expect from an SA playthrough. Lots of screenshots too.
_________________
"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[Redeye]

[Cycle]

I own the game, it's quite good!

[Harveyjames]

Yeah, reading through that playthrough I'm realising there's a lot more to it than I thought at the time.