Twenty-five years after the initial release of BLADE RUNNER, director Ridley Scott uses archival footage to re-create his original vision for the sci-fi classic. Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, the film is set in Los Angeles in 2019. Earth has become a polluted and miserable dystopia, and many people have fled to live "Off World" on other planets. This dreary vision of the future features replicants: lifelike robots built as slaves for human use. When a replicant escapes his owner, a "blade runner" is called in to hunt him down and kill him. Enter Harrison Ford as the retired blade runner Rick Deckard. He is pulled out of retirement to help catch four escaped replicants: Batty (Rutger Hauer), Leon (Brion James), Pris (Darryl Hannah), and Zhora (Joanna Cassidy.) Despite his distaste for the job, Deckard is soon hot on their heels, tracking them down one by one through the over-crowded, crumbling city streets. In the midst of his hunt, Deckard becomes involved with a beautiful replicant named Rachael (Sean Young). Rachel has fled her owner, and Deckard rightfully should kill her. However, the two fall in love, and after some startling revelations, they are both soon on the run from the very authorities that once employed Deckard.

This final cut is a bleaker, more cynical version of an already dark film, which might explain why the studio insisted on a softer, more optimistic ending when it was first released. While some superfans might take issue with some of the revelatory new twists, they will no doubt delight in the quality of the digital restoration. The special effects were already impressive for 1982, but these new touch-ups give them a look that appears just as sharp and imaginative as the sci-fi films of today.

Theatrical Release: October 5, 2007

DVD Features:

2-Disc Set
Special Edition
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Featurette
Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Interviews

Harrison Ford: American actor, STAR WARS series/INDIANA JONES series
Rutger Hauer: Dutch Actor/In USA
Sean Young: American Actress
Daryl Hannah: American actress, SPLASH, KILL BILL, STEEL MAGNOLIAS
Edward James Olmos: Lt. Castillo of TV's "Miami Vice" - married Lorraine Bracco
M. Emmet Walsh: American Character Actor
William Sanderson: American TV/Film Actor
Brion James: Actor

Ridley Scott: British Director/Producer, ALIEN (1979), BLADE RUNNER (1982)

Michael Deeley: "Blade Runner" producer

Hampton Fancher: Screenwriter, BLADE RUNNER
David Peoples: 

Terry Rawlings: "Blade Runner" Film Editor
Marsha Nakashima: EDITOR

5 stars out of 5 -- "[From the] tiny details, such as the funky novelty umbrellas with their neon stems, to jaw-dropping vistas like the opening, fire-belching cityscape, it remains an unparalleled visual achievement."