The Director’s Cut is out. Only one more to go.
(FWIW, I also saw some 35mm frames, but they looked closer to the DVD. We are talking about analogue media, not digital, and no two release prints will look the same. This is especially true 30+ years after the fact.)
The colour timing of the original film was a source of much conjecture over the years; the 1996 DVD’s colour grade is just about the same as the 35mm version.
With regard to it being from an analogue source, a high-quality 4K or 8K scan of 35mm film will always yield beautiful results, and can easily surpass what is commercially released via DVD and Blu-ray.
This is another reason why I chose the DVD grade over the Final Cut. The Criterion laserdisc, which came from a completely different source from the Director’s Cut DVD (the LD came from an interpositive of the International Cut), looks quite similar to the DVD. This is evidence that the DVD’s color grade is accurate to what people saw in the theater.
The US Theatrical Cut is out! This fixes the issues present in the Beta version of the International Cut, so it should be a more pleasing watch. The Director’s Cut and an updated version of the International cut should be out soon!
It’s out! (Kind of)
I have completed a beta version of the International Cut for your viewing pleasure. There are still a few issues that need to be ironed out, so expect an updated version when the US Theatrical and Director’s Cuts are released. PM me for the link, and I hope you enjoy it!
I think that I am in the minority that actually likes the grade of the official 4k version of Final Cut(the old Blu-ray of the Final Cut is best used for skeet shooting, though). I considered using the original Final Cut colors, but I chose the more neutral color grade based on the popularity of “Blade Runner: Penultimate Cut”. As such, it seems that the consensus is that the “original colors” are more akin to the DVD.
(FWIW, I also saw some 35mm frames, but they looked closer to the DVD. We are talking about analogue media, not digital, and no two release prints will look the same. This is especially true 30+ years after the fact.)
Project Update:
I am about 70% complete with color grading (up to when Batty meets Tyrell), and you can see the difference in the attached screenshots below. While they are not in 4k or in HDR, they can at least give an impression of what the edit will look like. Once the grading is done, I can start integrating the upscaled Blu-ray footage into the edit to create all three versions (thank goodness for the nerds over at movie-censorship.com for documenting every change down to the frame…)
In 2007, to create the “Final Cut” of the film, Ridley Scott and Warner Bros. rebuilt Blade Runner from the ground up using a new 4K digital intermediate. What if, instead of stopping with the Final Cut, Warner Bros. used this DI to restore the previous cuts of the film as well?
This fanedit restores the US Theatrical, International, and Director’s Cuts of Blade Runner in 4K HDR using the Final Cut 4K Blu-ray. The footage will feature a scene-by-scene regrade to match the warmer tones of the 1999 DVD. Any major visual changes will be replaced with footage from the Theatrical Cut Blu-ray, which will be upscaled to 4k and regraded to match.
Here is a proof-of-concept clip:
https://youtu.be/nWLAVAgPvL0
I am currently working on rebuilding the theatrical and director’s cuts of Blade Runner in 4k, and I am interested in offering the laserdisc audio for each cut. I currently have the soundtrack for the international cut from the criterion laserdisc, I just need the US Theatrical and DC. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
I would love this! I remember seeing the revival screening at Epcot a few years back and thinking, “why don’t they just keep this open?” Now we can preserve the hard work of everyone who made this.
(Deleted because I double posted, oops)
Oh boy, this is getting a bit toxic…
Still, it would be interesting to look at a few frames of a 35mm release print, with the knowledge that this may not be totally accurate to the intended colors (issues from lighting conditions, color fade, general artifacts from the printing process, etc.)
Hey, can you PM me for a link? I would love to experience Amadeus as it originally was.