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Neon Dreaming…
Did I mention I’ve been teaching in Blade Runner’s Los Angeles William Gibson’s Night City Hong Kong this week? The first time I came to Hong Kong, it was like stepping into a city I’d already met – it was total immersion in the world of cyberpunk, where unashamed capitalism suffers neither restraint nor irony. This visit is no different: at times I love and admire the city, and at times it gives me nightmares, but I’m sure I’ll never ever be able to say that I’m ambivalent! (And the cityscape lends itself rather well to a few photos here and there, too!)
Blade Runner: The Final Cut Trailer
I’m a huge Blade Runner fan and can’t wait to see Ridley Scott’s new ‘Final Cut’. I came across a trailer for the new cut today, and it made me remember exactly why this film had such a big impact. The one thing that took me a minute to process was the background music which, I’m fairly certain, comes from The Fountain.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
The US release date for the much anticipated Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVD has been set at 18 December 2007 (I hope the same date will be true for Australia, but I can’t find anything to confirm that yet). There are sets from 2 to 5 discs in size, including the package pictured, which comes in briefcase in the style of one holding the the Voight-Kampff test in the film. It all looks very exciting, and, unlike, say, George Lucas’ Star Wars Special Editions, the Blade Runner sets will contain all the versions of the film, from the 1982 release, the first Director’s Cut, the new Final Cut and, for those getting the 5-disc pack, a work-print (which I’ve never seen) which has all sorts of changes that never made it to any cinema screens at any time.
One of the best parts of this collection will have to be the new ‘Dangerous Days’ documentary which seeks to be a ‘definitive’ look at the film, but really will just add more to the film’s ongoing mythology. Yahoo! has a few preview clips up, which include footage showing new interviews with most of the cast and crew, including James Edward Olmos and Harrison Ford. I thought the previous Blade Runner documentary put together by Mark Kermode was pretty good, so I’m hoping to be dazzled by ‘Dangerous Days’ if it has even more to show about the film and its cultural impact.
I’m quite pleased this set is on its way – when I was lecturing earlier this year on Blade Runner I was really starting to think it would be the last time this film would seem relevant to students, but I think this re-release will spark further interest in the film, its peppered production history and the importance of the questions it provokes. Yes, I think Deckard is a replicant in every cut, but I’d be pleased to hear why you disagree … or agree! 🙂 [Via AICN]
For Harrison Ford fans, you can also check out the Comicon report from Ford, Spielberg and others from the set of Indiana Jones 4!
Update: Blade Runner: The Final Cut will get a cinematic premiere on September 1st at the 64th Venice Film Festival!
Home again, home again, jiggity jig!
Emily and I are back from our honeymoon; Florence and Venice were brilliant, from the Uffizi to the Venice Biennale we had a fantastic time and were quite sad to have to head home (to work)! I haven’t processed them yet, but there will be a lot of pictures heading to Flickr in the near future, thanks in part to the purchase of a new Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi on the way out of Perth. I’ll post links when the photos start to emerge.
Also while I was away, my first In Media Res post went up, entitled “The Haunting of Spiders, Cities and DVDs” which looks at the (in)famous pre-September 11 (2001) trailer for Spider-Man which featured the Twin Towers and was pulled after the 911 attacks. If you’ve got a minute, please take a look (it’s only 300 words and a 2-minute trailer!) and comments are most welcome.
I’m catching up on a lot of material in Google Reader from all my blogs, so tomorrow’s del.icio.us digest should be an impressive one!
Incidentally, the line “Home again, home again, jiggity jig” is from Blade Runner, which is 25 years old this month and has a rather impressive looking 5-disc DVD version, re-cut once more, just on the horizon!
Ciao!
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