Versions of Blade Runner

Seven different versions of Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner have been shown, either to test audiences or theatrically.

In the 2007 documentary Dangerous Days: The Making of Blade Runner, there is a reference to director Ridley Scott presenting an eighth version, a nearly four-hour-long "early cut", that was shown only to studio personnel.

[3] This version was re-released as part of the five-disc Ultimate Edition in 2007 with a new transfer of the last known print in existence, with the picture and sound quality restored as much as possible.

They drive away into a natural landscape, and Deckard's voice-over narrative explains that Gaff's words ("It's too bad she won't live.

[11] The Ridley Scott-approved Director's Cut (1992, 116 minutes)[12] was prompted by the unauthorized 1990 and 1991 theatrical release of the workprint version of the movie.

Scott provided extensive notes and consultation to Warner Bros., although film preservationist/restorer Michael Arick was put in charge of creating the Director's Cut.

[13] In October 1989, Arick discovered a 70mm print of Blade Runner at the Todd-AO vaults while searching for soundtrack masters for other films.

In response to Scott's dissatisfaction, Warner Bros. pulled theatrical screenings of the workprint in some cities, though it played at the NuArt Theater in Los Angeles and the Castro Theatre in San Francisco beginning in late 1991.

"[16] In 2021, Ridley Scott said on Marc Maron's podcast that the main incentive to alter the film was an idea for the sequel, which would reframe protagonist Rick Deckard as a replicant capable of reproducing.

[19] Scott found time in mid-2000 to help put together a final and definitive version of the film with restoration producer Charles de Lauzirika, which was only partially completed in mid-2001 before legal and financial issues forced a halt to the work.

According to the documentary, actress Joanna Cassidy made the suggestion to re-film Zhora's death scene while being interviewed for the Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner documentary, and footage of her making this suggestion is inter-cut with footage of her attending the later digital recording session.

The Final Cut was re-released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 5, 2017, (one month prior to the theatrical release of Blade Runner 2049).