Alternate versions are lost like tears in the rain.
Outside of its cinema legacy, the one thing Blade Runner might be known for is multiple director’s cuts. Ridley Scott is famous for tinkering with his movies post-release and Blade Runner was perhaps the most egregious of all. As for Blade Runner 2049, director Denis Villeneuve says that is indeed the best and final cut of the feature.
In a discussion with ScreenCrush, Villeneuve talked about killing your darlings and editing out parts of Blade Runner 2049 that just didn’t make the cut. The assembly cut of Blade Runner 2049 was originally four hours long and apparently, it was decent. He said, “What was striking is that the four-hour cut was quite strong. But personally I prefer the one that is in the theater because it’s more elegant, I would say. But there are some scenes that were like [makes boosh sound]. Quite strong.” Villeneuve added that he believes that there shouldn’t be director cuts as often as they show up because there was a reason the material was cut in the first place.
When asked whether or not we will see other versions of Blade Runner 2049, he added, “I will say that there’s no great things that are being lost. When I cut something, it’s dead. It means it was not good enough. Even if sometimes I’m cutting my favorite shots, I still strongly think that when it’s cut on the floor of the editing room it should not go back to see the light of day again. I don’t like extended cuts. I must say, apart from Touch of Evil and Blade Runner, I have never seen a director’s cut that was better than the original.” So unlike his producer Ridley Scott, Villeneuve seems quite happy with the product he releases to theaters and if his word is anything to go by, it will likely be the only version of Blade Runner 2049 we see.
No one will ever complain that Blade Runner 2049 wasn’t long enough. The science-fiction film was one of the longest potential blockbusters released in 2017. The length might have something to do with the box office return as well, but perhaps there was too much optimism in place for a new Blade Runner film.
Related Topics: Blade Runner 2049
