Blade Runner: The Final Cut

I'm a huge Blade Runner fan, and have been anticipating Blade Runner: The Final Cut for years. The original director's cut came out in 1992, was released on DVD in 1997, and due to limitations of the DVD format at that time, the picture was pretty poor (though I guess it was watchable enough for me to obsessively screen it every year or so...). When The Final Cut is released on December 18, Ridley Scott's 1982 film will finally be given the visual treatment it deserves -- and it comes after a series of different cuts in different formats spanning two and a half decades. With slightly updated visuals (scrubbing out cables and a product assistant's thumb), new surround-sound audio (Vangelis in surround!), slightly tweaked dialog, and a bunch of extra features, this had better be the definitive release. (Note for buffs: there are three different Final Cut release packages, including one with five discs.)

Wired has a Q&A with Ridley Scott (warning: some slightly salty language) which reviews the basic history of the film's many releases, and gives some insight into Scott's perception of his work. Better, but way longer: the complete interview (also note the hour-long audio recording at the top of the page). MTV has a similarly detailed article which mentions that the new cut will have a theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles starting October 5 (road trip, anyone?). For those interested in a detailed run-down of the various DVD releases, check out this preview from The Digital Bits. If that's not enough, watch the slightly corny trailer from the official Warner Brothers site.