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Blade Runner: The Penultimate Cut (TM2YC)

TM2YC

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I thought I'd upload a few short comparison clips to youtube (if it will let me) because I realised I hadn't actually shown any examples of the final grade differences:


It's in 4K so the resolution of the two 1080p sources isn't reduced. I'll upload some more clips soon.
 

TM2YC

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Did I miss the release of the Alternate Cut?
No, I haven't worked on it for a while unfortunately.

Here is another 4K comparison of the bike scene outside Chew's, including the integration of the FC fixes to the phone box close ups of Roy:


and Deckard riding in Gaff's spinner, including wire FC removals:

 
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TM2YC

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A couple more short 4K clips...

Deckard talking on the Vid-Phon, which features some shots that are actually lit much bluer originally, than on the Final Cut, where all footage inside the club has been graded to look the same greeny/brown:


and Deckard searching Leon's apartment. You can compare the shot in the middle where I changed it to replace the stand-ins head with Harrison's:

 

Wakeupkeo

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The Penultimate cut is so beautiful - I feel spoiled when I forget what it looks like without TM2YC's amazing touches. Love the side-by-sides.
 

SIUse

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It looks really amazing. The only missing is, that´s not a open matte version^^
 

TM2YC

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It looks really amazing. The only missing is, that´s not a open matte version^^

(I might be wrong) but I'm fairly sure Blade Runner was shot anamorphic (a 2.39:1 image squashed to fill a 4:3 film cell, then stretched back to 2.39:1 for projection), so there would be no matting involved. All the different versions of BR do feature slightly different cropping decisons for some shots but the differences are small.

This is the best image I could find on google of a Blade Runner film cell (horizontally squashed and flipped):

uo_1528046229-2197-375[1].jpg


I (roughly) flipped and stretched it back to the way it would be seen on screen (for comparison):

51150334550_0d327e6886_c[1].jpg


Which is more or less the same sort of framing as you'll find on the blu-rays and DVDs:

MedicalTerrificDormouse-mobile[1].jpg


You can find an open-matte version of BR2049 though, as that was shot digitally at 1.78:1, then matted to 2.39:1 for it's main release.

1577037860545[1].jpg
 
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SIUse

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Lovely you put this short effort into in explaining it :) I knew about the hdtv broadcast version, have it at home and i love it, specifically for this movie.
 

TM2YC

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Probably a last couple of 4K comparison clips...

By doing these comparison clips I'm spotting Final Cut differences I'd not noticed before. Like in the Vid-Phon call (in the post above) there is a bright red sticker on the right of the phone box that has been darkened to the point of almost being invisible in the FC for no obvious reason. I'd added back the missing hard edged sun FX in the shot at 02.02 in the meeting between Deckard and Rachel (see below) but now I've noticed that some subtle flying traffic has been added going past in the window behind them in the FC. I quite like that little change but it's too late now.

The second spinner ride to the Tyrell building. Apart from the grade differences, the altered shot of the spinner coming into land from the FC was not used, as the original practical FX shot was perfect already, and the previously mentioned sun FX was put back:


The famous "tears in rain" speech. All the spinner FC wire removals are integrated into the DC footage. Tthere were obviously visible wires in this scene, even when the spinners weren't fully in shot, or where parked in the background. Also the new FC dove shot has been graded to match the surrounding 1982 footage as best as I could.

 

Cliffback

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Just heard about this one today! While I really enjoy the Final Cut, the regrade to make it look more like it did back in the day sounds super promising!
 

Thommo

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After seeing the comparison videos I'm shocked and dismayed that Ridley Scott would teal the film so badly when he put so much effort into the detail of the film. It is difficult to believe he was responsible.
 
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Thommo

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Wow. I simultaneously watched the 4k version and this edit on two screens. Side by side. I can't believe it. They totally stuffed the Final Cut with the colours. I can't unwatch it. I'll now never consider the Final Cut to be be best version of the film.

Not just the ugly green but also the blue in Chew's lab and in the Bradbury. It mutes the scenes making them dull and boring. It is like an ugly haze over the top. It effects everything, hair colour, costumes, faces, yellow lights are green, flames have green tinge, the patterned walls in Deckard's flat and sets loose their interest. It is really noticeable side by side. Bloody idiots. What were they thinking? Thanks for the edit.

The only observation I'd make on this edit is when Deckard is flying to the Tyrell building it is extremely orange and the city detail is also lost in the background (at 16:46) and that few seconds I prefer the final cut. But maybe you did that to make the sky orange so it wasn't blue (at 16:25)? Because that is a continuity error they should have fixed in the Final Cut (orange/blue/orange sky) and the sky is consistent in this edit.

As a newbie I can't post links or images sorry. Comparisons:

thommos.com/images/comparison.jpg
thommos.com/images/comparison2.jpg
 
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TM2YC

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Wow. I simultaneously watched the 4k version and this edit on two screens. Side by side.

Nice! I must try that myself sometime :) .

the city detail is also lost in the background (at 16:46) and that few seconds I prefer the final cut.

From the timestamp and description, I think you are talking about the spinner coming into land shot? They reworked that digitally for the 2007 final cut. They added some horizon detail that was never there before and moved the different elements of the model around in 3dimensions to create the illusion of a slow camera push in (plus some light haze). Mostly I wanted this to look like a movie made in 1982 with optical FX, not with early 2000s CGI additions, so I went back to the original unaltered FX shot. It's a fairly subtle change but one I didn't feel was necessary, or it wasn't a problem that needed fixing IMO.

Large image files ahead:

Here is a comparison. I actually dialled back the orange a bit:

51953342125_a7c8b5634a_o.jpg


The CG FX tweaks on the final cut of that landing shot are less obvious in a still, than in motion. Re-watch it now and you'll see what they did.

maybe you did that to make the sky orange so it wasn't blue (at 16:25)? Because that is a continuity error they should have fixed in the Final Cut (orange/blue/orange sky) and the sky is consistent in this edit.

That's a slightly more complicated question, as it was not a final cut change.

In 2006 a new "Digitally Remastered" DVD of the Director's Cut was released (which is also the version you'll find on all blu-rays of the DC). It made a number of changes to the grade, from what was last seen on the old un-remastered 1999 DVD. Such as introducing inconsistent blue skies to some shots in the sequence you are talking about, blue and/or green shots in the opening "hellscape" sequence and making some scenes like the noddle bar aggressively teal. Many scenes feature more or less the same grade though.

A year later when the final cut came out, it was based on that new 2006 transfer, so ported over all those grade changes, plus made more changes to everything else.

Here is a comparison:

51952764556_9c231e8a8d_o.jpg


The original sequence had a consistently golden glow, as if the sun was going down, which I tried to restore to the HD footage:

51951816957_de4fdee493_o.jpg
 

Thommo

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Thanks for the background. I didn't know about all the colour changes in that segment across the versions or that the city details was added later.

I think having a consistent orange sky colour is a good idea. (y)
 

asterixsmeagol

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While I did like the increased detail of the newly created shots for the Director's/Final cuts, one reason those cuts feel off to me is that it looks like everything is happening at night. The brighter and oranger (is that a word?) versions make it look more like things are happening during the day with a heavy smog of some sort blanketing the city.
 

TM2YC

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Are you still planning a blu-ray for this, TM2YC?

Is there still demand for that?

It would need to be a 50GB disc. You can get cheap tiny memory sticks with massive storage capacities now. If I want to watch an edit I put it on a memory stick and plug it into my smartTV. Job done. I don't burn off my own edits to disc any more.

It's also a big hassle to compile a blu-ray disc but I'd happily make one if people want it. I get messages from people asking me how to convert my few blu-ray edits into an mkv/mp4 for ease, I hardly get any messages asking for the reverse.

Plus making a basic blu-ray disk out of a 1080p mkv is pretty easy for those that want a physically burned disc. Just drag and drop the BR mkv into a free program like tsMuxer (https://www.videohelp.com/software/tsMuxeR), check the "Blu-ray folder" or "Blu-ray ISO" box and in a flash it will convert all the video, audio, chapters and subtitles into a blu-ray folder structure, or burn ready ISO file, with zero re-encoding. It doesn't have a fancy menu though.

However, if I ever get back to completing my "Alternate Cut" of BR, I will probably put them both on a single 50GB disc package, with menus and everything.
 

The Scribbling Man

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I'd heard you mention a blu-ray was on the cards at some stage, so that's why I asked. If you did make one then I would be interested, as having it on disc saves hard drive space and makes it easy to share it with less tech savvy friends and family :) I've not really ever tried to burn a blu-ray tbh, just DVD, but if it's as simple as you say maybe I'll give it a go.

I guess I am also just a sucker for fancy menus! If it's a huge faff it's entirely understandable why you wouldn't though.

Out of curiosity, what would you use to create a blu-ray with menus? I would like to take a crack at authoring one for some of my edits in the future.
 

TM2YC

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having it on disc saves hard drive space and makes it easy to share it with less tech savvy friends and family :)

Yeah that's true.

I guess I am also just a sucker for fancy menus! If it's a huge faff it's entirely understandable why you wouldn't though.

Out of curiosity, what would you use to create a blu-ray with menus? I would like to take a crack at authoring one for some of my edits in the future.

I use Vegas/Magic DVD architect. It's not particularly user friendly as it's in theory capable of producing professional level designs and option menu structures. It's got loads of options and control over how the disc comes out but perhaps too many choices for what I want.
 
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