Last night I had the pleasure of watching Ridley Scott’s masterpiece Blade Runner in beautiful HD DVD. Blade Runner is the story of a Deckard, a retired cop played by Harrison Ford who returns to service to hunt 4 Replicants - humanoid robots - built by the Tyrell corporation that threaten the peace and civility of 2019 Los Angeles. An erie look into human existence with technology in the future, Blade Runner is a dark movie. This HD DVD version has fully restored audio and video by Ridley Scott. In a :37 introduction to the movie the director says this HD DVD version is his favorite - we agree.

Despite the dark colors and tones the image was as clear as you would expect from a our beloved HD DVD format. I have seen this movie many times on VHS and cable. In those formats the picture was grainy; sets and characters blended togather. On our HD DVD format the depth of the images was astounding and added new life to this cult classic. The TrueHD audio does not disappoint and adds to the future environment portrayed by Ridley Scott’s images.

Along with the 2007 HD DVD “final cut” version the 5 disc set includes a making of Blade Runner documentary, various behind the scenes featurettes, the obligatory director’s commentary and some bonuses including the original theatrical release in 1080p, the international theatrical release in 1080p, the 1992 remaster in 1080p. On top of all that content included also is a first cut of the movie. Truly a collectors set. I opted to get the $34.00 5 disc set from Best Buy on my way home from work. I have to say it is quite a value, 5 discs for $34.00. If you are a true geek you can spend up to $99.00 at Best Buy (apparently *not* available on line) and get the ultimate pack which includes the aforementioned 5 discs, photo stills from the movie, an origami swan, a model of the police cruiser all in a nice plastic briefcase.

So should you buy this movie for your HD DVD collection? Yes. absolutely. The picture is beautiful, the attention to detail comes to life in HD DVD. The audio is a  model for HD DVD mixing and the special features are over the top. The only thing lacking was any kind of online content. Internet content is a true boon for HD DVD and all movies released in this format should take advantage of the feature in some respect. Unfortunately it did not pass the wife test. She is not much of a film noir/sci fi movie fan.

IMDB entry for Blade Runner

ILHDDVD Rating 5/5 (Should be in every HD DVD collection)
Video/Image: 5/5 (Show me a movie fimed entirely at night that looks better than this)
Audio: 5/5 (a great true HD mix)
recommended

Reader Ratings: (3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)

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