User reviews

(reviewed as part of the Blu-Ray 2-disk set with Blade Runner - The Final Cut)

The tortured tale of finding the most 'authentic' version of this '80s classic seems almost like a mirror of the story itself. Clones upon clones. Even the 'Director's Cut', it seems, was not the last word. Thankfully, Blade Runner – The Final Cut, has more than just resounding conviction. The director's imprimatur does appear in both in his introduction and the three-and-a-half hour documentary made by a third party. But, more importantly, it is a cogently convincing balancing act which encapsulates the best nuances of its themes – state control, the meaning of identity, and the essence of humanity itself.

Digitally restored and re-mastered, the set incorporates new footage and special effects, re-mastered sound, an introduction by Ridley Scott (who says he's finally happy with this version – phew!), three filmmaker commentaries including Scott's, and the 'definitive' documentary that includes outtakes, deleted scenes, new interviews, screen-tests and an intelligent examination of the movie's creation and controversial legacy.

DVD 'commentaries' have cynically been described as entertainingly endless rambling. This set is no exception, and the trivia they include often duplicates the professionally produced study in the accompanying documentary. Choice of style, if you like.

The documentary is well above standard offerings of its kind. In analysing the film from many angles (including pre-production, art department, casting and scripting, controversies over the story and versions, and its chequered history) it lets you realise the enormity of the task in creating an iconic futuristic urban film-noir world in the days before CGI. Another interesting irony for a movie that champions reality over the human/replicant abyss. Years later of course, the interest in the 'real' is being revived, from Tarantino's 'reality stunts' in Deathproof, to Carlos Reygadas' preference for authenticity over CGI in Silent Light.

Major disagreements on set are not skimmed over – even one where the crew take to wearing rebellious t-shirts in defiance of Ridley Scott's bossiness, and the measures he takes to handle the situation. Profound gulfs separating approaches of various scriptwriters are discussed in a mature and enlightening fashion. Perhaps enough time has passed to put passions into perspective. David Peoples and Hampton Fancher explain their writing methods and we can appreciate how the practicality of the former, balanced the zealous vision of the latter. The documentary allows a viewer not involved with the industry to appreciate the complexity of talents in various roles.

Purists may say that a film such as Blade Runner should only be appreciated on the big screen. I am firmly in that camp with most films made for cinematic release. But several things argue for the purchase of this set.

Firstly, if you can watch it on Blu-Ray and on a suitably large wide screen, the amount of visual and aural detail will blow you away. If you are new to Blu-Ray, you could do much worse than make this your virgin purchase. Secondly, Blu-Ray can handle a vast amount of data – even more than HD. You get enough quality viewing on this set to hold your attention for several evenings. Thirdly, you can assuage your cinephile conscience by noting that the film's cult following and place in history was largely assured through small screen viewing. Tip: switch the English subtitles on as you listen to the commentaries. And even the subtitles are well done, intelligently placed, moving to the top of the screen when they might otherwise obscure an important detail.

But if your curiosity needs to review the now 'retired' versions, there's also a 5-disk (collectors')Final Cut. Just don't make any illegal copies or we'll have to come after you . . .

For people who have never understood the backstage of Hollywood movies, this documentary is a treasure trove. It lasts forever, more than three hours, and discusses everything from Ridley's tyrannical direction and attention to detail to the way the art department designed vehicles and architecture. On the other hand all that stuff can get boring after a while.

What is sure is that the film contains a lot of information that could be of interest to film fans, amateur filmmakers and probably even professionals. Even if you have enough of that crappy overpraising that you see when people in showbiz talk about each other, it is not too much and some of them are downright honest about things: what they liked, what they hated, etc. Harrison Ford, which everyone praised as a very technical, very professional actor, actually hated working for the movie and was only happy when close to completion.

Also the financial underworkings of the film are very interestingly exposed. You cannot bring your own people because of unions, you spend obscene amounts of money for things that might seem trivial, like choosing the perfect mug to sit on the table in a scene from 100 different models or filming nature scenes, etc. It explains a little why movies like these need tens and hundreds of million of dollars to make and why, even with stupid stories and bad direction or production, films still feel professional because of the army of trained technicians that take care of every minute aspect.

All in all a very instructive documentary, kind of long. Don't expect a lot of juicy, funny stories either. It feels more like a log of the production of Blade Runner, than an attempt at a particular perspective or viewpoint. Useful, interesting, not very engaging, though.

"This movie, to me, embodies the elegance, the power, and the uniqueness of a film experience."

Dangerous Days is an exhaustive (almost 4 hours!) documentary about the making of Blade Runner. It's (obviously) mostly for hardcore fans, but it's quite a treat for those people who can't get enough information about that landmark sci-fi movie.

Almost everything you could possibly want to know about the film, from its conception, to casting, art, filming, set design, and its release, is covered in detail. There are tons of candid interviews with the actors, writers, Ridley Scott, financiers production designers, and many other people who were involve with the creation of the movie, as well as reactions from other directors like Guillermo del Toro about their own personal thoughts on Blade Runner. Plus, we get an entertaining view of all the backstage drama (and there was quite a lot of it) that went on during the film's production. There is also a lot of unused scenes, behind-the-scenes set footage, and designs sprinkled liberally throughout, that (as far as I know) you can't see anywhere else.  

I actually learned a lot about the filmmaking process in general, from watching this.  Despite the lengthy running time, I was interested the whole way through. This is a gold mine for people who love all things Blade Runner. I wish these kinds of thorough documentaries existed for more of my favorite movies.

I do like Blade Runner but I don't love it like most. It's a great looking film which has aged wonderfully with good bits but I personally always felt it was a bit overrated. Watching this documentary made me appreciate the film a hell of a lot more, it's a fascinating watch despite the huge time commitment but if you're even remotely interested in the making of any movie it's worth a watch. The director did the 2/3hour documentaries on each of the Alien Quadrilogy which were equally as brilliant and he sure doesn't disappoint here

This is a great movie of a great movie. Ridley Scott is a great director. Dangerous Days captures so much of the original movie. You don't have to understand every shot in the movie just enjoy it. It had a large impact on all the space movies to come. So many later movies copied elements this movie. Very well done.

Dangerous Days was the working title for the film Blade Runner.

Clocking in at 3 and-a-half hours in length this making of feature on Blade Runner is way longer than the movie itself. It is a comprehensive look at a film that failed upon its release but has become a cult hit and a film way ahead of its time.

My interest in this documentary was only aroused when I heard Harrison Ford took part in this. For years Ford would not talk about Blade Runner leading to speculation that he wanted to distance himself from the film or he did not enjoy making it or its fraught difficulties on set was just too much for him.

His participation in this making of film and express words that he did the voice-over very much under protest because he backed Scott's cut of the film but was under contract and therefore obliged to do it pretty much dismisses those accusations that he was embarrassed with the failure of Blade Runner.

The film has it all from the script writing phase to getting a shooting script ready to the tensions on set, getting the special effects to be outstanding to the post production editing that led to the conflict with the director's vision of the film, the box office failure and then its re-discovery as a classic.

This is aimed at fans of the film but it should be a must see for anyone who is interested in how films are made.

I love this movie (not religiously) and the making of shows you how much went into this film. Bladerunner was the first film I saw that had real weight to it: a punch looked like a real punch, a landscape looked like a real cityscape and characters had real depth. as a kid in 1982 all I remembered was the opening scene issuing forth gasps from the audience of "Jesus Christ", I was hooked. today I still think it has many layers and still deserves its place as a masterpiece. In Dangerous Days, I love the way the cast were shell shocked by the screening of the film with some going on to ask how do they top this. The Bradbury Building is haunting to look at as it was, not now that it has been renovated. P.K.Dick at first hated it then couldn't believe how they had recreated his vision.

If any of you liked this but felt it didn't touch upon enough, here are a few pointers to Bladerunner's rich development: Moebius (who now regrets his refusal to work upon the film) wrote and illustrated "The Long Tomorrow" a very good template for Ridleys Vision of the film and a must read for fans of the film. The artwork of Syd Mead is as haunting and beautiful as the film, again a must see. The novel is different to the film but strangely compliments it and is its equal counterpart. and lastly what is odd about the scriptwriters of blade-runner is they haven't just picked upon the novel to encapsulate the theme of the film, but have encompassed most of Dicks entire works in its dark futuristic feel. I bet you didn't know that PKD wrote many books with blade-runner like cities that included ruthless detectives, flying cars or white haired black cloaked replicants or psychotic female counterparts with high intelligence. Bladerunner isn't the book that portrays the film best, there are other books by him that portray the film better. In fact his vision is so much like blade-runner that you can't imagine anything else when reading some of his other novels. I would say that there is a blade-runner signature in nearly all of his books, that would explain his surprise upon seeing a draft of the film because you can see it in his work.

hope this helps those out there who want to dig a little deeper.

Making a movie can't be that fraught, surely? It would appear it can, even a glorious SciFi opus!

Blade Runner is one of the most iconic and beautiful SciFi movies ever made but the production is notoriously difficult.

This documentary gets everyone involved discussing openly, apparently at least, their involvement and the various trials and tribulations.

Everything about the original production is discussed from budget and financial pressures to in depth technical details on special effects and directing.

Writers, director, producers, actors and even the crew speak about everything from script changes, number of takes, falling behind schedule, casting, lighting and ,well, everything!

A little sad to be reminded that Brion James passed away in 1999.

On the whole though the viewer will find this insight into making classic cinema refreshing.

Things to look out for: the tee-shirt war, script changes, beautiful production setups, nice to see the producers get their say, deleted and unfilmed scenes.

Wonderful insights into a type of film making that was pioneering at the time.

The "Making Of" featurettes we see with DVDs sometimes grow into feature-length proportion. "Dangerous Days" takes its name from an early title for the "Blade Runner" movie, and it's beyond feature-length on its own.

This is a decent production, and a must-see for fans of the film. However, compared to other Making Of... featurettes, Dangerous Days is over long and might be dull for those who don't fully appreciate the source material.

To my mind, "Hearts of Darkness", the Making Of... documentary for "Apocalypse Now" is about the best Making Of... documentary there is. I would also include the full-length Making Of The Abyss as must-see viewing for science-fiction film buffs. Dangerous Days falls short of these.

Both "Apocalypse Now" and "The Abyss" featured film-making that went past the edge of human physical endurance. People were risking their lives and sanity to get the films made, and it shows as superior documentary-style drama. "Dangerous Days" mostly shows film-making that goes past the edge of endurance of the film crew for director Ridley Scott, and past the patience of the producers. Yes, it's dramatic, but not nearly as much as Martin Sheen about to get eaten by a ravenous tiger (Hearts Of Darkness) or Mary Elizabeth Mastrantionio nearly drowning at the bottom of a man-made water pit (Making Of The Abyss).

I would put Dangerous Days in roughly the same category as the Making Of... featurettes you get with the Star Wars DVDs, except that it is very long.

The pieces I found the most interesting were the features with Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, who were rival writers for the Blade Runner script, and the special visual effects segment which shows some of the thought process behind the particular model-making and lighting events in Blade Runner, without being all George-Lucasey in terms of the granularity of explanatory detail. Alternate screen tests also make for interesting viewing.

I love Blade Runner as much as the next film fan. It probably misses or only just latches onto my top 100. I owned the 5-Disc boxset in a tin which came with this 4 hour documentary Dangerous Days which only takes 8 years until you feel like watching it. Frankly, while interesting and somewhat worthwhile, the only thing notable about it is that mammoth length. While it has a wealth of outtakes and b-roll to enjoy, there's not much juicy insights to really enjoy besides the stress the film was to make. As a long form documentary, it runs more like a sequence of chapters in a row rather than a coherent piece. Some chopping and flair could make it less dry. Nevertheless, it's still a solid piece of work and there's nothing remotely bad or particularly bland about it. I have grown a newfound respect for its special effects and production design work as well as for Harrison Ford as a professional actor. That man has a work ethic to die for.

7/10