Final Cut

Having helmed such critical and commercial successes as Thelma and Louise (1991), Black Rain (1989) and Alien (1979), it seems remarkable now that director Ridley Scott didn't have things all his own way with Blade Runner (1982). After all, we are talking about an artist who has earned a formidable reputation as a creator of big-canvas film epics such as Gladiator (2000). Indeed, along with Brother Tony, David Lean, Bernardo Bertolucci and Luc Besson, Scott is one of those directors that comes to mind when the subject of visually impressive films arises. And it's a given he now has the prestige and the power to hold sway on any project he undertakes. Yet early in his career, while he was still establishing his name in feature-film directing, Scott reluctantly made changes to a film many regard as one of the finest of the 1980s. Even today, twenty years after it was made, the film's look and tone, depicting a dystopian future in a dark, menacing and polyglot LA, seem timeless.