If I were in L.A. I'd be all over this so fast you'd have to drag me away kicking and screaming with some sort of major hauling device with six axles! If you live in L.A., live close, have a private jet.... get ye to this theater.... just listen to this...
I've never posted before, but I felt this to be important enough to speak out. The Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California is (through this Tuesday, at least) playing a revival screening of Blade Runner. Now this isn't too unusual, save for two unique exceptions:
The copy of Blade Runner being screened is neither the original theatrical release nor is it the Director's Cut. Instead, it is the original 70mm workprint used to test screen the film in Denver and Dallas during the first week of March,1982. While not vastly different that either of the other two cuts, what unique differences there are warrant any true fan of this SF classic (and I know there are at least one or two who frequent this website) to trek out to the Hollywood area and check this out while it's still possible. It is a rare opportunity to see this film in its primordial form, with different cuts, alternate shots, and a temp score. This particular version has not been seen (in California at least) since 1991 where it played to sellout audiences at L.A.'s Nuart and San Francisco's Castro art-house theatres, (and subsequently made these the top-grossing theatres in America for that period). Also, it's important to note that seeing this version again in 1991 inspired Ridley Scott to make his definitive Director's Cut.
The second exception? The Historic Cinerama Dome, built in 1963, as may or may not be known is in certain danger of being, if not demolished, at the very least remodeled and altered beyond recognition, its beautiful enormous screen being diced up into so many tiny multiplex-sized boxes. What finer venue to see this film in than the last of the great post-modern movie houses? This is undoubtedly the last time Blade Runner will ever play at the Cinerama in its current pristine state. Run, don't walk, to Sunset and Ivar NOW!
Sorry, Harry, for my impassioned hyperbole, but as a true fan of both Blade Runner and the Cinerama, I hope I'll be forgiven...
Yours,
Mr. Baby Man
