Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (Video 2007)

The definitive three-and-a-half hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic "Blade Runner," culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.

Director:

Charles de Lauzirika

Stars:

Daryl Hannah, Michael Deeley, Harrison Ford

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daryl Hannah	...	Herself
Michael Deeley	...	Himself
Harrison Ford	...	Himself
Joanna Cassidy	...	Herself
Rutger Hauer	...	Himself
Douglas Trumbull	...	Himself
Hampton Fancher	...	Himself
Sean Young	...	Herself
Syd Mead	...	Himself
Steven Poster	...	Himself (as Steven B. Poster)
Edward James Olmos	...	Himself
Ridley Scott	...	Himself
Paul Sammon	...	Himself (as Paul M. Sammon)
Isa Dick Hackett	...	Herself, Philip K. Dick's daughter
Tim Powers	...	Himself, author of 'The Anubis Gates'

Storyline

The definitive three-and-a-half hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic "Blade Runner," culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.

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Plot Keywords:

making of | film making | behind the scenes

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dangerous Days

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blade Runner Partnership, Lauzirika Motion Picture Company, Warner Home Video

Technical Specs

Runtime:

214 min 100 min (TV) (2008)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This feature-length documentary is featured on the Two-Disc Special Edition, Four-Disc Collector's Edition, and Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition (DVD, HD DVD & Blu-Ray) of Blade Runner, all released in December 2007.

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Quotes

Frank Darabont: Thank you for kicking this delicate emotional note we were achieving right in the nuts!

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Connections

References The Conversation (1974)

User Reviews

Longer than the film, Dangerous Days is best left to the fans.

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.