Ridley Scott Names His Own Flop a Masterpiece—And He's Right
Back in 1982, Blade Runner flopped. Audiences didn't get it, critics weren't impressed, and Warner Bros. famously forced in a clunky voiceover and a tacked-on happy ending, just to make it palatable. The result: a sci-fi noir that cost millions and landed with a dull thud.
But here we are, four decades later, with Ridley Scott proudly listing Blade Runner as one of his four all-time favorite films on Letterboxd. And honestly? Fair enough.
On the red carpet for Alien: Romulus, Scott told The Guardian that Blade Runner is his "most complete and personal film."
He made it shortly after the death of his brother Frank, and the film's constant meditation on death, grief, and what it means to be human clearly wasn't just aesthetic—it was personal.
Scott has spent years repairing what the studio butchered. There are five separate cuts of Blade Runner, but only one that matters to him now: the 2007 Final Cut. In a recent interview with Collider, he said:
"I know the version I like, which was the one that ends in the elevator shaft and the one that has no going off to this beautiful mountain range."
Translation: no sunshine, no closure, no fake optimism—just Deckard and the void. Scott also defended the original cut's infamous Harrison Ford voiceover, saying it was meant to echo Mickey Spillane pulp novels and Apocalypse Now's narration. But he still knows which version got it right.
To be clear, Scott didn't just throw Blade Runner on his top-four list as a vanity pick. He's always insisted it helped reshape the sci-fi genre. And this time, he's not wrong.
For all the moody synth, shadowy alleys, and existential dread, Blade Runner was never just about androids. It was a grief-soaked downpour of a movie, made by a guy wrestling with death—first Frank, and years later, Tony Scott. When Rutger Hauer delivered the now-iconic "Tears in the rain" monologue, it wasn't just a character facing mortality. It was Ridley Scott doing the same behind the camera.
So yes, Blade Runner flopped. And yes, Ridley Scott calls it a masterpiece. He's earned that right.
Here's the financial side of the story:
- Original release year: 1982
- Production budget: approx. $30 million
- Box office: $41 million (domestic and international combined)
- Final Cut release: 2007
- Critical reassessment: massive
Turns out, time isn't just kind to replicants. Sometimes it's kind to directors too.