9 Films That Forced You To See The Wrong Version In The Cinema

3. Test Audiences Made It Be Changed - Blade Runner

The ending of Blade Runner is one of the greatest in cinema history. Following a haunting monologue from Rutger Hauer's Roy, Harrison Ford's Deckard and replicant Rachel attempt to leave the city. Bleak and ambiguous (the unicorn Deckard finds at the end could signify Blade Runner Gaff is on their trail or that Deckard himself is a replicant, depending on what version you're watching), it leaves the future of the characters gleefully up in the air. Of course, that sort of thing works great with film fans, but general audiences have a tendency to want cheerier endings (even Titanic, a film in which two-thirds of the characters die, manages a happy final scene). So when it was shown to test audiences they naturally requested something more upbeat. Thus audiences in 1982 got a garish additional scene where Deckard and Rachel drive through the countryside, removing all the ending's previous ambiguity. Featuring obnoxious jazz and location shots lifted from the opening of The Shining, it's worst crime is the voiceover. Oh yes, the voiceover. Another addition from the test screenings, the theatrical release came with Harrison Ford narrating events, just to make sure everyone was keeping up. Recorded at the last minute it's really phoned in and only serves to ruin the film's unique tone (it pushes it too far into neo-noir). We now have the Final Cut, which axes this ending and the voiceover, so can see the film as intended by director Ridley Scott. But the poor saps who saw it in cinemas didn't; the crummy changes are probably a big part of why the film bombed.