Synopsis:

Spoilers.... This edit tightens up some narrative dialogue here and there and trims off some excess shots, all for being too on the nose essentially, but isn't too heavy handed with it as Wallace's monologues remain in full - If only to provide a deeper psychological framing for Luv's own psychotic tendencies. Where it is heavy handed is in the complete removal of the character Mariette. She is still technically present in one or two places, but cropped out and pushed back into the the periphery as an extra. This edit also re grades the colour of the film to that of a more neutral palette and pulls the fogged in stylized highlights back out to a realistic luminescence.

Intentions:

Spoilers... I'll be blunt. This was done to allow K the psychological and intellectual space to make sense of and accept the unfolding story along with the viewer as though he were, I dunno, the protagonist or something (sarcasm). Removing her lends him the implicit intelligence to not need or be tempted by little more than an awkward nerd f**k. It's simply not necessary to the plot and I don't see any reason to assume it's consistent with his character. He already has his waifu and he eventually realizes Joi's emotional worth in spite of any kind of proxy consummation. If the physicality of sex meant the slightest thing to him, he wouldn't invest in the clearly pseudo companionship and theoretical nuances of Joi and her evolving program to start with - hookers are not hard to come by in any format after all - And for a replicant who very obviously is happy to accept his place in the world thus far, hookers are a crass and cheapening option that he actively passes up without any hint of confliction. For K to go without such basic pursuits raises his character's intellect and sincerity in the eyes of the viewer. Or for me anyway, considering the inevitable comparison to humans who would where he would not. Further to this though, was the fact that Mackenzie Davies is either a poor actress, was miscast or badly directed due to her character's essential redundancy. So often we got that vapid blank stare in place of ...something else she was supposed to be doing apparently. Once you push her into the background to blend in with the rest of the vague replicant "resistance" who follow and track K, you see that she need not be a point of focus at all, much less a spokesperson for spoon feeding minor details that don't even really qualify as exposition. Plus everyone else's performances adjacent to K are also just so good and so fully realized - referring here to Robin Wright and Sylvia Hoek, who steal the show most of the time, and whose interaction with K are just far more compelling and consequential on every level. Luv is arguably the most interestingly fleshed out villain of that cinematic year - And in a time where female roles are being reduced to over simplified ideological cartoons, this was very encouraging. Her psychology was palpable and fully illustrated. It is why I kept all of Wallaces scenes as his psychopathy directly affects and relates to Luv's experience and obligations as a character.

Change List:

Other changes worth noting - in no particular partially remembered order as I haven't kept project notes this time round; Spoilers... Tightened up the the first series of shots to be timed more precisely with the swell of the music and the eye shot now arrives just before we see Sapper. Film opens on transition into the dark sands approach. Shifted the first major Joi-commercial-giantess to directly after she pauses with Lt Joshi's message to K. K only tells Deckard he's about to meet his daughter outside the upgrade facility rather than after they drag themselves from the sea. Rachel's clone only says "Did you miss me?" Took out the orphans surrounding K like he was a savior. This edit isn't really to my liking, but it's better than the hokey direction it did have. Sapper still echoes in audio flashback to K as he travels to Wallace headquarters but the big audio visual flashback for the final act has been taken out with one element re-aligned to the edit at their correct place in time. *The fussy matte rebuilds and cropping and digital masking and footage re-timing that was used to remove Mariette are not listed in any cohesive detail here as I've been to sleep a few times since then, but folks will spot it all when they watch it I'm sure. Also the scene where we meet the resistance prostitutes changes a lot as Mariette is completely removed and Freysa is now only seen lingering rather than delegating to her cohorts. I used a piece from the soundtrack to over lay glimpses of K being observed by Freysa as he eats sushi and studies his live photographs. Then I inter cut the shot of the sex workers into the shots of the drinks machines - to contextualize a comparable "fast food" access to both markets and to show us one of the peripheral resistance members in one go. This takes us to his eventual return at Sappers shack. Freysa no longer states Deckard's child will be shown to the world and K's response to the child's gender is earlier, questioning the first time Freysa says "she" rather than letting her go on about she and her and taking exception too late.

Additional Notes:

Other Sources:

- Blade Runner 2049 Original Soundtrack.

Special Thanks: