The long-anticipated DVD event of the year is finally here and, after years of hype and expectation, Blade Runner: Final Cut doesn't just live up to expectations, it shatters them to become one of the best home market releases to date. It's no exaggeration to say that this is a must-have for movie fans. It's one of the DVDs you grab first when the house is on fire. It's the kind of collection that you could literally spend an entire day with and never once tire of the film, the people who made it, or the incredible collection of extras spread across five discs on the Ultimate Collector's Edition. Available in three versions - 2-disc, 4-disc, and the Ultimate 5-disc, Blade Runner: Final Cut really is the definitive edition of one of the most influential films ever made.

Disc One: One of the best experiences I had in a theater this year was being lucky enough to see the new version of Blade Runner digitally projected in Chicago. Check out the Final Cut review for some specific information on the differences between previous versions and this one. A great movie, one of the most influential on me personally, has been turned into an undeniable masterpiece. Of course, the first thing I wanted to check out upon opening the Final Cut DVD was the picture and sound quality to see how it compared. It's absolutely incredible. From the first breathtaking shot, the video and audio on this version of Blade Runner, the one that Ridley Scott thinks is the best, is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Scott himself introduces the film and offers one of three commentary tracks. The second audio track is by executive producer/co-screenwriter Hampton Fancher, co-screenwriter David Peoples, producer Michael Deely, and production executive Katherine Haber and the third features visual futurist Syd Mead, production designer Lawrence G. Paull, art director David L. Snyder and special effects supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, and David Dryer. As you can guess, each track offers something different with the writers and producers having a much different story to tell than the technical team or Scott himself. A cast track would have been nice, but everyone returns later in the set, so it might have felt repetitive.

Disc Two: If this disc was the only one in the set, we would still recommend this package. That's because Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner is one of the best documentaries on filmmaking we've seen in years. To call it 'feature-length' would be inaccurate because you don't see a lot of features that are over 210 minutes long. Covering every aspect of the film from its origins through early storyboards and screenplay drafts to the controversial post-production and poor initial reception, Dangerous Days is fascinating. Everyone involved in the production of the film, including Harrison Ford, Ridley Scott, Sean Young, and, well, everyone else shows up for interviews through every stage of the filmmaking process. The documentary even expands to people who were inspired by Blade Runner, featuring interviews with Guillermo Del Toro and Frank Darabont. And the trivia for you hardcore Blade fans is stunning. Check out storyboards of never-shot opening scenes (with a Deckard that looks a lot like the almost-cast Dustin Hoffman) and listen to Ford record unused narration that even he never thought would be used and that's just the beginning. It's an amazing documentary.

Disc Three: Here's where the set gets a little bit for the hardcore fan only, which is why Warner Brothers released a two-disc version with just the new cut and the great documentary. For me, the Final Cut is probably the only version of Blade Runner I'll revisit over the years but if you want to see the previous incarnations, the third disc of the set includes three different versions seamlessly branched or separately available and remastered. Each version is introduced by Ridley Scott and they've all been gorgeously restored. Now, you can watch and compare the 1982 theatrical version (complete with the narration and the horrible happy ending), the international version from that same year that included some extended action sequences, and the 1992 director's cut that had been the ultimate version of Blade Runner until this year.

Disc Four: The "Enhancement Archive" includes more than a dozen segments on various elements of the production, including a lot of material that has never been seen before. Where do we begin? This is the stuff that digs even deeper than the three-and-a-half hour Dangerous Days, if you can believe that's possible. You can listen to audio interviews with Philip K. Dick, watch screen tests for Rachel and Pris, check out deleted and alternate scenes, experience all the trailers and TV spots, and a lot more. Much of what's on disc four is glimpsed on disc two, but with the archive you can take your time and get even more detail.

Disc Five: Only the Ultimate Collector's Edition, which comes in a numbered steel case that resembles Deckard's briefcase includes the fifth disc, contains the legendary workprint cut. This was the first cut of Blade Runner ever assembled and shown to test audiences and is the most radically different of all the versions available. It includes an altered opening sequence, no Deckard narration until the end, no unicorn scene, no happy ending, different lines between Batty and Tyrell, alternate/temp music, and more. It's a curiosity, but also a rough cut and the kind of thing that you'll probably watch once just to make your Blade Runner history complete, but you're unlikely to return to. This disc also contains an introduction by Ridley Scott, a commentary by Paul M. Sammon (the author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner) and a featurette called "All Our Variant Futures: From Workprint to Final Cut."

Blade Runner is one of the best sci-fi films ever made and it finally gets the long-planned DVD treatment it deserves with The Final Cut. It might sound like hyperbole, but this is truly one of the best DVD purchases you can make. Warner Brothers have taken the entire history of this controversial and influential film and laid it out for the fans over a weekend's worth of content. Spend even a little time with the Final Cut and you won't look at other supposedly "ultimate" editions the same way again.