Blade Runner

Blade Runner is one of the more gaping holes in the list of films I haven’t seen (or at least, don’t remember well enough to talk about). Yesterday’s viewing of The Martian got me thinking about Ridley Scott’s past work so here I am.

I really should have done this sooner.

L.A. 2019, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a ‘Blade Runner’ - a policeman whose sole purpose is to hunt and kill replicants; machines almost indistinguishable from humans, yet banned from Earth. Four have been detected on the planet so he is called up to hunt and kill them.

Scott’s dystopian LA draws you in and holds you captive for 2 hours. This is a masterfully shot, timeless, beautiful piece of work. Every single frame is a work of art. The visual effects are not only highly effective, but incredibly creative and unique; never has anything like this been made before or since.

The plot is simple, one man chases another. However it’s driven almost entirely by its central themes; what is it to be human? Who deserves to live or die? Are we responsible for the things we create? What happens when our creations surpass us? All of these questions go unanswered, yet Scott somehow revels in the ambiguity.

Decker is a blank canvas of a character. The replicants he is chasing are complex, unique individuals. It’s no accident that Rutger Hauer plays the most human character in the film. His is the stand-out performance here, if only for the closing monologue.

Still fresh & still relevant, Blade Runner is indeed a modern masterpiece.

http://benoliver999.com/film/2015/10/31/bladerunner/

As excited to rewatch this the night before the sequel drops as I am the sequel itself...this sci-fi Gold is a small piece of my childhood...and besides...my ol'lady loves this movie too which means I get to throw a couple C beams across her Tannhauser gate after haaaaa

Considering there are 66 people watching "Blade Runner" on the opening weekend of "Blade Runner 2049", and only 14 people marked as watching the new film. I wonder how many people have checked in to the wrong film on this site.

For those that find it boring, yes it's a slower pace of storytelling, there aren't fifty cuts in a ten second action sequence. The story is a journey and one that is meant to be savored, right from the beginning of Vangelis' music to Roy Batty's death and the origami unicorn, it's a discovery.

This is a breakdown that is worth reading. http://dramatica.com/analysis/blade-runner

So, this is it - THE UNDISPUTED SCI-FI CLASSIC!

Well, that's really up to what you as the viewer prefer. Do you like scares and a creepy atmosphere? Go for Alien or Predator. Do you like high flying action and exhilarating chases? Then maybe Star Wars is better suited for you. Blade Runner is not a horror movie, nor is it particularly exciting (even if action was the genre Harrison Ford mostly worked in during the 80s). This is a creepy, dark and gritty science fiction tale set in a post-apocalyptic world not farm from Tim Burton's Gotham City. It has a slow, dreamy tone and its script focuses on long moments of contemplative silence. The incredible visual style still holds up today, and it's made even more iconic by Vangelis' electronic score.

The movie has real depth but the story isn't hard to follow. It's more of an manifest really, a bit like another great slow sci-fi, Arrival. And because this i not a thriller or an action movie, it requires a specific mindset to really be enjoyed. And even if you haven't got that mindset you can't but marvel at Ford's minimalist, flat but utterly brilliant performance. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Ford's greatest performance yet.

But its not a flawless movie, mind you. The story never really sets of properly and we barely even see the replicants Ford is chasing. A shame really, cause Rutger Hauer's replicant baddie is probably one of the greatest in all of cinema history. His acting can be compared with Arnie's, only creepier. Some of the quieter moments feel out of place in the story and barely bring anything else than more length to the story. The second act of the movie is the slowest, and weakest. After a promising start, impressively setting up the world and the story, the movie almost totally freezes before entering the memorably surreal third act.

All of the above being said, Blade Runner is a remarkably memorable and original piece of cinema. It's gritty, violent and disturbing. It's surreal, slow and contemplative. Its few actions scenes are stylish, its performances are top notch. It's a type of moving art that they just don't make anymore.

**THE BETTER: ‘BLADE RUNNER’**

WRITING: 90
ACTING: 100
LOOK: 100
SOUND: 100
FEEL: 90
NOVELTY: 100
ENJOYMENT: 95
RE-WATCHABILITY: 100
INTRIGUE: 85
EXPECTATIONS: 100

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**THE GOOD:**

Vangelis is the perfect choice for composing music for a film such as Blade Runner. The unnerving, futuristic synth score is not only characteristically 80s, but also recognizably sci-fi.

I love the almost Burton’s Gotham-esque futuristic production design, a mix of the dark and gritty and the technologically advanced and flashy. Ridley Scott brings the rain, the smoke and the grime alive just as well, as he does in Alien and combines that with a sci-fi look quite unlike anything we’ve seen before or since.

A testament to just how much talent has been poured over the visual effects comes from the facts that they look amazing even today. The flying cars, the flashing lights, and the vast city landscape - they all look incredible.

What sets Blade Runner apart from most other great (and less great) science fiction film is the slow pace, the contemplative tone and the philosophical dialogue, that delves deep into questions of humanity, primal emotions and the value of memories and experiences. Friends of booming explosions and exhilarating action will be bored, but those craving for deeper layers of storytelling will find loads to love.

Rutger Hauer might very well be one of the best science fiction baddies of all time. In many ways, he is just a version of the very typical 80s film baddie (think Hans Gruber or the Terminator) but in other ways, he is a fascinating, compelling and haunting character who deserves to be credited for the chilling performance alone.

The tension in the plot is underlying and comes from the fact that we cannot know for sure who is a replicant and who is not, even though there is a test to find that out. However, what if the test isn’t completely reliable? What if the replicants are advanced enough to pass?

There are many similarities in direction and style between Blade Runner and Scott’s previous blockbuster Alien. He allows his vision to fully play out in both instances, even if the claustrophobic and actively tense from Alien has been switched out for the slower, flashier and more layered tone in Blade Runner.

Even the action scenes, which appear sparingly, have a strangely dreamy and philosophical quality to them, which goes together with the rest of the film neatly.

Isn’t it inherently creepy, how in certain situations, the replicants’ eyes glow ominously? They are the creepiest androids ever.

All performances are restricted, but surprisingly nuanced. There is a subtlety in Harrison Ford’s performance not usually seen from him, while Sean Young and Daryl Hannah bring sexual tension to the mix. This might very well be Ford’s all-time greatest performance, even if it’s not his most iconic one.

The climactic chase between Deckard might not be the most exciting chase sequence put to film, but it feels like a natural continuation to the long build-up that precedes it and it’s marvellously acted and directed. It’s one of these sequences that will remain legendary purely thanks to its different elements working so well in tandem. The last sequence is almost a horror show, which stands in stark contrast with the rest of the film while feeling like a natural part of it.

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**THE BAD:**

There’s a long build-up that mostly seems to move the plot nowhere and barely adds to the wider backstory of the characters involved in the story. That makes the middle part of the film slightly less compelling as the opening and the third act.

I would have wished for more replicant-scenes, actually, and slightly swifter plot development. However, these are minor faults, mind you.

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**THE UGLY:**

It would have been frustrating to work with such inefficient computers back in 2019 as this film suggests, don’t you think?

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**VERDICT:**

_Ridley Scott’s philosophical science fiction film is a refreshing piece of contemplative cinema that has stood the test of time better than most of its peers._

**96% = = ✅✅ = BETTER**

A masterpiece!
First I gave it a 9 out of 10 rating just out of pure enjoyment of the world and characters portayed in this film, but then it made me think, like all my other "10 out of 10"s. I realised what an even greater artpiece this is!
(Btw I have only watched the Directors cut. I have heard of all the different versions of this movie, but i don't know the story behind this, [spoiler] I just know mine ended with a origami unicorn ;-) [/spoiler] )

Great every time I watch it!

Roy Batty is a genius!! (Ridley Scott too, of course...)

One of my all time fav.