Movie Mania #2: Blade Runner
NOTE: This entry first appeared on my Movia Mania blog during August 2006. Before I eventually shut down the Movie Mania blog, I am moving some of the more interesting content from there to this one.
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Before we get started, why not take a look at the Blade Runner Directors Cut Promo now…
O, Blade Runner, how do I love thee?
Let me count the ways...
The hauntingly, beautiful score by Vangelis which lends the film such an overwhelming sense of melancholy and loss...
The stunning cinematography of Jordan Cronenweth which gives the film its incredible visual power...
The drop-dead gorgeous Sean Young (as Rachael)...
The powerful, brooding presence of Rutger Hauer (as Roy Batty)...
The almost unrecognisable Daryl Hannah (as Pris), in only her third big screen appearance...
And the star of the film, Harrison Ford (as Rick Deckard), in one of his greatest on-screen roles.
The story is set in a totally unrecognisable Los Angeles of 2019. The city is covered in permanent darkness and constant rain. The brightest things in this bleak environment are the huge neon lit advertising signs that float across the dirty crowded streets, promoting new and exciting futures in the off-world colonies.
The story revolves around the arrival of a group of replicants (or robots/androids), which have escaped from one of the off-world colonies, and which have made their way back to earth. Since replicants are forbidden to return to earth, they have to be found and killed. A practise euphemistically known as 'retirement'. This task falls to Harrison Ford/Rick Deckard, the Blade Runner of the films title.
This movie has a slow, languid pace, only broken up by moments of violence when Deckard 'retires' the replicants at various stages throughout the film. It's a job he clearly doesn't like, and one which he is doing only because he has been given no choice by his former police boss, Bryant (played by M. Emmett Walsh).
On the most shallow level, this film can be seen as nothing more than a glorified 'bug hunt'. That is: Rogue replicants come to town, and must be hunted down and destroyed. Who better to give the job to than Mr. Harrison Ford, aka, Han Solo, Indiana Jones, super hero. Simple really.
However, what this film is really about occurs on another, much deeper level. This film is about life and death, and about how we as humans cling to life no matter how fragile our grip on it may be; it's about technology and its impact on humanity; about love, and the true nature of friendship in human relationships. And it is about the relationships between men, and the machines we manufacture, ostensibly to help make our lives more comfortable and livable.
When he made this film, Ford was one of the biggest Hollywood box office stars of the 1980's. This role went right 'against type', as they say in Hollywood. In fact, Ford/Deckard only manages to kill two of the replicants during the course of the story, and surprisingly, both of them are the female replicants, Pris and Zhora -- and one of these, he shoots in the back! Clearly, this is not the sort of thing we expect from our leading men, especially when the leading man is Harrison Ford.
[Digression: Ford sandwiched Blade Runner (1982) between The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), and Return of The Jedi (1983), Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (1984)]
But why do I love this film so much?
It's hard to put a finger on why Blade Runner continues to move me so much, even after repeated viewings. On the one level, it is due in part to the unrelenting bleakness of its vision, and yet it is also because of the underlying humanity of the main protagonists as they struggle to connect with each other, despite what appears to be their predetermined fates.
It is also due, in no small part, to the great performances all the actors in this movie bring to their roles - no matter how small these may be.
But ultimately, I think it is primarily due to Roy Batty's (Rutger Hauer) final speech, which although only a minute or so long, never fails to move me, and remind me of the frailty, and transient nature of the human condition.
Batty: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain... Time to die...
Of course, mere words on a page cannot do justice to the way Rutger Hauer delivers this immensely moving speech. Watch Hauer (as Roy Batty) in his final scene here...
Ridley Scott, one of the great modern directors, is responsible for a string of classic movies since his debut feature, The Duellists in 1977. Films like Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and more recently Kingdom of Heaven ensure that Scott continues to make his mark on Hollywood and contemporary film making, and long may he continue to do so.
O, Blade Runner, how do I love thee?
Let me count the ways...
The hauntingly, beautiful score by Vangelis which lends the film such an overwhelming sense of melancholy and loss...
The stunning cinematography of Jordan Cronenweth which gives the film its incredible visual power...
The drop-dead gorgeous Sean Young (as Rachael)...
The powerful, brooding presence of Rutger Hauer (as Roy Batty)...
The almost unrecognisable Daryl Hannah (as Pris), in only her third big screen appearance...
And the star of the film, Harrison Ford (as Rick Deckard), in one of his greatest on-screen roles.
The story is set in a totally unrecognisable Los Angeles of 2019. The city is covered in permanent darkness and constant rain. The brightest things in this bleak environment are the huge neon lit advertising signs that float across the dirty crowded streets, promoting new and exciting futures in the off-world colonies.
The story revolves around the arrival of a group of replicants (or robots/androids), which have escaped from one of the off-world colonies, and which have made their way back to earth. Since replicants are forbidden to return to earth, they have to be found and killed. A practise euphemistically known as 'retirement'. This task falls to Harrison Ford/Rick Deckard, the Blade Runner of the films title.
This movie has a slow, languid pace, only broken up by moments of violence when Deckard 'retires' the replicants at various stages throughout the film. It's a job he clearly doesn't like, and one which he is doing only because he has been given no choice by his former police boss, Bryant (played by M. Emmett Walsh).
On the most shallow level, this film can be seen as nothing more than a glorified 'bug hunt'. That is: Rogue replicants come to town, and must be hunted down and destroyed. Who better to give the job to than Mr. Harrison Ford, aka, Han Solo, Indiana Jones, super hero. Simple really.
However, what this film is really about occurs on another, much deeper level. This film is about life and death, and about how we as humans cling to life no matter how fragile our grip on it may be; it's about technology and its impact on humanity; about love, and the true nature of friendship in human relationships. And it is about the relationships between men, and the machines we manufacture, ostensibly to help make our lives more comfortable and livable.
When he made this film, Ford was one of the biggest Hollywood box office stars of the 1980's. This role went right 'against type', as they say in Hollywood. In fact, Ford/Deckard only manages to kill two of the replicants during the course of the story, and surprisingly, both of them are the female replicants, Pris and Zhora -- and one of these, he shoots in the back! Clearly, this is not the sort of thing we expect from our leading men, especially when the leading man is Harrison Ford.
[Digression: Ford sandwiched Blade Runner (1982) between The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), and Return of The Jedi (1983), Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (1984)]
But why do I love this film so much?
It's hard to put a finger on why Blade Runner continues to move me so much, even after repeated viewings. On the one level, it is due in part to the unrelenting bleakness of its vision, and yet it is also because of the underlying humanity of the main protagonists as they struggle to connect with each other, despite what appears to be their predetermined fates.
It is also due, in no small part, to the great performances all the actors in this movie bring to their roles - no matter how small these may be.
But ultimately, I think it is primarily due to Roy Batty's (Rutger Hauer) final speech, which although only a minute or so long, never fails to move me, and remind me of the frailty, and transient nature of the human condition.
Batty: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain... Time to die...
Of course, mere words on a page cannot do justice to the way Rutger Hauer delivers this immensely moving speech. Watch Hauer (as Roy Batty) in his final scene here...
Ridley Scott, one of the great modern directors, is responsible for a string of classic movies since his debut feature, The Duellists in 1977. Films like Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and more recently Kingdom of Heaven ensure that Scott continues to make his mark on Hollywood and contemporary film making, and long may he continue to do so.
===============
There are some great moments of dialogue in this film. My favourites:
When Deckard is conducting a Voight-Kampff test on Rachael...
Deckard: You're reading a magazine. You come across a full-page nude photo of a girl.
Rachael: Is this testing whether I'm a replicant or a lesbian, Mr. Deckard?
When the replicant Leon, catches and severely beats Deckard into unconsciousness...
Leon: Wake Up. Time to die.
Blade Runner Who's Who:
Director: Ridley Scott
Writing credits:
Philip K. Dick (from his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)
Hampton Fancher and David (Webb) Peoples
Principal Cast:
Harrison Ford .... Rick Deckard
Rutger Hauer .... Roy Batty
Sean Young .... Rachael
Edward James Olmos .... Gaff
M. Emmet Walsh .... Bryant
Daryl Hannah .... Pris
William Sanderson .... J.F. Sebastian
Brion James .... Leon Kowalski
Joe Turkel .... Eldon Tyrell
Joanna Cassidy .... Zhora
James Hong .... Hannibal Chew
Original Music:Vangelis
Cinematography:
Jordan Cronenweth
Internet Links:
Blade Runner on the Internet Movie Database
Cyberpunk Review looks at Blade Runner
Wikipedia entry for Blade Runner
Wikipedia entry for Ridley Scott
When Deckard is conducting a Voight-Kampff test on Rachael...
Deckard: You're reading a magazine. You come across a full-page nude photo of a girl.
Rachael: Is this testing whether I'm a replicant or a lesbian, Mr. Deckard?
When the replicant Leon, catches and severely beats Deckard into unconsciousness...
Leon: Wake Up. Time to die.
Blade Runner Who's Who:
Director: Ridley Scott
Writing credits:
Philip K. Dick (from his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)
Hampton Fancher and David (Webb) Peoples
Principal Cast:
Harrison Ford .... Rick Deckard
Rutger Hauer .... Roy Batty
Sean Young .... Rachael
Edward James Olmos .... Gaff
M. Emmet Walsh .... Bryant
Daryl Hannah .... Pris
William Sanderson .... J.F. Sebastian
Brion James .... Leon Kowalski
Joe Turkel .... Eldon Tyrell
Joanna Cassidy .... Zhora
James Hong .... Hannibal Chew
Original Music:Vangelis
Cinematography:
Jordan Cronenweth
Internet Links:
Blade Runner on the Internet Movie Database
Cyberpunk Review looks at Blade Runner
Wikipedia entry for Blade Runner
Wikipedia entry for Ridley Scott
 | STOP PRESS! Amazon.Com has information indicating that the Director's Cut of Blade Runner will be re-released on September 5th, 2006. This is awesome news for fans like me who have been waiting years to buy what will hopefully be the definative version of this film. Hopefully, the DVD will have heaps of exciting extras, and bonus features. As soon as Amazon make the DVD available, I will add a link here. |
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Labels: Movie Mania
posted by Jim Lesses at
11:25 AM
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