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Film: Blade Runner
Director: Ridley Scott
Country: UK / USA
Released: December 1981
Runtime: 114 minutes
Genre: Science Fiction
Studio: The Ladd Company
Influenced: James Cameron, The Wachowskis, Rian Johnson, Denis Villeneuve, Ana Lily Amirpour
Loosely based on Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", Blade Runner is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles in the year 2019. Blade Runner was not the only Phillip K. Dick novel to be made into a sci-fi thriller, Total Recall is too (based on “We Can Remember it For You Wholesale”). Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and French comic artist Moebius were major influences for director Ridley Scott. In a screenplay co-written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, the Earth has become dangerously overcrowded and polluted, forcing many people to leave for off-world colonies. The Tyrell Corporation, a powerful bioengineering company, has created a new generation of androids called "replicants" to serve on these colonies. However, replicants are banned on Earth after a bloody uprising, and special police units known as "Blade Runners" are tasked with hunting down and "retiring" (killing) any replicants that have illegally made their way back to Earth.
The plot follows Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a retired Blade Runner who is forced back into service by his former supervisor, Bryant. Is Deckard a wordplay on Descartes? “I think, therefore I am” ties in with the themes of identity (am I human or replicant?) and memory at the heart of the film. Is Deckard himself a replicant? Is the memory of the unicorn charging through the forest just an implant? Deckard's assignment is to hunt down and eliminate four replicants who have returned to Earth in search of their creator, Dr. Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel). He visits the Tyrell Corporation to learn more about them and becomes intrigued by a replicant named Rachael (Sean Young), who believes she is human due to implanted memories. As Deckard tracks down the replicants one by one, he experiences moments of doubt and moral conflict about the morality of "retiring" beings that display emotions and desires. The replicants are led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), an advanced model with enhanced physical and intellectual abilities. Batty's character emerges as a central figure in the film as he seeks to prolong his limited lifespan.
Blade Runner was groundbreaking in many aspects, setting new standards for visual effects, production design and world-building in science fiction cinema. The film introduced a dark and visually stunning neo-noir aesthetic, blending gritty urban landscapes with futuristic and cyberpunk elements. The film employed cutting-edge special effects for its time, including practical miniature work and optical effects, which created a stunning and immersive world. Added to this, the film's evocative and haunting electronic score, composed by Vangelis, contributed significantly to the film's atmosphere and has become iconic in its own right. Deckard's journey culminates in a climactic showdown with Batty, who ultimately saves Deckard's life despite the imminent threat to his own, and Batty's poignant "tears in rain" monologue during the film's climax is one of the great moments in cinema history.
"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 Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."
One of my favourite aspects of Blade Runner is its moral ambiguity, exploring complex themes of identity, humanity, artificial intelligence and the moral implications of creating and destroying artificial life. In a film so visually rich, vision is also a theme. Tyrrell wears thick-lensed glasses and has his eyes gouged out, the owl performs strange tricks with one eyeball, Pris spray paints black over her eyes, Deckard investigates an old photo, while there is also the eyebank scene and panoramic shots of the city. The film is set in 2019, not 2020 (as was first planned, suggesting perfect vision). Scott’s unique cinematography results from a technique he calls “layering”: “A kaleidoscopic accumulation of detail … in every corner of the frame”. He describes a film as a “700-layer cake”.
Despite initial mixed reviews and a lukewarm box office reception, Blade Runner went on to achieve cult status and has had a significant impact on the science fiction film genre. In addition, the film's cyberpunk aesthetic and its complex themes have heavily influenced subsequent works in the genre, both in film and literature. Over the years, Ridley Scott released several versions of the film, including the Director's Cut (1992) and the Final Cut (2007) – the latter is now widely considered as definitive – which refined the story and addressed some initial criticisms. The original film has also inspired numerous sequels, prequels, novels, comics and video games that further explored the world of Blade Runner.
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