Blade Runner

Blade Runner (1982)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

Ridley Scott returns behind the camera to bring us his follow-up to his sci-fi thriller, Alien. Once again returning to the science fiction genre, Blade Runner portrayals a futuristic world where human replicants (robots) are created, but are soon banned because of their violent behavior. Blade runners are hired police officers that hunt down and “retire” these replicants. When a handful of newer model replicants escape from the Tyrell Corporation, blade runner Rick Deckard (Ford) is hired to hunt them down before they can kill more humans. The film is based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, but differs significantly.

Blade Runner is a classic example of a neo-noir film. This genre of film has faded out in Hollywood since the 1950’s, but it’s great to see that the genre is still alive. All the classic noir conventions are present: the gloomy setting, the anti-hero, the narration, and the femme fatale. Blade Runner is mostly centered on its action sequences, but as an overall story Blade Runner is a genuine noir.

Harrison Ford is great as Deckard. He is a fan favorite, and is highly successful now after Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. The only problem with Ford’s acting is the horrible narration during the film. It’s dry, emotionless, and unnecessary. Yes, narration is a common trait of noir, but this narration is just plain wrong. Ford gives Deckard life. He is a mysterious character, with questionable morals. The character is similar to other Ford characters including the famous Han Solo from Star Wars. Deckard is a blade runner, but is questionable because he has no boundaries.

On the outside, Blade Runner appears to be a basic sci-fi action film, but it’s much deeper than that. The film touches about morality, religion, technology, and humanity. There are many morals throughout Blade Runner in regards to Deckard killing or “retiring” the replicants. They look, act, and feel like humans, but in this world it is alright to kill them. The film brings up the idea of killing look-a-like humans and how it plays with your mind. Another emotion that plays with you is love. Deckard begins to have feelings for a renegade replicants, but he knows that he shouldn’t. There are a lot of messages being thrown around involving love, morality, and mortality. Technology and religion play a big role as well. In this futuristic world, technology has allowed humans to create anything to make life easier. Ridley Scott is showing that the future will be technology reliant, even in creating humans. Technological advances including cyborgs, cloning, and flying cars are all evident in this future. Many of these advances step on the toes of religion including cloning. The film makes you create your own opinions about these two highly debated topics. Humanity is brought up with the replicants. They are essentially humans, but machine inside. They feel, love, live: but they have short lifespans. Batty, the leader of the replicants, is determined to live longer. However, he finds that he cannot, and goes on a rampage killing the leader of Tyrell. In the end though, afraid of death, he saves Deckard’s life so that his memory can live on. It’s a very complex message about what is human and what is not.

Blade Runner is a good noir film that also features a good amount of action and violence. The plot is basic, but at the same time, very complex. There are many characters and subplots that make a second viewing necessary. But every time you watch it, you will appreciate even more. Blade Runner is a great follow up for Ridley Scott. It is filled with deep messages and debates, and will go down as a genre classic.

Rating: B+


June 27, 2010


Blade Runner: International Cut (1982)

Blade Runner was released internationally with the same running time as the United States theatrical version. The only difference is that there are two additional scenes of more blood. These occur when Batty crushes Tyrell’s skull and when Deckard stabs Batty’s hand with a nail. Other than those two violent scenes that are also included in the workprint, the international cut is no different for the US version.

Rating: B+


June 27, 2010


Blade Runner: Director’s Cut (1992)

Ten years after Blade Runner was released theatrically, the original workprint was screened for audiences. The print was met with approval, so director Ridley Scott decided to go back and create a director’s cut for his beloved film. Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut takes out and adds several elements of the original. The horrible narration is removed, which makes the film flow better. Also the happy ending is removed. The original ending has Deckard and his replicant lover escaping and “living happily ever after.” In the new ending, there is a sense of uncertainty to their future. There is also a unicorn dream sequence added to the film.

The director’s cut adds a new element to the film, which was somewhat hinted in the original but never explored. Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut hints that Deckard, himself, may be a replicants. His unicorn dream provides the possibility that maybe his dreams are tampered with. One of the other blade runners makes origami unicorns and leaves them wherever he has been. This is a hint to Deckard that he might be a replicants, and that that blade runner changed his memories. It is a very strange twist to this tale, but the answer is never explained.

Rating: B+


June 27, 2010



Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut is Ridley Scott’s final tampering with his 1982 film. When the director’s cut was released, Scott did not have full artistic control over due to Warner Bros. and his filming on Thelma and Louise. After Warner Bros. secured the full rights to the film, he was given the opportunity to make his definitive version. He updated the beginning shots and a few small technical shots. There is not a huge improvement over the director’s cut, but this is a fantastic improvement over the original in 1982. There is still the notion that Deckard is a replicant, and in my opinion, he is. Overall, this is the best version of Blade Runner, and the only version that should be viewed.

Rating: A-


June 27, 2010