Right I must admit I am starting to repeat myself by revisiting previous posts and extending them but its good fun to do it all the same. So this one will be a revisit of my original post for Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's sci-fi masterwork released back in 1982, which has seen various versions released since. So let's give this one a closer look....
Well the story begins in Los Angeles 2019, where the future is bleak, dark, and above all wet, the skies are also filled with futuristic flying cars, and massive digital billboards. And one of the inhabitants of this bleak LA is Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former cop, who was nicknamed as a "blade runner", a term for a police officer who tracked down bioengineered beings known as replicants. Deckard is detained by an officer, Gaff (Edward James Olmos) who takes him to see his former supervisor, Bryant (M. Emmett Walsh) who tells him that six rouge replicants have escaped and made their way to Earth two of them were killed, but four remain, and he wants Deckard to track them down and "retire" them (the term used for killing replicants). Deckard reluctantly accepts and goes to the Tyrell corporation where he meets with Dr Eldon Tyrell, who formed the company, and was the creator of the replicants. Deckard is asked to try out the voight kampff test, which is used to determine whether someone is a replicant or a human, on Tyrell's assistant, Rachael (Sean Young). After many questions Deckard finds out that Rachael is in fact a replicant, a Nexus-6 model (just like the others) who is unaware of being a replicant herself, as she has been implanted with fake memories from Tyrell's niece. Deckard and Gaff then after search, one of the replicants Leon's (Brion James) apartment, where they find a photo and what appears to be a piece of snake scale.
Meanwhile, Leon and the leader of the group of replicants, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) pay a visit to a local eye manufacturing laboratory where they question the owner, Chew (James Hong) as to how they can go about expanding their lifespan (which is four years). Chew admits he knows nothing about this, but an engineer called J.F. Sebastian (William Sanderson) may be able to help them. Roy then sends one of the replicants, Pris (Daryl Hannah) to meet Sebastian and gain his confidence. Meanwhile Deckard is visited by Rachael, who emotionally tries to prove to him that she isnt a replicant by showing her a picture of her family, but Deckard coldly tells that her memories are just implants, and she leaves upset. Deckard that takes the photo he found from Leon's apartment and scans it for more detail and finds in the photo a women with a tatoo on her neck. Deckard soon tracks down the whereabouts of the woman, who soon turns out to be the other replicant of the group, Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), who works at a strip club, using a snake as part of her act. Zhora soon catches onto who he is and flees, with Deckard chasing onto the busy streets, he guns her down in public, as crashes through shop windows, and eventually falls to the floor dead. On witnessing this, Leon soon after attacks Deckard, who is about to kill him, but is saved by Rachael who shoots Leon in the head. Back at Deckard's apartment, Rachael sobs and finally accepts that she "is the business" meaning that she realises she is a replicant. Deckard then seduces her.
In the meantime, Roy meets up with Pris and Sebastian, and Roy calmly asks that Sebastian takes him to meet with Tyrell, and if he doesn then Pris won't have long to live. Sebastian eventually agrees to take Roy to meet with Tyrell in the hope that he can find a way to extend his and Pris's lifespans, but on their meeting, Tyrell unfortunately can give no solutions or answers to Roy's demand "I want more life, fucker!", as he tells him "we made you as well as we could make you". Roy seems to accept this, then gives Tyrell a kiss and kills him by crushing skull. Sebastian watches on in horror and runs away, but Roy also soon kills him as well. Later on Deckard get's news from Bryant that they have found Sebastian's body and that he checks out his apartment, where Deckard finally meets with Pris and Roy for the final confrontation....
There is no doubt that Blade Runner is a towering achievement in science fiction films, and it stands as one of the all time greats in its genre. Originally based on the sci-fi writer, Philip K Dick's novel, Do androids dream of electric sheep? Ridley Scott took the novel and created it into a visually stunning bleak world, with which what has been called one of the more accurate pictures of the future (well apart from the incessant rain maybe!). Philip K Dick at the time was also astounded by the film as he said he could not believe how accurately the film's vision was to how he saw it visualised in his mind. The film was also quite innovative and introduced some ideas in technology that have actually come to life since such as the scene where Deckard scans the photo and zooms in to find the image of Pris and now we have touchscreen technology where you can do just that and zoom in on a specific part of an image, even though in Blade Runner its a bit more intricate. The only thing is we still don't have flying cars!
Performance wise things are top notch here, and Harrison Ford delivers arguably the best performance of his career as Deckard, the cool, laid back blade runner, who walked away from his life as a cop, before being pulled back in by his supervisor Bryant. Ford has numerous highlights in the film such as the scene where he enters Bryant's office at the start and he listens to what Bryant says and then get's up and says "I was quit when I come in here, Bryant and I'm twice as quit now!". Then there is the scene where Rachel comes to Deckard's apartment where she tries to reason and prove she isn't a replicant and Deckard coldly says to her "Remember when you were six? You and your brother snuck into an empty building through a basement window. You were going to play Doctor. He showed his and when it came to your turn you chickened and ran? You remember that? You every tell anybody that? Your mother? Tyrell? Anybody?" and he goes to say "Implants, those aren't your memories, they're someone elses! They're Tyrell's niece's". This having left Rachel deeply upset he changes tack and says "OK I'm sorry, bad joke, you're not a replicant, go home. No really I'm sorry, go home" and he asks her if she wants a drink and she soon walks out. Another good scene from Harrison is when Deckard tracks down Zhora to the club where she dances and follows her into her room and puts on a funny voice and says "I'm from the committee of moral abuses" and proceeds to ad-lib the rest and he asks her "Were you ever asked to do anything lewd or unsavoury to get this job or anything that would be... repulsive to your person??" which Zhora soon clocks what he is doing there and punches and nearly throttles him with his tie, which leads into a suspenseful chase scene on the streets. And there is also the scene where Deckard is accosted by Leon who beats him up who says to him "Nothing is worse than having an itch you can never scratch!" and Deckard gasps "I agree!" and is later saved by Rachel. And this lead into the next scene where Deckard cleans himself up with Rachel in his apartment, she asks him "What would happen if I were to disappear? Would you come after me?" and Deckard says "No. No I wouldn't. I owe you one.... but somebody would" and in that moment we see a glow in Deckard's eye just like we have seen from the replicants, which is almost a throwaway suggestion that he too could be one himself. And last of all is the film's suspenseful finale where Deckard tracks down Batty and Pris and he has his last confrontation with them both and prior to Deckard going into the building he has a good line when he calls Sebastian's number and Pris answers and Deckard says "Hey this is Freddy and old friend of JF's" but Pris hangs up leaving Deckard bemused "That's no way to treat a friend!".
Rutger Hauer is also superb as Roy Batty, the leader of the replicants, and rather than play him as a blatant villain, he takes a very different take on Roy, as a somewhat sensitive, intellectual man, who desperately seeks to extend his short life span. Hauer has plenty of great moments in the film especially his introduction where he goes to visit the eye specialist, Chew and he cooly asks "Questions...morphology? Longevity? Incept dates?" and Chew says "I don't know such stuff! You Nexus six? I design your eyes" and Batty says "Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes!". Then there is the scene Batty turns up at Sebastian's apartment unawares as Pris says "Hi Roy!" Batty looks around and says "Gee! You've got some really nice toys here!". And in the next scene where Sebastian asks Batty to show him something to prove their genetic superiority and Batty says "we're not computers, Sebastian, we're physical!" and then he grabs Sebastian saying "If we don't find help, Pris here hasn't got long to live! We can't have that". And undoubteldy one of the best scenes in the film comes when Batty finally meets Tyrell and Tyrell says "I'm surprised you didn't come here sooner" and Batty says "Its no an easy thing to meet your maker" and Tyrell asks what he wants and Batty moves forward saying "I want more life...fucker!" (or "father" in the Final cut but I prefer the "fucker" version!). And as Tyrell cannot give him the answer he wants, Tyrell says "you are the prodigal son, you are quite a prize" and Batty turns and smiles saying "nothing the God of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for" before crushing his skill. And last of all is Batty's confrontation with Deckard as he chases him about the Bradbury building, Batty's voice echoes through the walls and he taunts Deckard "Come on, Deckard, show me what you are made of!" and his hands burst through the wall and he grabs Deckard's gun hand and says to him as he prepares to break his fingers "This is for Zhora!" crunch! "And this is for this Pris!" and crunch again! And later as Deckard runs away from the Batty over the rooftops he makes a jump for another rooftop by missing and clings onto the ledge for dear life. And Batty comfortably makes the jump and stands over Deckard who is rapidly loosinh his grip and Batty calmly says "Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave!" and as Deckard is about to loose his grip, he spits defiantly at Batty who chooses in that second to save his life and he pulls him up and drops him on the floor. And in his last moments Batty delivers his poignant speech about how he "has seen things you people wouldn't believe" and how "all those moments will be lost in time... like tears in the rain.... time to die".
The supporting cast are also excellent, with Sean Young who gives a fine performance as the replicant Rachael, who slowly comes to terms with who she is throughout the film. Young has some good scenes as well such as her first scene where Rachel undertakes the Voight Kamff test to see if she is a replicant and one of the questions asked by Deckard refers to the scenario of her husband opening a full page nude photo and Rachel says "Is this testing whether I'm a replicant or a lesbian, Mr Deckard??". And later on when Rachel goes to Deckard's apartment and she tries to convince Deckard that she isn't a replicant and Deckard asks her if she remembers about the spider that used to live inside her bedroom window which spun a web all summer and one day there is a big egg in it and "the egg hatched and a hundred baby spiders came out....and they ate her". And later there is the scene whereafter Rachel saves Deckard's life by shooting Leon and after they go back to Deckard's apartment and she sobs and Deckard says "Shakes? I get em too. Part of the business" and Rachel says "I'm not in the business. I am the business!".
Daryl Hannah, who is actually something of an underrated actor, also gives an excellent performance as Pris, who she plays initially as being rather niave and childish but also happens to quite lethal as well. Daryl also has some good moments such as the her first scene where she arrives outside Sebastian's apartment building and she feigns being scared and Sebastian invites her in, and she goes from looking unsure of herself to suddenly being so as she walks in. Daryl also has some good lines such as in the scene where Batty says to Sebastian that they are physical and not computers and Pris says "I think Sebastian therefore I am!". Also in the scene prior to that when Batty arrives his tearfully tells her "there are only two of us now!" and Pris says "Then we're stupid and we'll die" and Batty smiles and says "No we won't". And there is of course Daryl's last scene where Deckard arrives at Sebastian's apartment and she has her face done up like a clown and she pretends to be one of Sebastian's dolls and as Deckard slowly pulls a cover off her, she suddenly springs into life and nearly chokes the life out of him before Deckard puts her down for good.
Joe Turkell is also great as Dr Tyrell, and Ridley Scott cast him after he saw Turkell play the bartender in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and his scene with Roy is one of the film's highlights. Turkell has some great lines in the film and his best scene of course is when Batty meets with Tyrell and he tries to reassure Batty "You were made as well as we could make you" and Batty says "But not to last" and Tyrell continues "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy. You're the prodigal son. You're quite a prize". And Batty looks down gultily and says "I've done.... questionable things" and Tyrell reassures him "Also extraordinary things. Revel in your time!".
Edward James Olmos also deserves credit for his brief perfomance as the police officer, Gaff, as he put tremendous thought into how he played the part, and he even came up with his own language for the part, as he took a mish mash of Esperanto and other languages to form the"cityspeak" he uses in the film. His best moment comes at the end where he asks Deckard if he is through and says in regards to Rachael "Its too bad she won't live, but then again who does?". Emmett M. Walsh also does really well with his smaller role as the police Captain Bryant, and he get's some of the film's best lines, especially when he first meets Deckard and says "Come on, Deckard don't be an asshole, I've got four skin jobs walking the streets!" and "stop right where you are, you know the score pal??! If you're not a cop, you're little people!". And Brion James as Leon is excellent, the less brighter of the replicants, and his opening scene with the blade runner Holden, is a great moment, especially when he leans forward in his seat and says "let me tell you about my mother" before he shoots Holden, and the moment in his last scene where he beats up Deckard and asks him "My birthday is April 10, 2017. How long do I live?" and Deckard replies "Four years" and Leon says "More than you!" and as he is about to kill Deckard he says "Wake up! Time to die!" before being shot in the head by Rachel.
And last of all is Joanna Cassidy as Zhora, who probably has the smallest role of the four replicants, but does well enough in her part as the sexy replicant of the bunch who get's herself a job as an exotic dancer (and a fine body she has, pervy sorry!). And Joanna has a good scene with Harrison where Deckard pretends to be some sleazy agent while he questions her in her dressing room and he says to her "You mind if I check your room for holes? You'd be surprised what people would do to get a glimpse at a beautiful body!" and Zhora says "No I wouldn't!". And Deckard asks her if the snake she has for her act is real and Zhora says "Of course its not real. You think if I could a real snake I'd work in a place like this??!". And after she showers and he towels herself she says "So if someone does try to explot me, who do I got to them about?" and Deckard smiles saying "Me!" and Zhora continues "You're a dedicated man. Dry me!" and she hands him her towel, she turns around and punches him, which leads into their chase scene.
Moving onto the director, Ridley Scott it goes without saying has done a superb job here as he paces the film's action and story really well throughout there is hardly a minute in the film that lags. Visually the film also looks stunning, with Douglas Trumbull's amazing special effects as we see the flying cars in the skies, and the set design is simply superb, and the model work of the Tyrell corporation building is terrific. Jordan Cronenweth's superb cinemaphotography also adds immeasurably to the tone and feel of the film, with its dark tones and beautiful shadows. And of course finally there is Vangelis's terrific film score, which is very ambient and atmospheric throughout and there are several tracks that stand out particularly the film's opening track in the titles and where we see the Tyrell corporation and later also when in the final confrontation between Deckard and Batty.
As for any flaws???? Blade Runner is a film that has very few but any problems with the film really stem from the different versions of it over the years and the original theatrical edition naturally came under fire for its narration by Harrison Ford, which was later removed from the director's cut edition, which is largely regarded as the best version of the film. The narration however does offer some amusing lines (such as when Deckard narrates and refers to Bryant's straight talking ways by saying "Skin jobs" that's what Bryant called replicants. In history books he would be the kind of cop who used to call black men "niggers") and does give the viewer a bit of a clearer insight into what's going. But the narration does also feature some stupud lines such as when Deckard reflects on his days as a blade runner "I'd quit because I had a belly full of killing". Also there is the naff original ending of Deckard and Rachel literally driving off into the sunset as Deckard narrates "Tyrell told me Rachael was special: no termination date. I don't know how long we'd have together. Who does??". Yep just as well they cut it! The final cut is also guilty of introducing some pointless inclusions such as a lengthier segment of the unicorn scene while Deckard dazes at the piano which doesn't really add anything as well as the stupid CGI moment where we see a couple of dancers out on the streets, which adds nothing to a film that needs no further tinkering.
In fact that also remains one of the film's slightly more annoying yet fascinating aspects is the obssession surrounding whether or not Deckard is in fact a replicant. You could argue more for the case against that he is a replicant than for, regardless of Scott's inclusion of the Unicorn scene and also the scene where we see Deckard's eye glow in one scene like the replicants eyes do. But in the end if Deckard was a replicant, why would they use him to kill the other replicants in the first place??? It also shows the Tyrell corporation were pretty corrupt in that if Deckard is indeed a replicant then they chose deliberately to make replicant models that had a limited lifespan and models such as Rachael and in this case Deckard who didn't either. And perhaps Deckard's insight as a replicant helped them track down the replicants more efficiently and it actually reminds me of the scene where Deckard asks Tyrell of Rachael been unaware of being a replicant "How can it not know what it is?" and in this case he might not suspect this himself if he is indeed a replicant. And this could also be suggested in the scene where Deckard walks back into Bryant's office near the start of the film and Bryant says "I need the old blade runner, I need your magic" that Deckard's unique skills in tracking down replicants probably comes down to the fact that he is one himself (in fact I appear to be building a case for it here!). But regardless of all that, who knows? In short Ridley Scott thought Deckard was a replicant and Harrison Ford thought Deckard wasn't. But again you could drive yourself round the bend trying to reasoning that one!
Sooooo that's it for my exhaustive look at Blade Runner, which still remains one of the best sci-fi films ever made and one of the best films of 80s.
And with that I shall bid yee goodnight and will try and do a new post next time! :-)
Night!
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