Los Angeles, 2019 AD.
Four illegal Replicants, androids designed to look and feel almost
human, have arrived on Earth. Rick
Deckard is a retired Blade Runner, a cop specially trained to hunt down and
“retire” any trespassing Replicants.
Forced back into service, Deckard begins a cat and mouse game with this
elusive group, hiding in plain sight in one of the largest and most congested
cities on the planet. It is a case that
will push Deckard to his limits, forcing him to question his reality, his
desires, and his very existence. In an
age where humanity and robotics has gelled into a near indistinguishable
merger, it’s hard to tell who is human and who is false.
This is a tough one to even begin reviewing. No, I don’t hate this movie, I freaking love
it but that in and of itself is a problem for a reviewer like me. I could basically turn this post in a mini
novella about how awesome Blade Runner is and dedicate 2-3 pages for every 2
minutes of film run time. That should be
enough to exclaim how important this movie is to me and, really, that should
conclude the review right there. But we
need some meat here and I promised I’d write this, more than happily. Also, for completion sake, I’m reviewing the
“Final Cut” of the film released for the 25th Anniversary of the
movie. I’ll get into details as to why I
chose this later on.
Blade Runner, the 1982 Ridley Scott classic. It’s not live action Anime but I wonder, in
the back of his mind, did Ridley Scott ever expect this film to have the impact
it did across the world and across time?
There are three Anime that come to mind that have taken clear influences
from this work: Ghost in the Shell continued it’s philosophies about the
merging worlds of man and machine; Bubblegum Crisis took the nitty, gritty cyberpunk
aspects and gave it a hard rock edge; and Silent Mobius flat out took the name
and design of the Spinners used to run around.
There are other examples but im getting ahead of myself.
From the moment the harps play on the fade in of a smoke
stack filled Los Angeles, you know youre in for something special. When I first saw it, I was prepared for a
Star Wars action type flick that I could turn my mind off to while
watching. Nope, this film not only asked
for your attention for the duration of it’s runtime, it’s more than happy to go
out of its way to keep you interested.
The cyber ethics jargons are complex yet understandable. The world is complex in view but curious enough
to want to explore in thurough detail.
Some of the main characters are archtypes from all mediums but still
bring their own unique depth to their stories, some told in full, most left
incomplete to make us wonder. Scott went
for depth making this flick and he succeeded.
For a film made back in 1982, Blade Runner still holds more
visual marvel than most modern day blockbusters, overblown with CGI. The world might have some painting backdrops
but this is still a real city they practically built in its entirety. They also litered it to the brim with
cultures from around the world, adding in enough steam in the foreground to
make one think you’re walking through a multi cultural stew. It’s a land of confusion and one you can get
lost in, both in a good and bad way.
Danger lurks in each wonderful shot and you wonder if Deckard is going
to stumble into a clue or get stabbed by an unsuspected enemy. In contrast to the overcrowded city, the
pyramids of the Tyrell Corporation are majestic and absolutely beautiful. It doesn’t hurt that the unrivaled musical
score by Vangelis knows how to play up how epic these buildings are with the
main theme from Blade Runner as Deckard and Gaff fly towards them. It’s enough to make you go “whoa.” And that’s just the appetizer for the musical
score. I cant even think of the words to
do it proper justice. I should just say,
stop what you’re doing and go buy the 25th Anniversary 3 disc Blade
Runner soundtrack right now and listen to it for yourself, it’s an experience
as unforgettable as the film itself.
Let’s jump to the cast.
Harrison Ford nails it as Deckard, a cop who wanted out of a bloody
game, brought back in for one last hunt.
Edward James Olmos has a short but very memorable turn as Gaff, a man of
many languages and fewer words. Sean
Young is beautiful and mysterious as Tyrell’s assistant Rachel. Daryl Hannah brings the innocence and
savagery in one sexy package as Priss.
Joe Turkell as Tyrell can talk about Replicants and advances in
cybernetics all day and I’d never get bored.
But the real show stealer is Rutger Hauer as the main villain, Roy
Batty. While Deckard may be the main
character of the movie, this is easily a story Batty shares along side
him. Hauer can be menacing but he can
also be charming, childlike and in the films finale, just plain crazy. He’s a treat to watch and you can tell Hauer
is giving his all in every moment, much like his characters motivations. Why he never got an Oscar for this role is
beyond me. Heck, he even gets the best
scene of the movie with Tyrell, a scene that I have to say is one of the best and
most expertly crafted I’ve ever seen.
It’s in a word “perfect”.
Oh, I almost forgot.
I chose to review the “Final Cut” for a couple of reasons. There are 5 main versions of Blade Runner in
addition to the Final Cut itself. This
is the definitive version Ridley Scott set out to create before the studio did
massive interference in post production.
But now, his vision is complete with this one. Deckard’s narration is gone. A few tweaks to incomplete scenes have been
made. The Unicorn dream sequence has
been given a new, beautiful render. And
the ending…well it’s different but it fits the tone of the film. This is the version id recommend watching
before going into Blade Runner 2049.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the “theatrical cut”, without it I
wouldn’t have discovered this movie at all.
But for completion sake, The Final Cut is your go to version. Still, if you get a chance to get one of the
anniversary box sets and like the version you see, id still recommend watching
the other versions: The Theatrical, International, Director’s Cut and
Workprint, to see the evolution the film has made up until its final
incarnation, it is fascinating.
Watching Blade Runner now, having seen tons of cyberpunk
and Anime tales that have followed in its footsteps, you’d think the story
might not be memorable by todays standards.
That’s a definite “no”. Without
Blade Runner, we wouldn’t have Motoko struggling to decide where she stands on
the Human/Cyborg spectrum. We wouldn’t
have Batou spouting out random philosophy quotes. Blade Runner brought the serious questions of
scifi in 1982 and they are still relevant today. Themes of identity, mortality, meaning and
being lost in a world that forgets easily because it’s too congested all ring
true. It asks all the right questions in
the all the right ways, as Deckard says in his narraration for the Theatrical
version: “Where did I come from? Where
am I going? How long have I got?” For all the mystery, there an air of
lonliness that comes with Deckards film noir investigation or Batty’s clever
strategy to meet his maker. The central
story of Blade Runner is never boring and continues to intrigue no matter how
many times I watch it.
It's funny. Given
the turbulent production history this film had (especially the rough working
relationship between Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford), it’s surprising such a
flawless product came through at all.
Lots of hard work went into crafting this epic scifi masterpiece and it
shows in every second of footage, every line of dialogue, every musical
note. Blade Runner painted a vision of
the future that has inspired many, both in live action cinema and in the world
of Anime, and continues to do so to this day.
It is a film that has stayed with me for decades now and one I still
hold in the highest regard as “the greatest movie ever made”. Without this movie, my relationship with
Scifi Anime might not be what it is today, especially with it’s spiritual
successor, Ghost in the Shell.
Batty tells Deckard that all moments will be “lost in
time, like tears in the rain.” No matter
how hard it rains, this is one movie I shall remember and cherish for all time.
10/10
But this is just the beginning. Check back Thursday for my review of the new
Anime prequel, Blade Runner Blackout 2022.
Then on Friday, prepare to see if I tear it a new one or smack myself
silly. Can Blade Runner 2049 do the
impossible and match my film champion?
Let us see.
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