BLADE RUNNER - Director's Cut (1982)
Dir. by: Ridley Scott.
Starring: Harrison Ford, Daryl Hannah, Sean Young, and Rutger Hauer.
This is me putting aside all prejudice of films big and small that I have already seen based on the writings of Philip K. Dick. Me: stepping over all science fiction sins that claim to pay homage to this film. Me again! Attempting my very best to place myself in 1982 (aka Embryo Carol, whheeee!), and see these effects as new. As you can see, I chose to watch the Director's Cut, because narration by Harrison Ford over any movie would make it plain ridiculous and utterly unwatchable to me.
I enjoyed Blade Runner, much more than I thought I would. It's one of those movies everyone tells you to see, because you have to see it's a classic can't believe you never saw it, etc. But then they tell you it's slow and hard to get through. And cheesy. And seemingly hackneyed, even though it came way before Fifth Element and Brazil, not too mention Minority Report and A.I.- both based on the same story by Dick. (chortle) Those films took some things from Blade Runner, just as Blade Runner took some stuff from Metropolis, Close Encounters, and (insert name of any 80s thriller involving a saxophone on its soundtrack and girls with big hair).
Fact: This film is slow! Thank you, each of you, who told me this in advance. The best thing I can say about the pacing and the structure is that made the whole world a desert- in this future LA where anyone worthwhile has moved Off World, where these Replicants somehow got back but have to be "retired"/killed asap (even though they have a life span of four years that's almost up), where everything sucks and nothing is pretty and love is dead- in that kind of world, yes, I believe that things would go pretty slowly, and robots could have feelings, and humans could be much like robots. Sure. Unfortunately, the worst thing I can say is that I didn't make me care too much about human robots, or robot humans.
So, with a complete lack of characters to care for, I found myself watching the movie for its aesthetics (like Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette!). The production design is just so damn respectable.... The scenes involving gory deaths were satisfying, and I can only hope the inevitable remake will have some amazing improvements in splatter shots. Not too mention a little less stumbling through panes of glass... tell me SNL did something with that at the time....
The opening sequence of Blade Runner- the 2019 vision of Los Angeles- is exactly the picture I feel my family and friends on the east coast have painted in their minds of where I've chosen to live. LA in twelve years will apparently be a cross between Tokyo, Star Wars, and a giant iPod ad. In a world of endless possibilities, that could of course be true, but if this city hasn't crumbled into the Pacific by then, I envision a city with more open spaces, cleaner air, better public transportation, and less homeless on the street. Now THAT'S science fiction!! GET IT?!?! Actually, my only problem with Blade Runner's setting was the complete lack of a Latino community. Don't tell me all those illegal immigrants got safe passage to Off World. Throw a couple of taco stands in the drear of post-space-settlement South Land, and you have yourself a willfully suspended disbelief believer named Carol.
Self-Discovery through Blade Runner:
No matter how hopeless a fight or chase might be, I swear I would never think of climbing out the window to continue it from great heights with precious little footing.
No matter how much I love someone who just died, I swear I would never rub their blood on my lips, even in a blinding spell of grief.
No matter what you might think of me, I often enjoy Daryl Hannah's on screen performances. "We're stupid and we'll die." Easily one of my favorite lines.
My advice: You should watch Blade Runner, even though it's slow, out-dated, and is filled with annoying and inexplicable roaming beams of light.
