#14: Blade Runner

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is a dark, atmospheric dive into the existential questions that fill the science fiction genre. The film’s classic opening shot of plumes of fire jetting up from a rain-drenched Los Angeles serves as a stepping stone into the futuristic world of flying cars and artificial intelligence that, alongside William Gibson’s novel, Neuromancer, spawned the cyberpunk genre.

While Blade Runner initially bombed in the box office, after a few years it began to develop a fanbase. The final cut from 2007 removed Ford’s wooden narration, while cleaning up various visual and auditory issues. Seeing the film in theaters for the 35th anniversary, I was taken aback by the difference in the experience, a vast improvement from an already great film.

The film centers on Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a “blade runner” who makes a living by “retiring” robots with artificial intelligence known as “replicants.” Regrettably for Deckard, he suffers from the curse of competence, and is the only person able to stop a group of replicants who hijacked a space shuttle and have returned to Earth in order to meet their maker, Eldon Tyrell.

The leader of the replicant group is Roy Batty, played masterfully by Rutger Hauer. Traversing between muddy, dystopian set-pieces, Deckard attempts to stop Batty and his group from escaping into society.

Despite their artificiality, the replicants are forced to confront mortality; their makers, the Tyrell Corporation, built in a failsafe in order to keep them from becoming too human, by giving them a four year lifespan. As Batty nears his demise, the violence that ensues is not simply gratuitous. Instead Batty is fearful of his own death - perhaps the most human characteristic of all for the replicants.

"It's a film about whether you can have a meaningful relationship with your toaster,” said Harrison Ford in a 1982 interview with the Washington Post. While humorous, the quip is surprisingly a simplified version of the themes explored within the film; primarily humanity, and identity.

Blade Runner forces the viewer to confront what exactly it is that makes us human. If the viewer were to point to any one emotion, the film shows that replicants have these emotions as well. In many ways, the replicants are a more primal and childish version of humans who have not had as much time to develop the maturity - and sometimes the cynicism - as the rest of society.

The main love interest of the story is a replicant named Rachael. She is the primary vehicle for the theme of identity within the film. As the film begins, Rachael is unaware of her status as a replicant, having been supplanted with memories. When Deckard confronts her and reveals her true identity, both face a crisis. She must reshape her world knowing who she truly is. Meanwhile, Deckard hates what he has done, having destroyed the innocence of a being he has developed a love for.

Harrison Ford brings a numb, yet deceptively deep performance to the character of Deckard, however in the end the film belongs solely to Rutger Hauer. Portraying pain, fear, weariness, and acceptance encapsulated within the role of an antagonist, Hauer steals every scene, and completes his performance with one of the most memorable monologues in film history.

“It looks so great, you're tempted to say the hell with the story, let's just watch it,” said legendary film critic Roger Ebert of the film’s visuals. Beautiful and futuristic special effects by Douglas Trumbull and a surreal synth-filled soundtrack from Vangelis help to build the beautiful yet dystopian atmosphere and aesthetics within the film.

Under Ridley Scott’s expert direction, Blade Runner is a sight to behold, as well as a visceral viewing experience, especially on the big screen.