Search results
People also ask
Is Blade Runner based on a book?
Is Blade Runner a science fiction movie?
Is Blade Runner a good movie?
When was Blade Runner first analyzed?
Aug 5, 2023 · Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is a unique entity separate from the novel it's based on, with creative liberties that justify the title change. The film portrays protagonist Rick Deckard with more resolve and charm than the dissatisfied character in the original novel.
- Greg Macarthur
- Senior Staff Writer
Blade Runner initially underperformed in North American theaters and polarized critics; some praised its thematic complexity and visuals, while others critiqued its slow pacing and lack of action. The film's soundtrack, composed by Vangelis, was nominated in 1982 for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe as best original score.
- With the sequel 2049 finally here, let's take a look at the origins, characters, setting and more of the original noir sci-fi film.
- Blade Runner 2049 Photos
- Blade Runner 2049
By Arnold T. Blumberg
Updated: Oct 4, 2017 7:10 pm
Posted: Oct 4, 2017 4:22 pm
With early buzz suggesting that Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up to the legendary 1982 sci-fi noir Blade Runner is itself set to become a well-regarded classic of the genre, it’s a good time to remind everyone just why the original carries so much weight in the world of speculative storytelling. The sequel, Blade Runner 2049, builds on an established foundation with the first film, expanding a detailed dystopian world of the future in which humans and Replicants try to make their way through a rain-swept urban environment filled with dangers and delights.
Origins
It starts with Philip K. Dick, a science fiction author whose deeply philosophical ruminations on identity and human nature have made his work a wellspring of inspiration for countless media adaptations and homages. Blade Runner is a loose adaptation of his 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, with a screenplay by Hampton Fancher (returning for the sequel alongside co-writer Michael Green) and David Peoples. The title of the story has itself passed into our pop culture lexicon; if you ask Siri, she’ll tell you that she does dream of electric sheep, but only sometimes.
Multiple
The film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford at a time in his career when he was burning himself into the collective brains of all of us growing up in the 1970s and ’80s via characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, has since been released in no fewer than seven different versions! Fans have argued for decades about which is the definitive version, with some absolutely championing Ford’s legendarily lazy reading of the voiceover narration he disliked that distinguishes the original theatrical cut in particular, while others appreciate Scott’s later alterations on The Final Cut for the 25th anniversary.
Setting
It’s the Los Angeles of the future – that far-flung year of 2019 (2049 in the sequel, obviously) – and the rain pours down on teeming throngs threading their way through the wet streets as we hear the stunning strains of the Vangelis musical score. Who are those people? Well…
Technology
In future LA (designed by Scott and Syd Mead with nods to the silent classic Metropolis), folks travel to and fro in flying “Spinner” cars, passing enormous animated billboards that hawk brand-name products while motorized advertising drones blare announcements about the off-world colonies. Clearly, Mankind has made it off the Earth, and not a moment too soon since the climate seems decidedly broken. That progress was clearly aided by what may be this world’s biggest technological advancement – the creation of actual artificial humanoids, dubbed “Replicants.” These creatures are as human as can be in some respects, and treated like slaves and playthings by their creators. But amid all the flashy cars and high-powered pistols and desktop scanning devices and Voight-Kampff machines, this 2019 is definitely lacking in some of the tech we have at our disposal, like cell phones, laptops, and the Internet.
Themes
There are a number of themes explored in the film, from the clear environmental impact that industrialization has had on 2019 LA to issues of slavery concerning the use of the Replicants in unsavory jobs, but certainly the most important theme is the same one Dick himself spent most of his work exploring: The nature of human identity. What makes us human? Is there a soul? Are we the sum of our memories, or perhaps even moreso? And can love truly transcend all, even if one or both are but facsimiles of a human form? There are profound discussions to be had from this deceptively simple neo-noir sci-fi thriller, and over 30 years later, we’re still having them. The sequel looks set to extend that discussion for at least another 30 years, with no definitive answers in sight.
The
If there’s one scene in the film that has earned it a place in the annals of cinematic history, it’s the sublime sequence in which a dying Roy Batty (come on, spoilerphobes, it’s been 30 years!) tells Deckard of his experiences as he cradles a dove on a rain-drenched rooftop. His speech sums up some of the film’s themes of mortality and humanity without being preachy, and it’s glorious. One thing is certain: You’ll never look at the Tannhauser Gate the same way again.
- Arnold T. Blumberg
Sep 9, 2024 · Last Updated: Sep 9, 2024 • Article History. Blade Runner, American neo-noir science-fiction film, directed by Ridley Scott and released in 1982, that has become one of the most influential works in the cyberpunk genre.
- Stephen Eldridge
Sep 14, 2023 · What is Blade Runner about? Blade Runner is a meditation on what it means to be alive. Deckard’s character journey shows him transform from someone who doesn’t see the humanity in replicants, bioengineered humanoids, to someone who doesn’t care if there’s a difference.
Oct 4, 2017 · Most fans of Ridley Scott’s 1982 film are aware that it’s based on a novel by Philip K. Dick, and that the book is not called Blade Runner. If you pick up Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of...
Why, in the course of two extraordinary films by Ridley Scott and Denis Villeneuve, do we never learn what the term Blade Runner actually means? Perhaps the mystery only deepens the sense of “super-realism” with which the film leaves audiences, including—and especially—Philip K. Open Culture, openculture.com
