Blade Runner - 40th Anniversary

[Ric]

I don't post in this part of the forum, but thought I'd mention that the film, released in 1982, is having its 40th anniversary.

The original cinematic release was badly butchered because of American test audiences being utter fucking morons, and upon release it bombed badly, especially so considering what a hot property Harrison Ford was at the time, but even with the studio fucking up (unicorn, ffs!) the first release it was (and is) a great movie. Over years it gained cult following status, with it becoming a mainstream influence within the decade.

If you are to watch it these days then I'd recommend the Final Cut (released 2007), and I recommend rewatching it if you haven't in a while. Considering the time period this was made, and that it was a "re-imagining" of a book written decades earlier, the future doesn't look out of place compared to other 70s/80s film predictions.

The book is a great read too, it's not the film, but it's interesting how both book and film are able to stand on their own merits. Quite rare for that to happen with book/film conversions.

 

 

Just for reference, I liked BR2049 (with Ryan Gosling), it looked lovely because Villeneuve is a fucking genius, but it lacked the "mind fuckery" of the original film. Black Lotus, the animated series, feels like a cash in. It looks nice, but the story is awful.

Edited May 13, 2022 by Ric
Editting because it seems even after all this time I don't understand possessive pronouns.

[Richey Edwards]

A movie that I have never seen.

[Ric]

1 minute ago, Richey Edwards said:

A movie that I have never seen.

You know what my answer will be!

I am a little worried about over egging it, you watching it expecting amazing and not getting it, but everything about the movie, from the cast to the script, the direction, the lighting and the audio, is absolutely gold, imo.

[Ric]

This scene in the artificial body part lab is brilliant. Rutger Hauer (the clever bad guy) doing his menacing best while James Hong (the lab guy) is scared by Brion James (the stupid bad guy). The lighting, the camera angles, the way James Hong genuinely looks confused and threatened as they zoom into his face to increase the emotion, all accompanied by a lo-fi drone and synth music. Brilliant stuff, just brilliant, brilliant stuff..

[Richey Edwards]

11 minutes ago, Ric said:

You know what my answer will be!

I am a little worried about over egging it, you watching it expecting amazing and not getting it, but everything about the movie, from the cast to the script, the direction, the lighting and the audio, is absolutely gold, imo.

My dad loves it, I am sure he has it on DVD or Blu-Ray. I will borrow it and give it a watch at some point.

[Ric]

2 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said:

My dad loves it

Thanks, I was having a nice day until you made me realise I am an old fucker!

 

Seriously though, make sure it's the Final Cut (or Director's Cut), and if your father is a fan it's likely to be the case.

 

[Homer Thompson]

I picked up the 4k version and rewatched it a few weeks ago. 

I was really surprised how well it held up - it had been a few years since I watched it last. 

The music in particular sounded amazing with my atmos setup. 

[Ric]

25 minutes ago, Homer Thompson said:

I picked up the 4k version and rewatched it a few weeks ago. 

I was really surprised how well it held up - it had been a few years since I watched it last. 

The music in particular sounded amazing with my atmos setup. 

It has aged very well. Of course it's been tweaked over the years, but both the book and the film get an awful lot right. In terms of the book, things like Mercerism is worryingly close to what the American religious right is like on social media, while the hint at climate disaster, over population, replicant/android/body tech may be sci-fi tropes, but they are all fleshed out well here. The existentialism, especially in the book, is also very Gen Z zeitgeist.

There is an extended remix of Vangelis' soundtrack, which I'll listen to separate from the movie.

Edited May 13, 2022 by Ric

[btb]

Surprisingly as a bit of a Dick fanboy I didn't mind the Ford voiceover in the original release although I disliked the sunny ending (outtakes from Kubrik's The Shining) I wouldn't mind seeing this version again although I don't know if it is available.

[dorlomin]

Secret Cinema did Blade Runner a few years back, they decked out an old warehouse to be like LA in the movie, complete with Noodle Bars and you dressed up and went on a kind of quest\game through the city. It was pretty fun. Followed up with a screening of the film with a bar on the go. 

I think its now one of those films that people new to the film will think it looks cliched as f**k because it invented so much of the visual aesthetic of modern sci fi. Before it everything was the superclean and everyone in spandex 70s thing. After it the cyberpunk drudgery and film noir vibe (though this was in part taken in from Neuromancer the book) became almost the default of anything sci fi but not actually in space. 

Edited May 13, 2022 by dorlomin

[Ric]

13 minutes ago, btb said:

Surprisingly as a bit of a Dick fanboy I didn't mind the Ford voiceover in the original release although I disliked the sunny ending (outtakes from Kubrik's The Shining) I wouldn't mind seeing this version again although I don't know if it is available.

Yeah, there is a certain Private Eye vibe to his monologue, although he sounds dour in the audio because he never wanted to do that narration and in turn Scott thought it destroyed the scene at the diner. The ending is actually unused footage from The Shining, and again it came about from the studio being stupid enough to do test screenings with idiots. The complaints at the time were they didn't understand what was going on (the overdub) and felt the ending was either too sad or confusing. Fucking movie audiences, thick as pig shit at times. The whole point is you are not meant to know everything from scratch, that's intentional, and ties up with the book, and the ending was also intentionally ambiguous, which was pivotal to the film's final scene, yet not only did they butcher it, they also removed some key elements like Gaff's unicorn origami which is almost crucial for the plot, but no.. stupid Americans were confused so let's just destroy things for a few extra $$$ ..

That said, as I love the whole Raymond Chandler stuff, and Blade Runner the film leans heavily on that, the monotone delivery of "Sushi, that's what my wife called me" makes it a classic line even if it should never have been there.

[Ric]

5 minutes ago, dorlomin said:

I think its now one of those films that people new to the film will think it looks cliched as f**k because it invented so much of the visual aesthetic of modern sci fi. . 

Yeah, the book never needed to but the film certainly leans on the classic sci-fi tropes, but it added its own flair and, as you say, it's held up as the originator for lots of things. Umbrellas with lighted handles and the "enhanced image machine" being just two that you'll see everywhere now, and to be fair, both are available in real life (the latter of them obviously with caveats).

[Homer Thompson]

1 hour ago, btb said:

Surprisingly as a bit of a Dick fanboy I didn't mind the Ford voiceover in the original release although I disliked the sunny ending (outtakes from Kubrik's The Shining) I wouldn't mind seeing this version again although I don't know if it is available.

I thought the original cinema release was on the recent blu rays, but it isn't. It's probably on a special edition dvd that you'd have to pick up second hand. 

[Arch Stanton]

1 hour ago, btb said:

Surprisingly as a bit of a Dick fanboy I didn't mind the Ford voiceover in the original release although I disliked the sunny ending (outtakes from Kubrik's The Shining) I wouldn't mind seeing this version again although I don't know if it is available.

I bought the DVD tin box set which has all 5 versions. Also contains a film cell and a "holographic" plastic paperweight thingy.

The special effects are still tremendous even 40 years on and a superb soundtrack. My favourite film of the 80s.

[Ric]

13 minutes ago, Arch Stanton said:

I bought the DVD tin box set which has all 5 versions. Also contains a film cell and a "holographic" plastic paperweight thingy.

The special effects are still tremendous even 40 years on and a superb soundtrack. My favourite film of the 80s.

Yeah, I had that box set too.

 

[Arch Stanton]

1 hour ago, btb said:

Surprisingly as a bit of a Dick fanboy...

[Detournement]

Harrison Ford constantly having to squeeze through massive crowds of Asians in near future Los Angeles is one of the best racisms in cinema history. 

[Ric]

14 hours ago, Detournement said:

Harrison Ford constantly having to squeeze through massive crowds of Asians in near future Los Angeles is one of the best racisms in cinema history. 

That's a strange take to say the least. Almost like you don't understand the narrative of the film.

[Detournement]

58 minutes ago, Ric said:

That's a strange take to say the least. Almost like you don't understand the narrative of the film.

It's quite a common take. There was a lot of anti Japanese racism in LA in the 80s and that was reflected in the Asian takeover of LA in Blade Runner. 

[Ric]

10 minutes ago, Detournement said:

It's quite a common take. There was a lot of anti Japanese racism in LA in the 80s and that was reflected in the Asian takeover of LA in Blade Runner. 

Yeah, what you've done there is make an assumption then ran with it. You are, and anyone who wishes to promote such nonsense, categorically in the wrong here.

If you want to know it's actually the reverse. The Off World is a place for the rich and powerful, you have to be perfect to get there, what is left on Earth are the "undesirables" such as JF Sebastian who has a genetic disorder and they types of people marginalised in society (the "little people" as Bryant calls them). If anything the dystopia of the world re-imagined from the Dick book, is highlighting how in an unfair and uneven society the future could be. What's more, the fact that Asian characters in the film are seen as positive elements. Hannibal Chew or even the guy selling noodles at the very start, for example. In fact, if you look at the way the world works in Blade Runner, you never see the rich and powerful other than Tyrell him self, it exists within the undercurrent of society something Dick would have approved off.

I presume you are only referring to the screenplay and not the book, if you wish to try and convince people that Dick intentionally created a racist world, then you would be on extremely shaky ground.

Edited May 15, 2022 by Ric