'Blade Runner' created a provocative view of the future

Popmatters ^ | 6/21/07 | Robert W. Butler

[qam1]

A 25th Anniversary Ouch

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

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[highball]

“It’s like a great first draft of a thesis. It drops all of these complex time bombs, sets up thematic landmines. And then it never bothers to work them all out. The brilliance of the movie is that it never tries too hard to make sense. That’s why it’s perpetually renewable.”

I would tend to agree.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Brilliant film.

[RightWhale]

Movies don’t count for much, but this one is more and more appropriate as fetal stem cells research and cloning advance. It is not an uncommon theme in sci-fi, and it is coming to reality.

[TChris]

Blade Runner was in a class by itself. It defined an entire genre, that of the dirty, gritty sci-fi movie. Before it, sci-fi had typically been sterile, clean, jump suits and plastic.

I count it among the best sci-fi movies of all time.

[Vision]

BR was over rated.

[discostu]

The long rumored boxed set is finally coming, yea. I actually prefer the narration version to the 1992 version, without the narration it’s fun if you already know the story but is incomprehensible to a fresh audience, I showed my wife the 92 and basically had to give her all the information that’s in the narration. One way or the other though, a great movie, that inspired a life long love of Philip K Dick in me.

[willgolfforfood]

I’m still amazed at how many times I’ve seen “Based on a story by Philip K. Dick” just prior to the start of a film. I’m sure it’s a least a couple of dozen by now.

[alwaysconservative]

Anyone who says this was Ford’s “most colorless” performance never saw that turkey known as “Random Hearts”, which had all the pizzazz of dried-up spaghetti.

By contrast, I liked “Blade Runner”, and found it darkly intriguing. It certainly was one of Daryl Hannah’s best performances, IMO.

[discostu]

As of when Scanner Darkly (an absolutely brilliant adaptation) came out last year PKD became the most filmed book author ever. Then Next came out this year (haven’t seen that yet) and I think there’s other stuff in the works, so it’s a record he should hold for a long time. The only problem is the majority of the movies made from his stuff become hollow chase films and lose the meat of the story.

[newheart]

"Film critic Roger Ebert has written of “Blade Runner”: “It looks fabulous, it uses special effects to create a new world of its own, but it is thin in its human story.”"

As is too often the case, Ebert missed the point. If you are exploring the question of what it means to be human, of necessity you will have pared down human characters and enhanced non-human (replicants or robots or droids or whatever) characters.

This movie will probably always remain in my top ten list simply because of the questions it raises.

And besides this is where Edward James Olmos perfected the "spot on" school of acting. Simply paint a spot on the ground or somewhere else, stare at it without looking up very often and speak in a monotone. Another actor who belongs to that school is Haley Joel Osment except sometimes he paints the spot on a wall instead of a floor.

[Polonius]

I hope the box set referenced in this piece includes all versions of the film — the theatrical cut, the “director’s cut” and whatever version Scott is putting together.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

This movie was the inspiration for James Cameron's "Dark Angel" TV series.

I really haven't seen Blade Runner in its entirety. I vaguely remember watching bits and pieces of it when I was a kid when it came out.

[Publius6961]

Perhaps it's not a coincidence that last night (June 20) The American Film Institute's new list of the "Top 100 Movies of All Time" was aired.
As most other viewers, I mentally kept track of all the movies on that list that I have never watched, as well as my favorites from among them.

Blade Runner was 97, which frankly surprised me (that it was on the list at all), but it is one of a couple of dozen films I can watch over and over and enjoy it, without a lot of analysis, simply as thought-provoking entertainment.

Aside from Star Wars (#13), the highest rated Scifi movie was 2001 - a Space Odyssey (#15), followed by ET at #24, with no others in the top 50.

[KC_Conspirator]

One of my favorite movies of all time; film noir and science fiction. Spawned a new era of like themed movies.

[RepoGirl]

I believe this has to be posted:

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams ... glitter in the dark near Tanhauser Gate. All those ... moments will be lost ... in time, like tears ... in rain."

Legend has it that Rutger Hauer ad-libbed this entire quote and it was so good, they left it in. Sci fi gibberish it may be, but I think it captures the essence of Blade Runner.

Best line ever: "I want more life -- f&&ker!"

[MoochPooch]

For a long time I was obsessed with that movie.

[doorgunner69]

Good quotes.

In some ways, Hauer stole the show from Ford.

[Starter]

As of when Scanner Darkly (an absolutely brilliant adaptation) came out last year PKD became the most filmed book author ever.

Er, no. Shakespeare has over 600. Stephen King has 107 writing credits in movies/TV. Twain over 100. Michael Critchon has around 25. Dick only has 14. (And Grisham's only 1 behind him.)