"The thinking man's A.I.?"
Written: Jul 23 '00 (Updated Dec 22 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stylish cinema at it's best.
Cons: Hollywood's fear of taking risks.
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| BladeRunner's Full Review: Blade Runner |
"I walked out of the theater and thought- 'Something's not right, this guy's(George Lucas) making Star Wars? And what's interesting is, the next film I made was Alien.'"-Ridley Scott. This Science Fiction influence on Ridley Scott brought about certainly his golden age of film making from 1979-1985, and produced three classics in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genre. In progressively less box office and critical acclaim, each film, Alien, Blade Runner, and Legend, progressively gets better art direction and visual style. This review will of course focus on the second of the three, Blade Runner. In particularly, The Director's Cut which is a testament to one man's struggle to defeat Hollywood.
Blade Runner's troubled production history:
Director Ridley Scott was under enormous pressure from the production company to keep the film under budget, after his detailed production methods became under scrutiny. "I didn't know anyone in L.A. And they didn't me, which was worse. So the process of saying 'no I don't want it that way, I want it this way' took longer. And that's how we got behind".- Scott. The split in the production room between the executive producer Bud Yorkin and producer Michael Deeley, eventually led to the firing of both Deeley and Scott by Yorkin. Yorkin felt Scott intentionally took the film over budget in the pretentious manner of shooting too many takes to obtain the right lighting for the film's overcast aura, which in effect pushed the production schedule further.
Scott turned to the Director's Guild to settle the dispute between himself and Yorkin, but he was later forced to add a voice over and a happy ending to the film during post-production, after test audiences failed to follow the plot line. The lead actor, Harrison Ford, gave the voice over a particular disinterest and was another who found Scott's persistence to focus on cinematography and art direction unbearable. Ford, at this point in his career had just completed The Empire Strikes Back with Irvin Kirshner and Raiders of the Lost Ark with Steven Spielberg, wanted more acting direction from Scott. "It's fair to say that Harrison and I were nearly always quarrelling... I got too much to do, to get what I want, because I have a performance as well. I'd spent a year with Blade Runner, I knew it inside and out. All that Harrison had to do was trust me. But Harrison's not used to working that way,(he) gets very involved. And I can understand that, and I think he was awfully good in the movie... He doesn't talk about it, which is a great pity, because I still believe it's one of his best films."-Scott. It certainly is.
The film opened as a critical and box office disaster, taking in only half it's financial budget. Years later, the home video release warranted a massive cult following for the film and it's legion of fans called for a theatrical re-release. One theater accidently released the film in it's original version, without the voice over which soon led to Warner Brother's releasing of The Director's Cut.
Blade Runner's special effects and art/set direction:
Visual Futurist- Syd Mead's ideas are the driving force behind the film's socially decayed look. He felt a class system in which "descent" people lived in high rise buildings, never descending below the 60th floor, creating an "urban basement" along the streets. Art Director- David Snyder and Special Effects Supervisors- Douglas Trumbull, David Dryer, and Richard Yuricich gave us the glimpse of the future's astounding architecture and landscape from the opening of the film. Their vision of Los Angeles is similar to modern day London, ripe with Asian influence and corporate advertising. Piccadilly Circus at night, with it's large Sanyo, Samsung, and TDK illuminating billboards and bustling crowds of many nationalities, is like stepping on to a live Blade Runner set. Proving many theories, that we are indeed heading towards a Blade Runner future and the work done to achieve this look for the film is visionary.
Blade Runner's story:
Based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip Dick and screenwriters Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. The outcome of the story is itself open for debate, particularly after The Director's Cut was released by Warner Brothers in the early 90's. The overall premise is about an ex-detective, Harrison Ford as Deckard, whose given reassignment by Bryant, M. Emmet Walsh, to retire four "Nexus 6" replicants. "Replicants" is the film's term for androids, led quite notably by Rutger Hauer's character "Batty" and Darryl Hannah's character "Pris", whom are capable of super human abilities they are using for their own gain instead of their maker. The conflict arises when Deckard falls in love with Rachel, a gorgeously young Sean Young, one of the replicants he is assigned to kill.
The Director' Cut eliminates the annoying voice over by Ford and leaves out the suggestive happy ending of Deckard and Rachel riding off into the sunset(Of interest to Kubrick fans- the shots of the lush green atmosphere they rode off into are out takes from The Shining). The new ending is a provocative shot of Deckard picking up a small metallic unicorn at the floor towards an elevator. He smiles and enters the elevator where the door slams shut for the credits to roll. The meaning of this shot- Deckard is a replicant.
A love story between a human and an android is a horrid idea, Deckard as a replicant is the only way for this story to make sense. This story is about self revelation, Deckard is a lost and broken man throughout the film, solemnly searching for emotional spark and ambition. He dreams of the lone unicorn running through a stream, symbolic of his own loneliness. "Replicants are designed without emotion, but may develop them after years."-Bryant. Bryant knows Deckard is a replicant, even toying him with vague comments throughout the film, and Bryant picks him specifically knowing no human can hunt down these replicants. Rachel is the spark Deckard was searching for, finding his love for her makes self realization complete for both of the androids. Whom may not have much time to live, but a purpose to spend those last moments together.
Now we have the so-called "non story" this beautiful picture illustrates. Enjoy this one ladies and gentlemen, this may be the closest thing we get to Stanley Kubrick's lifelong unrealized project- Artificial Intelligence.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
BladeRunner
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Member: Kevin Ray
Location: Charleston, SC
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 8 members
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