Sci-Fi All-Timer

Rating: 10/10 (16 May 2016)

Directed by Ridley Scott (back then movie-making rookie, recognised from his astonishing debut film "Alien") "Blade Runner" did not become a highly-acclaimed science fiction classic right away. When this based on Philip K. Dick's novel titled "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" film opened in cinemas in 1982 it was criticised for its slow-paced tempo and "chaotic plot". Today it is often listed as the most important and original movie of the genre along with such masterpieces as "2001: A Space Odyssey" by a titan film director Stanley Kubrick and Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris". But does it really deserve the credit it gets nowadays? Action of "Blade Runner" takes place in 2019, in futuristic Los Angeles. The movie follows a story of Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) - retired blade runner, a man who took care of replicants (superior forms of androids, they are human look-alikes with programmed feelings, but are much stronger physically) if they started causing troubles. Unfortunately for him, he gets an offer he can't refuse and is forced to take up his very last job and solve a problem of an artificial intelligent rebellious gang with their leader Roy Batty (breath-taking role of Rutger Hauer) ahead.
Director Ridley Scott adapts Dick's vision on screen with a great passion. Thanks to Jordan Cronenweth's amazing photography, the streets of Los Angeles are dark and climatic. The depressive, somehow melancholic mood is additionally built up by the music soundtrack by a Greek composer – Vangelis (also known from his works on "Chariots of Fire" and "1492: Conquest of Paradise"). Surely, it is the technical aspects that develop the remarkable atmosphere, but "Blade Runner" is not a great film only thanks to them. The main advantage of the flick is a fantastic script. Screenwriters Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples deliver an A-class writing. They say a lot, but also keep the plot minimalistic and enigmatic. Of course, they also ask some poetical questions (in the spirit of the original story) about a meaning of humanity and emotions but keep it unpretentious and fun to watch for a common viewer. Also the acting is great (as I mentioned beneath). Harrison Ford and Sean Young (portraying android Rachel – femme fatale of the film) show some real skills, but the real icing on the cake of the cast is Rutger Hauer. He played his role of a savage and violent, but deep inside emotional and sensitive replicant so well, I can without exaggerating say that it is one of the best antagonist roles in history.
"Blade Runner" is without doubt one of my favourite films. The fact it was so ahead of its time, that the critics had some serious problems to get it says a lot about the quality. Coming back to the question from the first paragraph, the answer is definitely "Yes!".