Stylish and thoughtful tech-noir

Rating: 7/10 (20 April 2015)

Like another film from 1982, John Carpenter's The Thing, Blade Runner surprisingly failed critically and commercially on release, only to go on to amass a cult following and subsequently to finally attain actual classic status within the genre. Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K Dick, this was director Ridley Scott's second sci-fi film after Alien (1979). It's set in L.A. of 2019, which is now a polluted dystopia full of huge overbearing billboards and enormous skyscraper blocks that resemble Mayan temples. The heavy clouds and constant rain ensure that all events play out in a constant darkness. In this future there are advanced androids called replicants, which are used for dangerous activities such as off-world colonisations. A rogue group of these machines rebel and return to earth with deadly intent. A detective who specialises in assassinating them - a blade runner - is given the task of seeking and 'retiring' them.
The specific combination of a world in permanent darkness and a detective storyline featuring a world-weary policeman results in perhaps the ultimate example of tech-noir, which is a combination of science fiction with the feel of traditional film noir mysteries. The very original production design used to construct this future world is probably the single most notable feature of the film and is what defines it. Both the cityscapes and the retro-styled interiors are very well conceived and delivered. The script and acting are both good too with Harrison Ford perfectly cast in the lead role and Rutger Hauer never better as the lead android; we also have a very memorable turn from Daryl Hannah as a pleasure model replicant. Rounding things off is a famous synth score from Vangelis; unfortunately, the film only features the brilliant main theme in the final credits.
There have been three different cuts of the movie over the years. I saw the original one several years ago and have recently seen the 'Final Cut' (I never saw the 'Director's Cut'). There are quite a lot of amendments in this last version but the main one that people remember mostly is the ending in which an earlier unicorn dream and origami model are used subtly to suggest that the protagonist is a replicant himself. The ending is certainly darker than the original one but not without hope, after all the message of the film is an ironic one in that it is suggested that it is only the replicants who experience true living in this world. Human drudgery on earth is nothing compared to what these androids experience in their shorter lifespan. So when Ford's character exits at the end knowing his true nature, he realises that he may in actual fact be the fortunate one.