Extraordinary Achievement

Rating: 9/10 (11 May 2008)

I first saw this film a few years ago and really liked it. I saw it again in the cinema a few weeks ago and was really blown away this time. I have certainly matured and so have a new outlook on the film. Perhaps the remastering of the film adds also to the experience. I went out and bought the DVD which also contains the Dangerous Days documentary.
This is a true cinematic experience - sound, visual, story. Rarely has a world been so vivedly portrayed. The detail and visual beauty is simply astounding. Dangerous Days tells of the work that went into it and I appreciate the film even more as a result. The era before special effects - the "magic lantern" (David Lynch) quality that comes from non-computerised effects.
Fascinating story - one of the critics on the Dangeous Days documentary speaks of the message - don't be a slave/replicant who simply follows orders. I get a very different message from the film - wherever there is life (any sort of life) there are feelings. We cannot create something in order to use and manipulate it - everything has feelings and must be respected. Roy Batty has been created to be used selfishly by humans - a fighting machine. at the end we see that everything living has feelings. He feels and clings on to life like we all do! Human selfishness is the theme I get from the film. Humans abusing life! The love scene between Deckard and Rachael seems very contrived to me. His aggressiveness is unappealing and makes no sense to me in the story. The documentary sheds some light on this.
Dangerous Days is very interesting An extraordinary film and achievement. Some of the emotion could be a bit deeper but instead of looking at what the film has not let me remember the outstanding achievement that the film is.