A Classic That Will Run & Run

Rating: 9/10 (17 August 2002)

Its remarkable to think this film is now 20 years old and on initial release bombed at the box office both in the US and here in the UK. This wasn't helped by a film beset with behind-the-scenes problems:-
a/discontent & disagreements behind the scenes between actors (primarily Harrison Ford) and director Ridley Scott.
b/ the mainly US film crew not warming to the exacting & seemingly arrogant nature of the relatively inexperienced new Brit on the block, Scott.
c/ the rather nervous producers & accountants realising from an early stage that this kind of movie was not going to be in the same action-fest, mega-buck-block-buster as Star Wars, but would instead take on a rather more darker, slower, morose theme coupled with an ever-increasing budget that eventually broke a film studio;
d/ the intervention of the studio in forcing Scott to go for the highly controversial "Studio Cut" version with an upbeat but highly unlikely tacked-on ending & a rubbish overdub narrative, which totally ruined the balance of Scott's original cut until a Director's Cut was issued in 92 with a more satisfying conclusion.
e/ problems with the scripts, screenplays, the screenwriters and the original author himself Philip K Dick, who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which inspired the film.
f/ the various inconsistences within the film - were there 6 replicants or only 5 when they visited Earth; the poor editing & sound; the ongoing argument as to whether Deckard himself was a replicant etc.

But to the film...... ...is set 20 years in the future. Colonisation of other planets has begun leaving only an underclass left to inhabit the big cities like Los Angeles, a place of continuing black rain, darkness, pollution & social bleakness.
However, robots (or replicants as they're called) are in full service off-world, doing all the dangerous jobs humans don't want to do. Six of these replicants mutiny, kill people and return to Earth in search of their creator.
The leader of this highly intelligent, highly dangerous band is Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer - in my opinion his best ever role) who realises that all replicants only have a 4 year life span. Roy & co. want that extended, considerably!
The police are informed and bring in their top Blade Runner (Harrison Ford) to hunt and "retire" these renegades. And so begins 90 minutes of detective work, investigation, murder, abstract romance & intrigue.
Director Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Thelma & Louise), has always been criticised for his films being all "style over substance". It is true to say that Blade Runner is a visually stunning masterpiece although the quality of the character-development & storyline pace is erratic & plodding to say the least.
However, the film holds up very well. Those expecting something akin to Star Wars meets Raiders of the Lost Ark, will be disappointed. The action sequences are few & far between; the story is mature and therefore slow to develop. The special effects are very good & realistic although not on a par with today's CGIs, which I believe is a good thing.
Harrison Ford is given a much more rounded character as Deckard the Blade Runner rather than the comic-strip hero of Raiders & Star Wars. As a consequence he finds it very difficult to offer any real depth or emotion as Deckard.
The real acting honours goes to Hauer as Ford's nemesis: suitably under played but with a hint of Aerian menace and ends the film with a beautifully rendered monologue of his short life!
Overall then, Blade Runner (the Director's Cut) is a superior film with only a few short comings. It's best viewed on the big screen in 70mm THX sound, but the tv compromise is nearly as good. The music by Vangelis is just SO perfect, coupled with some fine visual effects and camera work by Jordan Cronenweth, Terry Rawlings & David Snyder.
There are rumours of yet another Director's Cut for 2003 based of Scott's original ideas that were latter scuppered by the studio (that forced him into churning out the first version with the "happy ending"); and then scuppered again with a compromise Director's Cut version, which despite of its title still wasn't Scott's original version.
And then of course there is the ongoing rumour of either a sequel or prequel. A rumour that has been buzzing on the Blade Runner chatboards of the internet for years and yet nothing has yet to materialise, and hopefully it never will.
Blade Runner is a cult movie that has risen from the ashes of apparent failure at the box office. Much like 2001: A Space Odyssey, it captivated a public with the darker side of science fiction, a fiction so close to our own reality that we feel more engrossed and fearful of what this film says about our dependence on cybernetics, the ecology of the planet and mad scientists no different from the Frankensteins of the past trying to tell us that the future of robotics (and human cloning in particular) will be a blessing to humanity and not a terror to be feared.
Highly recommended
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