Possibly one of the greatest films ever?

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2001)

To try and comment on one of the greatest films, in my personal opinon, is incredibly hard. Having watched Blade Runner since I was young, the lines delivered by Rutger Hauer through the chase and on the roof in the penultimate scene have haunted me my whole life. Watching it again yesterday for the xth time, it was amazing how much detail and points of reference I can see that I never saw before; for me, the hallmark of a masterpiece. The echoes of a 40s film noir detective thriller are self-evident; the hair, the clothes, the constant darkness and rain, and also the fact that everyone smokes, and when they do they create vast plumes of smoke. Whether this is intentional I do not know, but is eerily effective. The film is incredibly well balanced (never seems like 1hour 50mins, does it?), the lighting is superb, the shadows and the strange focusing on the characters all very powerful. I have always been fascinated with the close-ups on the eyes, even the animals in the film. The flashes of red burning in the darkness. But again, this just echoes that which has already been said a thousand times by other critics. My personal views are that which I would really like to express. In comparison to other great works, such as the Godfather, which shines due to its excellent depiction by the actors concerned, I feel Blade Runner is powerful for the very opposite. The characters to me are not incredibly strong, indeed Harrison Ford plays down his role throughout, I think. What is more evocative is the sets, the lighting, the attention to every detail, the bewildering oriental influences, and of course, the mesmorising score by Vangelis. The plot is essentially very simple, and is never difficult to follow. In this way, the vast other questions raised by Blade Runner are given a chance to appear. Humanity, self-preservation, love, desire for life, playing God. The very questions we ponder now on Cloning and genectics are faced in this film nearly 20 years ago.
The eternal search for the question Why is what I feel most comes from this film. The death of the Android at the end and his speech to Deckard say to me that that which we strive our whole lives to understand is suddenly clear to this machine at his very moment of death. His whole purpose for being, although predestined, was actually his, by breaking away and striving for questions he has in fact found all his answers. This only scratches the surface of this great film, and would recommend anyone who has not done so, to watch it. Original first to understand the story better, then the Directors Cut.