Never been equalled

Rating: 10/10 (7 December 2006)

Many have praised this one before me, so I will try to keep my comment brief. One of the few movies which still towers majestically over the majority of SF-movies produced before or since. I rate this, along with 2001 and Solaris, as masterpieces of cinema which take the medium to another level. Funny that there are three SF-movies on my top ten movies of all time. In this age of CGI, the environment created for this film has still never been equalled. It is not just the intense layering and detail, it is also the pace which we move through the environment that is just as important. Allowing us time to rest and contemplate the surroundings, along with the magnificent music, brings out so much more atmosphere and sense of place. The acting is interesting, mixing low-key realism with the highly theatrical style of Hauer and Turkel. Yet that mixing never feels out of place. Also, the important ingredient Ridley has in BR that has been lacking in some of his subsequent efforts, is a rich, multi-levelled story. The existential aspects, what is human, real versus artificial memories, the unanswered questions. Almost all movies I consider to be masterpieces have an unanswered question at the end and which brings me back for subsequent watchings. This is one of them. May it soon appear on a Special Ed. DVD with tons of extras.