Classic sci-fi

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2002)

This is the movie that all the other "sci-fi" films of the last 20 years have been trying, unsuccessfully, to live up to. Some of them have achieved more compelling action, some spiffy CGI effects, but none of them can match the grandeur of this film's vision or its colorful gallery of characters.
The film's action stylings and detective story plot are mostly a cover for the issues it broods over: what is it that makes us human? How indeed do I know that I am human?
The answers concern a complex meditation on memory, something that previous to "Blade Runner" had been the strict domain of filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman. BR took sci-fi film and pushed it into adult territory, just when the "Star Wars" revolution was threatening to turn the tide forever in favor of "space opera". "Blade Runner" brought us back to the days of the German silents ("Metropolis", "Aelita") in which a dark, uncertain future was coupled with doubts about the worth or meaning of human existence.

There is a lot to look at here, with beautiful photography, and inspired direction and a batch of memorable performances from the excellent supporting cast. Hauer steals the movie from the seemingly disinterested Ford, particularly in the film's stunning finale.
This movie is also notable for the depth of detail that was put into its futuristic vision. Everything enforces the notion that this is an Earth we would not want to live in, and somewhat oblique dialogue occasionally hints that (as Dick's novel makes clear) Deckard would in fact not be on Earth if he was healthy enough to leave. This is a future where you can't even order as much food as you want at a restaurant.
Now that we are closer to "2019" than we are to the production of this film, we can assess how much of what it is saying came true. The specifics of the technology and culture aren't really what's important; genetic research and modern philosophy keep the ideas in this movie fresh and relevant -- perhaps even more so when this movie appeared and quickly disappeared (failing to capture the attention of the action movie public).
There are numerous inferior imitations ("AI", "Minority Report", "The Matrix", etc.) But this one will be around for a long time after they have been forgotten.