A warning and reflection. A film subtly compelling. An experience "More Human Than Human"

Rating: 10/10 (7 June 2005)

How much has the world changed since 1982? The computer wars were beginning and arcade games were the craze, yet our lives were at a height of sociability. Things were simple for the sake of simplicity. Life seemed to make more sense. But our minds were unconsciously drifting away from reality, whilst reality slowly made its way towards the visions of this powerful film. 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?', written by famous American Science Fiction author Phillip K Dick, was adapted to the screen by Sir Ridley Scott into 'Blade Runner'. Ridley's masterful transformation of Dick's nocturnal vision to celluloid, confused audiences who misunderstood a world which would seem more like reality only ten years later in the technology boom of the 90s. The film gained 'turkey' status upon its release and was quickly abandoned as a mess, soon doomed to gain dust in relentless video libraries.
Ten years later the world only further resembled Blade Runner's scary vision. Upon its 1992 re-release, tickets sold out before they even hit the box-office. Even critic Roger Ebert rephrased his 1982 statement claiming it a masterpiece. And here began the Legacy of the most acclaimed Cult Film. Film critics around the world named it the most important science-fiction of all time with Kubrick's 2001 - and the most visually mesmerizing.
The film follows the enlightenment of a Blade Runner (a cop) Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in Los Angeles 2019, a dystopia falling apart from permanent drizzling twilight, rare natural life and where technology dictates existence. Following early retirement from his police unit, Deckard is forced into a desperate assignment by his ex-boss 'Bryant'. Four Replicants (humanoids) have escaped from an 'off-world colony', taking a shuttle back to Earth for unknown reasons. His mission: To kill all Replicants declared illegal on Earth. Deckard's unconscious approach to his job in a world deteriorating from lack of nature,sociability and eternal darkness slowly deteriorates when his eyes open to the most important questions in life. Beginning his investigations in the Pyramids of the Tyrell Corporation, responsible for manufacturing the Replicants, he meets his turning point, Rachel, who due to Deckard's Void Kompff machine (an empathy tester) is found a Replicant. Following a cold, immoral revelation to her about her origins, he is inevitably drawn to her emotionally, soon leading to his first sign of awakening, LOVE.
From a cold beginning, without any sign of 'empathy' towards those around him, what Deckard finds out about Rachel, Elden Tyrell, and the so called "EVIL" Replicants he intercepts, enable him for the first time to feel and understand Love, Hate and the preciousness of Life respectively. Roy Batty, the leader of the Replicant mutineers, played convincingly by Dutch actor Rutger Hauer, is the most important symbol in the film, and is the ultimate enlightenment in Deckard's quest for humanity in learning that no matter if you're human or not, love, compassion and empathy are the most important human characteristics, and some Replicants are "more human than human". Contrary to initial perception, Batty shows these characteristics and we sympathize with him, something we wouldn't usually do with an 'artificial' human, with theoretically no emotions. Tyrell becomes the focal point of human degradation, in that in his vision of technological advance, he brings humanity, morality and nature closer to extinction as he sits atop his corporation like a 'Pharoah'.
Finally, there are many evidences to suggest 'Deckard' is a Replicant, and this has been immortal debate since release. Either way, the film's message remains as strong. It's filled with overwhelming symbolism and meaning, that one viewing of this art-work will be exhausting.
The film's intentions are not only to question what makes us human, but it also makes strong focus on reflecting our current issues of world Conservation, technological advance and the degradation of humanity from the media, exploitation, capitalism, and the complacency and destructive nature of humanity. In Ridley Scott's vision, the Sun that gives life has been blocked out by pollution due to the dominance of technology, and dreams of Unicorns suggests we long for the past, for rarity in Nature. What one must notice is that 'Eyes' play a key symbol throughout the film in explaining this, for it appears that most are 'artificial' than not.
'Blade Runner' is Ridley Scott's masterpiece and perhaps one of the most poignant films of all time. Countless copycats including 'The Fifth Element', and 'Akira' have tried to imitate his legendary vision of a dark world gone wrong, which only seems more possible as the years fly by. I am happy to see that Blade Runner is so respected and that people understand its vision. It has embedded itself into my movie collection and along with 'The Mosquito Coast', another similar film with Harrison Ford regarding humanity, is my favorite film of all time.
The music composed by 'Vangelis' is God-sent, sounding so mythical and dream-like. Set designs and cinematography have rarely been equaled  marvelously detailed. The whole cast were superb in bringing their characters to life. Especially Joe Turkel (Tyrell) and Rutger Hauer who played opposites of one another beautifully. Harrison Ford was irreplaceable as the lead, showing his transformation from a cold being into an human being expertly - it just seems so natural with him. However I believe Rutger Hauer should have received the Oscar for his performance as the human like Replicant. He has a commanding presence. Sean Young, playing Rachel, was a great choice. She's stunning and projects innocence well in showing Deckard's shortcomings. This film will be in the hearts of more 'as time goes by' and will never again end up accumulating dust in forgotten sections of video libraries. It's more than a 'classic'. I recommend everybody who loves film or philosophy to watch and explore its masterful telling. I have never seen a film as movingly deep. It's a poem from beginning to end and "more human than human".