A Stunning Vision of A Dystopian Future

Rating: Null/10 (9 September 1998)

Taken from the novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by the late, great science fiction writer Phillip K. Dick, BLADE RUNNER must be ranked as one of, if not the, greatest visual achievements in the history of cinema. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien), the story focuses on Los Angeles, 2019. A film-noir technopunk verisimilitude dominates in this time, as large blimps extoll the virtues of going "off-world," while the majority of people live in pollution and towering pyramid buildings, where strobe lights of various hovercrafts wind across gothic stone gargoyles, where the sun never seems to rise and the torrents of rain never stop. The culture of Los Angeles seems to naturally grow from our present time; there is a large Asian and Hispanic community and culture. Deckard (played with a splendidly Marlowean low-key by Harrison Ford) is a "Blade Runner"- cops specially trained to eliminate illegal off-world worker androids who run amok on earth. The leader of the "replicants," Roy (Rutger Hauer), seek only a chance to live beyond their pre-determined deaths. As Deckard descends further and further into the hunt through the seedy streets, he also discovers a most unusual love interest-- a legal android (Sean Young) who refuses to believe her memories are fake. As mentioned before, BLADE RUNNER has a wonderfully unique vision of the future, created by visualist Syd Meier, that every science fiction film from RUNAWAY to THE FIFTH ELEMENT has "borrowed," to put it nicely. However, what truly makes the story compelling is the quest for humanity, and what truly makes us human. If at all possible, view the Director's Cut: the ending is completely different, more realistic, and ultimately more powerful. Truly a classic, and four stars out of four.