Being a director meant something in the 80's

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2014)

Ahh, the 80's, when people could imagine the future as a dark, polluted thing, where people have lost their freedom to corporations. Of course, we now know that this would never happen. *cough*
Philip K. Dick has a difficult writing style, something wild in it that makes it hard to grasp, to control. However a lot of his work molds well to the screen and Blade Runner is no exception. What makes the film exceptional, though, is not the pulp mystery feel of the story or the inspiration of the sets and clothes from mid 19th century US or even the excellent acting. Instead it is the attention to detail that Ridley Scott demonstrated when doing it all. This is clearly the work of an obsessive man who saw the film in his head way before it started to make it. This is rare nowadays due to budgets and to the fact that most of popular cinema is not an art anymore, only a business.
Watch the film and notice how the characters are not really well defined, leaving room for the imagination, while the sets and the props are clearly very detailed and the world in which the story unfolds makes the characters both gain weight and lose focus. The human condition is actually the main character.
Bottom line: a beautifully made film, by a dedicated director, with excellent acting and a story that works on multiple levels at the same time. Rightly considered a masterpiece, you should watch it at least once.