Blade Runner is a visually spectacular science fiction movie which has aged very well 40 years on. Released in 1982, Blade Runner was originally a box office flop despite receiving excellent reviews, however the movie has since become regarded as a masterpiece. Harrison Ford was fantastic in a darker role following his heroic roles in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). The late Rutger Hauer was a delight to watch on screen. Director Ridley Scott can also add this to one of his most memorable movies.
Based on Philip K. Dick's story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Blade Runner takes place in 2019 in a futuristic Los Angeles. Synthetic humans known as replicants are being developed by Dr. Eldon Tyrell (Joe Erkel) of the Tyrell Corporation to work on space colonies as they have been declared illegal on Earth as they are considered to be dangerous. Former LAPD Detective and Blade Runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is coaxed out of retirement by his boss Captain Bryant (M. Emmett Walsh) to track down four dangerous replicants who have escaped following a spaceship crash. A Blade Runner is responsible for tracking down replicants and to terminate them which is called "retirement". The escapees include Roy Batty (the late Rutger Hauer), Leon (the late Brion James), Pris (Daryl Hannah) and Zhora (Joanna Cassidy). As Deckard hunts down the replicants, he finds himself torn between his duty to retire the replicants as he finds himself falling for Tyrell's assistant Rachel (Sean Young) who may or may not be a replicant.
The rest of the cast includes Edward James Olmos as Gaff who is a fellow Blade Runner, William Sanderson as J. F. Sebastian who is a genetic creator, and James Hong as Hannibal Chew who is a genetic engineer that produces eyes for the replicants.
There are several versions of Blade Runner that exist including the 1982 theatrical version, the 1992 Director's Cut which removed Harrison Ford's narration, added a unicorn dream sequence, and a darker ambiguous ending. The 2007 Final Cut adds a few smaller scenes and adds the full sequence of the unicorn dream.
Blade Runner is still a visually dazzling classic 40 years on and I must say the visual effects and art design has aged very well. Ridley Scott did a superb job and Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer were fantastic. Blade Runner can also be credited with more of Phillip K. Dick's works being adapted for the screen with movies such as Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), and A Scanner Darkly (2006). It's a shame Blade Runner flopped at the box office in 1982, but thankfully has grown to become more appreciated as time has passed and later became more successful on VHS and with the subsequent releases of the director's cut in 1992 and the final cut in 2007. I still regard Blade Runner as an excellent movie.
8/10.
Based on Philip K. Dick's story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Blade Runner takes place in 2019 in a futuristic Los Angeles. Synthetic humans known as replicants are being developed by Dr. Eldon Tyrell (Joe Erkel) of the Tyrell Corporation to work on space colonies as they have been declared illegal on Earth as they are considered to be dangerous. Former LAPD Detective and Blade Runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is coaxed out of retirement by his boss Captain Bryant (M. Emmett Walsh) to track down four dangerous replicants who have escaped following a spaceship crash. A Blade Runner is responsible for tracking down replicants and to terminate them which is called "retirement". The escapees include Roy Batty (the late Rutger Hauer), Leon (the late Brion James), Pris (Daryl Hannah) and Zhora (Joanna Cassidy). As Deckard hunts down the replicants, he finds himself torn between his duty to retire the replicants as he finds himself falling for Tyrell's assistant Rachel (Sean Young) who may or may not be a replicant.
The rest of the cast includes Edward James Olmos as Gaff who is a fellow Blade Runner, William Sanderson as J. F. Sebastian who is a genetic creator, and James Hong as Hannibal Chew who is a genetic engineer that produces eyes for the replicants.
There are several versions of Blade Runner that exist including the 1982 theatrical version, the 1992 Director's Cut which removed Harrison Ford's narration, added a unicorn dream sequence, and a darker ambiguous ending. The 2007 Final Cut adds a few smaller scenes and adds the full sequence of the unicorn dream.
Blade Runner is still a visually dazzling classic 40 years on and I must say the visual effects and art design has aged very well. Ridley Scott did a superb job and Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer were fantastic. Blade Runner can also be credited with more of Phillip K. Dick's works being adapted for the screen with movies such as Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), and A Scanner Darkly (2006). It's a shame Blade Runner flopped at the box office in 1982, but thankfully has grown to become more appreciated as time has passed and later became more successful on VHS and with the subsequent releases of the director's cut in 1992 and the final cut in 2007. I still regard Blade Runner as an excellent movie.
8/10.