After watching the opening scene of Blade Runner in my Films studies Class, I decided to watch the movie, seeing as i was interested. So I sat down on Friday night, with some popcorn, on a comfy couch and went in blind and really enjoyed my time.
I Would describe the film making of the movie to be that you could screenshot any frame from it and have it as a computer background screen or as a poster on the wall. The composition and set design is on point, with high contrast between light and dark and the cool blue environment of the city, populated by red and yellow lights, creates a unique atmosphere.
Various lighting sources add to the dynamics of the city, such as the glowing advertisements on bill boards, or the various neon signs or even the spotlights from passing blimps, in the sky. The sets contain extreme intricacy and detail, with the camera work doing its best to highlight the complexity of the surrounding areas.
I enjoyed the retro-futurism aesthetic of the movie, my favourite examples, were the Tyrell Corporation building, The cop cars seen in the movie and the design of the Voight-Kampff test lens.
The score of the movie (by Vangelis) is ambient and dramatic and helps punctuate the emotional tones of the scenes within the film. It makes excellent use of a mix between synthesisers and classical instruments
to blend the Noir and Sci-fi elements of the film together
The performances, in my opinion elevate the movie and its core messages, for example, many of the human characters are cold, distant and unfeeling, with the Replicants by comparison being very expressive, albeit in a limited, almost childlike fashion. The replicants also have a human-like need for survival, and react accordingly to the situation given to them. Which drives home the message that in some ways the Replicants are more human than the humans, hence their persecution is unjust, as they don’t just exist to follow orders.
The stoic and almost emotionless performance given by Harrison Ford, (paired with the infamous unicorn dream sequence) creates doubts about whether the protagonist of the movie (Deckerd) is even human either. Which ties into the theme that if anyone can be a replicant and replicants need extensive testing to identify.Then what is the difference between them and humans. Which leads me to believe that if it’s up for debate what the main character who you follow for a whole movie is, then this point has been achieved.
The film uses conventions of a film noir, which is interesting as more Sci-fi or Action elements, may have been expected for such a film, however I would argue that the detective style, helps keep you engaged and immersed into the world, as the familiarity of the genre (often being set in the past of our world, as opposed to the future of a hypothetical one), I believe help you feel familiar with the world the movie is set in, were sometimes you forget it is in the “distant” future of 2019 (helped by the deliberate use of current brands on billboards and the use of Los Angeles as the city the film is set in). The use of brands contrasts with the re-occurring concept of the extinction of many animals through the movie. In a cruel way, these brands have outlived, most of the earths ecosystem.
If it went the pure sci-fi route, it believe the focus would be more on the unfamiliarity and unrecognisable state the future is in, making it clear that it is supposed to be a dystopian society, which would shift the focus away from its own story and instead would cause constant scrutiny, with people debating the believability of the technological advancements within the given time frame. By keeping it similar to the regular world, you can draw easier comparisons between the movie and real life, and it prevents the plot being distracted by too many questions being raised. As you’d assume most features of this world would function the same way outside of anything explicitly stated by the movie that is different. The films primary focus isn’t to serve as a warning for the advancement of tech, it instead serves as more of a moral dilemma in regards to human cloning, bio-engineering and what does it mean to be human and the rights should that bestow upon you?
I also enjoy the uncomfortable atmosphere of the movie.
The suspense is created by being absorbed in the world, as when you are engaged you pay more attention, and the tension comes from the fact that anyone could be a Replicant, so you never know when Deckard is in danger.
On the other hand, the fight scenes are uncomfortably short. Typically a replicant will land a couple blows on Deckard before being swiftly shot and killed, which causes you to question who the real threat are.
However the final fight scene is really long by comparison, due to it being a game of cat and mouse, played between Deckard and the villain Roy. I enjoyed the unpredictable nature of Roy, such as his bizarre method of running around the house and his random howling to toy with Deckard.
Roy’s death scene serves as a pivotal point in the movie. It ties the films narrative and message together. Roy gives a meaningful speech after saving Deckards life and just before passing away. Whilst serving as an emotional scene in isolation, his act symbolises the human nature of the replicants and also causes a change in Deckard’s judgement and completes his arc of realising his ways of retiring replicants was wrong, which correlates to his romance with Rachel, who he had previously not seen as human.
In my opinion Blade Runner is not the greatest movie of all time and if you went in wanting a pure sci-fi or action movie, you will be disappointed. However it makes up for it by having amazing art direction, performances, writing and soundtrack. Whilst it may not pose the most potent questions nor does its message comes across easiest. It still has enough of a meaning, in my opinion to warrant it being unfair to call the film empty or vapid.
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