Blade Runner (1982)

A blade runner must pursue and try to terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Hampton Fancher (screenplay), David Webb Peoples (screenplay) (as David Peoples) ,

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

Top 250 #133 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Rick Deckard
Rutger Hauer	...	Roy Batty
Sean Young	...	Rachael
Edward James Olmos	...	Gaff
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Bryant
Daryl Hannah	...	Pris
William Sanderson	...	J.F. Sebastian
Brion James	...	Leon Kowalski
Joe Turkel	...	Dr. Eldon Tyrell
Joanna Cassidy	...	Zhora
James Hong	...	Hannibal Chew
Morgan Paull	...	Holden
Kevin Thompson	...	Bear
John Edward Allen	...	Kaiser
Hy Pyke	...	Taffey Lewis

Storyline

In a cyberpunk vision of the future, man has developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specializes in terminating replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when four replicants escape from an off-world colony to Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

police detective | tech noir | future | cyberpunk | human android relationship | 

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Taglines:

Man Has Made His Match... Now It's His Problem

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

-12

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros [France]

Country:

USA Hong Kong UK

Language:

English German Cantonese Japanese Hungarian

Release Date:

15 September 1982 (France)

Also Known As:

Blade Runner

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,150,002 (USA) (25 June 1982)

Gross:

$27,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ladd Company, The, Shaw Brothers, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Philip K. Dick died before the film's release, he had read David Webb Peoples's rewrite of the screenplay and thoroughly approved of it.

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Goofs

Support cables for spinner are clearly visible in the shot where Deckard and Gaff take off after Gaff has told Deckard that Bryant wants to see him (corrected in the 2007 "Final Cut" of the movie; the wires have been digitally removed).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Female announcer over intercom: Next subject: Kowalski, Leon. Engineer, waste disposal. File section: New employee, six days.

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Crazy Credits

In the "happy ending" Theatrical/International cuts, the credits play over the gorgeous scenery. In later Director/Final cuts, they play over a normal black background.

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Connections

Referenced in John Alvin Neon Tribute (2014)

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Soundtracks

Tales of the Future
(uncredited)
Written by Vangelis
Performed by Demis Roussos

User Reviews

The Last Great Noir

This is a film that is so deep, rich, and multi-layered, it may require more than one viewing to fully absorb the brilliance of what you've just seen. At first glance, it can be a bit slow. It's told in a classic film noir fashion, so this is to be expected. Director Ridley Scott seems to want to savor every shot, and an astute audience will be able to sense this.

Now, I say the film is told in a classic Noir style, but this can be misleading. There is no Humphrey Bogart in Blade Runner, snapping off brilliant one-liners once a second. Only hopeless people, in many ways victims of the merciless world of which they are all a part. Deckard is a typically downbeat protagonist, a hard-boiled cynical leading man with a weakness for heavy drinking. The plot is a mystery in name only, as the audience is allowed to know what Roy Batty, Pris and Leon are all up to before Deckard ever finds out. This only lends to the dread and inevitability of the film, lending further to its pervasive gloom. There is no final scene at the end where the bold detective puts all the pieces together and says "Ah-Ha!". Instead, we find Rick Deckard questioning his own existence and drinking away his constant doubts, all the while embroiled in a romantic relationship with someone he's sworn to kill.

Blade Runner requires audience participation, particularly in the Director's Cut, which is entirely devoid of some rather necessary exposition provided by the Original Cut's much-maligned voice-over. Certain facts will not be clear even at the end of the film, requiring personal interpretation in order to be appreciated fully. Other facts will be given away in much more subtle ways than in most modern cinema, such as through visual cues and tenuous dialogue.

Finally, visually, this movie is quite simply a science fiction triumph. It looks better than modern computer effects in every way that counts. Superimposed special effect objects don't give off that unnatural, clearly computer-generated "Lord of the Rings" sheen common in today's effects-driven blockbusters. This, of course, is because Blade Runner - while a gorgeous movie - is not effects driven in the least. Rather, it is a visually driven story that doesn't rely on special effects. This is an important distinction to make in today's Hollywood.

"Touch of Evil" really wasn't the last of the Great Film Noirs!