A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.
After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.
Ellen Ripley is rescued by a deep salvage team after being in hypersleep for 57 years. The moon that the Nostromo visited has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, colonial marines have impressive firepower, but will that be enough?
Director:
James Cameron
Stars:
Sigourney Weaver,
Michael Biehn,
Carrie Henn
After discovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, mankind sets off on a quest to find its origins with help from intelligent supercomputer H.A.L. 9000.
Director:
Stanley Kubrick
Stars:
Keir Dullea,
Gary Lockwood,
William Sylvester
Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
After a daring mission to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebels dispatch to Endor to destroy the second Death Star. Meanwhile, Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side without falling into the Emperor's trap.
After the Rebels are brutally overpowered by the Empire on the ice planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker begins Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader.
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named Max.
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director:
Stanley Kubrick
Stars:
Matthew Modine,
R. Lee Ermey,
Vincent D'Onofrio
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before Adolf Hitler's Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
In the 21st century, a corporation develops human clones to be used as slaves in colonies outside the Earth, identified as replicants. In 2019, a former police officer is hired to hunt down a fugitive group of clones living undercover in Los Angeles.Written by
MadMovieManiac
The Voight-Kampff Test comes from Cambridge Mathematician Alan Turing's 1951 paper in which he proposed a test called "The Imitation Game" that might finally settle the issue of machine intelligence. His story was told many years later in the film The Imitation Game (2014). See more »
Goofs
(at around 27 mins) Roy Batty and Leon enter "Eye World" to interrogate Hannibal Chew. As the sliding door to the room opens, you can clearly see a set lighting stand leg in the lower left of the opening. This was not caught in the newest version of the film. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Female announcer over intercom:
Next subject: Kowalski, Leon. Engineer, waste disposal. File section: New employee, six days.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening credits sequence features a detailed, dictionary-style definition of the word Replicant. See more »
Alternate Versions
In 2007, Ridley Scott released "Blade Runner: The Final Cut", digitally remastered with improved visual and sound effects, and with numerous revisions to the 1992 Director's Cut. The more noticeable differences between The Director's Cut and The Final Cut include:
The overall film has been brightened considerably, revealing previously hidden details in many shots. Additionally, the digital enhancement reveals many heretofore obscured details, such as dirty dishes in Deckard's apartment and a freeway high above Pris as she approaches the Bradbury.
The opening credits have been completely redone, although in the exact same font as in the original film. The noticeable shimmer effect from the theatrical cut and the Director's Cut has been removed.
In the opening shot, the flames shooting up have been re-animated to look more synchronized with the associated light play on the smokestacks.
In the shots of the staring eye, you can briefly see the pupil react to the setting of 2019 L.A.
A couple of shots were trimmed (such as Deckard's intro reading the newspaper).
Additional smoke was added behind the cook when Gaff (Edward James Olmos) and a police officer are talking to Deckard while he is eating at the White Dragon.
All spinner wires have been removed and matte lines erased.
Bryant's (M. Emmet Walsh) line "I've got four skin jobs walking the streets" has been improved so it's not obviously an inserted recording.
Bryant says that "2" replicants were fried in the electrical field (as opposed to the theatrical release and Director's Cut, where he says only 1 was killed).
Bryant describes Leon's job during the incept tapes scene.
New Cityspeak and other chatter comes over on the police scanner in Gaff's spinner rides both to the police station and the Tyrell building.
The original shot of Roy (Rutger Hauer) in the VidPhone booth that had been recycled from the later confrontation with Tyrell (Joe Turkel) has been digitally altered so that it truly does look like Roy was in the booth. The thumb on his shoulder has also been digitally removed from the shot.
The hotel manager mutters "Kowalski" as he opens the door to Leon's (Brion James) room for Deckard and Gaff.
The new Unicorn footage is longer and shows Deckard to be awake during the sequence. This is how Ridley Scott and editor Terry Rawlings originally conceived of the scene. Deckard is shown staring into space, and there is a cut to the unicorn. The film then cuts back to Deckard and again cuts back to the unicorn, before returning to Deckard once more. The shot of the unicorn which appeared in the Director's Cut has also been recolored, and the sound mix has been completely redone.
The blue grid lines on the Esper machine have been reanimated, to make them look less smooth.
When Deckard finds Zhora lying down in the back room on the photo, the image is now that of Joanna Cassidy; previously, it was clearly someone else.
New footage of the LA streets before Animoid Row and Taffy Lewis's club, including the hockey-masked geisha dancers.
The serial number on the snake scale now matches the Animoid Row lady's dialog.
There is a shot of Deckard asking for directions to Taffy Lewis' from a uniformed policeman.
The lip flap between Deckard and Abdul Ben Hassan has been digitally corrected (using Harrison Ford's son, Ben, as a stand-in for his mouth movements).
In Zhora's death scene, you can tell it is her the entire time; previously it was obvious that her stunt double, Lee Pulford, was in the shot. Joanna Cassidy's head was digitally superimposed over Pulford's.
Deckard's cut after retiring Zhora was digitally removed (it wasn't supposed to be there until after the fight with Leon).
The marquee inconsistencies on the Million Dollar Theatre have been corrected.
During Roy's confrontation with Tyrell, he says, "I want more life, father", as opposed to "I want more life, fucker".
When Roy kills Tyrell, the footage is the same as that found in the International Cut, with the additional violence. Additionally, when Roy turns to Sebastian, he says "I'm sorry, Sebastian. Come. Come", as he walks towards him.
When Pris (Daryl Hannah) attacks Deckard, she reaches down and grabs him by the nostrils
When Deckard shoots Pris, he shoots 3 times instead of 2.
The two shadows (of Ridley Scott and Jordan Cronenweth) seen on the wall during the chase sequence have been removed.
When Roy pushes the nail through his hand, there is a shot of the nail coming through the skin on the other side.
When Roy releases the dove, it now flies up into a background that matches 2019 L.A.
The music which plays over the end credits is a newly composed piece by Vangelis; a different version of the 'End Credits' theme as heard in all other cuts.
In the closing credits, David L. Snyder is now listed as 'David L. Snyder', instead of 'David Snyder'. Additionally, Ben Astar is now credited for playing the role of Abdul Ben Hassan.
Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott and based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, is a Sci-fi slash Noir film about a cop named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in a decrepit 2019 Los Angeles whose job it is to "retire" four genetically engineered syborgues, known as "Replicants". The four fugitives, Pris (Daryl Hannah), Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), Leon (Brion James), and their leader, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), have escaped from an off-world colony in order to find their creator and bully him into expanding their pre-determined four year life span. This film originally flopped when it came out in 1982, but since has become a widely acclaimed cult classic with a director's cut to boot. A large part of the success that this movie has received can be attributed to its ability to operate on many different levels.
Ridley Scott's hauntingly possible depiction of what might become of Los Angeles down the line is absolutely brilliant. It captures elements of Noir with its urban atmosphere of decadence, lighting, and characters neither clearly defined as good nor evil. Corruption is everywhere. The garbage-littered streets and permanence of dark and rain give us the sense that we've seriously screwed up the atmosphere, and the impression that all respectable human beings have fled to the off-world colonies, leaving only the scum of the earth behind.
There is a hint of style from the 40's, especially with respect to cars, costumes, and music. Rachael's entire outfit, including her hair, screams the 40's.
The soundtrack, arranged by Vangelis (who won an Oscar for his Chariots of Fire score), consisted mainly of Jazz and Blues. This functioned to represent a dark, moody world of uncertainty and pessimism.
The special effects were exceptional. Much of the set was pulled off using models. In my opinion, sets made by hand require leagues more of skill and are much more impressive and realistic than those computer generated. These guys really knew what they were doing. I was especially fond of the pyramidesque Tyrell Corporation building, which hinted at the god-like presence of Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkell), the creator.
The script (Hampton Fancher, David Peoples, and of course Phil Dick) worked for me, as well as the actors who gave voice to it. Harrison Ford was well...Harrison Ford. I thought he did a tremendous job down-playing the role. His voice-over narration helped you along, and was yet another feature conducive to Film Noir (apparently this was taken out of the Director's Cut). Rutger Hauer's performance was intense. His lines at the end were intriguingly philosophical. Daryl Hannah's chilling robotic expressions were quite impressive. Joanna Cassidy was just plain hot.
There is more to this film than just pulp. It works on so many remarkable levels. The movie itself is a detective noir quest for the meaning of life in a science fiction environment, but the story is a commentary on what it means to be human and the questions each one of us have about life, like: How long have I to live? Why do I have to die? What happens when I die? Doesn't my maker care? Is this all merely an illusion? At the end of the film we are left to wonder if these Replicants are human, and if Deckard himself is in fact a Replicant. Scott raises more questions here than he answers, and as a result, critics are still debating the mysteries of this film today. In a sense, the ambiguity of Blade Runner is the culprit of its success.
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Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott and based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, is a Sci-fi slash Noir film about a cop named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in a decrepit 2019 Los Angeles whose job it is to "retire" four genetically engineered syborgues, known as "Replicants". The four fugitives, Pris (Daryl Hannah), Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), Leon (Brion James), and their leader, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), have escaped from an off-world colony in order to find their creator and bully him into expanding their pre-determined four year life span. This film originally flopped when it came out in 1982, but since has become a widely acclaimed cult classic with a director's cut to boot. A large part of the success that this movie has received can be attributed to its ability to operate on many different levels.
Ridley Scott's hauntingly possible depiction of what might become of Los Angeles down the line is absolutely brilliant. It captures elements of Noir with its urban atmosphere of decadence, lighting, and characters neither clearly defined as good nor evil. Corruption is everywhere. The garbage-littered streets and permanence of dark and rain give us the sense that we've seriously screwed up the atmosphere, and the impression that all respectable human beings have fled to the off-world colonies, leaving only the scum of the earth behind.
There is a hint of style from the 40's, especially with respect to cars, costumes, and music. Rachael's entire outfit, including her hair, screams the 40's.
The soundtrack, arranged by Vangelis (who won an Oscar for his Chariots of Fire score), consisted mainly of Jazz and Blues. This functioned to represent a dark, moody world of uncertainty and pessimism.
The special effects were exceptional. Much of the set was pulled off using models. In my opinion, sets made by hand require leagues more of skill and are much more impressive and realistic than those computer generated. These guys really knew what they were doing. I was especially fond of the pyramidesque Tyrell Corporation building, which hinted at the god-like presence of Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkell), the creator.
The script (Hampton Fancher, David Peoples, and of course Phil Dick) worked for me, as well as the actors who gave voice to it. Harrison Ford was well...Harrison Ford. I thought he did a tremendous job down-playing the role. His voice-over narration helped you along, and was yet another feature conducive to Film Noir (apparently this was taken out of the Director's Cut). Rutger Hauer's performance was intense. His lines at the end were intriguingly philosophical. Daryl Hannah's chilling robotic expressions were quite impressive. Joanna Cassidy was just plain hot.
There is more to this film than just pulp. It works on so many remarkable levels. The movie itself is a detective noir quest for the meaning of life in a science fiction environment, but the story is a commentary on what it means to be human and the questions each one of us have about life, like: How long have I to live? Why do I have to die? What happens when I die? Doesn't my maker care? Is this all merely an illusion? At the end of the film we are left to wonder if these Replicants are human, and if Deckard himself is in fact a Replicant. Scott raises more questions here than he answers, and as a result, critics are still debating the mysteries of this film today. In a sense, the ambiguity of Blade Runner is the culprit of its success.