Blade Runners

                                

                           Blade Runner                                 

   
Date of Release: November 9th, 1982

 Directed by: Ridley Scott

 Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer
Screenwriter: Hampton Fancher, David Peoples

 Runtime: 117 Minutes

Trailer:

                                  

                    

Review:

When the movie begins you are left pretty confused with what's going on. You see this guy named Leon (whom you later find out is a "replicant") shoots what seems like a good guy for no apparent reason. In comes the loveable antihero: Harrison Ford as Deckard. He gets interrupted before he can eat his food since his old boss is calling him up. We later find out that Nelson; the man who was blasted through a wall for asking the wrong questions to the wrong guy; is a blade runner. These blade runners are tasked with "retiring" replicants. Leon is among the 4 that escaped and Deckard must track down and eliminate them. 

This group includes an even more dangerous Roy Batty, a special Nexus 6 model repilcant, and the leader of the pack. He appears to be more perfect in every way than an ordinary human but has a 4 year kill switch. He has come back to see his creator/father Eldon Tyrell to become immortal; With a longer life he is basically like a God. Roy is in the Uncanny Valley, a term which we will discuss later on. As a Nexus 6 he is one of the closest replicants of a human in terms of actions, cognition and emotions.

The movie is set in a futuristic/post apocalyptic Los Angeles, heavily influenced by Japanese culture, with Japanese habitants, advertisements and signs. This suggests globalization of cultures, and Japanese rising as a prominent one (At the time Japan was likely seen as a very rising power) The sets of Blade Runner are gloomy: consistently dark rooms like that of Deckard's and J.F. Sebastian's. Many of the houses were large (the interior of J.F. Sebastian's seemed like it was very a very expensive house in the past) but very rundown. The sky was always pitch black and rainy, which could be explained as a result of the pollution. The use of neon and bright lights contrasting on the dark environment gave it a futuristic feel with a post apocalyptic feel.

There are only two scenes where we see high-key light: Tyrell's room and the ending scene where Roy dies. Tyrell's room is well lit and golden which depicts the situation of the current world: he is among the affluent who has thrived in this new world, whereas houses such as Leon's and Deckard's are dark, giving a feel of suffering in their life and being less fortunate. Tyerll is depicted as a very god-like person in this field: Being geographically (as well as figuratively) at the top of the pyramid, his well lit and golden home seeming heavenly in contrast to the other dark and murky settings. There was importance to the lighting at the ending scene as this was the first time we truly see any innocence or the good human side to Roy. As he dies Deckard realizes this too and it makes the audience pity Roy.All the other scenes are very dim to give a grim and dark mood. 

One of the themes is the typical scenario between humans and robots, shown through Replicants. Replicants were built to serve humans; humans get scared of how human-like they seem and are scared of their potential. In an attempt to understand what he's up against he goes to Eldon Tyrell's penthouse to see the beau Rachel. Rachel is not aware she is a replicant, which makes for an awkward situation. One failed test later and harshly breaking the news to her, Deckard is starting to have mixed feelings towards her

As Deckard encounters them one after the other, he starts to notice how human like these set of replicants are. When he kills Zhora, he has a moment when he is staring down at her body and feels remorse, and feels guilt for killing someone who seemed so human at the moment of death. Leon too expressed anger and seeked revenge when he attacked Deckard, later being killed by Rachel. 

The part where Roy encounters Eldon Tyrell was a bit shocking. In under 5 minutes, Roy and Eldon Tyrell have a father/son moment, and then Roy kisses Tyrell and gouges his eyes out. But there is a deep meaning to this scene. In essence Roy is finally meeting his master, but comes to find that the man he thought as an immortal god is an ordinary and flawed human. As he marvels at him as his creator and his genius (kisses him) he kills him as after talking to him feels he is beneath him and cannot help him any further. This also describes the idea of the Oedipus complex, which will be discussed below

By Roy saving Deckard at the end of the film, it shows the viewers that Roy is thinking and feeling as a human being does. This is by understanding how human life is important. Roy wanted someone to hear him out before he died so that he can “clear his conscience” and who better than his moral enemy. Roy life ends right after he says "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die." (This ending quote makes you feel pity on Roy, as you realize how human he is, and that he has suffered so much in the past, and all he sought to do was live longer in peace with Pris, but the only way he knew of trying to accomplish this was through violence.

Character Analysis:

Deckard: 

Harrison Ford's portrayal of character of Deckard is interesting. Harrison Ford through his character interacted with little emotion to other characters and seemed to show little care to other characters at the beginning (ex: he showed little empathy at the beginning for Rachel when interviewing her and when he told her flatly she was not human). He later develops a deep connection with Rachel, perhaps in how he can relate to her not being entirely sure of her identity and cannot detect anything inhuman about her.

Rachel: 

Sean Young played her character Rachel well; her responses were short and seemed artificial and her movements and responses seemed robotic. Though she does show Rachel's hidden emotion very well with little details (the way she cries, the way she interacts with Deckard)

Roy Batty:

The way Rutger Hauer portrayed Roy is what truly kept the film interesting. He takes on this savior like persona to the replicants. Roy's character can be seen as a symbol of the prodigal son, the neglected one who returns to his father. In the film he is seen largely as a villain but towards the end you start to somewhat sympathize with him.

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Our Rating:

The performance by the characters were excellent. Harrison Ford was a great anti-hero, Sean Young interacted with the right amount of emotion, making her character conflicting between robot and human. Rutger truly brought Roy to life. The choice of lighting during the fighting scenes were good. Many sets were very dark which made it hard to follow but was necessary. They did an excellent job of creating this futuristic dystopian world. Some of the sounds added to the feel of a advanced but artificial world. It added to the gloom and darkness of many of the scenes, though at some times the diegetic sound effects seemed off and irritating to hear. We believe it is a great movie, but could only truly be enjoyed after a second watch with analysis of all the hidden symbols and meanings, and its deep and central idea of selfhood.

Course Connections:

There is this large question of selfhood, and the way that people feel (Deckard falling in love with Rachel) showing that if it is so hard to distinguish them is there a true need to deem them as not human. In Locke's theory of self, "a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places” and continues to define personal identity simply as “the sameness of a rational being”(Locke). The Voigt-Kampff test serves to pinpoint Replicants, but when it fails to see that Rachel is a replicant at the same capacity, it shows how Rachel has achieved a selfhood so close to that of a real human being. She can think act in the same capacity as a human, and considers herself human, which seen through Deckard's relationship has shown she has achieved selfhood.

There is the idea of Uncanny Valley present in this film that we explored in class. Replicants became so human like to the point that it started to frighten other humans when they couldn't easily distinguish one apart from an ordinary human. But as we notice through Deckard in Rachel and Pris, we start to feel not so threatened by how similar they look, and start to feel more genuine feelings towards them: they have moved out of uncanny valley.

The Oedipus complex, as we explored in class, is developed as you are child. A result of the Oedipus complex is often developing either violent or sexual feelings towards one your parents (typically the one of the opposing gender). Since he was technically separated at birth, and Tyrell is viewed as a god by many, Roy felt a strong awe for Tyrell, which later culminated into an erotic feeling (kissed him in the scene).Later in the scene however, he finds that Tyrell is not as perfect and powerful as he seemed. When Tyrell explained how he had no control over his life now and couldn't change him, it made Roy see Tyrell as inferior. From this discovery and also out of spite, he kills Tyrell.

Questions:


Why wasn't Deckard killed by Roy?

If you find out a friend: someone who acts and thinks like a human and believes they are one, was a replicant, should it change the value of their self, if nothing else would change?

There is also an underlying question; is Deckard a replicant?

Works Cited:

Scott, R. (Director), Scott, R., & Francher, H. (Producers), & Francher, H., & Peoples, D. W. (Writers).(n.d.). Blade runner [Video file]

Ebert, R. (n.d.). Blade Runner Movie Review & Film Summary (1982) | Roger Ebert. Retrieved October 22, 2016, from http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/blade-runner-1982

"Blade Runner." IMDb. 1990, http;//www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658?ref_=rvi_tt. Accessed on October 22 2016.

Locke, John. "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding." Perry, John. Personal Identity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. 33-52.

Unknown Author. Blade Runner Fandom:  Wiki, 2015, http://bladerunner.wikia.com/wiki/Themes_in_Blade_Runner