One of the things that I really love about this movie is something that it shares with books like Brave New World...the idea of the future isn't something beautiful or wonderful, where technology has cured all of our ills and given us a paradise on Earth. Instead it gives us a dirty, slimy, smelly, polluted, crime filled unhappy hell hole of a future. The technology is there, but it doesn't solve any of the problems that we have. It's no magic cure for the ills of the world.
I am generally not even a fan of dystopian literature or film, at least when it is too pessimistic, but in BR it all seems to plausible and is so visually stunning that it's hard not to be impressed with their view on the not too distant future.
Next, the writing for this movie is absolutely brilliant. There are some quotes from this movie that I think are some of the best quotes ever from any movie. Most notably is Rutger Hauer's final words. They give me chills every time that I hear them.
Agreed.
Another thing I like about the movie is that it is one that makes you think. Or at least it makes me think. I walk away from the movie a bit disturbed by the idea of retiring the replicants and feeling bad for their short life spans. They are built in our image, but never treated as we are. Slaves for their entire existence, yet they are the ones who "burn so very bright."
You know I never felt bad for the replicants throughout the whole film until Batty changes his mind, saves Deckard and gives his final speech. There you get the glimpse at what those replicants really were about and that they were much more than machines. Up until that scene they were rather one-dimensional (probably intentionally so) and I always felt they deserved to be hunted for being such a threat.
The last thing I'll mention is more for those who are curious about the book Blade Runner was adapted from. There are parts of the book that helped me make sense of the movie a bit more. Specifically the animals. In the book, animals are something that everyone owns, (most people store them on the roof of the buildings where they live) and they are basically revered. People take care of their pets and treat them almost as idols. They are these little pieces of a world that we destroyed long ago in the book. That part of the book really helped to explain the fascination with animals in the movie, and why they showed up so often.
It is only a short story, right? I always wanted to check it out and never got around to.
Interesting about the animals. I remember Zhora saying something like "would I be working in such a place if I could afford a real snake", or Deckard admiring the bird of prey at Tyrell's, all hinting at animals being pretty rare, probably mostly extinct at this point. Which always made me wonder if the animals we see in the crowded market street are real.
*MySmiley*
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
Movie club March part 1: Blade Runner
11/03/2010 09:11:13 AM
- 950 Views
I haven't gotten around to watching it yet...
11/03/2010 11:00:40 PM
- 465 Views
I'll be joining in soon. I haven't watched my copy yet...going to tomorrow afternoon. *NM*
12/03/2010 06:58:19 PM
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This movie is a benchmark for me.
15/03/2010 01:30:47 PM
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Looking back 1982 was a great year for movies.
15/03/2010 05:56:54 PM
- 513 Views
Strangely, I think I've seen Grease 2 the most often out of those films.
15/03/2010 06:13:37 PM
- 409 Views
Re: Movie club March part 1: Blade Runner
15/03/2010 08:22:14 PM
- 459 Views
You know...
15/03/2010 08:53:18 PM
- 514 Views
Re: You know...
16/03/2010 12:52:55 PM
- 460 Views
Re: You know...
16/03/2010 01:05:19 PM
- 476 Views
I imagine your impressions will be common for first time viewers. *NM*
15/03/2010 09:03:35 PM
- 224 Views
This is such a curious movie....
16/03/2010 05:46:18 AM
- 435 Views
It is.
16/03/2010 08:57:18 AM
- 572 Views
A gorgeous and immersive experience
22/03/2010 12:57:10 AM
- 521 Views
So now I saw it, finally.
25/03/2010 09:50:23 PM
- 430 Views
Quick question....did you see the final cut, or one of the original cuts w/the voiceover?
25/03/2010 10:19:26 PM
- 387 Views
Final cut (and in a cinema - that didn't hurt with some of the shots, let me tell you)
25/03/2010 10:25:29 PM
- 412 Views
I wish I could see it in a theater....one of these days I'm going to find it in a local theater
25/03/2010 10:49:14 PM
- 453 Views