Blade Runner (1982)

A final parting gift from Heather from Movie Mobsters – her Vault pick from her appearance on the show last weekend. Enjoy! And a big thanks to Heather for joining us.

This film is considered a cult classic, but it is truly ground breaking in both it’s science fiction persona and it’s imaginative futuristic effects.  Ridley Scott, the adventurous director is once again not afraid of breaking ground in the science fiction or action category and tackles this genius dark script full of an impending world that even James Cameron didn’t predict.

The script by Fancher and Peoples is unchallenged in it’s originality and brings a fresh vision to science fiction dramas that had never before been contemplated.  The complexity of the character’s and Scott’s unyielding attention to detail and darkly romantic perspective on Deckard’s journey is both intriguing and inventive.  Its strange euphoric theme emotes itself in a way that could define tragedy and despondence.  Its most central character, played by Harrison Ford, Deckard, the former Blade Runner, is the character that exemplifies complacency the most, but shows the uniform commission of humanity to rise to the occasion when confronted with adventure and love.

The dilemmas the characters face become twisted and difficult to identify a real villain with.  The “bad guy” has understandable challenges to overcome and the story could easily be swapped to make him the protagonist if complied threw his perspective, but instead it’s shown threw the eyes of an alcoholic dried up officer of the law, who clearly worked under blurred lines and discrepancies.  It’s these gray lines that make Deckard’s character gray, but also realistic in his flaws.  When considering his character flaws it’s easy to sympathize with his choices even if they are entirely against the laws of good that the film clearly defines early on.  By the end, the viewer has a clearer perspective by simply realizing that all things are more complicated than one could possibly assume, future, past, or present.

Blade Runner is not just a wild futuristic science fiction film with action that is memorable for it’s ground breaking effects and ideals, it’s also a very in depth psychological crime caper with massive levels of bewildering characterizations that are unpretentiously boggling.  This is a tale of multi-levels of entertainment and intellectual challenges.  It raises questions of unfathomable amounts about the nature of man, our dark future, while concurrently building a suspenseful fiction that can appeal to a superficial audience.  It succeeds in every spectrum of entertainment and depth.  Blade Runner is more than just a film.  It’s an incredibly important piece of fiction and enjoyment.