Blade Runner (1982)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Hampton Fancher (screenplay) and
David Webb Peoples (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 June 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A Futuristic Vision Perfected [2007 Final Cut]

Plot:

Deckard, a blade runner, has to track down and terminate 4 replicants who hijacked a ship in space and have returned to earth seeking their maker.

Plot Keywords:

Future | Cyberpunk | Police | Exclusion | Playing Piano

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 14 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

Also Known As:

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (International: English title) (recut version)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and brief nudity (definitive cut); Rated R for violence. (1991 version)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA | Hong Kong

Language:

English | German | Cantonese | Japanese | Hungarian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Italy:T | USA:R (Definitive Cut) | Germany:12 (re-rating) (2007) | Brazil:14 | West Germany:16 (f) | Portugal:M/12 | Ireland:15A | New Zealand:M | Denmark:15 (original rating) | Spain:13 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Ireland:15 | Israel:PG | Japan:R-15 (director's cut) | Netherlands:16 (director's cut) | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R | Norway:16 (original rating) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Ladd Company, The

Trivia:

At first, Ridley Scott's original cut, without the voice-over, among other things, was thought to be non-existent. It was in 1989 that Michael Arick, a sound preservationist and director of assent management at Warner Bros., stumbled upon a 70mm print of the film while looking for footage from Gypsy (1962). Several months later, the Cineplex Odeon Fairfax theater was having a classic-film festival featuring 70mm prints. The print discovered by Arick was set to be screened in May. However, no one had actually watched the print and everyone thought it was the International Cut, leading to a great deal of surprise when people discovered it was another version entirely. More screenings of this version resulted in sell outs, and Warner proposed releasing it as a Director's Cut. Ridley Scott however said it was not a Director's Cut, and said that a number of changes would need to be made for him to approve it. Ultimately, Scott and Arick were not given enough time to complete the project to Scott's satisfaction, and the resulting Director's Cut was still not Scott's preferred version of the film. In 2007, Scott was finally able to release what he considered to be the definitive cut of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The shorts that Batty's using when he jumps from one roof to the other are not the same shorts he's using when he saves Deckard from falling off the roof.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dancing with the Stars: Round Eight (#9.16)" (2009/I)

Soundtrack:

TALES OF THE FUTURE

A movie you have to watch twice

First time I saw this I wasn't impressed. Maybe because I expected more action from a Sci-Fi movie. Then I rented it on VHS, and upon re-watching I figured something out: This is one of the very few movies that gets better the more often you see it. It is a subtle movie. Slowly but surely this one has made it into the top 5 of my 'best movies of all time' list.

I don't particularly care for the director's cut version, though. The inner monologue is missing - which gives you some of the most thought inspiring moments, and some of the added scenes downright make no sense at all. if I'd seen that one first I might never have given it a second chance.

The cast is exceptional. Every one of them does a really fine job. Especially Rutger Hauer who otherwise has very few good movies to his name (maybe 'Day of the Falcon') delivers a stunning performance. Most of the cast who were unknown before this movie have moved on to fame (and some to fortune) - and rightfully so.

From a technical point of view there is not much to criticize. More than 20 years later this movie still doesn't look dated (apart from 'Atari'-neon signs). The atmosphere is created with a lot of attention to detail, and the models of buildings are some of the most beautiful and believable ones I have ever seen.

Now I recently read the book on which it is based ('Do androids dream of electric sheep' by Philip K. Dick). It's a quirky read and, frankly, not a very good book. It has too many plot holes, deus-ex-machina devices and logical inconsistencies, plus a total letdown of an ending. What it does add to the movie is the setup of why the atmosphere is like it is (polluted, dark, many 'freaks' around), and the nice question whether the Hero might be a replicant himself.