Blade Runner: A Sci-fi Masterpiece
Written & Edited by: Lee Fenton
A neo-noir cyberpunk thriller, the first of its kind — ‘Blade Runner’ (1982) was a revolutionary motion picture due to its distinct visual style and realistic depiction of a futuristic setting.
Director Ridley Scott is credited with having invented the look and aesthetic of cyberpunk for the screen with the inception of this film.
The film ‘Blade Runner’ is an adaptation of an award winning science fiction novel by author Phillip K. Dick, first published in 1968 and titled: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
It was a nominee for the ‘1968 Nebula Award’ and it won the ‘Locus Poll for All-time Best SF Novel Before 1990’. The novel is very similar to the film - with one caveat - as suggested by the title, the book deals with generic androids (robotic beings) whereas Ridley Scott made the decision to alter this trope and create a new creature for the film version: The Replicant.
Replicants are a type of genetically engineered human with a preset lifespan of three years. They are programmable, and theoretically can be used as a type of low cost workforce. In other words; the Replicants are indentured servants who aren’t supposed to contain any rebellious spirit. As the film unravels the major narrative crux is just that, a group of Replicants who have banded together and are instituting guerrilla warfare in their fight for freedom. The Tyrell corporation, who manufactures these genetically advanced beings — is under scrutiny for developing newer models that may be able to pass the ‘Voight-Kampff’ test; a type of Turing test employed by Blade Runners. In other words, Tyrell might be making Replicants that are a little too human.
What are Blade Runners you ask?
Well, let’s go to MovieWeb.com for the answer:
“In the Blade Runner universe, a “Blade Runner” is a special member of a specific police task force that is responsible for hunting down and “retiring” — or, simply, killing — rogue replicants. In the Blade Runner films, Agent Deckard and K are both “blade runners” who seek out and retire replicants from service"[1]
So hopefully that’s self explanatory, however here’s my take on it — the universe of ‘Blade Runner’ is one that expands upon the current marriage between corporations and governmental institutions. It’s a dystopian world in which commercialism and technology have combined to ensure poverty on a wider scale and pollution. This is contrary to the philosophy of futurism, which points to a utopia made possible by the advancement of science and technology. Cyberpunk settings — which are also apparent in films such as ‘Judge Dredd’ and ‘Akira’ tend to depict the negative effects of technological progress,
see the definition from the Oxford Dictionary:
Cyberpunk
“a genre of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology”
Or the first paragraph from Wikipedia:
“Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberware, juxtaposed with societal collapse, dystopia or decay.”[2]
So therefore we can assume that the police force depicted in the film really acts as an extension of the Tyrell corporation, ensuring that the companies assets are ‘retired’ properly and do not incur any ire from the public, and or lawsuits. The initial idea of ‘keeping the peace’ has been co-opted by the need for a police force that is instead obligated to deal with the short-comings of a multinational conglomerate.
‘Blade Runner’ is a cerebral film and it’s an action movie.
Its cinematography is unbelievable.
The fact that Ridley Scott is hailed as a visionary director due mainly to his work on this film - is quite understandable. The wide sweeping shots of the mega-metropolis are still breathtaking to look atin 2023, even though you know it’s a series of miniatures, it’s entirely too easy to get lost in these visuals, fully immersed in the masterpiece unfolding before you. It’s very apparent where later sci-fi movies received their inspiration from - and it’s Blade Runner.
Even Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ shares an abundance of architectural similarities to the mega cities in ‘Blade Runner’. It seems Ridley Scott looked at step pyramids from Latin America (possibly Chilean?) and instituted those in a naturalistic way into his film - all those years ago. If you look at the main city of Arrakis in ‘Dune’ (2021) you will see the influence, it’s quite obvious.
And I love it.
Hell, if you’re going to borrow visuals from a film…
Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’ is definitely the right choice.
10/10 Perfect film.
(Ramen) noodles, that’s what Deckard’s eating!
Optional - Add meat & veg.
Sources:
[1] MovieWeb.com
[2] Wikipedia.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk
