Blade Runner

[Documad]

I saw the original movie twice a long, long time ago.
I've never seen the director's cut.
I remember the mood more than the plot.
At the time it was released, I saw the movie because Harrison Ford was cute.

I just read the book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep," which was the basis for the movie.

If anyone's seen the movie, I'm dying to know whether Harrison Ford has a wife or a pet fixation in the movie. Because I don't remember either of those things being in the movie and it seems kind of important. Is the movie ANYTHING like the book -- other than what Harrison Ford's job is?

[The Notorious LOL]

I watched it while donating blood on the corner of Lake and Bloomington ;)


I dont remember shit about it....I was all woozy

[Rancid_Beasties]

I'm pretty sure Harrison Ford doesnt have a wife, nor a pet fixation. Its an excellent movie though, you should watch it again. As should I, I think I studied it in english in 2003 so my memory of it is not so good.

[Documad]

I just put the movie at the top of my netflix queue.

I can't figure out why they removed the pets, given that they were used throughout the book. But I suck at literature, so what do I know?

[P of R]

^ The film is based loosely on the book. But it's not a copy of it.


My favorite film actualy.

[enree erzweglle]

But I suck at literature, so what do I know?Do you or do you maybe just forget what you've read? I've forgotten a whole lot of what I've read and I've forgotten a lot about a lot of the movies that I've seen.

About books, I remember having read various ones and whether/not I enjoyed them. Others--whoosh...can't remember anything about them at all. Which can be good if it was a reasonable book that I wind up re-reading but bad if it was a waste of time and I re-waste my time. :o

[abcdefz]

...doesn't he have turtles? Or maybe I'm thinking of Rocky. :o

There have been, I think, three versions of that movie released. Either director's cut is better than the original theatrical release -- it adds some things, fixes the ending, and removes the laconic narration the studio imposed on the project.

If you saw the original, you know the scene at the end, looking down at as they flew away? That was Kubrick's footage from The Shining. He allowed Ridley to use it as long as no frame was duplicated from his film.

[Junker]

I've read the book and watched the director's cut a time ago. The pet thing isnt to explored in the movie as far as i remember.

In the director's cut there's that unicorn dream right?

[abcdefz]

Yeah. Which makes what'shisname's origami unicorn much more interesting.

Harrison Ford swears Deckard's not a replicant. Ripley says he is. Harrison apparently gets a little pissed about this.

[Junker]

I think he is

EDIT: PS: Its impressive how Harrison Ford participated in so many cult movies.

Blade Runner
Indiana Jones
Star Wars

[abcdefz]

Heroes.

[Echewta]

Dont forget Love American Style.

[abcdefz]

(y)

[Junker]

Dont forget Love American Style.

yep :p

[cosmo105]

did anyone see him on the Daily Show? man, i wish all old dudes looked like him.

[ms.peachy]

did anyone see him on the Daily Show? man, i wish all old dudes looked like him.
That was a very awkward interview; he seemed very uncomfortable and 'closed'.

I stop fancying him once he took up with that horrible mcBeal skankwoman. His penis is tainted now.

[cosmo105]

haha. yeah, he did seem a little uncomfortable. and i just don't understand how he could go for her. her face! it's...WEIRD!!

[abcdefz]

That was a very awkward interview; he seemed very uncomfortable and 'closed'.




He's always like that. He's a fellow introvert. (y)

[Lex Diamonds]

Harrison Ford swears Deckard's not a replicant. Ripley says he is. Harrison apparently gets a little pissed about this.
Han obviously knows shit then. That's pretty much the whole ironic philosophical point of the movie, and the book.

I hate that, how nowadays you can't subtly imply anything, and plotlines have to be PUSHED IN PEOPLE'S FACES. Hollywood is ruining cinema.

[Documad]

Do you or do you maybe just forget what you've read?
I'm not a creative person and I think it maybe goes hand in hand with that. I don't understand symbolism unless it's hitting me on the head. It's a rare book that I like because of how it paints the character. The best kind of book is one that builds a new world in my head, but they're rare. I don't get off on the poetry of the writing. In fact, it often distracts me.

I remember the world that Blade Runner created, and I remember what Sean Young wore and how freaky Daryl Hannah looked, but I can't remember the point of the movie. Say what you will, but I saw Escape From New York at about the same time, and I remember it vividly.

[Junker]

Han obviously knows shit then. That's pretty much the whole ironic philosophical point of the movie, and the book.

I hate that, how nowadays you can't subtly imply anything, and plotlines have to be PUSHED IN PEOPLE'S FACES. Hollywood is ruining cinema.

You're right!
And thats why movies like Fight Club, Mulholland Drive, Magnolia for example will never be blockbusters.

[Drederick Tatum]

Blade Runner rules so hard it makes me have to pee. that opening sequence, talk about setting the standard.

[Gareth]

the 'a scanner darkly' movie better rule.
it has keanu reeves, so it might not.
but it's directed by richard linklater, so it might.

[abcdefz]

Yet another version (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=328205)

Ridley Scott -- meet Mr. Lucas. George, this is Ridley Scott.

[Drederick Tatum]

holy freakin crap, I am definitely seeing that at the cinema.

[abcdefz]

I've seen two versions in the cinemas so far.

Yep -- it's awesome. Even when you could clearly see the wires lifting the hovercar. :D

[P of R]

I must say I like the directors cut by far the most.

The ordinary version is too hollywoodish with the happy ending and stuff.

[abcdefz]

Yeah -- the downbeat elevator ending is so much better. It's tonally in keeping with the rest of the movie, it maintains tension right to the end, and it's way more evocative. (y)

You're in for a treat if you get to see this on the big screen. It's so beautiful, right off the bat.

[P of R]

I've never had the fortune of seeing it in the cinema. My dad did back when it premiered(sp?) and he was completely blown away.

Also one thing about the directors cut: Some of the extra scenes explains quite a lot.

[TAL]

"That's a lotta Blade Running."

It sure is, and I like it (y)

[abcdefz]

I've never had the fortune of seeing it in the cinema. My dad did back when it premiered(sp?) and he was completely blown away.

Also one thing about the directors cut: Some of the extra scenes explains quite a lot.


Ridley was still fighting with the studio about the unicorn dream, assembling the "director's cut."

[P of R]

I read it was from another one of his movies. Maybe the studio didn't like that. Is that why he was fighting for it?

[abcdefz]

...was it from Legend? I didn't know that.

[P of R]

I don't know the name of the film. But I'm sure I read it.

[abcdefz]

From Murray Chapman Blade Runner FAQ:

9. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE UNICORN?

When Deckard leaves his apartment with Rachael at the end of the film, she
knocks over an origami unicorn. The unicorn is the last of a series of
origami figures that Gaff uses to taunt Deckard. In Bryant's office when
Deckard insists he's retired, Gaff folds a chicken: "You're afraid to do it".
Later he makes a man with an erection: "You're attracted to her". And
finally, the unicorn: "You're dreaming, you can run away with her, but she
won't live" (he says basically the same thing to Deckard on the rooftop).
One interpretation is that the unicorn was simply a message to Deckard to say
"I know you've got Rachael, but I'll let her live." Another interpretation
(based on the script) is that the unicorn is Gaff's gauntlet and he will hunt
them both down.

A unicorn has long been the symbol of virginity and purity (being white),
which ties in with Rachael's status. Legend states that only a virgin could
capture a unicorn. Unicorns are extinct, and Gaff may think the same of
Rachael, as she definitely has a limited lifespan.

A unicorn was used in Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" to symbolize
that the girl was "different to other horses". The horn on this unicorn
represented her physical handicap, which prevented her from meeting people.
When she finally did meet a man, they danced and knocked over the unicorn,
breaking its horn off. "It's just like all the other horses now," she said,
which symbolizes that she has overcome her shyness and lost her virginity.

The unicorn may also symbolize:

- Rachael is (and always will be) a replicant among humans, and will
be different, like a unicorn among horses, because of her termination
date. (In the tacked-on ending, Deckard says that she doesn't have a
termination date)

- Rachael leaving and knocking over the unicorn symbolizes her escape
from the Tyrell corporation, which only looked upon her as a replicant.
Deckard fell in love with her as a human, and by doing so, she became
human.

- "The silver unicorn... is a made thing, a piece of human handiwork,
beautiful and fragile and glittering, yet perceived as waste, thrown
down and trodden upon, easily destroyed. Also, it is in the form of an
animal, albeit a mythical one, and in the BR future, the beasts of the
earth and fowls of the air are all be extinct, except in replicant
form."

[Source: Rebecca Warner in "Retrofitting Bladerunner"]


BRDC, however, includes a scene not in the original release. It is a dream
sequence, showing Deckard's dream of a white unicorn. One can now argue Gaff
knew that Deckard had dreamt of a unicorn. If Gaff knew what Deckard was
dreaming, then we can assume that Deckard was a replicant himself, and Gaff
knew he would be dreaming of a unicorn just the way Deckard knew about the
spider outside Rachael's window.

"The Blade Cuts", Starburst (UK) no. 51, November 1982.
------------------------------------------------------
Quoted without permission:

Scott: ...did you see the version [of the script] with the unicorn?

McKenzie: No...

S: I think the idea of the unicorn was a terrific idea...

M: The obvious inference is that Deckard is a replicant himself.

S: Sure. To me it's entirely logical, particularly when you are doing a
film noire, you may as well go right through with that theme, and the
central character could in fact be what he is chasing...

M: Did you actually shoot the sequence in the glade with the unicorn?

S: Absolutely. It was cut into the picture, and I think it worked
wonderfully. Deckard was sitting, playing the piano rather badly
because he was drunk, and there's a moment where he gets absorbed
and goes off a little at a tangent and we went into the shot of the
unicorn plunging out of the forest. It's not subliminal, but it's a
brief shot. Cut back to Deckard and there's absolutely no reaction
to that, and he just carries on with the scene. That's where the
whole idea of the character of Gaff with his origami figures -- the
chicken and the little stick-figure man, so the origami figure of the
unicorn tells you that Gaff has been there. One of the layers of the
film has been talking about private thoughts and memories, so how
would Gaff have known that a private thought of Deckard was of a
unicorn? That's why Deckard shook his head like that [referring to
Deckard nodding his head after picking up the paper unicorn]."

Scott goes on to talk about how he decided to make the photograph of the
little girl with her mother come alive for a second, then later in the
interview we have:

M: Are you disappointed that the references to Deckard being a replicant
are no longer there?

S: The innuendo is still there. The French get it immediately! I
think it's interesting that he could be.

Scott intended the unicorn scene to be in the 1982 theatrical release, but
the producers vetoed the idea as "too arty".

[abcdefz]

I watched it once, but I kind of was in an impatient mood, so I didn't really enjoy it. I should dedicate some time to it and hopefully I will get it.



...I wouldn't bother with the original theatrical version unless you want to be a completeist. It's good, still, but the narration and ending really muck with it.




SPOILER STUFF from CelebrityWonder.com:


During his investigation, Deckard learns that replicants are provided implanted memories, and he uses this fact to help Rachael understand the truth about her origins by quoting one of the memory vignettes that were programmed into her. Likewise, Gaff (Edward James Olmos), the mysterious police officer that has been following Deckard around throughout the investigation, seems to know about Deckard's unicorn dream when he leaves an origami unicorn outside of Deckard's apartment at the end of the film. The only way that Gaff could have known about Deckard's private thoughts would be if Deckard was a replicant, and that the unicorn dream was one of the standard memory implants that he possessed.

Viewed in this context, a number of clues concerning Deckard's true nature can be seen throughout the film:

* When Deckard is first given the assignment, mention is made of six replicants (three male, three female) on the loose, yet Deckard only chases after four. Could Rachel have been the fifth, and Deckard the sixth, reprogrammed as a blade runner and kept under surveillance by Gaff, who was the 'real' blade runner of the story?

* More clues are provided in the photograph retrieved from Leon's apartment. When Deckard enhances the photograph, the image reveals a bottle of Johnny Walker Classic sitting on a table, which is the same type of bottle that Deckard keeps on his piano. Furthermore, in the background, there is a picture of an unidentified man who has a similar hairstyle to Deckard and sits in exactly the same pose as Deckard does at that moment, with his cheek resting on his hand. This, of course, would imply that one of Leon's replicant associates was in fact Deckard.

* Along the same line, replicants seem to have a habit of collecting photographs, which help provide a link to their non-existent pre-programmed pasts. Both Leon and Rachel are shown using photographs as a means of validating their existence. Interestingly enough, Deckard's apartment is also cluttered with photographs.

* When they first meet, Batty already knows Deckard's name, implying that Batty already knew him, possibly as a fellow replicant. This has interesting implications for the scene when Deckard questions Zhora in her dressing room, since she did not seem to attack him until she realized that he had been reprogrammed as a blade runner.

* A number of remarks made to Deckard make implications about his true nature, from Gaff's "If you're not a cop, you're little people" in the film's opening to "You've done a man's job!" at the film's end, as well as Rachel's retort "Have you ever taken that test yourself?" while she was subjected to the Voight-Kampff test. Apparently, earlier drafts of the script had Gaff's closing line being extended to "You've done a man's job sir! But are you sure you are a man? It's hard to be sure who's who around here."

* One interesting scene, which may be due to the result of a camera glitch, has Deckard's eyes glowing yellow-orange when he assures Rachel that he would not 'retire' her.

[P of R]

Alright, I just looked through all that text quickly, so this might be in there. One of theories I've read is that Deckard dreams about the unicorn, and Gaff makes the origami one, meaning that he knew what Deckard was dreaming because the dream was implanted. This of course has to do with him being a replicant.

[abcdefz]

Yup. The way that Deckard knew about the spider outisde Rachel's window.

[P of R]

Ah I had almost forgot about that. But they way he said it made it sound like he's been reading her file or something.

[abcdefz]

I think so, yeah.

You should take the time to read through the stuff above. Some of it is obvious, some of it makes me want to go back and have another look.

[P of R]

I've read lots of that stuff before I think. It's amazing how much there is in that movie.

[plutomama]

i'm an old school fan, i've seen most of his movies.

blade runner is one of my favorites, the scene with joanna cassidy running through glass panes after he shoots her in the back is action packed and awesome. the chemistry that he had with sean young was believeable and unique. even daryl hannah was good in this movie!!! i think that most people would agree that they don't make movies this good anymore!

*people who aren't even sci-fi junkies would like this movie!!*


my husband had the original blade runner t-shirt with the rutger hauer line on the back - *wake up time to die!*. i miss that shirt!!



harrison ford is the best actor in the universe.

[TAL]

my husband had the original blade runner t-shirt with the rutger hauer line on the back - *wake up time to die!*. i miss that shirt!!
Too bad it's not him that says that line.