Blade Runner
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples from a novel by Philip K. Dick
1982/US/UK
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Tyrell: “More human than human” is our motto.
Can’t believe it took me so long to catch up to this.
The setting is Los Angeles, 2019. Genetic engineering has developed to the point where replicants are identical to humans except for emotions. Concern about their activities has banned them from Earth. Tyrell Corporation has been working on the emotions part by giving its advanced creations memories. Tyrell has designed these to self-destruct in four years to keep them under control.
As the movie begins six replicants have escaped to earth and are eagerly seeking to extend their life expectancy. The two we focus on are Pris (Daryl Hannah) and Batty (Rutger Hauer). They are crafty and have superhuman strength.
Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) contacts ex-policeman/Blade Runner Deckard (Harrison Ford) to “retire” all 6 replicants. It is an order Deckard can’t refuse. We spend the majority of the film watching Deckart engage in combat. Very graphic combat. We also get a love affair between Deckart and possible replicant Rachael (Sean Young) for good measure.
This is one major film that has eluded me my entire life. It was worth waiting for, mainly for the fabulous production design. I could have done without some of the violence.
