Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Blade Runner was not a successful hit at the box office as it was released the same day John Carpenter’s The Thing was and it also was competing with ET as well. The film was also panned by a few critics for it’s over use of special effects and because it was marketed as a Sci-fi Action Adventure film. But there were some critics who also praised the film for it’s artistic storytelling methods and the film went on to win many awards and was even nominated for two Oscars. In the long run however the film would find it’s success on VHS and DVD.
The first time I saw Blade Runner was back in 1995 when I was taking a cinema studies class in my senior year of High School. I have since watched only twice since them, and it was nice to finally see the final cut of Ridley Scott’s masterpiece makes its way to DVD. While the final cut is similar to the original cut there are a lot of different things about the film. One of them is that it has a different ending, that’s slightly shorter than the original cut and leaves the story open for interpretation.
Blade Runner is a story that takes place in 2019 where human robots known as replicants are built as slaves and sent off to mining operations on other planets where the jobs there are far to dangerous for human beings. A group of new nexus six replicants whom can think and act like humans, band together and escape the planet and head to earth. While back on earth they search for Eldon Tyrell, the creator of the Tyrell Corporation whom created them. They want to be upgraded and will do anything to get one.
Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a retired blade runner, a robot cop who’s a job it is to hunt down and kill any rogue replicants whom are a threat to society on earth. However when his friend is killed by a rogue replicants, Deckard comes out of retirement to hunt down the four escaped replicants. But on his adventure to hunt them down, Deckard finds himself falling in love with a replicants named Rachel whom is programmed by the Tyrell Corporation to believe that she is human. Deckard, however must try to keep his emotions to himself and hunt down the nexus six group before they do more damage.
If you’ve never seen Blade Runner before it’s a film that’s a must see for all fans of cinema, especially filmmakers. It’s a film noir that was presented in such a dark and visual setting, that when Paul M. Sammon was commissioned by Cinefantastique magazine to do a special article on the making of this film he called it a future noir, which later he published a book about the making of the film. The script for the film is pretty good, but it’s the presence of the directing combined with the acting and the over all production value that makes the film work as a whole. It is said that Ripley Scott and Harrison Ford did not get along during the production of this film as both considered one another to be big pain in the asses. However both have since moved on and talk highly of one another now. Scott himself credits many works of art and stories to the successful techniques and craft he used to make this film and a lot of people also credit Fritz Lang’s Metropolis as a film that helped inspire the idea behind Blade Runner.
Blade Runner is a film for the ages and has been included in many lists of one of the best one hundred movies of all time. It’s a film that deals with a lot of social and moral issues as well as where man kind sits in the balance as technology advances. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone whom is not only a fan of Sci-fi films but is either aspiring to be a filmmaker or is just a movie buff in general. The DVD includes many special features as well, such as a remastered soundtrack, three filmmaking commentaries, including one with director Ridley Scott. There is also an introduction to the film by Ridley Scott as well. The second disc includes a documentary called Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner, which is a great documentary which includes outtakes, deleted scenes, all new interviews and a look at the creation of the movie. This is a must buy DVD for all who are into great films.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
