[Blade Runner]
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This science fiction movie is one of my favourites. The background is a possible near future, depicted in a "cyberpunk" way. The world is polluted, controlled by giant corporations. There're no more "natural" environments and only a few species of animals survive, humans included. Artificial beings are genetically created, from birds to humans. These artificial beings are called replicants and are used as slave labor and in hazardous jobs, like "off-world" (other planets) colonization. Due to problems with a rebellious group of human replicants, they became illegal on Earth. To find and kill (they call it retirement) invading replicants, there're the blade runners, policemen specially trained to identify them among humans.

It took many years after its first release to the original version, The Director's Cut, to become available. The studio didn't like the version of Ridley Scott, the director, because "it was too complicate" to the public, so they removed a few scenes, made a new ending, a happy-ending, and introduced a narration to explain what's happening in the movie. Fortunately, people are not as dummy as the studio producers, so most didn't like the studio version, making it a box-office failure.

The remotion of the scenes led to a change in the meaning of the ending. The new ending completely destroyed the "cyberpunk" structure of the story. And even Harrison Ford, the actor that played the main character Rick Deckard, didn't like to have to make the narration.


The Story

Rick Deckard, a blade runner, is summoned to find and "retire" some fugitive Nexus 6 replicants. They are on Earth and, for some reason, had already tried to invade Tyrell Corporation, the one that made them. Deckard tries to refuse the job, but finally accepts. Gaff makes an origami of a chicken, a symbol to say that Deckard is afraid to take the job.

As a safety mechanism, all replicants are genetically programmed with a short life span. Nexus 6 have a four years lifespan. Nexus 6 Roy Batty seems to be the leader of other three Nexus 6 replicants, Pris, Leon Kowalski and Zhora. The group has already shot another blade runner, Holden.

Visiting Tyrell Corporation, Deckard meets Rachael, a beautiful young woman. They have a fast conversation, interrupted by Dr. Tyrell appearance. He asks him to show him the Voight-Kampff (VK) test, used to discern humans from replicants, trying first in a human, Rachael. Some time later, Deckard discovers Rachael is a replicant, a new type, with implanted memories, what makes her "think" she is a natural human. When Deckard asks his reasons, Tyrell says "more human than a human is our motto".

Deckard goes to the apartment used by Leon. There he finds some [holographic] photos and a scale. Gaff makes an origami of a man with an erection, probably representing Deckard's excitement with the case or his interest in Rachael.

Roy Batty and Leon Kowalski finds Chew, an eyes' designer. He says he has no answer to the short lifespan problem. They should find Tyrell, through J.F. Sebastian, a genetical designer.

In his own apartment, Deckard meets Rachael. She asks him about herself. He tells her the truth. She says she remembers things of her childhood, so she couldn't be a replicant. He then tells her things only her could know, because he read about her implants, a Tyrell's niece's memories. She leaves his apartment. Deckard, slightly drunk, has a daydream of a unicorn running in the woods. He wakes and goes to a photo processor. He discovers Zhora in one of Leon's photos, with visible scales on her body.

In the streets, he discovers that the scale is from an artificial snake, sold to a woman that works in a bar. He goes to the bar and finds Zhora. He tries to get a positive identification from her. Zhora hits him and runs away. Deckard chases her through the city, finally shooting and "retiring" her.

Bryant advises him that Rachael ran from Tyrell Corporation and is to be hunted, too. Deckard sees Rachael walking on the streets and, before he could go after her, he's reached by Leon. After a few fighting, Leon is killed by Rachael with Deckard's gun.

Roy finds Pris in J.F. Sebastian's house. Roy convinces Sebastian to help him to find Tyrell. They enter Tyrell's giant building and Roy have a discussion with Tyrell about the possibility to give more life time to a replicant. Disappointed with its impossibility, Roy kills Tyrell and J.F. Sebastian.

Deckard assures Rachael he would never hunt her, for she saved his life, but another blade runner probably would. Deckard leaves Rachael in his apartment. He listens to the radio about the death of Tyrell and Sebastian and goes to his house.

At J.F. Sebastian's house, Deckard is attacked by Pris. He kills her and waits for Roy, who comes a little later. Deckard drops his gun and is pursued by Roy until the terrace. Deckard jumps to a neighbour building and almost falls, being saved by the dying Roy. Roy talks about his short life and says "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die...". He then dies. Gaff finds Deckard and says Rachael won't live, an ambiguous advice to him.

Deckard runs back home and finds Rachael alive and well. They get out of his apartment. Deckard then finds a small origami of a unicorn outside. Gaff has been there, he knew she was there in, but didn't kill her. And he knew about Deckard's unicorn dreams, as Deckard knew about Rachael's memory implants. He is a blade runner, which is quite a "hazardous job", the kind done by replicants...

The studio version didn't include the small scene with the unicorn dream, making Deckard a human, not a replicant. In the ending, while Deckard and Rachael are flying in a spinner (a flying vehicle used by the police force) over a beautiful-green-natural-forest, a voice-over explains that Rachael has no limited life span, giving the couple many years of living happy forever.

There're some people, like the studio producers, that don't like Ridley Scott's ending, preferring a happy-ending with a human hero and an unlimited lifespan replicant lover, running free over a green forest. I wonder what the studio would do with a movie like Citizen Kane. Probably Kane would be resurected by an extraordinary medical group and he would answer to the question about Rosebud and live happy forever, finding, years later, a happy couple in a green forest, running in a spinner...


The Staff

A good staff is one of the merits of this movie. A Michael Deeley-Ridley Scott production, directed by Ridley Scott, O.S.T. composed and conducted by Vangelis, it is based on the Philip K. Dick story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". Harrison Ford is the ex-blade runner Rick Deckard, Hutger Hauer is the Nexus 6 Roy Batty, Sean Young is Rachael, Edward James Olmos is policeman Gaff, Joe Turkel is Dr. Eldon Tyrell, Daryl Hannah is Nexus 6 Pris, Brion James is Nexus 6 Leon Kowalski, Joanna Cassidy is Nexus 6 Zhora, William Sanderson is genetic designer J.F. Sebastian, M. Emmett Walsh is police inspector H. Bryant, James Hong is Chew, Morgan Paull is Holden.

The main characters' customs are designed by Jean "Moebius" Giraud and the futuristic design (visual futurist) by Syd Mead. Douglas Trumbull, David Dryer and Richard Yuricich are responsible for the special effects (special photographic effects supervisors).

Other actors and production crew:


The Music

The music, composed by Vangelis, is really amazing. Many musics from the OST became "classical", including the vocal One More Kiss, Dear, which sounds like a very old song, but was actually made specially to the movie.

Page last modified on 1997-November-25 Tuesday.

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