Sharpening the edges of "Blade Runner"

Last evening, CineVerse had the pleasure of exploring "Blade Runner," one of the finest sci-fi flicks of the 20th century. If the film intrigues you, here are some of the discussion talking points that may open up new doors to better understanding the movie.

 

HOW IS BLADE RUNNER UNIQUE, INNOVATIVE AND INFLUENTIAL AS A SCIENCE FICTION FILM?

• It combines the best elements of science fiction with film noir, in that it utilizes noir elements like:
• A gritty, shadowy urban landscape littered with violence and intrigue
• A femme fatale who lures men into danger
• An ambiguous moral perspective of the antihero
• It is a “thinking man’s” sci-fi movie in that it challenges you to question things, explore moral issues and themes, and interpret ambiguities
• It is prescient in its vision: it predicts the onset of global warming, rampant animal extinction, environmental decay, overpopulation, cultural mixing, and pollution; omnipresent media and marketing; genetic engineering; massive global corporations; and the cyberpunk movement
• It creates an unforgettably strong visual futuristic world that:
• is “retrofitted” with contrasting images of low technology and high technology
• is dark, rainy, bleak and overpopulated, which is in contrast to prior sci-fi films with clean, plastic, glassy looks like Star Trek and Star Wars
• The conclusion is open-ended, and the obligatory conflict/fight scene between Deckard and Roy goes against the grain of most action movies

THEMES EXPLORED IN BLADE RUNNER

• The impact of technology on humanity and the environment
• What it means to be human. Who acts more human and compassionate? Arguably, the replicants; as the story progresses, Deckard can be seen as becoming more dehumanized, and the replicants as becoming more tender, sympathetic and compassionate.
• Is it wrong to fall in love with or kill a replicant? Is Deckard simply throwing out the robotic trash, or killing living things with souls?
• The nature and reliability of reality
• The difference between authentic and artificial memories
• The moral and real-world repercussions of tampering with life and creating artificial humans
• The absence of natural life
• Paranoia: corporate power dominates, the police are everywhere; lights probe out every corner
• Eyes and the visions we choose to see: eyes become a repeated motif, as demonstrated by the red glint in artificial eyes; Tyrell’s bespectacled eyes, which are pushed in by Roy; the eye grower who is killed

HOW DO YOU INTEPRET THE ENDING OF THE MOVIE?

• Is Deckard a replicant himself? There are clues to suggest yes, such as the fact that he has a dream about a unicorn, and Gaff later leaves an origami unicorn in Deckard’s home, insinuating that Gaff knows about Deckard’s dream, which, in that case, would have to be an implanted memory (see other clues in the Reflections handout). Ridley Scott has stated that he intended Deckard to be a replicant.
• Why does Roy allow Deckard to live? Perhaps he doesn’t want to die alone, reinforcing his more human than human qualities, and ensuring that the memory of Roy will live on with Deckard, thus keeping his “memory” alive
• What is the meaning of the flying dove? Perhaps it represents Roy’s “ascending into heaven” and biblical transformation from previously being like Lucifer-like fallen angel to a redeemed spirit; he also becomes a Christ-like figure by sacrificing himself for Deckard and driving a nail into his hand.
• One more question, which Roger Ebert asks: why does the Tyrell Corporation make its androids so lifelike? Why make it so difficult to identify the rogue ones?

CAN YOU CITE ANY WORKS OF FILM, TV OR LITERATURE THAT BLADE RUNNER MAY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY OR HAD AN INFLUENCE ON?

• Frankenstein
• Metropolis
• Things to Come
• Greek dramas and tragedies, especially those that involve the theme of hubris
• Neuromancer, the essential cyberpunk tome by William Gibson
• The Terminator, another renegade robot
• I, Robot
• Battlestar Gallactica TV series
• Brazil
• Dark City
• Gattaca
• Total Recall
• 12 Monkeys

OTHER FILMS BY RIDLEY SCOTT

• Alien
• Thelma and Louise
• Gladiator
• Black Hawk Down
• American Gangster
• Prometheus

OTHER STORIES WRITTEN BY PHILIP K. DICK

• Total Recall
• Minority Report
• The Adjustment Bureau
• A Scanner Darkly
• Screamers