I knew how good this going to be for the very simple reason I have seen it before. First, the theatrical release a few decades ago, and a few times since, the better directors cut. This is one of those films that that is in league of it's own - it's a 10 (after seeing it, you will be different). I was hesitant to rate is at the very top fearing that I'm just on the cult bandwagon of Blade Runner, but it really is this good.
In the near future, November 2019, Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a Blade Runner - a cop who hunts down replicants. Replicants are human look-a-like slave robots creates by genetics who rebelled and now must be killed on sight. Four have come back to Earth to their maker corporation and Deckard must "retire" them. He meets Rachael, the newest model that has been implanted with memories and does not know that she is a replicant. Replicants have only a four year life span and as they are hunted and die, life, their artificial life, becomes more and more precious to them.
This future nior film captures the near future in a sumptuous visual and audio feast with fly throughs of the city scape, gritty and dirty urban street life and a merging of cultures. It is definitely not the all gleaming white of other sci-fi films. The constant rain and smoke and darkness and pollution of huge mega cities is something that can almost been seen nowadays. This is probably one of the last truly great films created without computer generated effects - the effects were created in camera and they are all stunning, the city backdrops and fly throughs in particular.
Harrison Ford is at his best in this film. With gritty ease he creates a believable cop whose job it is to do the dirty work. And Rutger Hauer as a combat replicant performs both as a four year child, and a thing dying to live.
And life, is what this film is ultimately about. It builds up to an emotional crescendo of life and death on the roof top to which Deckard must then decide what to do about Rachael.
In the near future, November 2019, Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a Blade Runner - a cop who hunts down replicants. Replicants are human look-a-like slave robots creates by genetics who rebelled and now must be killed on sight. Four have come back to Earth to their maker corporation and Deckard must "retire" them. He meets Rachael, the newest model that has been implanted with memories and does not know that she is a replicant. Replicants have only a four year life span and as they are hunted and die, life, their artificial life, becomes more and more precious to them.
This future nior film captures the near future in a sumptuous visual and audio feast with fly throughs of the city scape, gritty and dirty urban street life and a merging of cultures. It is definitely not the all gleaming white of other sci-fi films. The constant rain and smoke and darkness and pollution of huge mega cities is something that can almost been seen nowadays. This is probably one of the last truly great films created without computer generated effects - the effects were created in camera and they are all stunning, the city backdrops and fly throughs in particular.
Harrison Ford is at his best in this film. With gritty ease he creates a believable cop whose job it is to do the dirty work. And Rutger Hauer as a combat replicant performs both as a four year child, and a thing dying to live.
And life, is what this film is ultimately about. It builds up to an emotional crescendo of life and death on the roof top to which Deckard must then decide what to do about Rachael.
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