How Possible Is Blade Runner?

[Anonymous]

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate All those… moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time... to die.

 

[Scunnerlugzz]

Too lazy to read a 5 page thread on this subject, but I will never live in a "Bladerunner" city as I thought most folks already do, whilst I'm happy in the wild countryside...

..but do I dream of electric sheep?

 

[skinny46]

Anyone who dreams about sheep is a deviant by definition. I'm not going to bother with the briefcase containing 'postcard' signed personally by Sir Riddles. However, I adore the film and will be watching each version one upon the other. Apparently the documentary on the making of is hot shit. I'll pay half price for the substance and dispense with the fluff thankyou.

In answer to the thread topic... No, that kind of future vision is no longer future, It's a testament to the limits of the vision of the 1970s. Amazing and startling for audiences of the 1980s, but anacronystic these days. Next? I Am Legend, anyone?

 

[Yithian]

In answer to the thread topic... No, that kind of future vision is no longer future, It's a testament to the limits of the vision of the 1970s. Amazing and startling for audiences of the 1980s, but anacronystic these days. Next? I Am Legend, anyone?

Speaking from a purely aesthetic point of view. The cityscapes depicted are very nearly real in parts of Asia. The rain, the pollution, the ultra-modern juxtaposed with the traditional. The rich living high above the poor of the street. Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong spring to mind from my own experience. I'm reliably informed Tokyo more than qualifies too.

Just throw in a few spinners and build up a few stories...

 

[Anonymous]

In answer to the thread topic... No, that kind of future vision is no longer future, It's a testament to the limits of the vision of the 1970s. Amazing and startling for audiences of the 1980s, but anacronystic these days. Next? I Am Legend, anyone?

Speaking from a purely aesthetic point of view. The cityscapes depicted are very nearly real in parts of Asia. The rain, the pollution, the ultra-modern juxtaposed with the traditional. The rich living high above the poor of the street. Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong spring to mind from my own experience. I'm reliably informed Tokyo more than qualifies too.

Just throw in a few spinners and build up a few stories...

look like blade runner was ahead of its time goingby what you just said but what about ghost in the shell. do you think we will see some of the things in ghost in the shell in the future.

 

[barfing_pumpkin]

I got the 5 disc Bladerunner set as a crimbo prezzie - ah! The bliss. Have to say that the restored 'final' cut is a thing of beauty, though it's basically the Director's cut with a cosmetic overhaul. One of the more interesting changes is that Deckard's boss now mentions that two skinjobs got fried while trying to escape, rather than one - thus diluting the 'is Deckard a replicant?' scenario somewhat, even though it was always an editing error, as an extra replicant alongside Batty, Pris et al was mooted, but never made it into the final film.

A nice tidy-up just after Batty's valedictory speech: the bird now flies into the sky against a proper city backdrop, as opposed to a blue sky with a bit of smoke. Speaking of Batty - when he meets Tyrell, he now says 'I want more life, father' instead of 'I want more life, fucker!', which seems to me a pointless change - it hammers home what was already a rather obvious subtext, and it doesn't quite match the expression on his face. A little jarring, really.

Still can't figure out how Batty knew Deckard's name at the end - perhaps that will be resolved in the 'ultimate director's ultra-final' cut, or something. Nevertheless, despite the flaws, Blade Runner remains my favourite film, and I can heartily recommend the new box set. Well looking forward to sitting down and watching the PKD doccos sometime soon...

 

[skinny46]

In answer to the thread topic... No, that kind of future vision is no longer future, It's a testament to the limits of the vision of the 1970s. Amazing and startling for audiences of the 1980s, but anacronystic these days. Next? I Am Legend, anyone?

Speaking from a purely aesthetic point of view. The cityscapes depicted are very nearly real in parts of Asia. The rain, the pollution, the ultra-modern juxtaposed with the traditional. The rich living high above the poor of the street. Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong spring to mind from my own experience. I'm reliably informed Tokyo more than qualifies too.

Just throw in a few spinners and build up a few stories...

Very good points. Spent 2-3 yrs in those parts myself. The sepia daytime skies also replicate a city environment like Beijing's too. I've changed my mind.

 

[Anome]

Got the Briefcase for Christmas. (I wanted the spinner and origami unicorn - very disappointed that the unicorn was moulded plastic, and not made from a gum wrapper). Haven't watched the Final Cut yet. Haven't really had time, but I'm hoping too soon.

The number of "skin-jobs" fried at the beginning doesn't dilute the Deckard-replicant thing, as the missing replicant is supposed to have been retired by Deckard at the beginning (I believe). The evidence he is a replicant is still there, all they've done is stop people worrying about how many replicants there are on the loose.

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

Got the Briefcase for Christmas. (I wanted the spinner and origami unicorn - very disappointed that the unicorn was moulded plastic, and not made from a gum wrapper). ...

Here you go. You can fold your own.

http://www.linkclub.or.jp/~null/unicorn/unicorn0.html

 

[rynner2]

Ridley Scott to direct new Blade Runner film

British director Sir Ridley Scott is to make a new instalment of his 1982 cult sci-fi Blade Runner, producers have announced.
Alcon Entertainment said the film will be a prequel or sequel, rather than a remake of the Philip K Dick adaptation.
Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, it starred Harrison Ford as a police officer who hunts down genetically engineered lifelike robots.
The film was not a box office hit, but later became a cult classic.
Set in Los Angeles in 2019, its vision of a dystopian future was influential on many later films.

"It would be a gross understatement to say that we are elated Ridley Scott will shepherd this iconic story into a new, exciting direction," producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove said in a statement.
"This is once in a lifetime project for us."
Kosove told the Los Angeles Times that the new film will stand on its own.

"Everything Ridley does as a filmmaker is fresh. I believe he sees an opportunity to create something that's wholly original from the first Blade Runner," he said.
The producer added that filming could begin in 2013 at the earliest, with the movie not in cinemas until at least 2014.

Although no hint has been given about casting yet, Kosove said it was unlikely Ford would return in his role as Rick Deckard.
"In no way do I speak for Ridley Scott, but if you're asking me will this movie have anything to do with Harrison Ford? The answer is no.
"This is a total reinvention, and in my mind that means doing everything fresh, including casting."

The project will be the second time that Sir Ridley, who directed Robin Hood last year, has gone back to his sci-fi roots.
Next year sees the release of Prometheus, an outer space adventure loosely connected to his 1979 sci-fi horror hit Alien.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14586762

 

[Yithian]

Although no hint has been given about casting yet, Kosove said it was unlikely Ford would return in his role as Rick Deckard.

Not least because Harrison Ford loathed the experience of making the film despite his superlative performance. Well, I for one am pretty excited. It could all be a huge disappointment, of course, but I'm optimistic. I'm an absolute fanatic about the film. He doesn't need the characters, he needs the world: hope he still has Vangelis's number and he doesn't go overboard on computer graphics; those rainy futuristic sets were iconic.

 

[GNC]

Alien prequel, Blade Runner prequel... at this rate we'll be getting the Legend prequel from Ridders too.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I too am a fanatic about Blade Runner... I remember seeing it in the cinema without knowing anything about it in advance. When I came out, I raved to my girlfriend that it was the best film I'd ever seen. She wasn't that impressed! No accounting for taste.
To this day, I still think it's the best SF film ever made.

I do hope they assemble the best people money can buy and do a proper job on this film. I'd hate it if they produced a howler that detracted from the original.

 

[Anome]

It's definitely a flawed masterpiece. And there was a lot of tension on set with the director, cast, and crew.

It is one of my favourite films, and it was regularly shown on a late show in Canberra (so much so that the flaws in the print used were familiar to everyone, and I know one person who always felt odd if the screen didn't go green in a particular scene).

As long as they don't use the plots from any of the "official" sequel novels (which exist in a universe halfway between the film and the book).

 

[Vardoger]

Will it have the magic of the original? Have my doubts.
Perhaps they will use the special effects they used in the original movie instead of boring CGI.
Only thing they will have to avoid is showing the wires lifting the spinners.

 

[McAvennie]

A grumpy older Ford-played Deckard and retro style effects. Yes.

A young Deckard played by Robert Pattinson or some other goon and overload of CGI. No.

To be honest, I would call it Blade Runner: INSERT TITLE and have it known as the new title but with the Blade Runner logo smaller above. A new story in the Blade Runner world but not necessarily featuring Deckard at all.

I'd rather see the main protagonist be older as well lest it turn into some Teen fodder. Replicants are actually vampires and young Deckard is in a love triangle over some girl who also loves a replicant vampire...

 

[James_H]

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep is currently being serialised on BBC radio 4 extra (formerly 7). First episode available online until 30th august this year.

 

[Analogue Boy]

Still can't figure out how Batty knew Deckard's name at the end - perhaps that will be resolved in the 'ultimate director's ultra-final' cut, or something.

The book would give you the answer to that.

 

[Peripart]

Still can't figure out how Batty knew Deckard's name at the end - perhaps that will be resolved in the 'ultimate director's ultra-final' cut, or something.

The book would give you the answer to that.

The version of the film I saw kind of suggested a reason - I think the origami unicorn might have been a clue?

 

[Analogue Boy]

Still can't figure out how Batty knew Deckard's name at the end - perhaps that will be resolved in the 'ultimate director's ultra-final' cut, or something.

The book would give you the answer to that.

The version of the film I saw kind of suggested a reason - I think the origami unicorn might have been a clue?

I don't think so. In the book, electric animals are sold cheaply to those who can't afford the status symbols of real ones. Some animals in the Price Guide are marked 'E' for extinct. I guess the unicorn is meant as a stand in for a mythical extinct animal.

(SPOILER)



I don't want to give the game away so look away now... At the end, Deckard finds one of these extinct animals... not just any old one but the totem animal of the new religion. I guess the unicorn was used as a more recognisable stand-in for the mythical extinct animal as the subplot of the religion isn't dealt with in the film. His wife discovers that this is electric too.

 

[Peripart]

Fair enough - I've read the book, but was referring to clues in the film only. TBH, they're quite different things, and very few of the elements of the book actually make it into the fim at all.

 

[Anome]

One shouldn't confuse the themes Dick was putting across in the book with those Scott was putting across in the movie. As has been said, they are quite different beasts. The climactic battle in the movie barely rates half a page in the book.

Spolers for both the book and the film.

The toad at the end of the book turns out to be artificial, which Deckard's wife decides to keep from him, at least for the time being. So it becomes a sort of ersatz miracle, which is sort of in keeping with the nature of Mercerism. (I'm sure the name is not an accident, either.) It's sort of a fake religion for a fake society.

The unicorn at the end of the movie shows that Gaff had been there, and didn't retire Rachel. It's also an animal Deckard had dreamed of (even if the footage finally included from the film was taken from Legend) and it implied that Deckard's memories might also be false. Scott has made it quite clear that he wanted Deckard to be a replicant, although others, including Harrison Ford, felt otherwise.

 

[Analogue Boy]

Here's an argument between two robots.
Interestingly......

Cleverbot 1: 'Together we are robots.'
Cleverbot 2: 'I am not a robot. I am a unicorn'.

Then they have an argument about God.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/t ... ument.html

Given another 15mins, Godwin's Law would have come into effect and we would have seen them accusing each other of being Nazis.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Yes, it is quite incredible how the chatbots ended up in an argument.
It's a bit unexpected.

 

[Analogue Boy]

Yes, it is quite incredible how the chatbots ended up in an argument.
It's a bit unexpected.

Not when you consider they learned communication from humans on the internet.