Blade Runner - Film Review. By Alyssa Collazos-Alva, Myriam Levasseur, Patricia Madalengoitia Vera & Chloé Yacoub

Blade Runner

1982

Alyssa Collazos-Alva 

Myriam Levasseur 

Patricia Madalengoitia Vera

Chloé Yacoub

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eogpIG53Cis
Director: Ridley Scott

Screen-writer: Hampton Fancher & David Peoples

Main Actors: Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, Sean Young as Rachael, Rutger Haeur as Roy Batty & Edward James Olmo as Gaff

Running Time: 177 minutes

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Summary:

In the year 2019, Los Angeles has turned into a dark and polluted city. In this futuristic society, Blade Runners are the police whose mission is to kill Replicants – human-like robots that have been programmed to “live” for three to four years as slave labour. Deckard, a former Blade Runner, is asked to find and kill a group of four rebel Replicants – Leon, Zhora, Pris and Roy. They escaped from the Off-world Colonies and committed various crimes in search for freedom and an extended lifespan. During Deckard's hunt, he meets another Replicant, named Rachael, and starts falling in love with her. This makes him question whether Replicants can feel human emotions and gets him very confused about the emotions that he feels for her. Deckard is also challenged into believing that he could be a Replicant himself throughout his journey.

Cinematic Techniques:

The following section will focus on Blade Runner's cinematic techniques. Cinematic techniques are the tools that people in the film industry use to add meaning to a movie through its filming, audio, sets, props, costumes, effects, edits, etc.

Editing: 

1. Point of view editing: To demonstrate one of Deckard’s inner thoughts, the editor includes a scene in which a unicorn is running around a forest. This scene is very important, because it proves later on that Deckard could in fact be a Replicant. This type of editing emphasizes on the fact that only Deckard is supposed to remember his dream about a unicorn. The last few seconds of the movie show Deckard picking up a unicorn-shaped origami that Gaff, the detective, had left for him to see. This insinuates that Gaff knows about Deckard's dream, even though Deckard had never spoken about it to anyone, which could only mean that he is a Replicant whose dreams and thoughts can be seen by anyone who has access to them.
2. Cross-cutting: To build suspense, the editor chose to use cross-cutting for the confrontation scene between Deckard and Roy. When the scene is edited in a way that the cuts switch quickly from one character to another, it builds tension because it portrays how quickly everything is happening, which in this scene is a life or death situation.

Framing:

1. Close-up: To emphasize on the character’s emotions, Roy is framed tearing up in close-up right before dying. It is important to see Roy, a Replicant, cry right after sparing Deckard's life because it makes us question whether Replicants truly are as bad as the authorities from that society makes them sound. It makes us question what is a human and what is a Replicant.
2. Medium shot: While Zhora is running away from Deckard, she is framed in medium shot to show the distress in her facial expressions while also focusing on the fact that everyone else proceeds with their lives as if no one is being chased around at gun point.

Lighting: 

1. High-key: The scene during which Deckard meets Rachael has one of the highest lighting throughout the movie to demonstrate the spark that Rachael lights up in Rick.
2. Low-key/high-key: Every scene in the poor areas of Los Angeles is filmed in low-key lighting and every scene in the richer areas of Los Angeles is filmed in a higher-key lighting to be able to emphasize on the fact that the rich are more privileged than the poor. The city for example, is filled with people, buildings and pollution. All of that would not seem as bad if the bright sun was shinning throughout the day; the lighting makes us understand that the living conditions there are in fact atrocious.

Angles/Camera Movement: 

1. Low-angle shot: When Deckard is hanging from the building trying to escape from Roy, Roy is on the roof and is filmed in a low angle to make him seem more powerful, while Deckard seems even more vulnerable. This angle could also be focusing on the fact that Roy is being the "bigger man" during this scene. Roy spares Deckard's life, rather than kill him out of revenge for murdering his Replicant friends, or even out of self-defense, considering that Deckard repeatedly tries to kill Roy.
2. Pan: When Zhora is trying to escape from Deckard, the director uses a pan to film her to emphasize on how fast she is running to reinforce the fact that she is a Replicant. The panning of the camera somehow makes us feel more sympathetic toward her. Its as if we know she will not make it out alive, because she remains in the camera's frame rather than running in the distance to her safety.

Props: 

1. The “enhancing photo printer”: Deckard uses to investigate pictures focuses on the fact that this movie take place in the future, because back when the movie was made, this kind of technology was not even imagined to be possible to invent.
2. The “Voigt-Kampff” test machine: used to determine whether someone is a Replicant also focuses on the fact that this movie takes place in the future. Such a machine nowadays would be overruled by a lying detector, but because of its futuristic look, its purpose remains fulfilled.

Universal Themes:

Technological Development/Consumerism: Humans will never stop inventing the next big thing when it comes to technology; the next amazing invention that will require for us to do less and receive more. Take Apple for example, this company keeps making new iPhone models that offers more than the last, such as a better camera quality, a better overall design, a better screen. All these modifications can be great sure, but weren’t cell phones simply made to make phone calls without having to plug it in? No, according to Apple’s endless modifications, phones should allow us to access the internet, to play games, to listen to music, etc. It is the reason behind the addiction that many people have nowadays with their phones. Blade Runner properly demonstrates the way technology is taking over our society. Replicants are robots designed to work as slave labour and replace us humans from doing tasks that require less skill. The latest Replicant model however, is even stronger than a human, which is why they become so dangerous. It is as if they have a mind of their own and begin to rebel, because they feel as if they should have the same rights as humans. Humans of course, feeling threatened, decide to get rid of them, but Eldon Tyrell – the creator of many Replicants – keeps designing new models. He represents the big corporations from today’s society that will never stop creating and selling new incredible contraptions to make more money than they need, while ignoring the dangers of their inventions’ long-term effects.

Dived Between Rich and Poor: There has always been a division between the wealthy and the poor; they practically live in two separate worlds. This is very clear throughout the movie when it comes to how crowded, polluted and dark the poor neighbourhoods are as opposed to the wealthier neighbourhoods that are more exclusive (less crowded), cleaner and fancier, as well as much brighter. This segregation is seen in our society as much as the previous ones and the ones to come. The rich will never want to be associated with the poor and most of them will do everything in their power to make sure that they stay on top while the poor suffer at the bottom. This has caused and will keep causing conflicts in the world; it must be stopped. At this point however, it would be practically impossible, considering how capitalistic we have become.

Human Morality: This movie goes back and forth with human morality – judging what is right and what is wrong. Deckard has a difficult time with that when he is asked to kill all Replicants, considering that he falls for one and could possibly be one. This is a topic that has been brought up in music, art, photography, poems, etc. It is such a conflicting subject because although humans have done so much damage to the world, we cannot help but think that there is still hope for us; that we are capable of so much more. That is the message Blade Runner sends when they show us Deckard escaping with Rachael: they make us believe that Deckard has seen the wrong in killing Replicants who clearly have a sense of emotion and that he is willing to fight for his new girlfriend’s life and possibly his own.

Word Count: 1403.

Critique:

Blade Runner is not a movie created with the intention of making the audience watch it with ease. By possessing a pessimistic attitude towards an unknown future and by exploring the sad truth of sexism and women's sexualization, we could say that Blade Runner is a representation of a hellish world.  This movie is set in 2019 Los Angeles, a city distorted by immense buildings, flying cars and air full of smoke, smog and dust. The darkness and the rain are a constant reminder of the sinister and disturbing dystopian world that we are transported to. Underneath the overcrowded population, the overwhelming towers and the smog is an aura of claustrophobia, paranoia and constant depression. And, in the shadows of the buildings we can also sense a feeling a hierarchy in the human race through sexism. The main characters, Deckard and Roy are strong men with important roles whereas the main female characters (Rachael and Pris) have the undermining roles of being their lovers, for example. In addition Zhora, another important female character, is a stripper. The scene during which Deckard and Rachael have a sexual intercourse emphasizes on woman’s sexualization by initiating it with what seems to be rape. This specific intercourse was disturbing to watch; Deckard is in a way raping Rachael by ordering her to "say kiss me" after she had attempted to leave his apartment. The entire tone of the movie changed during those five minutes; you could even say that it is scarier and darker than the previous fighting and chasing scenes. It makes the audience feel all sorts of emotions, which is an amazing aspect of this movie. Another great scene, for example, would be the last last scene. We initially fear Roy but that feeling of terror transforms into a feeling of sadness and empathy. The acting was a wonderful success. The movie’s protagonist, portrayed by Harrison Ford, is able to balance his character’s scruffy hunter side and his vulnerable side quite amazingly. Rutger Hauer who played the role of Roy Batty portrayed the ultimate villain’s development with expertise. Blade Runner is a movie that we recommend to anyone who wishes to experience an emotional roller coaster, wonderful acting and impressive sets, considering the year it was made.

We rate this movie ⭐⭐⭐⭐!

Connections to the Course Material:

The first connection that we could make between the movie and the course material is personhood. As mentioned in class, personhood is defined as the status of being a person, a legal or social category that will vary across cultures and across political concept s of equality and liberty. In the movie, this subject is addressed through the description of a new kind of beings, who are not defined as human beings, but as ‟Replicants ″. Replicants look like humans, but are very different in many aspects; they are faster, stronger and smarter. Some of them even have memories programmed into them. Replicants are banished from the earth, which evidently means that they are not legal citizens of our planet. They can be detected by taking the Voight Kampff test. Supposedly Replicants lack empathy which after answering a series of conflicting questions, is how they are differentiated from humans. We think that Replicants should have personhood, because they clearly do feel emotions, but they should not be considered as human beings.  

The second connection that we can make is consciousness. Consciousness is the quality or state of being able to perceive or be aware of an external object or something within oneself. In Blade Runner, Replicants are very smart: they have all five sense that humans have, they can imagine things, reflect and they have emotional responses. Replicants are therefore conscious beings, but they are not treated as such; they are treated as if they were objects that are simply there to serve.

The third connection between the movie and the material viewed in class are social robots. We learned that social robots are autonomous machines that are capable of interacting and communicating with humans. In the movie, Replicants are evidently social robots since they are very independent. They can live on their own, feed themselves and communicate perfectly with other beings. Humans are not even able to tell them apart from other humans at the first glance. Even a Replicant itself (Rachael) did not even know that she is a Replicant. This just shows that the technology in Blade Runner is way more advanced than what we are used to when it comes to social robots.

Question Time:

Most Replicants knew their expiration date; when they will die. If it were possible, would you like to know how and when you die? For what reasons?

There was a scene throughout the movie during which Deckard practically forces himself on his lover, Rachael, and asks her to "tell me you want me [...] tell me you love me." Since she is a Replicant, she does not necessarily know how to feel. Would you consider this as an act of rape or as a desperate attempt to make Rachael feel something?

As seen in class, the uncanny valley is the feeling of attraction and wanting to know more about something as well as repulsion by that same thing. What would be uncanny about Replicants? Their lack of empathy while still being able to love, or the fact that although they look human, they posses powers that no human could ever have?

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Other Links:

Social Robots: In the movie, Replicants are used as personal slaves or for company. Yet as their intelligence grew, they became harder to live with since they were becoming stronger. This link relates to the movie in how social robots could be used nowadays, considering that the future is now.

Doll Lover: In Blade Runner, Deckard (who could himself be a Replicant) falls in love with Racheal, a Replicant. In the movie, this would be considered impossible since Replicants are not supposed to feel emotions. In this video, a man is head over heels for his sex doll and would do anything for her. Even though she isn't real, he feels like she would do anything for him as well; that she loves him in return.

Sources:

Wikipedia Contributors. "Blade Runner." Wekipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Mar. 2018. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner

YouTube (2018). Blade Runner (1982) Official Trailer - Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford Movie. [online]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eogpIG53Cis

Golden, John. “Introducing Cinematic and Theatrical Elements in Film.” TeachWithMovies.

Kelly, McKinney. “The Matrix Study Guide.” 31 Jan. 2018.

Kelly, McKinney. “Non-human animals (nha) and Selfhood Study Guide.” 14 Feb. 2018.