The narrated version is only best for the hard of thinking (or American audiences), but the reason for the voiceover may have been influenced by another of the films source references; 'The Long Tomorrow'- a comic strip by Dan O'Bannon and the French artist Moebius, It features a hard boiled narration too.
Some of the street-level architecture and detail is very similar as well.

West Kipper if that is the case why does Deckards dream about the unicorn which appears in the later versions tie in with the origami unicorn left by Gaff.

In the first version it is only hinted that Deckard is a replicant. The later versions make it very obvious.

I should be a fan as it was shot in my home town of Middlesbrough…

Don't think so (??) but the cityscapes WERE inspired by ICI Wilton, British Steel etc

Its you, one of my fave films. Amazing to watch even now considering none of it was shot with cgi, the book is rather good too.

Doesn't do much for me. I'll always watch it if it's on, but it's one of those films where I think I'm meant to like it much more than I do, but ultimately it doesn't have an interesting story for me. Good people can do bad things, bad people can do good things. Hardly ground breaking stuff.
Give me the Matrix and shiny PVC any day.

I love it when people dismiss somnething purely because they don't understand it: It shows that the human race hasn't really progressed as far as we think

By the way, I think it is a great film, as are most of Tarantino's films (not sure why someone included them in this debate, but anyhoo).

It's bludy ace – and so is the soundtrack!

on IMDB 1.5% give it 1/10 so you're not alone…just in a minority.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/ratings

Ian Munro – Member
Doesn't do much for me. I'll always watch it if it's on, but it's one of those films where I think I'm meant to like it much more than I do, but ultimately it doesn't have an interesting story for me. Good people can do bad things, bad people can do good things. Hardly ground breaking stuff.
Give me the Matrix and shiny PVC any day.

You've missed the point by a mile. Maybe that's why it doesn't do much for you?

It was ground breaking when it was new – don't forget that it's around 30 years old now.

Without Blade Runner and Alien modern sci-fi films would look very different – would The Matrix have been made if Blade Runner hadn't gone over very similar ground years earlier?

I've found that the folk who don't get it literally don't get it – ie they miss the whole point of the film. Although, I do have one friend who was absolutely a fanatic about the film, and he didn't get it either!

I 'got' into Bladerunner at a very young age. Its one of those films that even though you own it on DVD, you will happily rewatch it if it appears on TV.

Maybe you need to read about the film and rewatch? I was the same with Lost in Translation. I jsut didnt 'get' it. Thought it was pretentious tosh then I rewatched it on my laptop on a London-Leeds train journey and the ticket collector stopped and spent 10mins talking to me about the film and why he loved it soo much. It was one of those teer-moments of joy when the film sunk in.

Withnail and I- Totally agree. Utter pretentious tosh. My bestmate seems to think that is me and him when we were at uni. He utters every word. Shit film. Then again, I know every word of Commando 😆 🙄

BR is Kafkaesque. It’s about paranoia amongst many other things.

I get uppity when people compare it to Dicks DADoES. BR is not an adaptation of that book, they are different in many ways as Hampton Fancher and the other screen writers intended.

No other film captures the range of human emotions like BR.

Pigface, I dont think the studio intended to even leave that plotline in the original realeased cut/ voiceover version as a subtle hint, they wanted it out altogether, though as you say, It renders meaningless the figures that Gaff leaves about the shop.
The later revisions are obviously a bit more explicit, but at least the whole plotline ties together properly.
One bit of me wonders if the dream sequence was originally filmed or whether it was spliced in with a bit of spare footage from Scotts later traversty 'Legend'

The reason that Harrison Ford gave a voiceover in the first theatrical release was because it was thought audiences; primarily American would not understand the plot or the subtleties of Deckard being a replicant, i.e. when Gaff makes figurines from matchsticks and papers he is demonstrating in a cruel way that Deckard’s memories are implanted.

As a big science fiction fan I think its rubbish – but then I think it almost impossible to do subtle / complex science fiction films anyway.

You've missed the point by a mile. Maybe that's why it doesn't do much for you?

What you mean about how do you define what it is to be human? Yep I get that, just don't find it mind shattering, or at least not in the film, what else?

The fact that it says something new and thought provoking to you, doesn't mean that the thought is new or provoking to someone else. I.e. it may not be that people don't 'get it', but the thing to 'get' isn't new and novel to the person in question. It's a bit like people saying you just don't get The Grateful Dead, or you just don't get Take That 🙂

It's a film I've started many times and never finished. I probably owe it another go though as so many people rate it so highly.

Imho….It's alright if you like that sort of thing, the Mise en Scene is quite good, but unless you're a big fan of the tech noir genre, it's merely a middling good film rather than a great film.

When it was on recently I watched Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin instead.

Well, Id kind of agree with some of that, after spouting so much sh**e about it I think its an interesting and quite rich film, but not really in my top 40.
As I said though, I love it for Syd Meads input- it looks great
Worth watching for Daryl Hannah's legs too.

Some people like it, some people don't. Simple as really.

I like it, But I can't say its my favourite film, that said, I'm past the stage of my life where I must make 'my best ever…' lists. I'd rather watch Outland, This Island Earth or Forbidden Planet over Blade Runner I think.

Interestingly, I'm the opposite of that earlier poster that loved the novel DADoES – whilst the concept is good Dick is an awful writer. He's no better in UBIK, or the other one I've read that I can't remember the name of. I found Tolkein easier and better.

Tolkein a better writer than Dick?, dont get me wrong, I'm not PKDs biggest fan, but thats a pretty low accusation!

It's pretty good but can see why some wouldn't like it.

Oh and I'll agree With Nail and I is utterly shit.

Can you see why some would like Withnail and I?

each to their own – i personaly think Blade Runner's the best film i've ever seen, but you can't like everything, i personally think Avatar is gash but there's a fair old amount of people that like it

Each to their own is my motto for 2010

"Each to their own, provided they agree 100 % with me!" 🙂

IHN,

Maybe it's too late for you to experience the full impact of Blade Runner.

I saw it when it first came out nearly 30 years ago and at the time there'd been nothing like it. The grunge, the dark, the rain, the incidental technology. The look of lots of shoot-em-up games, not to mention films and comics owes a lot to Blade Runner.

Ridley Scott was of course also responsible for Alien.

Maybe if you're only coming to it now then it is too late.

But it's my personal favourite film of all time.

BR is a pretty good film, although maybe a little "tired" now – mainly due to so much of it being appropriated by other directors in the years since being released. At ScArc it was pretty much required viewing in the mid 80s because of it's dystopic vision and use of FLW buildings amongst others. 25 years on however I do have to be in a particular mood to be able to watch it again.
Anyone for Dark Star or Akira?

Can you see why some would like Withnail and I?

Go no. There's a reason it was a flop on release, it's shit. Only now because of students telling the world how great it is has it become popular.

I didn't realise people took so much notice of students….

They do if they want to try and be hip.

Withnail is tedious, jilted-slow pace. Sometimes films like this (especially foreign films) are then wrongly branded 'Cult'.

It's a typo I reckon they meant to say it was a ****'s film.

Surely W&I is only known for the drinking game?

Surely W&I is only known for the drinking game?

I thought it was because some 17 year old watched the film, heard the great music and then went round telling everyone about this great sound they'd 'discovered'.

Surely W&I is only known for the drinking game?

What drink until it becomes good or you pass out and don't have to watch it?

I saw it when it first came out nearly 30 years ago and at the time there'd been nothing like it. The grunge, the dark, the rain, the incidental technology. The look of lots of shoot-em-up games, not to mention films and comics owes a lot to Blade Runner.

As did I RPRT. Up until Bladerunner and Alien all sci-fi films were like 2001, pristine high technology, everything looks brand new and is lit brightly (with the possible exception of the Millenium Falcon in Star Wars). Bladerunner introduced the concept of high technology in decay. Ridley Scott said he got the idea from travelling the Atlantic in 747s for so long. He noticed that the planes started out nice shiny pieces of hi-tech kit but got progressively shabbier but still kept flying.

To me Bladerunner explores what it is to be human, e.g. how do you give an artificial life form the concept of empathy (which is what the Voight-Kampf test in the film is testing).

It also helps that, like a lot of Ridley Scott's films, its visually stunning. Take the scene where Priss is hiding amongst J F Sebastian's "friends" you could frame it and hang it on your wall. It figures that Scott started out as a set designer.

Bladerunner is also one of those films (like Apocalypse Now IMHO) which is better than the book on which its based.

Nice to know I've found something else with which to disagree with TJ

Your right, it is a bit ****.

Book is better…. only just.

W&I drinking game is to match whatever's being drunk on screen. It's not pretty.

Surely Dark Star was the first messy, dirty, broken scifi film?

Dark star ( Dan O'Bannon again) with its manky, p*ssed off crew was one of the influences when Scott and O'bannon did Alien

It's an amazing film. I think time hasn't been kind to the tech in it. It now no longer looks futuristic in so many ways. The whole atmosphere of the film and the sound track is mesmerising. Mind you, I liked Avatar enough to see it twice, so doubt my opinion is valid 😉