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That's a question that most of us have, probably in the back of our minds. How much more time we have to live, and how can I extend that. Whether by medical intervention, health precautions, or religious beliefs, we would like our time to be more than what we have. That is one of the key questions in Ridley Scott's iconic sci-fi film.
Blade Runner follows Deckard (Harrison Ford), a retired "blade runner" tasked with eliminating replicants, human-like androids that are revolting across the galaxy. When a group of four, led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), end up rogue on Earth, Deckard is reluctantly brought back to the fray and sent to find them and terminate them.
I've seen this film a bunch of times, and yet every time I see it, I end up getting more out of it. Whether it is in the contrast between Deckard and Batty, "human" and android, and how they choose to operate, or in Batty's struggle and desire to survive despite his impending and unavoidable doom.
The way that Scott injects all this religious imagery and subtext into the film, sometimes subtly and sometimes right in your face, is excellent. But I also appreciate how he instills the film with this noir-ish vibe, a genre/style that was so preoccupied with how characters can't stop fate. You can meet your "maker", and yet that's not enough to stop the clock.
I rewatched this in preparation for a guest spot on a friend's podcast, but it's always a treat to revisit it, and always a treat to ask ourselves the same questions that Batty and his people ask. How long do I live? and what do I do with the time I have? That's a question we should answer and act on, before things are lost in time... like tears in rain.
Grade:
BLADE RUNNER
(1982, Scott)
Freebie
(1982, Scott)
Freebie
"My birthday is April 10, 2017. How long do I live?"
That's a question that most of us have, probably in the back of our minds. How much more time we have to live, and how can I extend that. Whether by medical intervention, health precautions, or religious beliefs, we would like our time to be more than what we have. That is one of the key questions in Ridley Scott's iconic sci-fi film.
Blade Runner follows Deckard (Harrison Ford), a retired "blade runner" tasked with eliminating replicants, human-like androids that are revolting across the galaxy. When a group of four, led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), end up rogue on Earth, Deckard is reluctantly brought back to the fray and sent to find them and terminate them.
I've seen this film a bunch of times, and yet every time I see it, I end up getting more out of it. Whether it is in the contrast between Deckard and Batty, "human" and android, and how they choose to operate, or in Batty's struggle and desire to survive despite his impending and unavoidable doom.
The way that Scott injects all this religious imagery and subtext into the film, sometimes subtly and sometimes right in your face, is excellent. But I also appreciate how he instills the film with this noir-ish vibe, a genre/style that was so preoccupied with how characters can't stop fate. You can meet your "maker", and yet that's not enough to stop the clock.
I rewatched this in preparation for a guest spot on a friend's podcast, but it's always a treat to revisit it, and always a treat to ask ourselves the same questions that Batty and his people ask. How long do I live? and what do I do with the time I have? That's a question we should answer and act on, before things are lost in time... like tears in rain.
Grade: