Blade Runner - just the facts ( A Article written in May 2007 )
Continued from part 1 of this article
Reception, Ratings
Australia: M
Canada
(Ontario): AA
Canada (Manitoba): PA
Canada (Maritime): A
Canada (Quebec):
13+
Canada (Home Video)): 14A (director's cut)
Iceland: 16
Ireland:
15
Sweden: 15 (Barnförbjuden)
United Kingdom: AA (original rating);
15
(1986 video rating)
United States: R
Blade Runner was released in 1,290
theaters on June 25, 1982. That date was chosen by producer Alan Ladd, Jr. because
his previous highest-grossing films (Star Wars & Alien) had a similar opening
date (May 25) in 1977 & 1979, making the date his "lucky day." However,
the gross for the opening weekend was a disappointing $6.15 million. A significant
factor in the film's rather poor box office performance was that its release coincided
with another science fiction film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was released
in the U.S. on June 11, 1982, & dominated box office revenues at the time.
Film critics were polarized as some felt the story had taken a back seat to special
effects & that it was not the action/adventure the studio had advertised.
Others acclaimed its complexity & predicted it would stand the test of time.
In the United States, a general criticism was its slow pacing that detracts from
other strengths; ne film critic went so far as to call it "Blade Crawler."
Roger Ebert praised Blade Runner's visuals & recommended it for that reason;
however, he found the human story clichéd & a little thin. Ebert thought
Tyrell's character unconvincing & the apparent lack of security measures allowing
Roy to murder him problematic. Also he believed the relationship between Deckard
& Rachael seemed "to exist more for the plot than for them." In
1992, with the release of the director's cut version, Roger Ebert refused to change
his opinion & said that the new version of the film added little. However,
around the world the movie gained critical acclaim since its release.
Awards
& nominations Blade Runner has both won, & been nominated for, many awards.
It has won the following accolades:
Year Award Category — Recipient(s)
1982 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Cinematography —
Jordan Cronenweth
1983 BAFTA Film Award Best Cinematography — Jordan
Cronenweth
Best Costume Design — Charles Knode, Michael Kaplan
Best
Production Design/Art Direction — Lawrence G. Paull
1983 Hugo Award Best
Dramatic Presentation
1983 London Critics Circle Film Awards — Special
Achievement Award Lawrence G. Paull, Douglas Trumbull, Syd Mead — For their
visual concept (technical prize).
It was nominated for the following awards:
BAFTA (1983)
Best Film Editing — Terry Rawlings
Best Make Up Artist
— Marvin G. Westmore
Best Score — Vangelis
Best Sound —
Peter Pennell, Bud Alper, Graham V. Hartstone, Gerry Humphreys
Best Special
Visual Effects — Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, David Dryer
British
Society of Cinematographers: Best Cinematography Award (1982) — Jordan Cronenweth
Fantasporto
International Fantasy Film Award (1983) — Best Film —
Ridley Scott
International Fantasy Film Award (1993) — Best Film —
Ridley Scott (Director's cut)
Golden Globe: Best Original Score (1983) —
Motion Picture — Vangelis
Academy Award (1983)
Best Art Direction-Set
Decoration — Lawrence G. Paull, David L. Snyder, Linda DeScenna
Best
Effects, Visual Effects — Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, David Dryer
Saturn Award (1983)
Best Science Fiction Film
Best Director —
Ridley Scott
Best Special Effects — Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich
Best Supporting Actor — Rutger Hauer
Best Genre Video Release (1994)
— Director's cut
Influence, A police spinner flies alongside a huge advertising-laden skyscraper in Los Angeles at night.Although it initially gained a small North American audience, the film was popular internationally & became a cult classic which has been often referenced in other media. Blade Runner's dark cyberpunk style & futuristic design have served as a benchmark & its inspiration can be seen in many subsequent science fiction films & television programs, such as Max Headroom, Batman, RoboCop, The Fifth Element, Brazil, Dark Angel, Judge Dredd, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, The Matrix, I, Robot, & Children of Men & in anime, including Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Armitage III, Silent Möbius, Cowboy Bebop, Bubblegum Crisis, AD Police Files, Parasite Dolls, Heat Guy J & Ergo Proxy.
The film arguably marks the introduction
of the cyberpunk genre into popular culture. Blade Runner continues to reflect
modern trends & concerns, & an increasing number consider it one of the
greatest science fiction films of all time. The film was selected for preservation
in the United States National Film Registry in 1993 & is frequently used in
university courses. It is one of the most musically sampled films of the 20th
century. Leon is sampled, saying: "Wake up time to die" in the Pop Will
Eat Itself song named for the quote. He is also sampled in the song by Tricky
titled, "Aftermath," saying, "Let me tell you about my mother."
The character Roy Batty served as the apparent inspiration of several songs, such
as Audioslave's "Show Me How To Live", White Zombie's "Electric
Head" & "More Human Than Human" (a Tyrell Corporation slogan),
Covenant's "Like Tears In Rain" & "Replicant", Diesel
Christ's "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?", Sigue Sigue Sputnik's
"Love Missile F1-11", Hoodlum Priest's "Tyrell" & Kent's
"OWC", Fightstar's "Lost Like tears in rain". Gary Numan was
a Philip K. Dick fan & has cited Blade Runner as one of his favourite films;
the title of his 1979 single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" (from the album
Replicas) was influenced by Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Numan used vocal
samples from Blade Runner for his songs "Call Out The Dogs," "My
World Storm" & "From Russia Infected," & his song "Time
To Die" was derived from Roy Batty's death scene (the lyrics paraphrase Batty's
final speech). Numan admired Dick Morrissey's work on the Blade Runner score &
invited the saxophonist to play on his 1983 album Warriors; Morrissey played on
five of Numan's albums between 1983 & 1991. Other Rock songs influenced by
the film (and the book it is based upon) include Blind Guardian's "Time What
Is Time", Fear Factory's "Replica", Incubus' "Talk Shows On
Mute", Kim Wilde's "Bladerunner", Circle of Dust's "Pale Reflection,"
Revolting Cocks's "Attack Ships on Fire," & Tan-Hauser Gate's "Little
Piece of You". "Ridley Scott's film remains the defining vision of futuristic
science fiction." — Steve Biodrowski
Blade Runner has also influenced
the adventure games Rise of the Dragon, Snatcher & Flashback: The Quest for
Identity, the role-playing game Shadowrun, the computer game System Shock &
the Syndicate games. The fictional language Cityspeak has been used in many cyberpunk
genre role-playing games. The memorable Scrap Brain Zone level from the original
Sonic the Hedgehog features an almost identical score to the Blade Runner 'End
Title' theme, & is clearly a direct tribute.
Director Christopher Nolan used Blade Runner as "an interesting lesson on the technique of exploring & describing a credible universe that doesn't appear to have any boundaries", he applied this inspiration to the production of Batman Begins.
Blade Runner is currently ranked the third best film of all time by The Screen Directory.
Curse
Among
the folklore that has grown up around the film over the years has been the belief
that the film was a curse to the companies whose logos were displayed prominently
in some scenes. While they were market leaders at the time, many of them experienced
disastrous setbacks over the next decade & hardly exist today:
Atari,
which dominated the home video game market when the film came out, never recovered
from the next year's downturn in the industry, & by the 1990s had ceased to
exist as anything more than a brand, a back catalog of games & some legacy
computers. The Atari of today is an entirely different firm, using the former
company's name.
The Bell System monopoly was broken up that same year, &
all of the resulting Regional Bell operating companies have since changed their
names & merged with each other or other companies.
Pan Am suffered the
terrorist bombing/destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 & went bankrupt in 1991,
after a decade of mounting losses.
Cuisinart similarly went bankrupt in 1989,
though it lives on under new ownership.
Coca-Cola almost joined this list
in the wake of its failed introduction of New Coke three years later, but has
since experienced a thirtyfold increase in share price.
Versions
Seven
versions of the film exist, but only the Director's Cut & International Cut
are widely known & seen:
The original 1982 International Cut (also known
as Criterion Edition), which included more graphic violence than the U.S. theatrical
release, & which was released on VHS & on Criterion Collection Laserdisc.
The U.S. theatrical version (also known as Original Version), also called
the domestic cut.
Two workprint versions, shown only as audience test previews
& occasionally at film festivals; one of these was distributed in 1991, as
a Director's Cut without Scott's approval.
The Ridley Scott-approved 1992
Director's Cut; prompted by the unauthorized 1991 release, it is to date the only
version officially released on DVD.
The broadcast version, edited for profanity
& nudity.
Warner Home Video has scheduled both theatrical & DVD releases
of Ridley Scott's final cut of the film for 2007.
Theatrical versions
The
1982 American & European theatrical versions released by the studio included
a "happy ending" (using stock footage from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining)
& a voice-over added at the request of studio executives during post-production
after test audience members indicated difficulty understanding the film. Although
several different versions of the script had included a narration of some sort,
both Ridley Scott & Harrison Ford disliked the studio voice-over & resisted
having it added to the film. It has been suggested that Ford intentionally performed
the voice-over poorly in the hope it wouldn't be used, but recent interviews contradict
this.
In an interview with Playboy magazine in 2002, Ford was asked (about the voice-over) if he "deliberately read it badly, hoping they'd drop it?". He replied "No. I delivered it to the best of my ability given that I had no input. I never thought they'd use it. But I didn't try & sandbag it. It was simply bad narration." He added, "I was compelled by my contract to do the narration. When I first agreed to do the film, I told Ridley there was too much information given to the audience in narration." Ford had suggested to Ridley Scott that they "take it out & put it into scenes & let the audience acquire this information in a narrative fashion, without being told it." Scott thought this a good idea. "When we got done, the studio said nobody will understand this fucking movie. We have to create a narrative. They had already thrown Ridley off the movie - they were over budget. So I was compelled by my contract to record this narration." Ford is also quoted (in 1999 about the voice-over) saying: "I had no chance to participate in it, so I simply read it. I was very, very unhappy with their choices & with the quality of the material. I contested it mightily at the time. It was not an organic part of the film.'"
International Cut
The International Cut, or Criterion
Edition, is largely identical to the theatrical release but with extra violence
added in three scenes:
When Batty confronts Tyrell in his bedroom, in addition
to crushing Tyrell's face with his hands, Batty pokes out Tyrell's eyes with his
thumbs, releasing a huge amount of blood.
When Pris has somersaulted onto
Deckard's back, rather than hitting him three times & then dropping him (as
she does in all other versions), she hits him twice, then inserts her fingers
into his nostrils & releases her legs, holding him up by his nostrils for
a few seconds before he falls to the floor. The shot of him falling to the floor
is identical in all versions. Deckard also shoots Pris an extra time, & the
scenes of her thrashing spastically on the floor after having been shot are slightly
extended.
When Batty is being hunted by Deckard at the end of the film, he
pushes a nail through his own hand, which again bleeds profusely.
Director's
Cut
Deckard's dream in the 1992 Director's CutIn 1990, Warner Bros. briefly
allowed theatrical screenings of a 70 mm copy of the workprint version of the
film, advertising it as a Director's Cut. However, Ridley Scott publicly disowned
the workprint version of the film as his definitive Director's Cut, citing that
it was roughly edited & lacked the score composed for the film by Vangelis.
In response to Scott's dissatisfaction (and in part because of the film's resurgent
cult popularity in the early 90s) Warner Bros. decided to assemble a definitive
Director's Cut of the film with direction from Scott to be released in 1992.
They hired film-restorationist Michael Arick, who had rediscovered the workprint of Blade Runner & who was already doing consultation work for them, to head the project with Scott. He started by spending several months in London with Les Healey, who had been the assistant editor on Blade Runner, attempting to compile a list of the changes that Scott wanted made to the film. He also received a number of suggestions/directions directly from the director himself. Three major changes were made to the film which most would agree significantly changed the feel of the film: the removal of Deckard's explanatory voice-over, the re-insertion of a dream sequence of a unicorn running through a forest, & the removal of the studio-imposed "happy ending", including some associated visuals which had originally run under the film's end-credits. The original sequence of Deckard's unicorn dream wasn't found in a print of sufficient quality; the original scene shows Deckard intercut with the running unicorn. Arick was thus forced to use a different print that shows only the unicorn running without any intercutting to Deckard. As mentioned above, the removal of the "happy ending" & the re-insertion of the unicorn scene suggests a completely different ending where Gaff's origami unicorn would mean that Deckard's dreams are also known, & therefore he too would be a replicant of the same generation as Rachael. That would also explain the need for the unicorn scene.
Interestingly, the cut did not include much of the "extra violence" included in the "International" version of the film.
Scott has since complained that time & money constraints, along with his obligation to Thelma & Louise, kept him from retooling the film in a completely satisfactory manner. While he is happier than before with the 1992 release of the film, he has never felt entirely comfortable with it as his definitive Director's Cut.
In 2000, Harrison Ford gave his view on the Director’s Cut of the film saying, although he thought it “spectacular” it didn’t “move him at all”. He gave a brief reason: "They haven't put anything in, so it's still an exercise in design."
Originally released as a single-disc DVD in 1997, the Director's Cut was one of the first DVDs on the market. However, it is of low quality compared to DVDs of today due to it being produced in the early days of the format. It was re-released with a new transfer in 2006.
Special Edition
Partly as the result of those
complaints, Scott was invited back in mid-2000 to help put together a final &
definitive version of the film, which was completed in mid-2001. During the process,
a new digital print of the film was created from the original negatives, special
effects were updated & cleaned, & the sound was remastered in 5.1 Dolby
Digital surround sound. Unlike the rushed 1992 Director's Cut, Scott personally
oversaw the new cut as it was being made. The Special Edition DVD was slated for
a Christmas time 2001 release, & was originally rumored to be a three-disc
set including the full international theatrical cut, an early workprint with additional
scenes, & the newly enhanced version in addition to deleted scenes, extensive
cast & crew interviews, & the documentary "On the Edge of Blade Runner".
But Warner Bros. indefinitely delayed the "Special Edition" release
after legal disputes began with the film's original completion bond guarantors
(specifically Jerry Perenchio), who were ceded ownership of the film when the
shooting ran over budget from $21.5 to $28 million.
After years of legal disputes, Warner Bros. announced in 2006 that it had finally secured full distribution rights to the film. There will be a three stage release of the film. First, a digitally remastered single-disc limited re-release of the 1992 Director's Cut was released on September 5, 2006 in the United States & on October 9, 2006 in Ireland & the UK. Second, Ridley Scott's new "Final Cut" of the film is scheduled for theatrical release in 2007. The third & final phase, a multi-disc box set including the two previous versions — the U.S. & International cuts & bonus features, is also scheduled for 2007. Warner Bros. has plans to release this box set not only on DVD, but also on the HD DVD & Blu-ray disc formats. Joanna Cassidy has stated on her website that she has reshot some footage for the upcoming release.
Documentaries
From the Edge documentary,
featuring Blade Runner screenwriters Fancher & Peoples, now friends. On the
Edge of Blade Runner (55 minutes), produced in 2000 by Nobles Gate Ltd. (for Channel
4), was directed by Andrew Abbott & hosted/written by Mark Kermode. Interviews
with production staff, including Scott, give details of the creative process &
the turmoil during preproduction. Stories from Paul M. Sammon & Fancher provide
insight into Philip K. Dick & the origins of Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep?
Interweaved are cast interviews (with the notable exceptions of Harrison Ford & Sean Young), which convey some of the difficulties of making the film (including an exacting director & humid, smoggy weather). There is also a tour of some locations, most notably the Bradbury Building & the Warner Bros. backlot that became the LA 2019 streets, which look very different from Scott's dark vision. The documentary then details the test screenings & the resulting changes (the voice over, the happy ending, & the deleted Holden hospital scene), the special effects, the soundtrack by Vangelis, & the unhappy relationship between the filmmakers & the investors which culminated in Deeley & Scott being fired but still working on the film. The question of whether or not Deckard is a replicant surfaces. Future Shocks (27 minutes) is a more recent documentary from 2003 by TVOntario (part of their Film 101 series using footage compiled over the years for Saturday Night at the Movies). It includes interviews with executive producer Bud Yorkin, Syd Mead, & the cast, this time with Sean Young, but still without Harrison Ford. There is extensive commentary by science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer & from film critics, as the documentary focuses on the themes, visual impact & influence of the film. Edward James Olmos describes Ford's participation & personal experiences during filming are related by Young, Walsh, Cassidy & Sanderson. They also relate a story about crew members creating t-shirts that took pot shots at Scott. The different versions of the film are critiqued & the accuracy of its predictions of the future are discussed.
Novel
The
original screenplay by Hampton Fancher was based loosely on Philip K. Dick's Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which he optioned in 1980 after an unsuccessful
previous attempt. However, Fancher's script focused more on environmental issues
& less on issues of humanity & faith, which weighed heavily in the novel.
When Ridley Scott became involved with the film, he wanted changes to the script
made, & eventually hired David Peoples to perform the re-writes after Fancher
refused. The film's title also changed several times during the writing process;
it was to be called Dangerous Days in Fancher's last draft before eventually taking
the title Blade Runner, borrowed (with permission) from a William S. Burroughs
treatment of Alan E. Nourse's science fiction novel The Bladerunner (1974).
As a result of Fancher's divergence from the novel, numerous re-writes before & throughout shooting the film, & the fact that Ridley Scott never entirely read the novel on which the film was based, the film diverged significantly from its original inspiration. Some of the themes in the novel that were minimized or entirely removed include: fertility/sterility of the population, religion, mass media, Deckard's uncertainty that he is human, & real versus synthetic pets & emotions.
Philip K. Dick refused an offer of $400,000 to write a novelization of the Blade Runner screenplay, saying "[I was] told the cheapo novelization would have to appeal to the twelve-year-old audience" & "[it] would have probably been disastrous to me artistically." He added, "That insistence on my part of bringing out the original novel & not doing the novelization -- they were just furious. They finally recognized that there was a legitimate reason for reissuing the novel, even though it cost them money. It was a victory not just of contractual obligations but of theoretical principles." In the end, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was reprinted for a time as a movie tie-in with the film poster as a cover & the original title in parenthesis below the Blade Runner title. The producers of the film arranged for a screening of some special effects rough cuts for Philip K. Dick shortly before he died in early 1982. Despite his well known skepticism of Hollywood in principle, he became quite enthusiastic about the film. He said, "I saw a segment of Douglas Trumbull's special effects for Blade Runner on the KNBC-TV news. I recognized it immediately. It was my own interior world. They caught it perfectly." He also approved of the film's script, saying, "After I finished reading the screenplay, I got the novel out & looked through it. The two reinforce each other, so that someone who started with the novel would enjoy the movie & someone who started with the movie would enjoy the novel." The film also draws upon We Can Build You, another of Dick's novels. In chapter 3 of We Can Build You, another character named Pris is described as wearing "odd make-up, eyes outlined in black, a harlequin effect, & almost purple lipstick; the whole color scheme made her appear unreal & doll-like." This description inspired the make-up worn by Pris in Blade Runner.
Games & comics
There are two video games based on the film, one for Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
& Amstrad CPC 6128 by CRL Group PLC (1985) based on the music by Vangelis
(due to licensing issues), & another action adventure PC game by Westwood
Studios (1997). A prototype board game was also created in California (1982) that
had game play similar to Scotland Yard. The cult computer game Snatcher was heavily
influenced by Blade Runner, so much so that websites exist detailing the numerous
similarities between the two. The Westwood PC game featured new characters &
branching storylines based on the Blade Runner world, coupled with voice work
from some of the original cast from the film & some recurring locations from
the film. It is noteworthy that the events portrayed in the 1997 game occur not
after, but in parallel to those in the film — the player assumes the role
of another replicant-hunter working at the same time as Deckard, though of course
they never meet, so as to remain consistent with the film. The game was highly
advanced for its time, featuring a non linear plot, & advanced non player
characters that each ran in their own independent AI. Unfortunately, the game
was hobbled by an unusual pseudo-3D engine (which eschewed true 3-D imagery in
favor of actively scaled, pre-rendered raster graphics) that did not require the
use of a 3-D accelerator card (still a very optional piece of hardware) to play
the game. This system was credible when the game went into production, but seriously
outclassed by the time the game was finally released. Westwood's production also
presented some of the most technically advanced & visually stunning pre-rendered
cutscenes seen in any game of its time. Archie Goodwin scripted the comic book
adaptation, A Marvel Comics Super Special: Blade Runner, published September,
1982. The Jim Steranko cover leads into a 45-page adaptation illustrated by the
team of Al Williamson, Carlos Garzon, Dan Green & Ralph Reese. This adaptation
was poorly received & widely ridiculed because of poor writing & misquoted
dialogue taken from the film. (This adaptation includes one possible explanation
of the title's significance in story context: the narrative line, "Blade
runner. You're always movin' on the edge.") Two Blade Runner parody comics
have been written: Blade Bummer by Crazy comics, & an anthropomorphic parody
of the film known as Bad Rubber, which was written & illustrated by Steve
Gallacci, & published in the prototype issue (Number 0) of his comic book
title Albedo Anthropomorphics. In Bad Rubber, the character based on Rick Deckard
is a duck named "Rick Duckard".
Sequels, Three official & authorized Blade Runner novels have been written by Philip K. Dick's friend K. W. Jeter that continue the story of Rick Deckard & attempt to resolve many of the differences between Blade Runner & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
Blade
Runner 2: The Edge of Human (1995)
Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night (1996)
Blade Runner 4: Eye & Talon (2000)
David Peoples, who co-wrote Blade
Runner & wrote the 1998 film Soldier, has said that Soldier is intended to
be what he calls a "sidequel" to Blade Runner. Soldier takes place in
the same fictional universe, & the spinners used in Blade Runner are also
used in Soldier. However, Soldier is an informal sequel as it was never formally
approved by the Blade Runner partnership, which owns the rights to the Blade Runner
universe.
Ridley Scott apparently toyed with the idea of a sequel film,
which would have been titled Metropolis. However, the project was ultimately shelved
due to rights issues. A script was also written for a proposed sequel entitled
Blade Runner Down, which would have been based on K. W. Jeter's first Blade Runner
sequel novel. Though not an official sequel to Blade Runner, many fans have noted
similarities between the 1999 television series Total Recall 2070 & the Blade
Runner universe. Total Recall 2070 was based on two works by Phillip K. Dick:
"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" (the basis for the film Total
Recall), & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis for Blade Runner),
so many consider the series a sequel to (or at least a spin-off of) Blade Runner.
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