Blade Runner

A sci-fi cult-classic for true connoisseurs. I remember years ago when I was at the premiere of the Director's Cut, there were three of us sitting in the cinema. Enjoying the visual beauty of Blade Runner on the big screen back then was a completely different experience than a cropped image on TV. It's not easy viewing, it's not popcorn entertainment. The whole film follows an ambient mood that has to be felt. And if you see Blade Runner with perfect sound, you can really enjoy Vangelis' masterful soundtrack and catch the various sonic flourishes in some scenes, like all sorts of whispering or ambient sounds that add to the mood of the film. Ridley Scott created a fascinating, dark, futuristic world, and even if he hadn’t made anything else after that, he would still have been an immortal director. (2002-05-26)

Even after more than twenty years, this is still a young, fresh, and innovative sci-fi film that has lost none of its appeal. However, Scott's visual vision, supported by Vangelis' music, completely overwhelms the content, which is far too simple in its nature and I certainly wouldn't call it a philosophy. I also don't see much soulful romance in Deckard's relationship with Rachael. I was much more impressed by the demonic Roy Batty whose speeches about the experience of living in fear and tears in the rain resonated with me for the rest of the film. This is a film cult for connoisseurs and for me an extraordinary experience after a two-year hiatus from it, which probably won't be as long next time. (2007-01-03)

Even after all these years, still a mystery. Sci-fi with a noir touch, which revels in technical and visual gloominess and unfortunately, also in visual weirdness. Scott is afraid to take even a small step and show us more of the future world, instead he just lets it rain on Deckard and tells a relatively ordinary story. Replicants lack psychology, and in the end, I still don't know why I should feel sorry for their fate and destiny. And I would also like to see Blade Runner's average rating if it wasn't directed by Ridley Scott himself. Maybe my opinion would be lower because thanks to its pleasant visuals and especially the excellent cynical performance by Ford, on a background of an amazing soundtrack, it wasn't such a disappointment as I initially frowned upon. Loads of raindrops, saxophone melodies, and Vangelis' fairytale-like music stay in the viewer's mind for a long time. (2007-04-06)

It is unbelievable how, by removing needless monologs, making an amendment here and there and by making a little change to the final few seconds can turn a fairly solid sci-fi movie into one of the most atmospheric, hypnotic gems of world cinema. And this is clearly the most influential movie ever, because it influenced all sci-fi that followed it, no exaggeration. An ingenious, dismal noir vision of the future that provokes questions to this day. I don’t necessarily mean questions like whether or not Deckard is a replicant; which seems to differ from version to version, and this ambivalence is due to the fact that Hampton and Ford always acted as if he is, while Ridley acted like he wasn’t, just to be difficult. But more, this movie poses those “eternal" questions such as where is the border between life and humanity and, primarily, whether it matters at all who is or isn’t a replicant. This puts Blade Runner side by side with The Last Temptation of Christ, rather than any movies of the sci-fi genre. This isn’t a movie for everybody (that’s right, it’s s-l-o-w and taciturn, for instance, at the end Deckard doesn’t say a word for a whole twenty minutes despite being on screen constantly), but those who find their way to it will certainly never wash out this gem from their memory like tears in the rain... Original movie theater version: 3/5, Director’s Cut 1992: 5/5, Final Cut 2007: 5/5 (2008-01-17)

The genre of film science-fiction in its most mature form. Scott was able to combine excellent tricks, quality actors and, most importantly, the characteristically intellectual Dick story into a fascinating "noir" detective story of the future. The atmosphere is greatly helped by Vangelis's music and also by the fact that, rather than an action-developing plot, the film professes dialogue and slow movement forward. The fictional world around you thus acquires plasticity and, with a good constellation, engulfs you and imprints itself forever on the soul. And the story of humanity/inhumanity/artificiality is becoming more topical, not the other way around. Interestingly, the film does not win over viewers "seasonally", but gains them over time. Which, of course, is a great compliment to its qualities. (2004-01-27)