BLADE RUNNER

1982

The Ridley Scott's film takes place in the early 21st century. (Several versions have been issued). Blade Runner is a dystopian drama situated in Los Angeles. At that time (2019) the town is a huge and confused megalopolis, saturated by pollution, where life is hard. Rain falls night an day, the sun never shine.

To do hard and dangerous jobs on off-world colonies, on far away planets, The Tyrell corporation engineers replicants wich are robots visually indistinguishable from humans. Those who come back on earth are hunted and killed by a special police corps named “Blade Runners". 

The screenplay : a free adaption of Philipp K Dick novel : do Androïde dream od Electric sheep? is a metaphor about dehumanization. Love and compassion are the crucial differences between men and machines. Humans can be lower than their nature. We are becoming dependant to our machines.

Dystopia is a pessimistic fiction depicting a dark future. Characteristics : environmental issues, technologies take over human beings, totalitarian governments, dehumanization, mega corporations, declining societies. Dystopia do exist ≠ utopia (perfect places don’t exist). All kind of issues appears in dystopia. Red brain : controlling right side of the body which is analytical. The left side is dominant in this world. In this world, the heroes are marginal. The real humanity is in the frame of the society. The character is ambiguous in Blade Runner, we don’t really know if he is a human or an android (cf director’s cut). Some of the replicants have developed empathy, feelings, love. Test : looking to people in the eyes to see empathy. The eye is significant (the most vulnerable part of the body, the organ that permit you to go out of your body). Split between spirit and body. Question of morality. We create robots finally. EX : empathy test with Rachel and pursuit of replicants, house of creatures, technological kitch. Is she or he human ? (neck). Final fight scene : replicants are showing more empathy than human. At the end, two replicants fall in love. Scenes are slow, but there is action and suspense. Interesting soundtrack.