1983 BAFTA Best Production Design
After 'Alien' (1979), director Ridley Scott went on to make (among many other superb films) 'Blade Runner' (1982) and the less-appreciated 'Black Rain' (1989). Each of these films features similar stylish dark and brooding visual surroundings. 'Blade Runner' immerses the viewer in an intense, claustrophobic atmosphere of tension, unease and menace which never lets up until the very end. The film will repay several viewings to understand the full and complex story, which goes something like this: in the future (well, the film says 2019...) it is possible to manufacture androids almost indistinguishable from humans. Banned on Earth, such androids (Replicants) are hunted down by agents known as Blade Runners. A group of six is loose, and it falls to Harrison Ford to track them down – which he does, falling for one of their kind in the process. A superb sci-fi film, highly recommended – 5/5 stars.
Ridley Scott's intelligent fusion of Philip K Dick and Metropolis is an all round triumph, visually, emotionally and intellectually. The sets and models are marvellous. But, as well as the superb visuals, there is a very moving human story.
I suspect there will be 3 main groups of people interested in this film, sci-fi fanatics (know the plot seen the other versions), those who know blade runner is a classic and wanted to see what the fuss was about, and those who saw it was highly rated and thought it looked good. I am in the 2nd group and having read the other reviews would agree that it is a visual feast especially given its 1982 vintage. This justifies its place in the should see category. I was not blown away with the acting and didn't get drawn into the characters but as a ground breaking sci-fi it is up there with Alien.
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