- Blade Runner Unicorn Deckard Movie
- Blade Runner 2049 Deckard Replicant
- Blade Runner Unicorn Deckard Full
Three of the film's different physical releases, which contain some of the different versions.
Left: the steel edition
Center: the briefcase of the Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition on Blu-ray
Right: the 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition
Left: the steel edition
Center: the briefcase of the Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition on Blu-ray
Right: the 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition
Apr 22, 2009 Massed Pipes & Drums parade through Deeside town to start the Ballater Highland Games 2018 - Duration: 9:27. Braemar Media Recommended for you.
Seven different versions of Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction filmBlade Runner have been shown, either to test audiences or theatrically. The best known versions are the Workprint, the US Theatrical Cut, the International Cut, the Director's Cut[1], and the Final Cut. These five versions are included in both the 2007 five-disc Ultimate Collectors Edition and 2012 30th-Anniversary Collector's Edition releases.
There also exists the San Diego Sneak Preview Cut, which was only shown once at a preview screening and the US Broadcast Cut, which was edited for television broadcast. In the 2007 documentary Dangerous Days: The Making of Blade Runner, there is a reference to director Ridley Scott presenting an eighth version, a nearly four-hour-long 'early cut', that was shown only to studio personnel. The following is a timeline of these various versions.
Workprint prototype version (1982)[edit]
The workprint version (1982, 113 minutes) was shown to test audiences in Denver and Dallas in March 1982. It was also seen in 1990 and 1991 in Los Angeles and San Francisco as an Original Director's Cut without the approval of director Ridley Scott. Negative responses to the test previews led to the modifications resulting in the US theatrical version,[2] while positive response to the showings in 1990 and 1991 pushed the studio to approve work on an official director's cut.[3] This version was re-released as part of the five-disc Ultimate Edition in 2007 with a new transfer of the last known print in existence, with the picture and sound quality restored as much as possible. However, the result was still rough. The main differences between the Workprint and most of the other versions (in chronological order) are:
- The opening replicant definition defining replicants as 'Synthetic human with paraphysical capabilities, having skin/flesh culture,' is not in the other four DVD versions.
- The opening title sequence and opening crawl explaining the backstory of the replicants is not present in this version.
- When Deckard plays the piano in a depressed stupor, there is no unicorn daydream sequence or background music (the unicorn daydream was added to the Director's Cut and the Final Cut).
- Different, farther-away shots of Batty as Deckard watches him die are shown. Additionally, there is an alternative narration (the only narration in this version): 'I watched him die all night. It was a long, slow thing...and he fought it all the way. He never whimpered, and he never quit. He took all the time he had, as though he loved life very much. Every second of it...even the pain. Then he was dead.'
- There is no 'happy ending'; the film ends when the elevator doors to Deckard's apartment close as he and Rachael leave.
- There are no closing credits. The words 'The End' are simply shown as exit music plays.
San Diego sneak preview version (1982)[edit]
A San Diego sneak preview shown only once in May 1982.[4] This version is nearly identical to the 1982 US theatrical version, except that it included two additional scenes not shown before or since, including the Final Cut version (2007), as well as the debut of the 'happy ending'.[5]
US theatrical release (1982)[edit]
The 1982 US theatrical version released by the studio included the 'happy ending' as well as the addition of Harrison Ford's voiceover.[1]
Although several different versions of the script had included a narration of some sort to clarify the narrative, Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott had decided to add filmed scenes to provide the information. But financiers rewrote and reinserted narration during post-production after test audience members indicated difficulty understanding the film. Scott did not have final cut privilege for the version released to cinemas.[6] Ford said in 1999, 'I contested it mightily at the time. It was not an organic part of the film.'[7] It has been suggested that Ford intentionally performed the voice-over badly, in the hope it would not be used.[1] But in a 2002 interview with Playboy, he said, '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 and sandbag it. It was simply bad narration.'[8]
The 'Happy Ending' refers to the scene after Deckard and Rachael leave the apartment. Gaff spares Rachael's life, allowing her and Deckard to escape the nauseating confines of Los Angeles. They drive away into a natural landscape, and in the voice-over narrative, Deckard informs us that despite what Gaff had said ('It's too bad she won't live. But then again who does?'), Rachael doesn't have the built-in four-year limit to her lifespan that the other replicants have.[9]
International theatrical release (1982)[edit]
The International Cut (1982, 117 minutes)--also known as the 'Criterion Edition' or unrated version--included three more violent action scenes than the US theatrical version. It was distributed in Europe, Australia, and Asia via theatrical and local Warner Home Video laserdisc releases. Although initially unavailable in the US, it was later released on VHS and Criterion Collection laserdisc in North America and re-released in 1992 as a '10th-Anniversary Edition'.[10]
US broadcast version (1986)[edit]
The US broadcast version (1986, 114 minutes) was the US theatrical version edited by television company CBS to tone down the violence, profanity, and nudity to meet broadcasting restrictions.[11] This version is preceded by a CBS 'Saturday Night Movie teaser' explaining the premise of the movie, making it clear that Deckard is not a replicant, and declaring 'Blade Runner: Where Love Could Be the Deadliest Sin'. In this version, the initial text crawl at the start of the movie explaining what a replicant is 'Early in the 21st Century...' is read by an anonymous announcer (not Harrison Ford).
The actual text of the opening text crawl is different from the 1982 US theatrical release:'Early in the 21st Century, robots known as Replicants were created as off-world slave labor. Identical to humans [sic], Replicants were superior in strength and agility, and at least equal in intelligence, to the genetic engineers who created them. After a bloody mutiny, Replicants were declared illegal on earth. Special police squads, Blade Runner Units, had orders to shoot to kill trespassing Replicants. This was not called execution. It was called 'retirement'.
The Director's Cut (1992)[edit]
The Ridley Scott-approved Director's Cut (1992, 116 minutes)[12] was prompted by the unauthorized 1990 and 1991 theatrical release of the workprint version of the movie. The Director's Cut contained significant changes from the theatrical workprint version. Scott provided extensive notes and consultation to Warner Bros., although film preservationist/restorer Michael Arick was put in charge of creating the Director's Cut.[13]
In October 1989, Arick discovered a 70mm print of Blade Runner at the Todd-AO vaults while searching for soundtrack masters for other films.[14] Some time later, the print was rediscovered by two film collectors at the same vault while searching for footage from The Alamo.[15]
![Blade runner deckard unicorn Blade runner deckard unicorn](/uploads/1/2/6/8/126895876/347466963.jpg)
When the Cineplex Odeon Fairfax Theater in Los Angeles learned of this discovery, the theater management got permission from Warner Bros. to screen the print for a film festival set for May 1990. Until the screening, no one had been aware that this print was the workprint version. Owing to this surprise, Warner Bros. booked more screenings of the now-advertised 'Director's Cut' of Blade Runner in 15 US cities.[14]
Ridley Scott publicly disowned this workprint version of the film as a 'director's cut,' citing that it was roughly edited, lacked a key scene, and the climax did not feature the score composed for the film by Vangelis. (It featured a temporary track using Jerry Goldsmith's score from Planet of the Apes.) In response to Scott's dissatisfaction, Warner Bros. pulled theatrical screenings of the workprint in some cities, though it played at the NuArt Theater in Los Angeles and the Castro Theatre in San Francisco beginning in late 1991.[14]
In response to the sold-out screenings of the workprint (and to screenings of the theatrical cut in Houston and Washington, D.C.) and to 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—for an official theatrical re-release in 1992.[14]
In 2000, Harrison Ford gave his view on the director's cut of the film, where he said that although he thought it was '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.'[16]
The Final Cut (2007)[edit]
Ridley Scott's Final Cut (2007, 117 minutes), or the 25th-Anniversary Edition, briefly released by Warner Bros. theatrically on October 5, 2007, and subsequently released on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray in December 2007 (UK December 3; US December 18)[17] is the only version over which Ridley Scott had complete artistic control, as the Director's Cut production did not place Scott directly in charge.[13] In conjunction with the Final Cut, documentary and other materials were produced for the home video releases, culminating in a five-disc 'Ultimate Collector's Edition' release by Charles de Lauzirika.[18]
Scott found time in mid-2000 to help put together a final and definitive version of the film with restoration producer Charles de Lauzirika, which was only partially completed in mid-2001 before legal and financial issues forced a halt to the work.[19]
After several years of legal disputes,[20] Warner Bros. announced in 2006 that it had finally secured full distribution rights to the film, and that there would be a three-stage release of the film:
- A digitally remastered single-disc re-release of the 1992 director's cut was released on September 5, 2006 in the United States, on October 9, 2006 in Ireland and the UK, and in the following months in continental Europe. It contained a trailer for the final cut.
- Ridley Scott's Final Cut of the film began a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on October 5, 2007;[20] in Washington, D.C. at the Uptown Theatre on October 26, 2007; Chicago on November 2, 2007; in Toronto on November 9, 2007 at Theatre D Digital's Regent Theatre; Sydney, Australia at the Hayden Orpheum on November 8, 2007; Melbourne, Australia on November 15, 2007 at The Astor Theatre; Brookline at the Coolidge Corner Theater on November 16, 2007 and Austin, Texas on November 18, 2007.
- A multi-disc box set was released on the DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.[21][22]
The set was released in Europe on December 3, 2007 and in the US on December 18, 2007. Two-disc and four-disc sets were also released, containing some of the features of the five-disc set.[23][24]
On November 10, 2008, The Final Cut premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel.
A DVD featurette titled All Our Variant Futures profiled the making of the Final Cut version, including behind-the-scenes footage of Harrison Ford's son, Ben Ford, and the filming of new scenes for the Final Cut. According to the documentary, actress Joanna Cassidy made the suggestion to re-film Zhora's death scene while being interviewed for the Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner documentary, and footage of her making this suggestion is inter-cut with footage of her attending the later digital recording session.
The Final Cut contains the original full-length version of the unicorn dream, which had never been in any version, and has been restored. Additionally, all of the additional violence and alternative edits from the international cut have been inserted.
The Final Cut was re-released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 5, 2017 (one month prior to the theatrical release of Blade Runner 2049). This release includes standard Blu-ray editions of The Final Cut along with the US theatrical cut, the international cut, and the Director's Cut, as well as the Dangerous Days documentary on DVD.
References[edit]
- ^ abcSammon, Paul M. (1996). 'XIII. Voice-Overs, San Diego, and a New Happy Ending'. Future Noir: the Making of Blade Runner. London: Orion Media. p. 370. ISBN0-06-105314-7.
- ^Kaplan, Fred (September 30, 2007). 'A Cult Classic, Restored Again'. New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
- ^Bukatman, p. 37
- ^Sammon, pp. 306 and 309–311
- ^'7. US San Diego Sneak Preview (115 min) (Blade Runner Verainm)'. stason.org. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- ^Levine, Nick (September 13, 2016). 'Like Ridley Scott, the director of 'Blade Runner 2' does not have final cut'. NME. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
- ^'Harrison Ford's Blade Runner Gripe'. Empire. September 7, 1999. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
- ^Fleming, Michael. 'The Playboy Interview'. Playboy Magazine. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
- ^'Blade Runner: What's Up With the Ending?'. www.shmoop.com. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- ^Sammon, pp. 326–329
- ^Sammon, pp. 407–408 and 432
- ^Ebert, Roger (September 12, 1992), 'Blade Runner: Director's Cut', rogerebert.com, retrieved December 7, 2018
- ^ abSammon, pp. 353, 365
- ^ abcdTuran, Kenneth (2006). 'Now in Theaters Everywhere: A Celebration of a Certain Kind of Blockbuster' (pp. 15-17). New York City: PublicAffairs. ISBN1-58648-395-1
- ^Kolb, William W. (1997). 'Retrofitting Blade Runner' (p. 294). University of Wisconsin Press: . ISBN0-87972-509-5
- ^Kennedy, Colin (November 2000). 'And beneath lies, the truth'. Empire (137): 76.
- ^Blade Runner: The Final Cut. The Digital Bits, Inc. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
- ^Hunt, Bill (December 12, 2007). Blade Runner: The Final Cut – All Versions. The Digital Bits, Inc. Archived from the original on December 10, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- ^''Blade Runner' Countdown, By Kurt Loder - Movie News Story'. MTV Movie News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^ abKaplan, Fred (September 30, 2007). 'Blade Runner: The Final Cut - Movies - New York Times'. The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
- ^''Blade Runner Special Edition News and Views', brmovie.com, Feb. 2, 2006'. Retrieved July 27, 2007.
- ^'Blade Runner Final Cut Due', SciFi Wire, May 26, 2006'. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2007.
- ^'BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT'. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2007.
- ^'My Two Cents - Archived Posts (7/25/07 - 6/28/07)'. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2007.
Blade Runner Unicorn Deckard Movie
External links[edit]
- 'Do Filmgoers Dream of Director's Cuts?' SciFi.com article detailing the various cuts of the film.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Versions_of_Blade_Runner&oldid=944981605'
Despite the initial appearance of an action film, Blade Runner operates on an unusually rich number of dramatic levels. As with much of the cyberpunk genre, it owes a large debt to film noir, containing and exploring such conventions as the femme fatale, a Chandleresque first-person narration in the Theatrical Version, the questionable moral outlook of the hero—extended here to include even the literal humanity of the hero, as well as the usual dark and shadowy cinematography.
Eye reflecting the 'Hades' landscape.
Overview[edit]
It has been argued that Blade Runner thematically enfolds moral philosophy and philosophy of mind implications of the increasing human mastery of genetic engineering, within the context of classical Greek drama and its notions of hubris[1]—and linguistically, drawing on the poetry of William Blake and the Bible. This is a theme subtly reiterated by the chess game between J. F. Sebastian and Tyrell based on the famous Immortal Game of 1851 symbolizing the struggle against mortality imposed by God.[2] The Blade Runner FAQ offers further interpretation of the chess game, saying that it 'represents the struggle of the replicants against the humans: the humans consider the replicants pawns, to be removed one by one. The individual replicants (pawns) are attempting to become immortal (a queen). At another level, the game between Tyrell and Sebastian represents Batty stalking Tyrell. Tyrell makes a fatal mistake in the chess game, and another fatal mistake trying to reason with Batty.'[2]
Blade Runner depicts a future whose fictional distance from present reality has grown sharply smaller to reality in 2020. The film delves into the future implications of technology on the environment and society by reaching into the past using literature, religious symbolism, classical dramatic themes and film noir. This tension between past, present and future is apparent in the retrofitted future of Blade Runner, which is high-tech and gleaming in places but elsewhere decayed and old.
A high level of paranoia is present throughout the film with the visual manifestation of corporate power, omnipresent police, probing lights; and in the power over the individual represented particularly by genetic programming of the replicants. Control over the environment is seen on a large scale but also with how animals are created as mere commodities. This oppressive backdrop clarifies why many people are going to the off-world colonies, which clearly parallels the migration to the Americas. The popular 1980s prediction of the United States being economically surpassed by Japan is reflected in the domination of Japanese culture and corporations in the advertising of LA 2019. The film also makes extensive use of eyes and manipulated images to call into question reality and our ability to perceive it.
This provides an atmosphere of uncertainty for Blade Runner's central theme of examining humanity. In order to discover replicants, a psychological test is used with a number of questions intended to provoke emotion; making it the essential indicator of someone's 'humanity'. The replicants are juxtaposed with human characters who are unempathetic, and while the replicants show passion and concern for one another, the mass of humanity on the streets is cold and impersonal. The film goes so far as to put in doubt the nature of Rick Deckard and forces the audience to reevaluate what it means to be human.[3]
Genetic engineering and cloning[edit]
A Voight-Kampff machine is a fictional device to detect a replicant by measuring the minute emotional responses to questions designed to provoke an emotional response, including pupil dilation and pheromones.
Eyes[edit]
Eye symbolism appears repeatedly in Blade Runner and provides insight into themes and characters therein. The film opens with an extreme closeup of an eye which fills the screen reflecting the industrial landscape seen below.
In Roy's quest to 'meet his maker' he seeks out Chew, a genetic designer of eyes, who created the eyes of the Nexus-6. When told this, Roy quips, 'Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes', ironic in that Roy's eyes are Chew's eyes since he created them, but it also emphasizes the importance of personal experience in the formation of self. Roy and Leon then intimidate Chew with disembodied eyes and he tells them about J. F. Sebastian.
It is symbolic that the man who designed replicant eyes shows the replicants the way to Tyrell. Eyes are widely regarded as 'windows to the soul', eye contact being a facet of body language that unconsciously demonstrates intent and emotion and this is used to great effect in Blade Runner. The Voight-Kampff test that determines if you are human measures the emotions, specifically empathy through various biological responses such as fluctuation of the pupil and involuntary dilation of the iris. Tyrell's trifocal glasses are a reflection of his reliance on technology for his power and his myopic vision. Roy eye gouges Tyrell with his thumbs while killing him, a deeply intimate and brutal death that indicates judgement of Tyrell's soul.
In certain scenes, the pupils of replicants' eyes glow, which is evidence that Deckard may be a replicant himself.[4]
In some scenes, the glow in the pupils of replicants' eyes creates a sense of artificiality. This effect was produced by cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth shining a light along the optical axis of the camera.[5] According to Ridley Scott, 'that kickback you saw from the replicants' retinas was a bit of a design flaw. I was also trying to say that the eye is really the most important organ in the human body. It's like a two-way mirror; the eye doesn't only see a lot, the eye gives away a lot. A glowing human retina seemed one way of stating that'.[1] Scott considers the glow to be a stylistic device (non-diegetic); only visible to the viewers to help them understand that they are viewing a replicant, almost always occurring after the characters have assumed as much.
The relationship between sight and memories is referenced several times in Blade Runner. Rachael's visual recollection of her memories, Leon's 'precious photos', Roy's discussion with Chew and soliloquy at the end, 'I've seen things you people wouldn't believe'. However, just as prevalent is the concept that what the eyes see and the resulting memories are not to be trusted. This is a notion emphasized by Rachael's fabricated memories, Deckard's need to confirm a replicant based on more than appearance, and even the printout of Leon's photograph not matching the reality of the Esper visual.
Also in the Director's Cut, when at the Tyrell corporation the owl's eye pupils glow with a red tint. This was derived from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,[6] in which real animals are rare and owls are very rare, since they were the first animals to start dying of the pollution which pushed humans Off-World. The red tint indicates that the owl is a replicant.
Religious and philosophical symbolism[edit]
There is a subtext of Christian allegory in Blade Runner, particularly in regard to the Roy Batty character. Given the replicants' superhuman abilities, their identity as created beings (by Tyrell) and 'fall from the heavens' (off-world) makes them analogous to fallen angels. In this context, Roy Batty shares similarities with Lucifer as he prefers to 'reign in hell' (Earth) rather than 'serve in heaven'.[7] This connection is also apparent when Roy deliberately misquotes William Blake, 'Fiery the angels fell...' (Blake wrote 'Fiery the angels rose...' in America a Prophecy). Nearing the end of his life, Roy creates a stigmata by driving a nail into his hand, and becomes a Christ-like figure by sacrificing himself for Deckard. Upon his death a dove appears to symbolise Roy's soul ascending into the heavens.[8]
Zhora's gunshot wounds are both on her shoulder blades. The end result makes her look like an angel whose wings have been cut off. Zhora uses serpent that 'once corrupted man' in her performance.
A Nietzschean interpretation has also been argued for the film on several occasions. This is especially true for the Batty character, arguably a biased prototype for Nietzsche's Übermensch—not only due to his intrinsic characteristics, but also because of the outlook and demeanor he displays in many significant moments of the film. For instance:
- A modern audience might admire Batty’s will to flee the confinements of slavery and perhaps sympathize with his existential struggle to live. Initially, however, his desire to live is subsumed by his desire for power to extend his life. Why? In Heidegger’s view, because death inevitably limits the number of choices we have, freedom is earned by properly concentrating on death. Thoughts of mortality give us a motive for taking life seriously. Batty’s status as a slave identifies him as an object, but his will to power casts him as an agent and subject in the Nietzschean sense. His physical and psychological courage to rebel is developed as an ethical principle in which he revolts against a social order that has conspired against him at the genetic, cultural, and political levels. In Heidegger’s view, Batty’s willingness to defy social conformity allows for him to authentically pursue the meaning of his existence beyond his programming as a soldier. Confronting his makers becomes part of his quest, but killing them marks his failure to transcend his own nature.[9]
Environment and globalization[edit]
Orson Scott Card wrote of the film, 'It takes place in Los Angeles. No aliens at all. But it isn't the L.A. we know ... things have changed. Lots of things, moving through the background of the film, give us a powerful sense of being in a strange new place'.[10] The climate of the city in A.D. 2019 is very different from today's. It is strongly implied that industrial pollution has adversely affected planet Earth's environment, i.e. global warming and global dimming. Real animals are rare in the Blade Runner world. In Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, animal extinction and human depopulation of the planet were consequent to the radioactivefallout of a nuclear war;[11]Owls were the first species to become extinct. This ties in with Deckard's comment about Dr. Tyrell's artificial owl: 'It must be expensive.' (cf. post-apocalyptic science fiction)
Given the many Asian peoples populating Los Angeles in A.D. 2019, and the cityspeak dialect policeman Gaff speaks to the Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, clearly indicates that much cultural mixing has happened. Globalization also is reflected in the name of the Shimata-Domínguez Corporation, whose slogan proclaims: 'Helping America into the New World'.[12] This indicates that a mass migration is occurring, as there is a status quo that people want to escape. When Sebastian remarks of his downtown building 'No housing shortage around here...plenty of room for everybody', it mirrors the late twentieth century problems of white flight, and the resulting urban decay in western cities, but on a worldwide scale.
The cultural and religious mixing can also be verified at the scene where Deckard chases Zhora. In the streets, we can see people dressed traditionally as Jews, hare krishnas, as well as young boys dressed as punks.
Blade Runner 2049 Deckard Replicant
Deckard: human or replicant?[edit]
Gaff's Origami unicorn from The Final Cut, perhaps indicating that Deckard's unicorn dream was an implant and that Deckard is a replicant.[13]
In the Director's Cut and the Final Cut, there is a sequence in which Deckard daydreams about a unicorn; in the final scene, he finds an origami unicorn on the floor outside his apartment, left there by Gaff, suggesting that Gaff knows about Deckard's dream in the same manner that Deckard knows about Rachael's implanted memories. Scott confirmed this interpretation was his intent in the unicorn daydream.[14][13]
However, while memory implantation for replicants is established elsewhere in the movie, it is unclear if daydreams work in the same way.[15] Even without considering this scene, there is other evidence and hints that allow for the possibility of Deckard being a replicant but does not eliminate the possibility of Deckard being human:[16]
Blade Runner Unicorn Deckard Full
- That Deckard's apartment is full of photographs, none of them recent or in color. Replicants have a taste for photographs because it provides a tie to a non-existent past.[17]
- The scene in which Rachael asks, 'You know that Voight-Kampf test of yours? Did you ever take that test yourself? Deckard?'. By the time she calls out his name, Rachel finds that she had not received an answer because the injured, exhausted Deckard has fallen asleep.
- His fellow detective Gaff shows no sympathy for Deckard throughout the film and tells him 'You've done a man's job, sir!' after Roy expires.[17]
- Deckard's eyes glow briefly in one scene, which was used in the film to subtly suggest his replicant identity.[4] However, Ford denies this was an intentional effect and he may have caught some of the light intended to fall on Sean Young's eyes.[18]
The purpose of this story as I saw it was that in his job of hunting and killing these replicants, Deckard becomes progressively dehumanized. At the same time, the replicants are being perceived as becoming more human. Finally, Deckard must question what he is doing, and really what is the essential difference between him and them? And, to take it one step further, who is he if there is no real difference?
Philip K. Dick[19]
Philip K. Dick wrote the character Deckard as a human in the original novel in order to explore the increasing similarity of humans and replicants.[19] However, the film significantly diverges from the book, e.g. the book states explicitly that Deckard passed the Voight-Kampff test. Screenwriter Hampton Fancher has said that he wrote the character as a human, but wanted the film to suggest the possibility that he may be a replicant. When asked, 'Is Deckard a replicant?', Fancher replied, 'No. It wasn't like I had a tricky idea about Deckard that way.'[20] During a discussion panel with Ridley Scott to discuss Blade Runner: The Final Cut, Fancher again stated that he believes Deckard is human (saying that '[Scott's] idea is too complex'[21]), but also repeated that he prefers the film to remain ambiguous.[22]
Harrison Ford considers Deckard to be human. 'That was the main area of contention between Ridley and myself at the time,' Ford told an interviewer during a BBC OneHollywood Greats segment. 'I thought the audience deserved one human being on screen that they could establish an emotional relationship with. I thought I had won Ridley's agreement to that, but in fact I think he had a little reservation about that. I think he really wanted to have it both ways.'[23] Scott suggests that Ford may have since changed his view,[13] although Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve claimed that Ford and Scott argue about the issue to this day.[24] Other people involved in the movie's production who have expressed the view that Deckard is human include: David Snyder (art director), M. Emmet Walsh (who portrayed Bryant) and Rutger Hauer (who portrayed Roy Batty).[25]
Ridley Scott stated in several interviews that he considers Deckard to be a replicant.[25][26]Syd Mead, the film's visual futurist, agrees with Scott that Deckard is a replicant.[25] The disagreement among the people involved in making Blade Runner raises interesting questions about authorial intent, including who, if anyone, can make authoritative pronouncements about a film's interpretation.[18]
The film's visual effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull stated that he doesn't know Deckard's true nature and that the issue is an enigma;[25] similarly, Villeneuve also noted that in 2049, 'Deckard [...] is unsure, as we are, of what his identity is'.[24]
References[edit]
![Blade Runner Unicorn Deckad Blade Runner Unicorn Deckad](/uploads/1/2/6/8/126895876/764649339.jpg)
- ^ abJenkins, Mary. (1997) The Dystopian World of Blade Runner: An Ecofeminist Perspective
- ^ ab'Blade Runner – FAQ'. Faqs.org. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^Kerman, Judith (1991). Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner' and Philip K. Dick's 'Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep?'. ISBN978-0-87972-510-5.
- ^ abVest, Jason P. Future Imperfect: Philip K. Dick at the Movies. p. 26.
- ^Herb A. Lightman and Richard Patterson (March 1, 1999). 'Cinematography for Blade Runner'. The ASC Magazine.
- ^Dick, Philip K. (1968). Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?. New York: Ballantine. p. 244. ISBN978-1-56865-855-1.
- ^Gossman, Jean-Paul. (2001) Blade Runner - A Postmodernist View
- ^Newland, Dan. (1997) Christian Symbolism
- ^Pate, Anthony. (2009) Nietzsche's Ubermensch in the Hyperreal Flux: An Analysis of Blade Runner, Fight Club, and Miami Vice
- ^Card, Orson Scott (June 1989). 'Light-years and Lasers / Science Fiction Inside Your Computer'. Compute!. p. 29. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
- ^Leaver, Tama. (1997)'Post-Humanism and Ecocide in William Gibson's Neuromancer and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner'
- ^Välimäki, Teo. (1999) Comparing Philip K. Dick's Novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Ridley Scott's Film Blade Runner in Terms of Internationalisation
- ^ abcGreenwald, Ted. 'Interview with Ridley Scott in Wired magazine'. Wired.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2012.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- ^Adam White (October 2, 2017). 'What is a Blade Runner? And other questions you may have before seeing the sequel'. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
[RIDLEY SCOTT] Gaff, at the very end, leaves an origami, which is a piece of silver paper you might find in a cigarette packet, and it’s a unicorn. Now, the unicorn in Deckard’s daydream tells me that Deckard wouldn’t normally talk about such a thing to anyone. If Gaff knew about that, it’s Gaff’s message to say, ‘I’ve read your file, mate.
- ^Heldreth, Leonard G. (January 31, 2003). ''You're Talkin' About Memories' Reretrofitting Blade Runner'. In Kerman, Judith (ed.). Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (2nd ed.). p. 310.
- ^Tristram Fane Saunders (October 5, 2017). 'Is Deckard a Replicant? The history of Blade Runner's most enduring mystery'. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ abLacey, Nick (2000). York Film Notes: 'Blade Runner'. Harlow: Longman [u.a.] p. 29. ISBN0-582-43198-0.
- ^ abT. Shanahan (2016). Philosophy and Blade Runner. Springer. p. 16-18.
- ^ ab'P.K. Dick Interview'. Devo magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^'Is Deckard a Replicant? The history of Blade Runner's most enduring mystery'. The Telegraph. October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- ^'Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve: Deckard is human'. The National. September 24, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- ^'Is Deckard a replicant? 'Blade Runner 2049' writers discuss that and other mysteries'. LA Times. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^Hollywood Greats – Edited clip from BBC1 documentary program.
- ^ abDi Placido, Dani. 'Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott Are Still Arguing About 'Blade Runner''. forbes.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ abcdKermode, Mark (July 15, 2000). On the Edge of 'Blade Runner' (TV broadcast). Nobles Gate Ltd. (for Channel 4).
- ^'Blade Runner riddle solved'. BBC News. July 9, 2000. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
Further reading[edit]
- Telotte, J.P. (1999). A Distant Technology: Science Fiction Film and the Machine Age. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 165, 180–185. ISBN978-0-8195-6346-0.
- Menville, Douglas; R. Reginald (1985). Futurevisions: The New Golden Age of the Science Fiction Film. Van Nuys, CA: Newcastle. pp. 8, 15, 128–131, 188. ISBN978-0-89370-681-4.
- Macarthur, David (2017). 'A Vision of Blindness: Bladerunner and Moral Redemption'. Film Philosophy. Edinburgh University Press. 21 (3).
External links[edit]
- Blade Runner FAQ – Is Deckard a Replicant? (Archived)
- The Replicant Option – essay by Detonator (Archived)
- Deckard Is Not A Replicant – essay by Martin Connolly (Archived)
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