[CracknutWhirrun]

It's one of my favorite movies, but it took a few viewings for me to fall in love with it. The first time I was trying to figure out what was going on, but the next few times I just let the movie wash over me. And for some reason every time I watch it I crave Chinese food

[Zeliard]

I still really like the movie, but I've always disagreed with this. I think people who think it's aged so well have some rose tinted glasses on.

What is dated about it?

[i_am_not_jon_ames]

Mediocre movie for sure. The only thing I can say is that it's not the most over hyped Harrison Ford movie, that title belongs to Raiders...

[LM4sure]

This thread is making me want to watch the movie again. So good!

Thanks gaf!

[Milchjon]

What is dated about it?

A future without Transformers? No way. Much too oldschool.

[Gustav]

What is dated about it?

Although it pains me, I'd say the sound quality in regards to speech is pretty bad by todays standards.

[Imbarkus]

Both very valid opinions. You know what else is garbage? Fight Club.

ITT roasting sacred cows is fun!

[Quackula]

So exactly how many cuts of this movie are there?

I've seen maybe half of the final cut once.

I should get around to watching it in full sometime.

[Toppot]

I watched this for the first time recently as well, final cut I think. I didn't find it terribly interesting. The whole idea is nice of these replicates and it does look good, but I didn't think the characters were very good or the 'path' of the film was very coherent.

I'm glad to of watched it as it is key in the history of cinema, but I can't see myself recommending anyone to watch it beyond that point. Watch it because it is Blade Runner, not because it is a film.

So exactly how many cuts of this movie are there?

7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner

[Ace Harding]

I sort of get it OP. I have a love/hate relationship with Blade Runner.

I loved the world. The semi-near future dystopian LA is awesome. The gritty LA streets and noodle bars, the mish-mash of cultures and languages, the tech, all very cool and very "real."

I also love noir, and I thought Scott did a great job of creating a noir detective story in this crazy sci-fi world. I wish there were more modern "neo-noir" films out there (yes I know there are a few).

But some of the dialogue, and ESPECIALLY the voiceover, were really, really bad. Harrison Ford said how dumb he thought the voiceover was, and he seems so disinterested and wooden in his delivery. I know they were going for the whole noir thing, but I thought it was awfully executed. I can't sit through it without groaning and rolling my eyes.

I have never read the Philip K. Dick novel ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?") but its on my list.

[Alucrid]

ITT roasting sacred cows is fun!

Fight club is a sacred cow?

[Secret Fawful]

I wonder what people will say when Scott finally finishes his BR sequel.

[Ratrat]

Ill admit to finding it boring the first time. I suggest reading the book before researching it. It's also got every bit of the beauty and atmosphere found in perhaps Alien alone.

[Quackula]

7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner

That's a lot of cuts.

Fans of BR, which cut do you recommend for first time viewers?

[Secret Fawful]

I prefer the Final Cut out of the cuts I've seen.

[StriKeVillain]

That's a lot of cuts. Fans of BR, which cut do you recommend for first time viewers?

Final Cut. Watch the previous iterations if you want to afterward.

[demon]

I sort of get it OP. I have a love/hate relationship with Blade Runner. I loved the world. The semi-near future dystopian LA is awesome. The gritty LA streets and noodle bars, the mish-mash of cultures and languages, the tech, all very cool and very "real." I also love noir, and I thought Scott did a great job of creating a noir detective story in this crazy sci-fi world. I wish there were more modern "neo-noir" films out there (yes I know there are a few). But some of the dialogue, and ESPECIALLY the voiceover, were really, really bad. Harrison Ford said how dumb he thought the voiceover was, and he seems so disinterested and wooden in his delivery. I know they were going for the whole noir thing, but I thought it was awfully executed. I can't sit through it without groaning and rolling my eyes. I have never read the Philip K. Dick novel ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?") but its on my list.

You do know that most cuts of the movie, including the final cut, do not have the voice over narration, right?

[Ingueferroque]

Lol. This looks like super overrated and like rose tinted nostalgia.

The hell? Did you look at the shot? It looks more convincing than current movies. The art-direction alone was way ahead of its time and influenced our entire video game generation.

It's from 1982.

[Dreams-Visions]

I thought it was fine. It simply didn't impress me the way it impressed others. The acting and story, that is. Now the visuals? To DIE for. And it's not that I didn't understand the story arch and plot lines...it's just that the didn't particularly move me.

It may or may not grow on you, but it's something you can appreciate more with repeated viewings.

[Dilly]

The hell? Did you look at the shot? It looks more convincing than current movies. The art-direction alone was way ahead of its time and influenced our entire video game generation. It's from 1982.

The man said 'lol', that's better argumentation then you'll ever give!

[Zeliard]

Although it pains me, I'd say the sound quality in regards to speech is pretty bad by todays standards.

Something tells me he wasn't really referring to the sound quality of the film's dialogue. :p

There are criticisms you can throw at Blade Runner. I'd probably disagree with them, but in some cases I'd see where you were coming from. Labeling it "dated" seems fairly strange, though, given that it is essentially the opposite.

Blade Runner was clearly ahead of its time given the marked influence it ended up having on things even outside of the sci-fi realm, and it is also one of those movies that received a mixed reaction upon release but ended up being viewed as a classic of the genre later on in retrospect.

If you're going to call it dated because it visualized an LA with flying cars in 2019, you should be prepared to take almost all sci-fi to task for similar things.

[Nappuccino]

But some of the dialogue, and ESPECIALLY the voiceover, were really, really bad. Harrison Ford said how dumb he thought the voiceover was, and he seems so disinterested and wooden in his delivery. I know they were going for the whole noir thing, but I thought it was awfully executed. I can't sit through it without groaning and rolling my eyes. I have never read the Philip K. Dick novel ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?") but its on my list.

Why are you watching the voice over?

They took it out of the more recent versions for a reason.

Watch the Director's Cut or Final Cut. You'll be much happier.

[Gustav]

The hell? Did you look at the shot? It looks more convincing than current movies. The art-direction alone was way ahead of its time and influenced our entire video game generation. It's from 1982.

Man, and I thought the inflammatory LOL was a dead giveaway that I was being sarcastic.

[Fritz]

Something tells me he wasn't really referring to the sound quality of the film's dialogue. :p There are criticisms you can throw at Blade Runner. I'd probably disagree with them, but in some cases I'd see where you were coming from. Labeling it "dated" seems fairly strange, though, given that it is essentially the opposite. Blade Runner was clearly ahead of its time given the marked influence it ended up having on things even outside of the sci-fi realm, and it is also one of those movies that received a mixed reaction upon release but ended up being viewed as a classic of the genre later on in retrospect. If you're going to call it dated because it visualized an LA with flying cars in 2019, you should be prepared to take almost all sci-fi to task for similar things.

LOL, the giant screen isn't even a retina display!

[Nibel]

I sometimes have to compare this movie to The Matrix: two movies with groundbreaking presentations and interesting plots; two of the most important movies of all time.

But nevertheless: I loved it. Not just the perfect dystopian world, but also those questions which the movie asks: how human-like can replicants be? How replicant-like can humans be?

It blew my mind when I was 19 - two years ago. I will never forget the "tears in the rain" speech - never.

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

It's a visually beautiful film with a dated soundtrack and a shallow treatment of the whole AI/consciousness phenomenon, not to mention uninteresting characters, including Harrison Ford being his usual wooden self (minus the masculine cockiness that makes him fun to watch as Solo or Indy), and Rutger Hauer's psychotic robot who the movie insists is truly "conscious" but who doesn't seem to have any of the personal depth that might communicate that to the audience. The final line of Roy is quoted often, but between the banality of it and Scott's mind-numbingly dumb choice to show a DOVE flying into the sky, it's pretty much the epitome of a Hollywood film striving for depth it doesn't have the intelligence or the balls to reach. The film deserves to be lauded for its SFX and cinematography (though even then, the long passages of silence could have been cut down, or the voiceover idea could have been preserved and done well - the movie's not 2001, it does not earn such contemplative pauses nor executive them with as much vivacity), but the people who defend its story baffle me.

[Tacitus_]

I'm with you OP. I watched it recently and was blown away by just how much I didn't like it. Ford seemed to just be going through the motions, all of the characters fell flat, the romance between Deckard and Rachael was juvenile and creepy, and the final confrontation between Deckard and Roy was...ugh. I plan on watching it again, but I can say the only things that really impressed me were the visuals (the movie still looks beautiful today) and the score, which was phenomenal.

Think about it for a while.
They were both androids and at most a couple of years old. One of the themes is how the replicants can't cope with emotions due to the way they're built. The new ones with implanted memories cope a bit better, but they're still not humans.

[Sapiens]

Can someone provide a GIF of Roy Batty looking all confused in the elevator after he kills Tyrell?

[Hayvic]

You just have to face it guys. Bladerunner might have been okay for it's time, but technology has improved tremendously since then, and directors like Michael Bay can leverage that technology to produce films that blow Bladerunner out of the water.

[Woz]

You just have to face it guys. Bladerunner might have been okay for it's time, but technology has improved tremendously since then, and directors like Michael Bay can leverage that technology to produce films that blow Bladerunner out of the water.

Eheheheh

[jimi_dini]

I've heard for years that Blade Runner is supposed to be one of the best sci fi movies ever ... I was floored by how terrible it was.

[Kade]

You just have to face it guys. Bladerunner might have been okay for it's time, but technology has improved tremendously since then, and directors like Michael Bay can leverage that technology to produce films that blow Bladerunner out of the water.

Good post.

[randomwab]

I felt the same way as the OP the first time I watched it. Beautiful movie, but completely overhyped and a dull story.

Based on how good it looked, I bought the Blu-ray when it was on sale years later, and on rewatching it, the movie clicked for me. Blade Runner is more about the subtly of the characters and the world they built than the foreground story, imo.

Honestly, it's one of my favourite films of all time now. Not saying the OP would have the same experience I did, but that rewatch was magical.

[Dreams-Visions]

You just have to face it guys. Bladerunner might have been okay for it's time, but technology has improved tremendously since then, and directors like Michael Bay can leverage that technology to produce films that blow Bladerunner out of the water.

80s can't complete with lens flare.

[Requeim]

Watched it early last year for the first time and i loved it, *shrugs*

[Rocket Punch]

I love Bladerunner. That being said I don't like to watch it too often. I fear if I watch it too often it might become stale and boring. I love its atmosphere and story too much for me to let that happen. I always approach watching it much like drinking a fine wine. Only in special occasions and when I can sit though it in one sitting uninterrupted.

And every time I do it never fails to takes my breath away.

[KidA Seven]

I watched it for the first time a month ago and it's now one of my favorite movies.

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

ThLunarian: I don't get it.

[Woz]

80s can't complete with lens flare.

The funny part is the BR has some good lens flare.
It was a Scott thing.

[Gustav]

You just have to face it guys. Bladerunner might have been okay for it's time, but technology has improved tremendously since then, and directors like Michael Bay can leverage that technology to produce films that blow Bladerunner out of the water.

Nothing explores the human soul more than a good Michael Bay film.

[MarkMclovin]

Think about it for a while. They were both androids and at most a couple of years old. One of the themes is how the replicants can't cope with emotions due to the way they're built. The new ones with implanted memories cope a bit better, but they're still not humans.

Deckard didn't know that though? Or did he?

I'm with you OP. Bought the Final cut last month, ordered a pizza, and gave it my complete attention. I'd only watched it without paying attention when I was a kid, like 20 odd years ago. So I went in pretty fresh, apart from the hype it gets.

I too just didn't really get it and came away with more unanswered questions. Like how did the guy that was being asked questions, manage to blow away the other dude and get away with it? Why was he there in the first place? Etc.

[Dreams-Visions]

The funny part is the BR has some good lens flare. It was a Scott thing.

but not MICHAEL BAY/JJ ABRAMS lens flare!

[Jimothy]

I sometimes have to compare this movie to The Matrix: two movies with groundbreaking presentations and interesting plots; two of the most important movies of all time.

The Matrix is a superior film in pretty much every respect, and definitely more influential stylistically.

[Chinner]

why did the guy at the noodle bar let deckard get away without paying for his noodles????

[cametall]

I haven't watched Blade Runner for a few years, nor do I remember what version I have on DVD.

But throughout the movie Deckard has dreams of a unicorn and at the end the Asian guy leaves a paper unicorn for Deckard I believe (or something like this) so this is how I came to the conclusion he was a replicant. There is a discussion and example in the movie about implanted memories.

Also, weren't these replicants more like genetically altered humans? IIRC (and I am probably not) didn't they lack mechanical parts (ala androids from Alien) and were actually all biological? Hence that test that empathy test being administered?

EDIT: reading this thread I realized I got the meat and potatoes right but my half baked memory forgot what animal Deckard remembered and what the replicants were called...

[Dreams-Visions]

The Matrix is a superior film in pretty much every respect, and definitely more influential stylistically.

oh very much so.

why did the guy at the noodle bar let deckard get away without paying for his noodles????

you are a duck.

[PetriP-TNT]

Here are some movies that might be more up your alley: shit.

One of the funniest (and most true!) comments I have read on GAF this year, bravo!

I like all the cuts of Blade Runner and held it up high on my best movies list. I understand why people wouldn't like it if they saw it today for the first time but no wait I won't understand.

[Chinner]

why idn't deckard fill his car up with gas at some point during the film? surely it would run out of fuel and stop working! are we to believe this is some kind of magical car?

[espresso]

I'm with you, OP. I played it for the first time a few months ago and fell asleep it was so boring.

[Woz]

The Matrix is a superior film in pretty much every respect, and definitely more influential stylistically.

The sarcasm in this thread is overflowing