-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
LTTP: Blade Runner (Did not like it)
- Thread starter cantona222
- Start date
- Status
Delta Assault
Member
No.
That's... no.
If you tell somebody a joke and they don't laugh at it, is the correct course of action to carefully and painstakingly explain that joke to them and then ask them if they get it now? Do you think they'll laugh if you tell them the joke again?
Movies need to stand on their own, not be accompanied by a stack of academic papers to carefully parse through.
That doesn't make any sense. I'm saying people are criticizing his performance as wooden when I think that was exactly what the director was looking for since he's an android and not a human.
angular graphics
Banned
Maybe? What if they didn't get it? Not everyone gets everything? Including jokes.
Mackenzie 92
Member
didnt like it either. maybe expectations were too high. its also pretty dated
The theatrical cut used to be. I dunno if it still is, but I wouldn't bother with that version of the film anyway. When you do watch it, make sure you watch the final cut.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
You've never disliked something only to have your appreciation of it grow through conversation/further knowledge about it? Ever?
You do if they thought it was a pun but it was actually irony.
Oh god, this makes me sad.
Blade Runner is my favourite film ever. Especially the final cut. And it's a great blu-ray. Still one of the best looking sci-fi films of all time. The use of miniature models and effects is astounding. That combined with the soundtrack and the slower pace makes for a perfect blend of sci-fi and noir.
I would try watching it again. I know that sounds pointless, but Blade Runner gets better in repeated viewings. New details emerge that enhance its greatness.
Blade Runner is my favourite film ever. Especially the final cut. And it's a great blu-ray. Still one of the best looking sci-fi films of all time. The use of miniature models and effects is astounding. That combined with the soundtrack and the slower pace makes for a perfect blend of sci-fi and noir.
I would try watching it again. I know that sounds pointless, but Blade Runner gets better in repeated viewings. New details emerge that enhance its greatness.
I loved Ford's performance. He and Rutger Hauer were great, as were most of the supporting actors. Even ones with small roles. They all brought something special to the movie in my opinion. Eddie Olmos barely has any lines, but he made the Gaff character memorable. Or Joe Turkel as Eldon Tyrell. He's only in two scenes if I recall correctly, but he's fantastic.
If we let Terrisus decide then nothing is funny.
I love you Terrisus and I think you are great.
M. Emmet Walsh's Bryant is my favorite small part. The way he act's so nervous in his smoky office trying to convince Deckard to take on the case is great. He's trying to persuade a Replicant, an illegal android probably just activated, to go after other Replicants that his detectives have no chance of taking on.
bennywhatever
Member
The book its based off ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep") is absolutely amazing. A true sci-fi classic.
Never seen Bladerunner, though. I've heard mixed opinions on it. If it's half as good as the book, I'll love it.
Never seen Bladerunner, though. I've heard mixed opinions on it. If it's half as good as the book, I'll love it.
The problem is the movie keeps demonstrating how emotional the replicants other than Deckard have become.
If Deckard wasn't a replicant, I would actually appreciate the performance better because a human who acts like a machine makes a good contrast to someone like Roy Batty. As a replicant... His subdued performance feels out-of-place.
Watch it, don't expect it to be like the book, enjoy it.
Perfect Cha0s
Member
I actually liked Blade Runner specifically because I went into it expecting a decent sci-fi movie with some action, but instead got something that was slower, moody, and stacked with great atmosphere and stunning visual design.
I thought it was great for what it was.
I thought it was great for what it was.
Delta Assault
Member
I don't believe so. I mean, if you're watching a movie while suffering from Ebola and coughing up blood every five minutes, that might legitimately interfere with your initial viewing experience. But outside of that... no. If I watch a movie and it doesn't work on the first viewing, then that movie has fundamentally failed in its purpose.
well the central dynamic of the film is yes that between the replicants over-flowing with humanity to the point of mentally breaking apart and deckard sleepwalking his way through life aimless and emotionless
however deckard being a replicant is a nice little addition to that in the end because it goes all the way round to demonstrate how a.i can become so human-like that they can become bored of humanity. i don't think it cheapens the central dynamic because it's a small little addition, the rest is front and center.
crazy monkey
Banned
one of the most beautiful movie.Amazing amazing movie.
Escape Goat
Member
I've just watched Blade Runner for the first time. Maybe I was hyped and that is why I did not like the movie. The movie is boring. I liked Terminator & Star Wars and other old Sci Fi movies so I thought I would like Blade Runner, but I was wrong.
So does everybody agree that the movie does not hold up or is it just me?
I didn't really care for it either. Things never came together for me. Probably because Harrison Ford wasn't looking for his family/his wife.
Net_Wrecker
Member
Laughter vs understanding or appreciation are wholly different things. Overexplanation of a joke can ruin the impact it has and its goal (laughter), but more knowledge about something followed by a 2nd or 3rd viewing of that something can make for a deeper understanding and possibly a deeper appreciation of it.
The OP brings up Terminator and Star Wars. That mindset going into Blade Runner was destined to ruin the movie. If he researches what it's really about and gets an understanding of its tone and where it fits in sci-fi, there can definitely be a change in the way the movie is perceived a few years down the line. Blade Runner is like the poster boy for "I didn't like it the first time but now..." reactions in the genre, especially from people who've seen everything Blade Runner's spawned since 1982 (pretty much the cyberpunk aesthetic as we know it today)
The other new Replicant, Racheal, is also very reserved emotionally. The movie is hinting that the newer NEXUS-6 models have a more subdued, if not fully mature handle on their emotions.
angular graphics
Banned
The Final Cut. Although differences are small. But it's the only one that has been extensively remastered so..
As the above poster said, check out the Final Cut.
Maybe you have fundamentally failed in viewing the movie. ;-)
Of course watching movies is about communication. Both movie and viewer have to do some work.
Liquidsnake
Banned
The lighting
The atmosphere
The music
Second to none.
The atmosphere
The music
Second to none.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
That's really too bad for you, then. Many of my favorite things only became so after multiple viewings/experiences, with the proper mindset.
but that's why they make movies like Guardians of the Galaxy I guess
terrisus
Member
<3
CharminUltra
Member
OP, if you didn't enjoy Blade Runner, then never, ever, under any circumstances, watch Stalker or Solaris.
Chainsawkitten
Member
I hated Blade Runner and Stalker and Solaris are among my most favorite movies of all time (Stalker being my favorite movie of all time and I'm not sure just where I'd place Solaris but it's in the top 10 for sure). Ridley Scott ain't no Tarkovsky.
Totally! "You know the score, pal. You're not cop, you're little people." That little exchange illustrates so much about Blade Runner's society in just two sentences. That's one of the great things about the script I think. It's not overly wordy or heavy on dialogue, but you still get to know the world and its inhabitants fairly well. And all the actors do a great job with the material.
Delta Assault
Member
Laughter comes from understanding and appreciation of the joke. It's not that different. You just don't usually laugh when you watch a good movie, unless it's a comedy.
A joke relies on an impact and overexplanation can ruin that. Sure. But a movie relies on the impact of its visuals and acting and storytelling. If that movie doesn't make an impact with the initial viewing, then something has gone terribly wrong with the execution of the movie.
He shouldn't need to research what it's really about. The movie should be able to convey that by itself. I repeat, a movie needs to stand on its own. You don't go read a paper to gain an understanding of a movie's tone, the tone should be appreciated by how it's used in the movie's scenes.
Dated in what sense?
CharminUltra
Member
It was more of a "wink wink nod nod hint hint" comment. I almost included the years in parenthesis, but I thought it was going to make it too obvious. I always bring up those two movies up every time classic sci-fi movies are being discussed.
PassiveObserver
Member
Blade Runner is a difficult film to sit through, but you keep absorbing it past the initial viewing.
I remember thinking "That's it?" after my first viewing, probably due to expectations being all mucked up after hearing about it. Still, it made enough of an impression with it's absolutely stellar art, sets, music and atmosphere that I eventually returned to it. Now it's among my favourite films of all time and I watch it annually along with the Dangerous Days documentary.
I can see why it wouldn't be some peoples cup of tea, but I consider it a masterpiece.
I can see why it wouldn't be some peoples cup of tea, but I consider it a masterpiece.
VistraNorrez
Member
I saw Blade Runner for the first time in the theaters, the Ziegfeld in NYC, when it was released as the Final Cut. It was such a wonderful experience. I was so absorbed by the film, it's one of my favorite now. I really do think the presentation helps for slower films. Any distractions will break you out of that immersion.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Does this suggest that anything whose themes are not evident to a lowest-common-denominator watcher has failed? There is no such thing as an idea that requires better background or context to grasp? No idea is more complex than any other idea?
Chainsawkitten
Member
Years are kinda necessary for Solaris unless he go watch that awful Soderbergh tripe. (Note: I have not seen the 2002 version. Maybe it's awesome. I truly don't know.)
angular graphics
Banned
But some people won't have to research to get it. Others yes, maybe the will. It's not the fault of the movie not ***everyone*** will get it.
That would be accurate if humans were born with a cinematographic database pre-installed in our brain and thus extracted 100% of a film in the first viewing, but alas, we don't, and as we grow up the way we view the world and what we know about it changes. Perhaps someone liked faster paced films and didn't like it, but as he grew tired of blockbuster-type movies he came back to it and found a new appreciation of the slower, more deliberate pacing of Blade Runner. Maybe someone realized the craftmanship behind the sets after watching movies with crummy CG, or the infamous "TV look". Maybe someone experienced more works that were inspired by the film and they come to respect it for its huge posthumous influence even if they don't particularly enjoy it moment to moment. Or perhaps something as simple as the way the music and visuals manage to combine and create a particular mood that reminds you of the first time you watched it, making you realize that it left a stronger mark on you than you thought. There are tons of ways in which revisiting a movie can make you see something you didn't before.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
This reminds me of the discussion I had about Final Crisis. Some people had a lot of questions about why this and what this was and you try to explain them or the themes; "Well, if you need a ten page essay to explain a story its obviously bad storytelling!"
You just kinda throw your hands in the air and keep it moving. Keep on living your life that way, homeboy.
While I wasn't blown away the first time I saw it I quite enjoyed it. The second time I watched it much later and as an adult I enjoyed it considerably more, but it's certainly not a film without flaws, the music is so amazing though.
There is one point I don't share with purists, and I'll be more burned than the OP for this but... I actually prefer the original ending, bad speech and all. And Sean Young looked stunning in that one. I don't feel it negates anything about the themes of the movie, it just reinforce them to me.
There is one point I don't share with purists, and I'll be more burned than the OP for this but... I actually prefer the original ending, bad speech and all. And Sean Young looked stunning in that one. I don't feel it negates anything about the themes of the movie, it just reinforce them to me.
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
The last 15 minutes of Blade Runner are among the best moments in movies. Ford just standing silently listening to a dying clone talk, and Ford can understand and sympathize with him, is such an amazing scene. I found the scene very powerful, and touching.
- Status