1982 117 mins

Director Ridley Scott
Starring Harrison Ford - Rick Deckard
Rutger Hauer - Roy Batty
Sean Young - Rachel
Daryl Hannah - Pris

Blade Runner, undoubtedly the best science fiction film ever made. But is it fiction or a prediction? Every day, it seems to me that the world takes one step closer to world of Blade Runner, take a look at this article by BBC news for more information.

Buy the Poster

Blade Runner is a very slow-paced film, and you have to be concentrating to get it. It tells the story of Deckard (Harrison Ford), a Blade Runner whose job it is to hunt down Replicants; humanoid androids, who are illegal on earth.

The film stars Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty, the Replicant leader who Deckard must eliminate. The most overwhelming aspect of the film has to be the special effects, which for a 1982 film is simply breath the taking. Then you've got director Ridley Scott's eye for detail, every scene is littered with unimaginable details, in fact one of great things about the film is its replay value, every time you watch BR, you'll see something new.

The Film starts with Deckard being briefed by Captain Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh), and starts off much like a futuristic detective film, about halfway through, the film takes a twist with Deckard falling in love with the Replicant Rachael (Sean Young). This is an important part of the film, as it very much relates back to Philip K Dick's book "Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?" and makes you ask the question, when does something become truly alive? And should a human show empathy towards, what is a man-made machine? Can machines have feelings? If so, should we humans treat them with dignity? The film ends with an emotional speech from Hauer, and a superb line from Gaff (Edward James Olmos) "It's too bad she won't live, but then again who does." - again, bringing us back to the question, what is it to be alive? A Replicant is simply a man made pile of organic machinery, the only thing that makes them different from humans is the fact that they're man made, so to say a Replicant is not truly alive begs the question, are humans?

The only problem I have with the film is the ending, luckily Ridley Scott released a Director's Cut, fixing this problem, but it ultimately adds a new twist to the plot and asks the question "Is Deckard himself a Replicant?" - This has been debated by BR fans for decades, last year Scott broke his silence and told the world that he did actually intend Deckard to be a Replicant. I my self am not convinced, as a director only says where the camera goes, and doesn't write the story, I'm sure you'll have you own opinion, why not join in the debate at alt.fan.blade-runner ?

Together with an incredible dark atmosphere, and an intriguing storyline, this film is a true classic. You simply have to see it to believe it.

Marc Wickens