Blade Runner

[Navarre]

I am aware that Blade Runner is considered one of the greatest films ever made. Yet I have tried to watch it twice and wasn't enjoying it.

I consider myself intelligent and discerning. I do not need to have the movie spoonfeed everything to me nor do I require a lot of action to hold my attention. So I am not quite sure why I haven't enjoyed it thus far.

It is on television again today (don't prefer edited versions but there it is). I am going to watch it, beginning to end, to try to form a more valid opinion on this film.

I will post my opinion later but would be glad to hear your opinion of the movie.

[Beta Ray Bill Cosby]

I found it to be very slow. I enjoy it visually but I personally find it mildly boring.

[Navarre]

Well, I have watched it again. Despite all the accolades it constantly receives, I sadly say I just don't see why it is so great.

Here is what I am getting as the message of the movie:

We are defined by our experiences and driven by our search for purpose. We constantly seek purpose, the "meaning of life" if you will, and attempt to derive that purpose based on our perspectives as defined by our memories and the reflections thereof.

I see the movie as attempting to draw both similarity and contrast to that using the replicants as mirrors to our own humanity. I believe the movie attempts to show that neither memory nor purpose can ultimately complete us, however.

The four escaped replicants have purpose. They know who they are and why they were created. They are able to feel as we do.

Yet they are incomplete. Their preoccupation on their lifespan distracts them from not only the purpose for which they were created but also distracts them from the one purpose both they and humans may share: the priviledge of simply living and appreciating that process.

Consequently, the replicants, like humans, waste the beauty of their lives by the attempt to define or extend it.

This is juxtapositioned against Rachel, the replicant who has memories and perceptions suitable for a woman of her apparent age yet, like humans, has no defined purpose. She doubts her own "humanity" when faced with her impending mortality, much as a person might if told they had 6 months to live.

She questions the why of it. She struggles to find purpose when confronted with the fact that nothing she ever knew were her own memories.

Ultimately, whether the memories were her own experiences or only implants, she decides that the one thing she can truly be assured of is the one thing humans can know for certain:

We are who we are and we must use every day to take advantage of the opportunity to grow as individuals and appreciate our time until it is over.

That is what I took from the movie. ... I just didn't think the movie was that clever or that well-told.

Have I missed something important?

[Stacy B.]

Have you read the original story by Phillip K. Dick, Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep?  Just curious.  Sometimes seeing the story in it's original form can enhance a movie version.

Also, this film is definatly a product of it's time.  When this came out, ET was the number one film of the year and Star Trek II was also released. It was really a banner year for film, as such greats as Poltergiest, Tron and Ganhdi, where released.  Blade Runner really made a statement that sci-fi could be done intelligently and maturely and was not just for the young audiences.  Also, it had some of the most amazing effects of any sci-fi movie at time. I personally consider it one of the greatest sci-fi's of all time.

But everyone has their own opinions.   

[Navarre]

I did try to take into account the year in which it was made. None of my criticisms had to do with special effects or anything like that.

But you make a good point about it presenting an intelligent and mature vision of sci-fi. Perhaps in the same way we have become jaded by superb special effects I have become a bit desensitized to a deep message after watching The Watchmen or V For Vendetta or whatever.

So, taking that into account, I'll up Blade Runner's street cred a bit. ... still didn't like it though.  heh heh