Blade Runner as a Classic Film Noir and a Science Fiction Film
Blade Runner, a well known 80’s science-fiction film, begins in 2019,
set in the industrial city of L.A., the scene lit only by the many
neon lights and molten guisers. We draw in from a panoramic long shot
to Deckard, ‘ex-cop, ex-killer, ex-blade-runner’, who is at the heart
of this film.
Blade Runner is, definitively, a science fiction film, but the traits
of Film Noir are the bread and butter, bringing it the dark, desperate
atmosphere that is the very beauty of the film. Ridley Scott plants
shrapnels of Film Noir throughout, from the subtle (cigars), to the
downright blatant (the washed-up cop of main man).
The genre itself developed in the post-war era, thriving upon the
depression that had settled upon the world, and the new technology.
The latter meant that scenes could be filmed outside of a studio, and
new effects could be created with lighting. However, though the new
technology was there, the after-math of the war meant that this
equipment was often quite rare, leading to the lower budget films
opting for stark, shadowy sets rather than miss out on the technology.
But this type of setting fitted perfectly into the style of Film Noir
anyway, as the feeling of the genre was reflecting the current mood,
which was far from happy.
The war had left some blind, and everyone else with brand new eyes,
people could no longer see everything at face value, or to put it
bluntly, the value of face had slumped. The world after war was no
place for the frilly and meaningless, and Hollywood, as the capital of
frill, had to come up with something new, and refreshingly...
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...th Deckard ‘why am I called back?
Why am I doing this?’
and the replicants can ask, ‘why am I a replicant, why am I like
this?’
The answer of course, the bitter sentiment of Film Noir, ‘for no
reason at all.’ The viewer watches Blade Runner’s characters like fish
in a tank, with pity because they are trapped, and with resignation,
because they’ll never, really, get out.
The fusion of Sci-Fi and Film Noir works perfectly in Blade Runner,
using the past to paint a (dismal) picture of the future. The
combination was one of the first of it’s kind, pulling two genres
together to work in perfect unison. And this combination of Sci-Fi and
Film Noir will continue to work because the future is unseen, and
therefore to us, quite scary, and, as in typical Film Noir fashion,
there’s always ‘something BAD out there…’
Blade Runner and New Brave World's Perspective's on Humanity Ridley Scott’s film “Blade Runner: Director’s Cut” and Aldous Huxley’s
I'd be working in a place like this if I could afford a real snake?"
Filming such a location at night provides the director with the opportunity to use chiaroscuro (a technique of strong contrast) to further convey the dominance of technology over humanity. For example in outdoor scenes the garish flickering neons are obtrusively visible but they fail to illuminate the obscure, dark, fogged surroundings, including the multitudes of faceless people. The prominent visibility of artificial things over human presence together with the qualities of the location indicates the degradation of human life under the rule of science.
The entire movie is bursting with counter narratives, when the audience believes they hold an accurate grasp on what is truly happening, there is a misguiding event, as the storyline is continually challenged. The viewer’s beginning formations about what is going on are learned to be always questionable because what is repeatedly steered to trust and is revealed not be the truth in the conclusion of the film. This neo-noir film had multiple scenarios that make the previous actions untrustworthy to the actual message. This proves that all the observations and thoughts the viewer possesses are only relevant to what they are exposed to and shown and not to what is, in fact, happening.
Imagery of the eye appears throughout Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. From the opening scene depicting an eye glaring upon the dystopian future of Los Angeles, to Dr. Chew’s genetic laboratory with hundreds of replicant eyes, to finally the graphic scene with Roy gouging out Tyrell’s eyes, eye imagery evidently plays a certain significance. What are we to make of Scott’s tremendous fascination with eyes? Traditionally, eyes have been used in literature and film as a motif representing identity, surveillance, vulnerability, and the window to one’s soul. Scott builds upon these existing definitions and uses the eye motif to help us better understand the film’s main characters and themes, as well as to help answer the fundamental question that Blade Runner offers us: What does it mean to be human?
“I forgive you, Dad.” (Movie) On the movie screen the tearful Eddie, with his trembling voice, is wholeheartedly trying to reach out to his father inside the Diner in Heaven. It is the moment that Eddie’s sentimental reflection turns into an emotional eruption. At that moment Eddie’s tears almost wet my face. That is just one of stunning visual effects I felt while watching the film, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.” The film, directed by Lloyd Kramer, is based on the book with the same title, written by Mitch Albom. In terms of plot, general theme, and setting, they are all projected in similar ways both in the book and the movie, such as chronological order of the five people Eddie meets in Heaven, use of flashbacks, and Ruby Pier entertainment park as the central stage. By appearance, both in the book and the movie, Eddie and the five people are naturally the major focus. However, I believe that the relationship between Eddie and his father is specially fabricated by the director and the author with the intention of making the story more complex and captivating. On top of that, I find that Eddie’s father, portrayed as a controversial character throughout the book and all over the film, is really worth further reviewing and discussion. More specifically, I would like to analyze the similarities and differences vividly perceived between the novel and the movie in various ways of portraying the father.
Philip K. Dick is one of the more prolific science fiction writers of the second half of the 20th century. His dark plots, themes, and characterizations differ greatly from those who preceded him. This has seemingly translated well onto the big screen, as at last count, nearly ten of his novels and short stories have been adapted into films. Several of these films have garnered critical acclaim for both their movie credentials and use of source material. Blade Runner, originally released in 1982 and based off a 1968 novel entitled Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? along with A Scanner Darkly, a 2006 film based off a book of the same name released in 1977, are two such examples. They provide an excellent base to compare the adaptations in terms of visual style, plot authenticity, and characterization. Both movies took alternate routes, yet both were very well received, though one’s financial success is far greater than the other.
Review of Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
The plot of the movie “Blade Runner” becomes unrevealed till the end of the movie. Many assumptions about the plot and the final of the movie appear in the spectator’s mind, but not one of these assumptions lasts long. Numerous deceptions in the plot grip the interest of the audience and contribute for the continuing interest to the movie eighteen years after its creation. The main character in the movie is Deckard- the Blade Runner. He is called for a special mission after his retirement, to “air up” four replicants who have shown flaws and have killed people. There are many arguments and deceptions in the plot that reveal the possibility Deckard to be a replicant. Roy is the other leading character of the movie. He appears to be the leader of the replicants- the strongest and the smartest. Roy kills his creator Tyrell. The effect of his actions fulfils the expectation of the spectator for a ruthless machine.
V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Allan Moore. It is a story full of comedy with V as the protagonist who is out to fight and destroy the government and affects innocent people. The novel was later adapted into a film and directed by James McTeigue and written by Wachowski Brothers.
As a society we value and admire heroes who represent the idealized version of ourselves whom we stride every day to become. This is why they are sometimes scrutinized, unless they are an anti-hero, of course. The anti-hero is also admired by some even if he utilizes unlawful methods to achieve his goal, because he represents the good in a corrupt world. But this is not always the case as it is seen in some Noir stories. In Noir stories, the anti-hero is supposed to be a modern knight. Transgressing society's corrupt rules in order to reaffirm for its male audience the need to act justly do rightly; however, the anti-hero through this false nobility and sexism reinforces the social problems that plague contemporary society.
After reading the book and watching the movie 1984 there were similarities and differences between the two. The novel is about manipulating people in believing in something that isn’t really there and about erasing history. Both the book and film focused on: authority, government, and war. The book and film follow the theme of conformity to control society.
Will Brooker. “Reel Toads and Imaginary Cites: Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner and the Contemporary Science Fiction Movie. (London: Wallflower Press. 2005)
During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformation, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content.
I will analyze Lars Von Trier “Manderlay” with regards to the following five factors: setting, props, characterization, theme and genre. Trier create the movie “Manderlay” and several more to generates the idea of American greed, racism, and the misuse of power. To whom he thought that American was unrecognizable to any American was irrelevant. Even though, most Hollywood movies deny their entertainment as a pretend act. Presenting imaginary worlds was a way that showed unrealistic sense of reality but came off as if they were real. The movie itself was fiercely venomous. It held a strong conception about our society and expressed them in a symbolic representation provoking change in a usage of humor, irony, and exaggeration.