Blade Runner and Double Indemnity
Blade Runner (1982), an essential film in the science fiction canon, depicts Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he tries to track down the last replicants (bioengineered androids) on Earth. His mission to “retire” the remaining replicants turns complicated when he falls in love with one of them, causing him an existential crisis. Although Blade Runner is a notable example of the science fiction genre, it shares many similarities with some of the classic films noir. For the purpose of this paper, a comparison based on visual style, character types and narrative patterns between neo-noir Blade Runner and classic noir Double Indemnity (1944) will be made.
Visual style is one of the many elements that these two
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films have in common. In terms of the cinematography, low-key lighting is used in both to accentuate feelings of anxiety, tension, and pessimism. In “love scenes” specifically, this lighting technique creates juxtaposition between tenderness and violence. In one particular scene of Blade Runner, the audience sees Deckard and his love interest, Rachael (Sean Young) share a kiss. However, this intimate moment is not a conventional love scene. At first, Rachael seems to resist Deckard’s advances and tries to leave his apartment, but he rushes to the door, slams it, grabs her and pushes her against the wall. Low-key lighting is used throughout the scene to create both a sensual and violent atmosphere. In particular, when Deckard and Rachael finally kiss, a hard light is seen though the iconic Venetian blinds, which are featured in almost every film noir movie and serve as homage to the genre. The harsh lines not only create a stylistic resemblance to film noir, but they also emphasize the tension between the characters. Similarly, Double Indemnity features several scenes with low-key lighting and Venetian blinds. Toward the end of the film, the Venetian blinds can be seen when Stanwyck’s character is sitting down as she waits for Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray). Here, too, a sensual and violent scene is depicted. However, Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity takes it even further, as the scene actually culminates with the characters shooting one another. Blade Runner and Double Indemnity share stylistic similarities that go beyond low-key lighting. Regarding the setting, both films take place in Los Angeles. However, Blade Runner is more urban than Double Indemnity, as the latter blends both urban and suburban locations. Blade Runner’s set design emphasizes the ‘high tech, low life’ concept found in many dystopian science fiction films. For instance, when looking at Deckard’s apartment, one can notice it is cluttered with all sorts of things, which mirrors the claustrophobic, anxious and pessimistic feelings that the character is going through. The exposed pipeline in Deckard’s kitchen further emphasizes the ‘dirty sci-fi’ and cyberpunk style of the movie. Although Walter Neff’s apartment also gives the impression of isolation, his apartment seems more orderly, almost uninhabited. In fact, these protagonists share more than just the feeling of isolation, as Deckard embodies the film noir anti-hero for reasons that go beyond his trench coat. Like Walter Neff, he is isolated and thinks twice before getting involved with a woman. When he meets Rachael, he is cold and seems emotionally distant, but this changes as he spends time with her and begins to learn about her past. Neff’s character arc resembles Deckard’s in this regard because he ends up opening himself to Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck). However, the protagonist in Double Indemnity comes to regret this decision since he later gets stabbed in the back. Additionally, just like Neff, Deckard “finds himself embroiled in a seemingly routine case which turns mystifying and deadly” (Sammon 4). In addition to their isolation and emotional distance, both Harrison Ford and Fred MacMurray portray characters that are morally ambiguous, which is a distinctive trait of the noir protagonist. It could be said that both Deckard and Neff inhabit the in-between spaces of their respective societies. On one hand, Deckard, as a Blade Runner, occupies a tight space between law enforcement and criminal behavior. In Neff’s case, the fact that he needs to maintain a charade means he often goes back and fourth between the legal and the illegal, which means he also operates in a gray moral area. Although Deckard embodies the noir protagonist in several ways, the female characters in Blade Runner are quite different from the ones found in classical films noir.
In Double Indemnity, Barbara Stanwyck’s character is the quintessential femme fatale: seductive, cunning, manipulative, and evil. Phyllis and her stepdaughter—the only other female character in the story—truly exemplify the virgin/whore dichotomy. Although the male protagonist is morally ambiguous and complex in Billy Wilder’s film, there are no gray areas when it comes to the women; they are perceived as either good or evil. Blade Runner however, goes beyond good and evil. At first, Rachael seems quite cool and in complete control of the situation, but Deckard is able to break down her walls and uncover her emotional side. Even though she is noble, she still has a dangerous quality to her, which prevents her from becoming a two-dimensional character. Although the viewer’s first encounter with Rachael might suggest she is the femme fatale type, Pris (a female replicant) is closer to the archetype. When Pris meets the genetic designer, Sebastian, outside his apartment, she uses her femininity to trick him. More specifically, Pris manipulates Sebastian to make him believe she is homeless and defenseless, which causes him to bring her into his home. Even though Pris seems to genuinely like Sebastian, she realizes he is quite naïve and uses that to her advantage. However, her motivations are more complex than …show more content…
simply killing off a husband to collect some insurance money. She is aware of her own mortality and acts out of self-preservation. Although Blade Runner and Double Indemnity have comparable traits in terms of their visual style and characters, their narrative patterns are dissimilar. Billy Wilder’s film employs the voice over / flashback technique present in many films noir to emphasize subjectivity and to create a nonlinear narrative. Double Indemnity is not concerned with the ending of the story; the last events of the plots are the first ones to be shown. In other words, this film focuses on the events leading up to the ending rather than on the resolution. Even though Ridley Scott’s neo-noir pays homage to the genre quite well, it has a fairly linear style of narration and has a more ambiguous ending. In the theatrical release of Blade Runner, the viewer is actually left with the question of whether Deckard a replicant or not. This aspect of the film is more in accordance with the speculative nature of the science fiction genre. Overall, Blade Runner is not only one of the most recognizable films of the science fiction canon, but it is also significant as a neo-noir.
Its visual style is comparable to that of classical films noir such as Double Indemnity because it features low-key lighting, urban settings, and the iconic Venetian blinds to create a gloomy atmosphere. Additionally, these visual elements emphasize the pessimism, anxiety, and overall isolation of the protagonists, which have very similar traits. Both Rick Deckard and Walter Neff are anti-heroes who have questionable morals and seem to be alienated individuals. Although both male protagonists are alike, the female characters in Blade Runner are far more complex than Phyllis Dietrichson and her stepdaughter. Rachael is noble but has an edge to her, while Pris, in spite of her manipulative actions, seems to genuinely like Sebastian and is trying to ensure the survival of her species. An additional characteristic that set Double Indemnity and Blade Runner apart is the fact that the latter does not make use of the voice over / flashback technique. Instead, Ridley Scott’s film opts for a more ambiguous ending, which makes it more thought
provoking. Work Cited Sammon, Paul M. Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, HarperPaperbacks: New York, 1996. p. 4. Print.
It is impossible to deny the similarities of characters, setting, cinematography and more, between The Return of the Secaucus Seven by John Sayles and The Big Chill by Lawrence Kasden. This paper will focus on the similarities and differences in the themes between the two movies. Specifically, focusing on relationships, aging, and death. The two films differ in many aspects but parallel in other ways. Impacts of these themes within the two movies are important to recognize because they are relevant to everyday life, relatable, and realistic.
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
Billy Wilder’s film Double Indemnity uses a considerable amount of German Expressionism techniques. A crystal clear example of this is at the end of the film when Walter goes to meet Phyllis at her house, when he opens the door a long and sharp shadow appears across the wall. This is a technique used in one of the most famous german expressionism films Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. In order to get this effect, Wilder is using low-key lighting so the shadow is obvious to the audience. In this film, long and sharp shadows as well as inky blackness often appear on the screen, this is a major characteristic of german expressionist films. The mise en scene reinforces the darkness in the style and tone. These films emphasize
Film Noir, as Paul Schrader integrates in his essay ‘Notes on Film Noir,’ reflects a marked phase in the history of films denoting a peculiar style observed during that period. More specifically, Film Noir is defined by intricate qualities like tone and mood, rather than generic compositions, settings and presentation. Just as ‘genre’ categorizes films on the basis of common occurrences of iconographic elements in a certain way, ‘style’ acts as the paradox that exemplifies the generality and singularity at the same time, in Film Noir, through the notion of morality. In other words, Film Noir is a genre that exquisitely entwines theme and style, and henceforth sheds light on individual difference in perception of a common phenomenon. Pertaining
Run Lola Run, is a German film about a twenty-something woman (Lola) who has 20 minutes to find $100,000 or her love (Manni) will be killed. The search for the money is played through once with a fatal ending and one would think the movie was over but then it is shown again as if it had happened ten seconds later and changed everything. It is then played out one last time. After the first and second sequence, there is a red hued, narrative bridge. There are several purposes of those bridges that affect the movie as a whole. The film Run Lola Run can be analyzed by using the four elements of mise-en scene. Mise-en-scene refers to the aspects of film that overlap with the art of the theater. Mise-en-scene pertains to setting, lighting, costume, and acting style. For the purpose of this paper, I plan on comparing the setting, costume, lighting, and acting style in the first red hued, bridge to that of the robbery scene. Through this analysis, I plan to prove that the purpose of the narrative bridge in the film was not only to provide a segue from the first sequence to the second, but also to show a different side of personality within the main characters.
Janey Place and Lowell Peterson article “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir” establishes noir as a visual style and not a ...
TELOTTE, J. P. (1989). Voices in the dark: the narrative patterns of film noir. Urbana, University of Illinois Press.
From a structural perspective, movies and novels appear as polar opposites. A film uses actors, scripts, and a set in order to create a visual that can grab and keep the attention of their viewers. However, an author strives to incorporate deeper meaning into their books. Despite these differences in media, 1984 and The Hunger Games present unique, yet similar ideas.
Adapted from the novella written by James M. Cain, Double Indemnity is a melodramatic film noir that highlights the conflict its characters face through adultery and murder which develops from the dissatisfaction and alienation that arose in the era of modernity as shown in most noir films. Unlike most noir films, Double Indemnity set the bar in terms of structural themes to follow and elements that eventually came to be considered essential in the noir genre. The film was seen to be a full embodiment of what the genre should be. Double Indemnity is an archetypal noir film, which portrays noir elements through its style, the characters, its writers’ backstory and the history of Los Angeles, the city in which it is set. This essay will examine how Los Angeles is integrated not only into the location but also into the storyline of the characters and their motivations but also the filmmakers’ lives. It does this through characteristic noir motifs like “the urban cultural landscape, the lack of rootedness of the characters, and the self-deceptions that center their world” (p. 437) affect the protagonists in the film. Double Indemnity’s use of Los Angeles as its primary location exposes the innate decadence and decay of the city through film noir stylistic elements. Billy Wilder directed Double Indemnity and the film became the archetypal noir film because it embodied all the characteristics of a typical noir film, which include “claustrophobia, paranoia, despair and nihilism” (Place and Peterson, p. 327) course kit source. Los Angeles, the city used primarily as the location in the film becomes not merely a backdrop but a character in the film through its physical and implied characteristics. The context through the stories of Wild...
Will Brooker. “Reel Toads and Imaginary Cites: Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner and the Contemporary Science Fiction Movie. (London: Wallflower Press. 2005)
In today’s society, it is not uncommon to find a reproduction of a novel in movie form. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick is no exception since it was reproduced by Ridley Scott when he made the movie Blade Runner (1982). However, after watching Scotts film and reading Dick’s novel the audience can see that there were major differences between these two works. These modifications ranged from the location that it took place, to the characters involved in the story. As a result of the alterations, the meaning behind the novel also shifted when it was reproduced into a movie.
In this essay the following will be discussed; the change from the age of classical Hollywood film making to the new Hollywood era, the influence of European film making in American films from Martin Scorsese and how the film Taxi Driver shows the innovative and fresh techniques of this ‘New Hollywood Cinema’.
Duckworth, A.R. (2008). Blade Runner and the Postmodern use of Mise-en-scene. Available: http://ardfilmjournal.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/blade-runner-and-the-postmodern-use-of-mise-en-scene/ Last accessed 21st Dec 2013.
Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.