Use of Mis en Scene in Blade Runner by Ridley Scott

Use of Mis en Scene in Blade Runner by Ridley Scott

Blade Runner, 1982, and Blade Runner: The Directors Cut, 1992, was

based on the 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Written

by Philip K. Dick. The film was made at a cost of $25million even

though they expected to be half as much. At the time of its' release

critics hated it and so it was poorly received in the media but when

it became able to buy on video people began to appreciate it, so it

became more popular.

The film is set in 2019 and industry has taken over the once glamorous

city of Los Angeles. The Tyrell Corporation has made history with the

development of Replicants. Replicants look like normal humans but they

are faster, stronger and smarter and for this they were not allowed to

live on Earth but used for slavery in space. They have a life span of

only 4 years; this is to stop their minds developing. Roy (Rutger

Hauer) leads a group of four Replicants to find their creator and ask

for their life span to be extended. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a

Blade Runner, and his job is to track the Replicants down and retire

them. After Deckard has retired two of the Replicants, Leon and Zhora,

Roy and Pris get the help of J.R. Sebastian, a graphic designer who

helped to design the Replicants. We also meet Rachael (Sean Young) she

is also a Replicant but has been kept by Tyrell and has been given

memories. Rachael however doesn't know she is one. Roy and Pris go to

Tyrell and ask him about a life extension but Tyrell is unable to help

them. Roy then kills Tyrell his creator, his God, in a way. It all

ends with Deckard retiring the last two remaining Replicants in a...

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... hear that L.A. is

like hell. You get this impression of hell by the way the music

accompanies the opening shot of the flames rising from the factories

the music suddenly is louder and a lot more powerful than when we see

the close up of the eye and the space ship flying towards the

buildings.

I think that Ridley Scott has created a very effective Mis-en-Scene in

every aspect of the film, from the sets to the costume. I think the

sets were the most effective because every detail was there, the

crowded markets, the cluttered shop windows. The Mis-en-Scene shows us

what we fear the most in the future, the fact that we destroyed the

planet that has been our home for millions and millions of years. It

is a 'man against machine' world and when Roy kills Tyrell, it means

that even the creator is powerless against them.