My all-time favorite movie. After I saw Blade Runner my love for the movies started. It has a smart screenplaying, dazzling production design and Harrison Ford at the top of his game. I prefer the Director's Cut because of the unicorn sequence and all that it implies, but nevertheless which version you see: Pure Genious! (A+)

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I think everyone loves it because for a sci-fi, its incredibly smart. Sci-fi in general, when done well, is an intelligent genre, but there are enough films set in the future which really don't explore where we "mankind" will be the way Blade Runner does.

One of my all-time favorites. Scott does everything here. Not only is his visual space convincing, it is well sourced and a bit depressing. The giant light billboard is truly a testament to attention span and consumer culture. The dark "Chinatown" opening is testament to the still patchy feel of big cities.

Blade Runner is sympathetic to everyone. The replicants, the specialist, even the corporate head responsible for updating replicants to the point they develope feelings. I like how Scott (and originally Dick) explore memory, questioning one's memory, and how memory informs personality. Can someone "create" your personality by controlling your memories? Its a great study in cultural conditioning. At the same time, it has a humanist element by having the replicants respond unexpectedly to their controlled mind. Kind of embraces individualism by doing that.

The acting is spectacular, and the director's cut goes one step better by eliminating some of Ford's voiceovers. The voiceovers were too expository and kind of told the audiance what they should think at given scenes instead of letting them come up with their own questions.

That and the movie itself is just so tight. The dialogue, "Is this testing whether I'm a replicant or a lesbian, Mr. Deckard?" and "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long" is excellent. The "action" scenes are incredibly tight, violent, but not excessively violent just for the joy of violence, and the imagery is rich.

A+

The version released in theaters: A+
The version you are able to buy on DVD now: B-

It's a good example of a director botching his own work by tinkering with it.

I never watched the whole thing. I love sci fi but this movie was putting me to sleep. I switched it off and watched South Park instead.

C


For the risk of a public execution I proclaim this movie one of the five most overrated films of all time and the worst of Ridley Scott I have seen so far.

Off with Lecter's head!!!

Curious, what are the other 4 overrated films in your list?

I just said Top 5 to make sure I don't forget anything. I don't actually have such a Top 5 list, but I am sure that Blade Runner would be on there, right next to The Exorcist.

BJs Grade:

A+

oustanding watch

Awesome flick, I'm not sure which version I prefer, but both are great to look at. Anyone that claims Harrison Ford can't act or is one dimensional, really needs to open their eyes and really look at his performances. This was Ford at the height of his acting abilities, coming off the amazing uptake in Empire Strikes back, then Indiana, then a much darker look into a supposed hero that is almost a greek tragedy, depending on which way you look at. Then he went on to two very good sequels, then had awesome performances in Witness, Mysquito Coast, Frantic, and Working Girl.

Awesome message, along with style, acting and effects. One of the best films ever made.

This film is pretty slow, but its one of the best films I've ever seen

A+

The last time I saw it, which was a long long time ago (back when laser discs still existed) I remembered it being boring.

**

I mainly agree with Archie.

The original was a great SF Film Noir. A bit overblown but very enjoyable (A-)
The directors cut is a mess (D+)

Awesome.

I can't believe I've never seen this until now; it fits right into my favourites mould of dark, near-future setting with noir-ish stories and lots of eye candy. I guess I just never got around to it; now that I've seen it, I'm sorta glad I waited, as I would have found it boring when I was younger. As I remember, I started watching it once but could never finish it. Now that I've seen it for the first time as a (at least partially) mature film lover, I can fully appreciate its brilliance. And it is brilliant.

Definitely one of the most visionary films I've ever seen; it's right up there with 2001 in being incredibly ahead of its time, both visually and thematically. As a result, both films are able to transcend their release year, and both feel as though they could have been made today. The two films are kinda counterpoints to each other; while 2001 presents a relatively light future, this film is dark, dark, dark. The wide shots of futuristic Los Angeles are both stunning in their visual presentation and terrifying in their historical implications. The numerous and at time enormous advertisements show a world with capitalism run amok - not something terribly surprisingly given our world today. This film is 25 years old, but somehow it manages to be relevant even today.

The story is a combination of two of my favourite genres: film-noir and science fiction. I'm not sure, but I think this is the first cinematic combination of these two, something that has be re-done many times since. Some may think that the film moves too slow, but I was captivated by the story almost instantly. I would have liked to see more of Deckard's detective work, but there's ample amounts to satisfy my taste for mystery. The issues of humanity that it raises are intriguing and quite revolutionary, and the director's cut - which I saw - leaves the ending ambiguous as to Deckard's true identity. In fact, it leaves the entire film ambiguous - does Roy know Deckard? Is Deckard the 'missing' replicant? Utterly brilliant.

I don't think I can really do the visuals justice in words. Suffice to say, this is one of the most stunning films I've seen - ever. The effects would be amazing today, and the fact that it's from 1982 makes it even more incredible. The dark view of the future is achieved mostly by the terrific production design - something like 1940s Los Angeles with a digital edge. Not only does it look great, but the design is smart as well; it makes sense that immigration would get even worse in the future, so the city and its design is multicultural and multi ethnic. And the music, while obviously from the '80s, fits perfectly. Technically superb.

Though I've only just seen it for the first time, I feel confident that this will wind up in my all-time top ten after watching it again. I don't remember ever being this blown away by a film upon first viewing: it usually takes multiple viewings for me to really love a film. As it stands, this is one of the best films I've ever seen.

P.S. I should also say how unbelievably stacked the year 1982 was for science fiction. This, E.T. and The Thing released not only in the same year, but within weeks of each other. Insane.

One of my all-time favs. A story written during the golden age of sci-fi that's entertaining as well as thought provoking. A+

One of the best sci fi movies of all time

A-.

Harrison Ford is a replicant right? My initial reaction was a strong B+ after watching this recently, but thinking about it longer and discussing it with others, I'd move it up into an A- range.

Boy, Sean Young could have been great if she hadn't refused to play Hollywood's game, huh?

And when Daryl Hannah gets the right role.....Madison in Splash, Elle Driver in Kill Bill, or here......she's fantastic.

So I finally saw Blade Runner.

For the most part, I thought it was a good and intellectual sci-fi story that is elevated hugely by the direction and visuals. I usually gravitate towards the story > visuals side, but this movie is just so so stunning. Scott creates a world, one that is enveloping and full of depth and believable... I never doubted for a second the existence of this place. Much like Alien, Scott also puts on a clinic in angles, shadows, and framing. While I have to let it sink it, much like that film, this may be one of the best directed films I've ever seen.

Harrison Ford is pretty revelatory here, I think this is his best and most fully-realized performance. Rutgar Hauer also does a pretty creepy if hammy villain, and the rest of the supporting players do their roles.

The pace of the film actually never bothered me. Did I notice it was "slow"? Yes. But it seemed to fit the movie and I was never bored. It was a clear decision by Scott to have the film run the way it did, and personally, I think it worked. I had a few other problems with the movie though, most noticeably I wasn't a fan of the romantic subplot and I would've liked to get more details on how Dick tracked these people down, and some stuff like the dove was a bit too blatent, but anyways.

Dolce covered a lot of the deeper messages of humanity and memories in the film, I won't go further in that because I'm sure some could explain it better than me. Or at least until I read a little more about the subtle metaphors and rewatch it.

After finally getting my hands on Blade Runner, I can confirm it. Ridley Scott is my boi. Probably one of my favorites directors overall, actually.

4/5

Just got the Collector's Edition for Xmas. Looking forward to watching it again. I've seen it three times in the past eight months, wrote a paper on it, and I still want to give it another go. I think this may be my new all-time favourite film, I just love everything about it.

This is one of those films where I understand the admiration more than I feel it. Like, not a personal fav, but if it appealed more to my personal tastes, it would be worthy.

But the constant re-releases/edits/cuts are silly.

a very good, very overrated sci-fi film. B+