Blade Runner

Blade Runner explores Ridley Scott’s dark personality as he delves into the world of neo-noir and sci-fi all in one film.  Although these may seem like two extremely contrasting elements and themes to deal with in one work (and many critics from the 80s would agree), I believe Scott handled the blending of these two realms quite nicely in order to create a terrifying and morbid reflection of what the future could be like.  The film itself was not received nearly as well in 1982 when it was released as it is now, due to the cult following it has amassed, but the slight if not irregular recognition it got then has allowed Blade Runner to transform Scott’s career into the repertoire of work it is known as today.

We begin with an introduction to Los Angeles circa 2019, in the not so distant future now, and immediately see the noir elements of Scott’s vision appearing throughout the setting and motives of the characters.  It is a dark and rainy Los Angeles, not at all like the glitz and glamour we picture of the beloved modern Hollywood, yet obvious technological innovations set it apart as a retrofitted futuristic dystopian society.  An interview is in progress that culminates in a shooting and we see our first of four antagonists escape the grasp of the looming Tyrell Corporation.  In this scene we are introduced to the VK analyzer, which distinguishes human-like replicants from the real thing, by evaluating eye movements.  Replicants have been exiled from Earth and are almost indiscernible as different beings from humans, so Blade Runners are assigned to “retire” them from existence, a clear euphemism for killing but in less humanistic terms.  Deckard (another Harrison Ford protagonist) is the Blade Runner we follow as he hunts down the four escapees wishing to extend their immortal, yet not eternal, existence.  He ends up falling for a replicant himself, thus constructing the role of the femme fatale, another element of the film noir that pervades Blade Runner.  As the storyline develops we see the protagonist falling in love with Rachel the replicant, but I have to question whether Scott is attempting to symbolize the idea of “The heart wants what the heart wants” as in Romeo and Juliet, or does this in order to bring Deckard’s morals into question as in other classic noir films.  The protagonist cannot ever be flawless and falling for the one woman he could never truly attain seems like a good flaw for Scott to give Deckard.  He breaks the rules in order to be with her, but considering her lifespan is supposed to only be four years is it really worth it? I guess we’ll never know.

Another one of Scott’s focuses is the eye in relation to the framework of the gaze.  Consistently throughout the film, due to camera angles, repetitive imagery, and character interaction, we see the eyes as one of Scott’s symbols for the human soul.  Replicants cannot have mortal souls, therefore it is through the eyes, or the windows to the soul, that we are able to distinguish a replicant from a living, breathing human.  As previously mentioned we are introduced to this concept through the VK analyzer, but the eyes are twice targeted as the means to kill an enemy, and tears are referenced more than once.  When Leon tries to stab Deckard through the eyes unsuccessfully and Roy Batty (lead replicant) successfully murders his creator through the same means it is not a far leap to make that Scott sees the eyes as significant indicators of humanistic qualities.  It is actually rather ironic that this is the way that Roy decides to kill Tyrell in the end because Tyrell is the leader of the omnipresent corporation keeping tabs on each replicant, thus creating the paranoia the replicants feel towards Earth and humans.  Much like Hitchock’s Rear Window we gain a sense of voyeurism created through the Tyrell Corporation as well as the fact that it appears police officers are around every corner constantly watching every move both replicants and humans make.  Every character we follow is always looking over their shoulder to see who will be coming after them next.

Philip K. Dick’s influence is also not lost on this Scott creation that is said to be an adaptation of one of his short novels.  We can easily see elements of implanted memories, off-world colonies, and ambiguous endings that are reminiscent of later Dick creations like Total Recall.  In the end when Deckard rides off with Rachel can we determine whether or not he is truly human or replicant? This is the eternal question that Scott has answered with a definite “replicant” but a strong argument could also be made for the former.