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I recently watched the original Blade Runner with a bunch of friends; none of us had seen it before. Immensely watchable was certainly not the general opinion.

by hetman 9y ago

I recently watched the original Blade Runner with a bunch of friends; none of us had seen it before. Immensely watchable was certainly not the general opinion. A few of us decided it was worth watching only because it set the background for the new Blade Runner. We're probably missing some cultural element that meant it didn't elicit quite the same reaction as it did for you and I'm very curious what that might have been.

macintux 9y ago
There are at least two very different cuts of the original, so take that into account when different people have different reactions.
patrickg_zill 9y ago
Did you watch the theatrical release (has a lot of background music) or the director's cut (doesn't have much background music)?
terminado 9y ago
Stand Blade Runner next to nearly any action, super hero, or "science fiction" movie made after 1999, and Blade Runner wins or ties, every time. For several reasons. But it's not enough to just be better than the cotton candy fluff of recent movies, since that's not a real competition. It's a solid movie that stands on its own, even despite some quirky flaws in the delivery and editing of the performances. It's not Rocky Horror Picture Show, where you and your friends have a party, and participate. It's more of a sleepy, quiet time movie like Taxi Driver. Like Taxi Driver, and any other classic movie, it gets better with repeated viewing, as more details tie together. It's not a mind blowing movie, but for it's time, it dealt with a lot of new themes in extremely subtle ways, without excessive treatment. The future was cast as a recognizable, ordinary reality, taking on a tone that really only draws a cult following, but warrants substantial appreciation. Movies like this don't get made anymore because risking a budget on cult appreciation doesn't land well in a pitch, especially amid the modern environment of implicit piracy, if it's fair to label shared viewing as such. Whether it was the first movie to feel vaguely cyberpunk-ish or not, doesn't matter much anymore, but Blade Runner had a deep gravitational pull that influenced visual concepts of the near future well into the late nineties. Without a sequel, all of the open-ended background trivia that was never elaborated upon, left open a whole universe to imagine, and this is where the cultural resonance ties in. The people who enjoyed the movie were left free to speculate about what really went on in the off world colonies, given the curiousities revealed by film. I wish more movies were like Blade Runner. It's a rare item. It's not a movie you watch once. It's not a blockbuster. It's not a movie you turn off, when it finds it's way onto your TV, however that manages to happen.
anigbrowl 9y ago
It might be because you've seen so many imitations of its aesthetic at this point that it looks old. When it came out it was shocking in both its violence and its pessimistic vision of the future.
kbenson 9y ago
As others here have mentioned, there are a few different versions, but that's a vast understatement. There exist seven[1] different versions of this film. The differences range from the removal of Deckard's 13 explanatory narrations to a complete change of the ending. The real question is, what film called Blade Runner did you see? 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner
paublyrne 9y ago
I'm not sure if it's a film to watch with friends, at least not at home. It's a very visceral film, which needs close attention. Like the new Blade Runner, there are long periods without dialogue, slowly planning shots, and a lot of purposefully left out explanation of what is happening. There's a whole universe in there. It's best watched alone in the dark.
sparkzilla 9y ago
The film, especially the original theatrical release that has the voiceover, echoes Film Noir and 1940s cop movies that you may not have seen, but many people in the 1980s would have had in memory. The sequel follows the visual style of the original, but it doesn't have the film noir feel. It's tone is much harsher. In the original the characters are able to find some meaning in their lives, and even find love or redemption, but the sequel shows the future as much less forgiving.
- toyg 9y ago
  > In the original the characters are able to find some meaning in their lives The sequel does the same at the end, isn't it? Father and daughter are reunited, and K finds meaning in the struggle. > it doesn't have the film noir feel That would have been gimmicky. It was innovative when the original was released but it's now been done to death.
  - sparkzilla 9y ago
    >The sequel does the same at the end, isn't it? Father and daughter are reunited, and K finds meaning in the struggle. I should have said 'escape' rather than 'meaning'. In the original Deckard and Rachael escape the dystopia. In the sequel it feels like there's no escape from the confines of the film. Even the daughter is still in her cage at the end.
tscs37 9y ago
I recommend Psycho Pass, a Japanese animation set in a future were an AI assigns a score to each citizen that determines how likely they are to become criminals. If the score gets too high they are... removed (or in some cases secured and put to use).

by hetman 9y ago

macintux 9y ago

There are at least two very different cuts of the original, so take that into account when different people have different reactions.

patrickg_zill 9y ago

Did you watch the theatrical release (has a lot of background music) or the director's cut (doesn't have much background music)?

terminado 9y ago

Stand Blade Runner next to nearly any action, super hero, or "science fiction" movie made after 1999, and Blade Runner wins or ties, every time. For several reasons. But it's not enough to just be better than the cotton candy fluff of recent movies, since that's not a real competition. It's a solid movie that stands on its own, even despite some quirky flaws in the delivery and editing of the performances. It's not Rocky Horror Picture Show, where you and your friends have a party, and participate. It's more of a sleepy, quiet time movie like Taxi Driver. Like Taxi Driver, and any other classic movie, it gets better with repeated viewing, as more details tie together. It's not a mind blowing movie, but for it's time, it dealt with a lot of new themes in extremely subtle ways, without excessive treatment. The future was cast as a recognizable, ordinary reality, taking on a tone that really only draws a cult following, but warrants substantial appreciation. Movies like this don't get made anymore because risking a budget on cult appreciation doesn't land well in a pitch, especially amid the modern environment of implicit piracy, if it's fair to label shared viewing as such. Whether it was the first movie to feel vaguely cyberpunk-ish or not, doesn't matter much anymore, but Blade Runner had a deep gravitational pull that influenced visual concepts of the near future well into the late nineties. Without a sequel, all of the open-ended background trivia that was never elaborated upon, left open a whole universe to imagine, and this is where the cultural resonance ties in. The people who enjoyed the movie were left free to speculate about what really went on in the off world colonies, given the curiousities revealed by film. I wish more movies were like Blade Runner. It's a rare item. It's not a movie you watch once. It's not a blockbuster. It's not a movie you turn off, when it finds it's way onto your TV, however that manages to happen.

anigbrowl 9y ago

It might be because you've seen so many imitations of its aesthetic at this point that it looks old. When it came out it was shocking in both its violence and its pessimistic vision of the future.

kbenson 9y ago

As others here have mentioned, there are a few different versions, but that's a vast understatement. There exist seven[1] different versions of this film. The differences range from the removal of Deckard's 13 explanatory narrations to a complete change of the ending. The real question is, what film called Blade Runner did you see? 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Blade_Runner

paublyrne 9y ago

I'm not sure if it's a film to watch with friends, at least not at home. It's a very visceral film, which needs close attention. Like the new Blade Runner, there are long periods without dialogue, slowly planning shots, and a lot of purposefully left out explanation of what is happening. There's a whole universe in there. It's best watched alone in the dark.

sparkzilla 9y ago

The film, especially the original theatrical release that has the voiceover, echoes Film Noir and 1940s cop movies that you may not have seen, but many people in the 1980s would have had in memory. The sequel follows the visual style of the original, but it doesn't have the film noir feel. It's tone is much harsher. In the original the characters are able to find some meaning in their lives, and even find love or redemption, but the sequel shows the future as much less forgiving.

toyg 9y ago
> In the original the characters are able to find some meaning in their lives The sequel does the same at the end, isn't it? Father and daughter are reunited, and K finds meaning in the struggle. > it doesn't have the film noir feel That would have been gimmicky. It was innovative when the original was released but it's now been done to death.
- sparkzilla 9y ago
  >The sequel does the same at the end, isn't it? Father and daughter are reunited, and K finds meaning in the struggle. I should have said 'escape' rather than 'meaning'. In the original Deckard and Rachael escape the dystopia. In the sequel it feels like there's no escape from the confines of the film. Even the daughter is still in her cage at the end.

tscs37 9y ago

I recommend Psycho Pass, a Japanese animation set in a future were an AI assigns a score to each citizen that determines how likely they are to become criminals. If the score gets too high they are... removed (or in some cases secured and put to use).