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Blade Runner
Posted: 18 Dec 2007 10:01 PM |
Just got my four disc collector's edition in the mail today. :D
I would have been happy if they had just released the three archival versions, because that so called "Directors Cut" (that really wasn't) just butchered the movie ALL up.
But now I'm interested to see what Ridley Scott's Final Cut will look like.
Anyone else here a fan of this movie? (are there people who aren't fans of this movie?) |
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."
- Steven Wright |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 18 Dec 2007 10:10 PM |
| Blade Runner and Alien are on my list of top movies from that time. I dug it. But to put it in perspective, I liked the speech at the end by Rutger Hauer. |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 19 Dec 2007 01:51 AM |
Got to be one of my favorites, except I don't have a favorite movie anymore. So that makes Blade Runner my last favorite movie! Its really tippy tops. Rutger Hauer has my eternal loyalty, ditto Ridley Scott, just gravy for Edward James Olmos who is awesome in every way and unlike the first two has never let me down. He was really great in Selena.
On the other hand... I'm not willing to own movies that I can reasonably rent, so how big a fan can I be? Most of the DVDs on my shelf are George Romero movies, plus several seasons of Columbo that I bought when A&E took it off the air. |
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about dying."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means lying in the ground with dirt on your face and holding your breath forever."
-Burt Reynolds, "The End" |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 19 Dec 2007 08:44 AM |
I hated the voice-over version..... Well not hated , just much preferred it without :)
I might have to invest in a HD version in the future though, as I love the film........ and Decker -IS- a replicant right? RIGHT?!? :P |
Vives Screenshots!
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 10:19 AM |
Blade Runner is definitely my favorite harrison Ford movie that he doesn't say "Nerf Herder" in!
;) |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 08:28 PM |
Blade Runner is definitely my favorite harrison Ford movie that he doesn't say "Nerf Herder" in!
;)
Actually, Han Solo never says "Nerf Herder"... Leia says that. His response is, "who's scruffy lookin?"
;P
As for the "final cut" of Blade runner... as I was watching it, except for one particular thing (that I was hoping they would fix) I couldn't really see where they had made many changes from the "director's cut"... a few little things... one word changed here... dialogue sync'd up better there... wasn't untill I watched the extras that I found out how much they tweaked it. A lot of it was just cleaning up the sound, and enhancing the visuals so it looks a lot more polished, and then tweaking little things here and there so that the movie "flowed" better.
some of the major tweaks they did were things like CGI'ing Zora's death scene... or rather, her head into the shot so that it actually looks like her instead of a stunt double with a really bad wig on. (though I didn't notice while watching.. only after watching the extras)
The one thing I was specifically looking for was the snake shop scene... I have always been immensely irritated by that scene because the horrendously out of sync dialogue... that, and I could swear that back when I saw it on VHS as a kid ('83 or '84...?), there was a lot more conversation that happened there... to the extent that the scene cut to inside the shop and Deckard used some very crass language / threats to get the shop owner to tell him what he wanted to know. But even the '82 US Theatrical Cut and '82 International Theatrical Cut (which are both on disc 3, along with the "Director's Cut") have the short version of the scene that just shows the shop owner giving up quickly (and the dialogue not matching the visual AT ALL in those versions)
So, on the one hand, I'm glad the cleaned that scene up... I don't cringe when it comes up, because it mostly looks like when you see their mouths moving, they are talking now... But why do I remember a lot more to that scene? Am I crazy, or was there yet another version that had a lot more profanity in it, that they just swept under the carpet and are pretending never existed?
In any case, it's been a long time since I've seen the movie, because I have always been irritated with certain parts of it... now I'm happy with it... for the most part.
And wow... for being a Sci-Fi movie shot in 82, it still holds up well |
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."
- Steven Wright |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 09:42 PM |
And wow... for being a Sci-Fi movie shot in 82, it still holds up well
That is the thing. Blade Runner will always be a good SciFi flick just as Alien will be. You know it is good if it holds up over time.
Stuff like Fire Fly and Serenity already falls apart due to the awful writing and direction. And it is just a few years for those.
Now Enemy Mine was also a good film... but... I don't know... just doesn't hold together. |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 20 Dec 2007 11:42 PM |
That is the thing. Blade Runner will always be a good SciFi flick just as Alien will be. You know it is good if it holds up over time.
*throws 2001 into that mix as well* (with maybe the exception of their outfits on the space station... wow that just screams 70's. But from the moment you get on board the Discovery... that could have been filmed yesterday) |
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."
- Steven Wright |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 01:06 AM |
Sean Connery in Outland!
Not in the same class as Alien and Blade Runner, but Serenity isn't the first western set in space!
I read that they went back into Blade Runner and digitally removed the wires suspending the hovercars, replaced the stunt double with the actress getting shot, and so on. I'm not sure it's necessary to fix all that stuff. I like when the soundtrack falls out of step with what's on the screen. You listen to vinyl, you want to hear the pops and hisses.
Sooo... trailers for J. J. Abrams' movie Cloverfield have hit the small screen. I'm pretty excited to see it. But... what a lousy title! Might as well have left it designated as 01/18/08. |
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about dying."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means lying in the ground with dirt on your face and holding your breath forever."
-Burt Reynolds, "The End" |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 11:00 AM |
Though sometimes it's fun to look for the technical gaffs, groan at bad dialogue, or pick apart broken plotlines I also enjoy turning on Gestalt mental set to ignore the obvious flaws and compare the stories conceptually. I liked Serenity for what it was and I'm looking forward to viewing my as yet unopened collection of Firefly just to see the creators' vision for the series. I think in a way Firefly can withstand the test of time because it is actually participating in a larger genre of solid space adventures from Buck Rogers on up. Check out some of the really bad B level sci fi movies from the 70s and 80s. Maybe the green slime in "Green Slime" was actually blue and the acting was pitiful but there are some interesting ideas within the story about the monster itself and the writer's concept of the technological level of the characters, etc. I guess I just personally don't see the harm in accepting all art at the bare minimum for discussion and points of comparison rather than rejecting pieces categorically because we don't like them. Even "Galaxy Quest" with Tim Allen, though not really a sci fi film, I think is worth a look primarily for the commentary it makes on the genre. Meh, I've soapboxed my personal gripes long enough; discount at your leisure.
And, yes, renter, Outland was pretty good. It didn't rely on a lot of special effects and the whole sci fi aspect of the story was so understated that the viewer felt comfortable with the environment without questioning too much. It also had a technical level that seemed more like a natural progression from today's, though, the weapon technology of Alien doesn't seem that far off from today either. |
T'mok Gurzi
Resident Gnoll Warlord
patron for the noble yet drink addled
Timik Gorozai the Mistake |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 11:57 AM |
And, yes, renter, Outland was pretty good
Oh yes.. Outland.
While I am willing to suspend disbelief a considerable why for any Sci-Fi or Fantasy, Outland is one of the few movies that makes me giggle whever we watch one of explosive decompression scenes. (For those who haven't seen the movie, think of the exploding martian heads from that awful country moving in "Mars Attacks"). I mean, the word is "Explosive", right? So something must explode, right?
AM I RIGHT?
(Total Recall comes a close second)
- Paul |
Purpose in life: finding better ways of allowing players to kill themselves. Repeatedly.
--
"...Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good."
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<@James42> Lawful good isn't in your vocabulary, it's on your menu.
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 08:10 PM |
Stuff like Fire Fly and Serenity already falls apart due to the awful writing and direction. And it is just a few years for those.
Firefly was awesome! The dialog was one of the best parts, and the main characters fit together like a good jigsaw puzzle with their interpersonal retorts, and witty comments. How can you put down moments like the bumpkin style hero song in the Jane's Town episode, or their totally human personalities -- unlike some other notable Sci-Fi series. They weren't cluttered with humanoid Aliens, their second language was Chinese (I can't remember which dialect exactly), heck, that's the language they were cussing in. The ship is not some super-sleek hyper-tech monstrosity of imagination, but closer to the Millennium Falcon in respects. Top it off with the shady character Badger (who's actor also starred in a few Battlestar Galactica episodes) and you've got yourself a Sci-fi classic.
Hands down that show tops most of the other space shows out there.
Cheers! Happy Holidays!
- Brrrl |
CHOO CHOO!
- - - - - -
Bereil Yadashem.
Markus Mortriety, Herald of Novus Aristi. |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 08:43 PM |
Stuff like Fire Fly and Serenity already falls apart due to the awful writing and direction. And it is just a few years for those.
Firefly was awesome! The dialog was one of the best parts, and the main characters fit together like a good jigsaw puzzle with their interpersonal retorts, and witty comments. How can you put down moments like the bumpkin style hero song in the Jane's Town episode, or their totally human personalities -- unlike some other notable Sci-Fi series. They weren't cluttered with humanoid Aliens, their second language was Chinese (I can't remember which dialect exactly), heck, that's the language they were cussing in. The ship is not some super-sleek hyper-tech monstrosity of imagination, but closer to the Millennium Falcon in respects. Top it off with the shady character Badger (who's actor also starred in a few Battlestar Galactica episodes) and you've got yourself a Sci-fi classic.
Hands down that show tops most of the other space shows out there.
Cheers! Happy Holidays!
- Brrrl
Seconds that! |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 09:48 PM |
First of all, I am glad that you guys enjoy Firefly. but I saw Firefly and Serenity recently for the second time, and I don't believe I'll ever watch them again. Too many holes in the story. And absolutely too many clichés. Standard television faire.
You know after I have said all that... I do still get a great laugh out of the Train Job episode. Nonchalantly kicking that tough guy into the engines who refuses them with some kind of heroic defiance was just classic. I mean what did the idiot expect? Its just shock value, but still funny after seeing it twice. |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 21 Dec 2007 11:15 PM |
I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but I've always though Bladerunner highly, HIGHLY overrated.
I've seen it several times, nothing sticks with me, and some of the dialogue is just...awful...painful
Except the visuals and cinemetography. Great stuff. It's the sort of movie you can watch with the mute on and get just as much enjoyment out of.
But whatever, to each his own, I guess. Although, I think down deep in your hearts, you know I'm right! 
As for Firefly, it is mostly standard fare plotwise, but I always thought the dialogue was very clever, making it worth watching...plus the mechanic/engineer is dreamy....*sighs*
There, you've been enlightened. Enjoy! |
The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for...
-- Ernest Hemingway |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 22 Dec 2007 04:00 AM |
Since Blade Runner inspired at least two scenes from (at the time) popular music videos (Billy Idol / Dancing With Myself, David Lee Roth / Just a Gigolo) and a less popular song (Revolting Cocks / "Attack Ships on Fire") it has to be ranked up there as at least a "mildly influential" movie from the '80s.
The book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" explained a lot of details I never caught or fully understood in the movie, so worth a read if the story is of interest and you're not into the movie just for a youthful Darryl Hannah butt-kickin' fight scene). And if Decker is a skin job himself, then I never caught on to that - so I'll have to find/buy/read the book again, I suppose.
Either way the movie has to be one of my Sci-Fi favs, so a DVD purchase is on my horizon (otherwise "All those [great movie] moments will be lost... in time... like tears... in rain.")
(Oh, and Hi all!) |
-æsir
"The man that finds himself at a crossroads, and unsure of direction, is not lost. For in truth, all roads will carry him to the same destination - his fate. But it is the determined man that takes the next step." -Aren
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 23 Dec 2007 09:43 AM |
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
Read it.
Blade Runner - classic? absolutely.
Firefly? One of the best Sci Fi's ever done. It's up there with Babylon 5 and Star Trek, the original. |
Purpose in life: finding better ways of allowing players to kill themselves. Repeatedly.
--
"...Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good."
--
<@James42> Lawful good isn't in your vocabulary, it's on your menu.
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 23 Dec 2007 04:16 PM |
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
Read it.
Blade Runner - classic? absolutely.
Firefly? One of the best Sci Fi's ever done. It's up there with Babylon 5 and Star Trek, the original.
Blade Runner first of all, is great cinematography. It uses the medium to it's fullest potential. the visuals, the music score, the "world" as a character... the overall mood/tone of the film... all fully realized, and beautifully done.
But in my opinion, what makes Blade Runner a true classic, and a great Sci-Fi movie, is that it raises questions about what it means to be human.
That's what good science fiction is supposed to do... make you question things. life. reality. humanity. god. normalcy. what is good. what is bad. etc... and specifically by taking a look at what could be a possible scenario in the future, by looking at where we are now and extrapolating from there.
otherwise... it's just a cool action movie (or fantasy, or drama, or comedy or whatever) with some futuristic toys thrown in for giggles.
and speaking of Star Trek, the first movie was a great example of good science fiction also. but... it was pretty slow paced, and plenty of people I know say they think its boring.
Compared to number two, the Wrath of Khan, which most people seem to like... because it's an action/adventure movie with some sci-fi thrown in simply by the fact that it is set in the Star Trek universe.
Don't get me wrong, I love Wrath of Khan... but not because it is classic/great science fiction.
Just the same, I really enjoyed Firefly... but not because I thought it was great sci-fi either. I just thought it was good storytelling... that happened to be set in a "frontier/space" setting. I loved the mix of personalities, and the depth of character of each of them, and the slow revealing of that character over the course of the show (man I would have loved to see those characters develop over a five or six year period, instead of just the two)
*sigh* ...requires more patience than the average TV viewer has I guess.
I still have yet to watch Babylon 5... I, admittedly (and ironically, after my last statement), didn't have the patience for it when it was first on TV (mostly because I kept missing too many episodes, and didn't feel like I could keep track of the story, NOT because I didn't have the patience for slow character development or story arcs)
But it IS in my netflix cue... gonna have to bump those up the list.
So, I guess my point (not that I have one, or was trying to make one) would be that there are great movies with some Sci-Fi elements in them, and then there are great Sci-Fi movies.
for instance, Star Wars: great fantasy/adventure movie with sci-fi elements
vs. Blade Runner: solid science fiction |
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."
- Steven Wright |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 23 Dec 2007 05:25 PM |
I agree with The Shadow in that most sci-fi fiction is about "what if" involving the human condition with some variables altered from what we know. Varley's Steel Beach is a good example (what if in the future people could do and be whatever they wanted) as are Niven's teleportation stories (what would be the net impact of teleportation on our society? and how would we culturally adapt to those changes?). Fantasy seems to be always about a desperate team of intrepid heroes traveling insurmountable distances to battle an undefeatable foe against incredible odds. I think in that sense Firefly, from what I've gathered, might be dipping into both fonts to gather its story which may be why people are hesitant to call it sci-fi. maybe?
The original Star Trek, OMG. Talk about bad acting, weak plots and heavy handed moral messages. I think anybody with any sense of good fiction development and theatrics would recognize it's little better than a WWF wrestling match. But, that would be taking it totally out of context of the time it was done, it's budget, the ground breaking role it was adopting. I recently purchased the whole series on DVD and have been plodding through them slowly and painfully. I am both sickened and amazed. The Cold War propaganda is so thick it's hard to move through and Shatner's monologues are often quite agonizing, but what they put forth and got the population to digest in the time it was created is incredible. To us now, it's total camp, (female Starfleet officers in mini-skirts alone would cripple its acceptability), but its innovation for the time and its impact on the genre is undeniable. I think Star Trek is a perfect example of sci-fi series/vision that is timeless despite quality issues. I think the fans wanted to overlook the problems with it because it was the first to present a new far flung idea in a contemporary way.
And Bab5 is also on my list of "must-watches" for the same reason The Shadow set them aside when they were on TV. I watched a couple from the middle of the series and I thought "wow, there's a lot going on here...I don't want to watch it until I can see the beginning...maybe they'll show reruns." Lo, and behold, along come DVD collections *does happy dance*
Anybody here fans of Farscape? I've vaguely heard about it...is that worth a look too? |
T'mok Gurzi
Resident Gnoll Warlord
patron for the noble yet drink addled
Timik Gorozai the Mistake |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 23 Dec 2007 10:13 PM |
| I enjoyed Farscape. It didn't take itself too seriously, was weird and a lot of fun. |
Purpose in life: finding better ways of allowing players to kill themselves. Repeatedly.
--
"...Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good."
--
<@James42> Lawful good isn't in your vocabulary, it's on your menu.
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 24 Dec 2007 10:22 PM |
| Blade Runner is one of my 10 favorite moves. Mr Ridley, you've done a man's job, sir! |
Three sisters, born of the Sea
A sad fate t'was in store for thee
Oh Vaisha, Vahlah and Vallaesha |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 24 Dec 2007 10:56 PM |
I'll have to re-watch this, I don't think I've seen Blade Runner since my early teenage years but I do remember liking it. Can't give a heck of a lot of credit to my teenage taste since "American Ninja" was my favorite movie at some point back then. *stifles an involuntary shudder*
The new Doctor Who on tv is one of my favorite Sci Fi shows on tv now, and I wonder if there is anyone here that saw the original ones. How does the new show stack up to them? I've been thinking about trying to get ahold of the old shows, just not sure what to expect from them.
-Max |
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Re: Blade Runner
Posted: 26 Dec 2007 08:54 AM |
I think the new Dr. Who series is a solid contributor to the franchise as a whole - the effects are several orders of magnitude better than the older incarnations, which wouldn't be as big a deal if the writing hadn't remained solid, but luckily for fans it did.
I really liked Chris Eccleston as the Doctor and I wish he had stuck around a bit longer, but I have to admit David Tennant has grown on me. I definitely prefer Billie Piper to Freema Agyeman, though - Rose's storylines were much more compelling than Martha's.
The older shows are definitely worth watching. The effects are sometimes laughable, but it contributes to the whole atmosphere, in a weird sort of way. There are many subtle and not-so-subtle references to the earlier shows embedded in the newer ones, which add another level of enjoyment. Lots of the things that are talked about in the newer series (the timewar, etc.) were actually dramatized in the old one, and seeing them really gives a better perspective on the development of the Doctor's character, IMO.
As for Blade Runner, I think it was a hugely influential movie, but mostly for things like concept and cinematography. If you look at things like plot, character development and dialogue, it's a lot less impressive (a LOT like the original Star Wars, I might add) - then again, I think the same thing about Animal House. I think it just depends on what generation you belong to - I firmly believe that if you were born after 1970, Old School is much funnier to you than Animal House, despite what people who compile lists for ESPN and E! would have you believe. |
"You know, a gong. Large, flat object that you hit when you want things. Sort of like a waiter, but less portable."
-Radra |
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