Blade Runner

A sci-fi cult-classic for true connoisseurs. I remember years ago when I was at the premiere of the Director's Cut, there were three of us sitting in the cinema. Enjoying the visual beauty of Blade Runner on the big screen back then was a completely different experience than a cropped image on TV. It's not easy viewing, it's not popcorn entertainment. The whole film follows an ambient mood that has to be felt. And if you see Blade Runner with perfect sound, you can really enjoy Vangelis' masterful soundtrack and catch the various sonic flourishes in some scenes, like all sorts of whispering or ambient sounds that add to the mood of the film. Ridley Scott created a fascinating, dark, futuristic world, and even if he hadn’t made anything else after that, he would still have been an immortal director. (26/05/2002)

I think I already know why I didn’t think the Blade Runner was my cup of tea when I first saw it. It is a visual orgy without a hint of emotions. Harrison Ford, who usually plays a hundred percent lovable characters, is in this movie almost invisible. In his case, it is a completely different role, which the audience may not like, but it fits perfectly into the visually precisely sketched future, which really enchanted me. (09/10/2017)

Even after more than twenty years, this is still a young, fresh, and innovative sci-fi film that has lost none of its appeal. However, Scott's visual vision, supported by Vangelis' music, completely overwhelms the content, which is far too simple in its nature and I certainly wouldn't call it a philosophy. I also don't see much soulful romance in Deckard's relationship with Rachael. I was much more impressed by the demonic Roy Batty whose speeches about the experience of living in fear and tears in the rain resonated with me for the rest of the film. This is a film cult for connoisseurs and for me an extraordinary experience after a two-year hiatus from it, which probably won't be as long next time. (03/01/2007)

The genre of film science-fiction in its most mature form. Scott was able to combine excellent tricks, quality actors and, most importantly, the characteristically intellectual Dick story into a fascinating "noir" detective story of the future. The atmosphere is greatly helped by Vangelis's music and also by the fact that, rather than an action-developing plot, the film professes dialogue and slow movement forward. The fictional world around you thus acquires plasticity and, with a good constellation, engulfs you and imprints itself forever on the soul. And the story of humanity/inhumanity/artificiality is becoming more topical, not the other way around. Interestingly, the film does not win over viewers "seasonally", but gains them over time. Which, of course, is a great compliment to its qualities. (27/01/2004)

Wonderful atmosphere, great execution that makes it look a quarter of its age, excellent actors, several very intense scenes, but terribly boring at the same time. This is what the old cliché of form over substance looks like. Blade Runner failed to win me over, even after a recent second chance (2011). (15/01/2009)