Blade Runner, the science fiction classic directed by Ridley Scott, celebrated its 40th anniversary. Although in 1982 it was not very successful, the installment over time became a cult film, that’s why we tell you 10 facts/curiosities that maybe you didn’t know.
This same month, but from 1982 bladerunner It hit theaters in the United States. This undeniable sci-fi classic, directed by Ridley Scott, is celebrating and is no more and no less than 40 years old. Over time, this cult film not only had its sequel, blade runner 2049 (2017), but also expanded its universe with short films, video games, comics, novels and series. However, in this note we are going to focus on the original movie and 10 facts/curiosities that you may not have known.
Yes ok bladerunner now it is considered a success wherever it is seen, in June 1982 to the film of Scott It was showered with negative reviews and did not receive a very good response from the public. Perhaps because they imagined that if it was Harrison Ford as a protagonist the delivery was going to be something more similar to starwars either Indiana Jones.
bladerunner It is an adaptation of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? from 1968 written by Philip K. Dick. The film shows us a dystopian future set in a Los Angeles of 2019 (quite different from the one we know). At this time, synthetic humans are known as bio-replicants engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation. And they were created to work in space colonies.
However, when a group of advanced replicants escape to return to Earth, a policeman agrees to chase them down. These types of policemen are known as Blade Runners. Beyond aesthetics, costumes, photography and more, the film deals with deep themes such as free will, injustice, exploitation, human nature, among others.
10 facts/curiosities of Blade Runner:
In search of the right writer
When the novel was published Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? of Philip K Dick, Hollywood was interested in making a movie based on that story. Even Martin Scorsese he wanted to take it to the cinema in 1969, but the budget did not reach him. However, that was not the only candidate. The author of the book had quite a few clashes with screenwriters who brought him ideas and versions of him to adapt the novel to the screen. He basically took 14 years to find the one.
In the early 1970s, the screenwriter Robert Jaffe wrote a version of the script, but didn’t get a very good response from dick, on the contrary. years later appeared hampton fancher with a script that he did not like so much, but that would serve as the basis for the project of Ridley Scott. Finally, dick was satisfied with the latest versions developed by the second screenwriter of the film that we know, David Webb Peoplesand even saw a video of about 20 minutes of special effects test that convinced him.
Sadly, Philip K Dick he died four months before the release and was never able to see the entire film.
Relationship between the title of the film and the novel
As we said above, bladerunner It is a free adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? However, the film does not have much to do with the novel, not even the name, which Ridley Scott I thought it was uncommercial. Because of this, the director decided to use the name of another book (Blade Runner: A Moviewritten by William Burroughs), for which he had to pay 5 thousand dollars to be able to use it. The movie doesn’t have much to do with that book either.
The problems with Ridley Scott during filming
During the filming of bladerunner there were many tensions, economic problems, demands from Ridley Scott and more. The director paid a lot of attention to the visual part of the film and his perfectionism drove several of the workers crazy, whether they were from the art department, production team, producers or actors. There is even a documentary called Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner that tells how the difficult process of creating and filming the film was.
Harrison Fordwho came from starwars and Indiana JonesI didn’t understand much of the script. bladerunner, he didn’t have as much faith in the film and he also got along badly with Scott and with his co-star, Sean Young. There wasn’t one in favor, right? For a time, the actor did not want to have anything to do with the movie and hardly participated in the programs and documentaries that analyzed the delivery. It was only in 2017 (when he co-starred blade runner 2049) we saw a kind of reconciliation between Ford and delivery, and that he had Scott as executive producer.
One of Blade Runner’s most iconic phrases was partially improvised
Thanks to the obsession Scott because of the visual aspect of the film, the actors had a certain freedom when it came to acting. We see an example in the final scene in which deckard Y Roy Batty fight, an idea that was largely the actor Rutger Hauer. He suggested dying in the lotus flower pose and posing with a dove in his hands. But that is not all. The actor also improvised part of the last and epic phrase:
“I have seen things you would not believe. Attack ships on fire beyond Orion. I’ve seen C-Rays glow in the dark, near Tannhäuser’s gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the rain. It’s time to die”.
“The Blade Runner Curse”
For those who have seen the movie several times (or those who have seen it a few times, but paid attention) you will have noticed that there are real companies that appear. Well, after the installment was released, the companies that made their appearance on the screen had certain economic difficulties, which is why there was talk of the curse of Bladerunner. Atari went from being a majority company in the video game market to having great losses in 1991; Bell lost its monopoly in 1982; Pan-Am Y cuisinart they filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and 1989 respectively; Y Coke lost millions of dollars by launching a new formula in 1982.
Androids or replicants?
In the first versions of the script, written by hampton fancherthe robots were under the name of “androids”, just like in the novel by dick. However, to Ridley Scott He didn’t like that term at all. Luckily, the film’s second screenwriter, David Webb Peoplesproposed “replicants” thanks to the fact that his daughter told him about the term “biological replica”.
Various versions of Blade Runner
We wouldn’t be surprised if this movie was the installment with the most versions in the history of cinema. Here we tell you what they were:
The first version was the montage shown to the test audiences, which did not respond very well. This resulted in the idea of adding a voiceover and a happy ending. That second version was released in theaters and did not have the famous unicorn scene. However, there is another quite similar one called “San Diego Sneak Preview”, which has three more scenes.
The fourth version is similar to the one released in theaters in 1982, only it has more graphic violence. Later, in 1986 the CBS he made the fifth version for television and lowered the level of violence, nudity and offensive content. Several years passed and the misnamed “Director’s Cut”, a version more similar to the original vision of Scott, but did not count on their participation. Here the voiceover is lowered, the dream of the unicorn is included and the happy ending has been removed. After this there was a very similar version, but approved by Scott and had some dialogue deckard.
Finally, and coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the premiere, came the final cut. This version, supervised and signed by Ridley Scott, was reissued on DVD and Blu-Ray and screened in theaters. It was restored, has a color hue closer to green, redone opening and ending credits. It also features slight editing changes, much of the special effects have been cleaned up or reanimated, and has more lines at certain points.
Alternate ending with borrowed scenes
In one of the versions of bladerunnerthe ending that shows us the scenes of a helicopter flying over a forest are not from Ridley Scott. That material was added at the last moment and belongs to the director Stanley Kubrickwho had recorded it for The glow, but decided not to use. Apparently, kubrick He had no drama in giving up those scenes and ended up being part (in some way) of the science fiction classic.
Harrison Ford’s voiceover
version of bladerunner who had a voiceover, imposed by the executive producers Jerry Perenchio Y bud yorkin, was born when test audiences began to reject the film. The goal (supposedly) was for the voiceover to help clarify the story of the movie, which was confusing to many people. With this “fixed”, Perenchio Y yorkin they thought they could recoup the investment at the box office.
However, that was not the case. The voice turned out to be something that many people hated, including some of those responsible for the film, as they thought it was irritatingly over-explanatory. Another who did not like the narration at all was the very Harrison Ford. There were rumors that the actor reluctantly recorded it so that it would not be included in the film, but the actor himself Ford He denied this in an interview: “Did I do it wrong on purpose? No. I interpreted it the best way I could without having information. I never thought they would use it. But I didn’t try to boycott it. It was just bad storytelling.”
Is Rick Deckard a replicant?
nature of Rick Deckard It was and still is one of the most hotly debated film debates of the last four decades. One in which they (also) do not agree Ridley Scott Y Harrison Ford. This may be due to the number of versions of bladerunner and the different questions that arise.
Scott takes the 2007 version as the definitive version, in which he added some dreams that imply that deckard doubt his humanity. With the voiceover removed and the unicorn scene, the director ensures that the protagonist of bladerunner yes he was a replicant. Nevertheless, Ford it does not match.
“ridley and I have made peace. I had a great time making the film… most of the time”I had told him Harrison Ford to Playboy. “He had an idea that he didn’t reveal to me, that he thought was fair game, and I didn’t. All of our discussions are about whether or not my character was a replicant. And I was convinced, and still am, that for the audience to participate they had to feel that there was someone on the screen who was the emotional representative of him, and that person had to be real. ridley he turned that around at the last minute, saying maybe he’s a replicant. And I said to him: ‘How dare you?’ We’re still arguing about it, but I’d love to work with him again.”
Although it is now considered one of the best science fiction films in history and a cinematic classic, in 1982 critics, audiences and award makers had a completely different opinion.
bladerunner It wasn’t a blockbuster, it had a budget of about $30 million, which isn’t a very big number for a sci-fi movie. However, as his reception was not good, he was not successful in recouping his investment. 40 years later, the story is different.