edler (06/29/82)
I saw Blade Runner two nights ago. If you are hoping for Star Wars or Raiders, don't go. If you are looking for something different, I recommend it. I am interested in whether viewers feel themselves on morally shakey ground while watching this movie; I felt there was a tremendous conflict between the desire to root for the protagonist and sympathy for the "bad guys", who aren't evil but are terribly oppressed. Also, do people think that there is any significance to the social order presented (intensification of class divisions), or is this just part of the future noire image? Visually, it is tremendous. It is hard to describe the depressing view of our future that it presents. You should recognize the similarity of style with Alien, another Ridley Scott effort. This is an intense film. Jan Edler ..!cmcl2!edler
bratman (06/30/82)
Just a word on Bladerunner. Lousy. A waste of Ford's talents. Dick would turn over in his grave. If you like a movie with only special effects and a look at 21st century smog, this movie's for you. Steve Bratman
burton (06/30/82)
I have yet to see Blade Runner, but the questions posted by Jan Edler about the social order of androids, and their oppression, reminds me a great deal of an old novel by Clifford Simak, called Time and Again. It deals with the problems of androids who only differ from 'real humans' in their inability to reproduce themselves. To further distinguish them, they are marked with a number on their forehead. The story concerns a man who is supposed to write a book about Manifest Destiny, which causes a great war in the future between androids and humankind, and the efforts of both sides to prevent/aid him in writing the book. Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone else has read the book, and is the social order and conflicts in Blade runner similar? Doug Burton Bell Labs, Indianapolis
rlr (07/13/82)
I saw Blade Runner and thought it was extremely muddled. The film didn't know if it was a detective story or science fiction. (Vangelis' music didn't seem to know either---saxophone lines right out of '50s film noir detective movies played over rambling electronic sequencer lines.) One thing I was *extremely* pleased with about the movie was the setting. It's about time we got to see what Los Angeles will look like in the negative utopia of the future. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of New York getting the brunt of the abuse in 'dark dingy city of the future' movies. The "losangelocentrism" of the movie industry often produces films that malign the Big Apple. Finally L.A. gets a taste... Rich pyuxjj!rlr
rtris (07/20/82)
Go See It! Don't listen to the know it all critics and unthinking mob! Blade Runner is a movie about a man tired of action, haunt- ed by unanswerable questions but also his duty. A man who has been followed by gore all his life and can't justify it any more. Your narration would sound "wooden" too. No, Star Wars or STII it's not, but it's not worse either; it's different. I agree with a past comment. This is the first seri- ous sience fiction movie. Go See It!
franka@sri-unix (07/26/82)
Re watmath!rtris's comment that Blade Runner is the "first serious sf film", I tend to disagree. I believe that that honor belongs to another film, Trufeau's (sp?) Fahrenheit 451 from the story by Ray Bradbury. Frank Adrian (decvax!teklabs!tekcad!franka)
samm (07/27/82)
Furthermore, anyone who's read (and liked) Chandler and/or Hammett will recognize both the plot and the style (including the narration business) and therefore will understand the film a little better. (Is there ANYONE around who has indeed read these authors?)
debbyk@sri-unix (07/29/82)
Everyone who hasn't already should read Hammett and Chandler...excellent stuff. I liked the film "The Big Sleep" too.
miker@sri-unix (08/03/82)
Go See It! Don't listen to the know it all critics and unthinking mob! Blade Runner is a movie about a man tired of action, haunt- ed by unanswerable questions but also his duty. A man who has been followed by gore all his life and can't justify it any more. Your narration would sound "wooden" too. No, Star Wars or STII it's not, but it's not worse either; it's different. I agree with a past comment. This is the first seri- ous sience fiction movie. Having just seen Blade Runner, I don't feel that it was much more serious than many other movies. In fact, the only original idea was the LA-of-the- future setting, which I thought was well done. The hero was a basic Raymond Chandler type, but I don't think Harrison Ford carried it off too well. When he was continually beaten to a pulp, he looked like a wimp. I think Jack Nicholson in 'Chinatown' did a much better job on this kind of character. For a while it looked like an interesting subplot was developing with Rachael, but as soon as it got started it dropped out of sight (perhaps they thought the movie was too long and cut it). The final battle royal owed a lot to Hitchcock, but failed to learn the secret of his technique-- you get more suspense by implying danger than by showing it. The basic idea of the movie--a Raymond Chandler mystery set in the future with a Hitchcock chase scene at the end--was quite reasonable, but it didn't seem that they had the technique to pull it off. It could have been a much better movie with just a little more effort.
mclure@sri-unix (08/06/82)
#R:nsc:-21500:sri-unix:1400001:000:86 sri-unix!mclure Aug 6 12:47:00 1982 The acting was unimpressive. I don't think Harrison Ford is a good actor, in general.
sa8023@pyuxii.UUCP (S Ambrose) (05/14/85)
To respond to the question about "Bladerunner" as film noir, I would have to say, "yes, and successfully." Everything about the film fit that genre: the introspective, anti- hero protagonist; the beautiful, mysterious woman; the extreme griminess of the city; the pervasive undertone of danger; the uncertain ending (how long do they have?). Color is not a danger to film noir if it is kept subtle.
lwe3207@acf4.UUCP (Lars Warren Ericson) (05/18/85)
[]
Bladerunner would probably have been a lot more commercially successful
if they left out about 2 seconds of finger-breaking at the end. Grossed
me out, more than the rest of the guts and gore, because it was sufficiently
nonstandard and personal to penetrate my TV-induced desensitization to
the effects of bullets and falls. The rest of the film was beautiful,
especially the effect of the LA set in the beginning. Could have used
more plot and less visuals, however, as the theme music and swooping around
got a bit repetitive. I think without the gross-out I would have remembered
more of the nicer details of the rest of the film, and I probably would
have seen it several more times (saw it 2-3 times).
Of course, I am always amused by deft characterizations of computer
scientists. The robot maker (the little guy, not one who played the head of
IBM) in Bladerunner and Chandra in 2010 are both excellent in that regard.
Lars Ericson
Arpa: ericson@nyu
Usenet: {floyd,ihnp4}!cmcl2!csd1!ericsonsean@ukma.UUCP (Sean Casey) (05/22/85)
>Bladerunner would probably have been a lot more commercially successful >if they left out about 2 seconds of finger-breaking at the end. Grossed >me out, more than the rest of the guts and gore... Ahh, the sound of fingers breaking in the morning... Sounds like... victory. -- - Sean Casey UUCP: {cbosgd,anlams,hasmed}!ukma!sean - Department of Mathematics ARPA: ukma!sean@ANL-MCS.ARPA - University of Kentucky
tom@oasys.UUCP (12/27/85)
Does anyone know who did the music for Blade Runner,the lable,etc.?
hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (12/27/85)
In article <168@oasys.UUCP> tom@oasys.UUCP writes: >Does anyone know who did the music for Blade Runner,the lable,etc.? The Blade Runner soundtrack was composed by Vangelis. As far as I know, the only available recording was done by some completely different person with an orchestral arrangement (a la not-quite-soundtrack John Williams), but it's been some time since I've seen this album. If only they'd release the original soundtrack recording.... -dave -- David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department <disclaimer> University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET And then there were none.
marcos@sdchema.UUCP (David A. Pearlman) (12/28/85)
In article <168@oasys.UUCP>, tom@oasys.UUCP writes: > Does anyone know who did the music for Blade Runner,the lable,etc.? Vangelis wrote the music for Blade Runner (and I think performed it, though I'm not sure--I never saw it :-( ). At any rate, he did not want the soundtrack released--something about the music being too similar to "Chariots of Fire", not an artistic step forward, or something like that. SO...Warner's Brother (:-)) decided he'd put out some schlocky cover version of the music, since obviously there would be lots o' folk who wanted the soundtrack. The resulting album is as close as you're gonna get to a soundtrack (and I think it's still in print...sorry, I don't actually remember who made the recording, but it is on Warner Brothers, and any large record store -- e.g. Tower -- should have a copy). David ("Dr. DAP") Pearlman "And all this science, I don't understand...It's just my job five days a week..." -- Elton John
page@ulowell.UUCP (Bob Page) (12/30/85)
In article <521@sdchema.sdchema.UUCP> David A. Pearlman writes: >Vangelis ... did not >want the soundtrack released ... > ...Warner's Brother (:-)) decided he'd put out some schlocky >cover version of the music ... The original Vangelis version was released in France. I have seen it at a friend's house on cassette, which he said was the only way he could find it. ..Bob
hankb@teklds.UUCP (Hank Buurman) (01/01/86)
In article <168@oasys.UUCP> tom@oasys.UUCP writes: >Does anyone know who did the music for Blade Runner,the lable,etc.? Vangelis. Hank Buurman Tektronix Inc. ihnp4!tektronix!dadlac!hankb -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-Beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die." -- Roy Baty, N6MAA10816, Nexus6, Combat Model -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
hankb@teklds.UUCP (Hank Buurman) (01/01/86)
In article <1459@teklds.UUCP> hankb@teklds.UUCP (Hank Buurman) writes: >In article <168@oasys.UUCP> tom@oasys.UUCP writes: >>Does anyone know who did the music for Blade Runner,the lable,etc.? > > Vangelis. > > Hank Buurman Tektronix Inc. ihnp4!tektronix!dadlac!hankb > -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ > "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire > off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-Beams glitter in the dark near > the Tanhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears > in rain. Time to die." -- Roy Baty, N6MAA10816, Nexus6, Combat Model > -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ > Since this question has generated so much interest, I thought I would provide a few more facts than in my previous posting. I have in front of me MY copy of the lp "Blade Runner". The cover states "Orchestral Adaptation of Music Composed for the Motion Picture by Vangelis. Performed by The New American Orchestra, Jack Elliot, Musical Director." It's available from Warner Brothers, and far from being `schlocky', as some netter put it, it is in some ways even more haunting and beautiful than the original soundtrack. I love it. Hank Buurman Tektronix Inc. ihnp4!tektronix!dadlac!hankb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Firey, the angels fell. Deep thunder rolled 'round the shores, burning with the fires of Orc." -- Roy Baty, Nexus 6, Combat Model, N6MAA10816 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bright@dataioDataio.UUCP (Walter Bright) (01/03/86)
In article <168@oasys.UUCP> tom@oasys.UUCP writes: >Does anyone know who did the music for Blade Runner,the lable,etc.? Vangelis. But the record was done by someone else... Seems that for some peculiar reason Vangelis didn't want to be on the record.