Subject: Retrospective: Blade Runner (1982)

From: Ram Samudrala <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 20:30:46 -0000

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Blade Runner
http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies/blade_runner.html

/Blade Runner/ depicts one of the bleakest versions of a dystopian
future that I've seen on film.  Like with many other great science
fiction movies, it's worth watching mainly for its thought provoking,
rather than entertainment, content.

Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a blade runner. His job is to kill
"replicants", genetically engineered humanoids that threaten human
existence as they strive to throw off their creators' yokes. He has
the instincts and the intuition to distinguish human from
replicant. He is brought in to hunt down four replicants who have
escaped and are seeking the truth about their essence and existence
(which has been programmed into them). In his search, Deckard finds
more than what he bargained for.

Directed by Ridley Scott, and based on the story /Do Androids Dream of
Electric Sheep?/ by Philip K. Dick, the Director's cut is more
interesting than the first released version: it omits Harrison Ford's
narration and leaves the ending a bit ambiguous.  Unlike other movies
starring Harrison Ford, this one is definitely low key, and at times
the pacing could disappoint anyone expecting to see another Han Solo
or Indiana Jones.

Even though /Blade Runner/ is creative, especially considering that it
was published in 1982, humanity's scientific research has moved the
visions portrayed in the film much closer to reality than to fiction.
The film however is prophetic for its depiction of Los Angeles,
foretelling what our cities may become in the future.

The ability to distinguish self from non-self is key in the
evolutionary process, both at the molecular level and the organismal
level. The movie thus leaves us with an explanation as to how Deckard
can recognise replicants so well. Definitely worth checking out.

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