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Blade Runner
is a 1982 American science fiction film, directed by Ridley Scott and
starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay,
written by Hampton Fancher and David
Peoples, is based on the novel Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. The film
depicts a dystopian Los Angeles
in November 2019 in which genetically manufactured beings called
replicants — visually indistinguishable from adult humans
— are used for dangerous or menial work on Earth's "off-world
colonies". Following a replicant uprising, replicants become illegal on
Earth and specialist police called "blade runners" are trained to hunt
down and "retire" escaped replicants on Earth. The plot focuses on a
brutal and cunning group of recently-escaped replicants hiding in Los
Angeles and the semi-retired blade runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison
Ford), who reluctantly agrees to take on one more assignment.
Blade Runner
initially polarized critics:
some were displeased with the pacing, while others enjoyed its thematic
complexity. The film performed poorly in North American theaters.
Despite the box office failure of the film, it has since become a cult
classic. Blade Runner has been hailed for its
production design, depicting a "retrofitted" future. It remains a
leading example of the neo-noir genre. Blade Runner
brought the work of author Philip K. Dick to the attention of
Hollywood,
and several more films have since been based on his work.
Ridley Scott regards Blade Runner as "probably" his
most complete and personal film. In 1993, Blade Runner
was selected for preservation in the United States National Film
Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically,
or aesthetically significant". In 2007, the American Film Institute
named it the 97th greatest American film of all time in the 10th
Anniversary edition of its 100
years... 100 Movies list.
Advances in genetic technology have
allowed scientists to create sophisticated biologically-engineered
humanoid beings called "replicants". Following a violent revolt that
takes place "off world," replicants are declared illegal on Earth.
In Los
Angeles, November 2019, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is
called out of retirement when a fellow Blade Runner, Holden (Morgan Paull) is
shot administering a Voight-Kampff test to Leon
(Brion James), an escaped replicant. A reluctant Deckard is brought to
his old boss Bryant
(M. Emmet Walsh), who informs him that the recent escape of Nexus-6
replicants is the worst yet. He orders Deckard to eliminate the four
replicants, a process referred to as "retirement". Deckard agrees to
help after Bryant makes thinly-veiled threats – if Deckard is
not a cop, then he is 'little people'.
Bryant briefs Deckard on the
replicants: Roy Batty
(Rutger Hauer), the leader, is a "combat model"; Leon Kowalski (Brion James)
is a nuclear fuel loader; Zhora
(Joanna Cassidy) is an assassin built for martial arts; and Pris (Daryl Hannah) is a
"basic pleasure model". Bryant also explains that the Nexus-6 model has
a four-year lifespan as a failsafe
to prevent them from developing emotions and desire for independence.
Deckard is then teamed with Gaff
(Edward James Olmos) and sent to the Tyrell Corporation to ensure that
the Voight-Kampff test works on Nexus-6 models. While there, Deckard
discovers that Tyrell's
(Joe Turkel) young assistant Rachael
(Sean Young) is an experimental replicant who believes she is a human;
Rachael's consciousness has been enhanced with implanted memories from
Tyrell's niece, an accomplishment with which Tyrell seems most pleased.
Deckard and Gaff search Leon's
apartment as Roy and Leon enter the eye manufactory of Chew (James Hong); under
interrogation, Chew directs them to J.F.
Sebastian (William Sanderson) as their best chance of
meeting Tyrell. Roy's plan to meet his maker is hampered by the urgency
created by his limited lifespan; he is already exhibiting symptoms of
impending death. Later, Rachael visits Deckard at his apartment to
prove her humanity to him but leaves in tears after Deckard tells her
that her memories are implants. Meanwhile, Pris meets J.F. Sebastian
and he invites her into his apartment in the Bradbury Building where he
lives with his manufactured companions. In some versions of the film,
Deckard is seen in his apartment daydreaming about a unicorn; he gets
back to work and uses a computer scanner to find an image of Zhora in
Leon's photos.
Deckard goes to an area of the city
where genetically engineered animals are sold to analyze a scale found
in Leon's bathroom, learning that it came from a snake made by Abdul
Ben Hassan. After a rough interrogation, the snake dealer directs
Deckard to a sleazy strip club owned by Taffey
Lewis (Hy Pyke), who employs Zhora. After a struggle in
Zhora's changing room and a chase through the crowded streets, Deckard
shoots and "retires" Zhora. Deckard meets with Bryant shortly after and
is told to add Rachael to his list of retirements, as she has
disappeared from the Tyrell Corporation headquarters. Deckard spots
Rachael in the crowd and follows her but is grabbed and brutally beaten
by Leon. Rachael saves Deckard by shooting and killing Leon, and the
two head back to Deckard's apartment, where they make love.
Back at Sebastian's apartment Roy
arrives, kisses Pris deeply and tells her they are the only ones left.
They employ Sebastian's help by explaining their plight in a subtly
threatening manner. Roy discovers that Sebastian, though human, is
suffering from a genetic disorder that accelerates his aging; he
sympathizes with Sebastian because of their common fate. Under the
pretext of Sebastian informing Tyrell of a move for a game of
correspondence chess that Sebastian and Tyrell are playing, Roy and
Sebastian enter Tyrell's penthouse. Roy demands an extension to his
lifespan from his maker. Tyrell refuses to help because of limitations
of nature that even he can't overcome. Roy then asks absolution of his
sins, confessing that he has done "questionable things". Tyrell
arrogantly dismisses this, praising Roy's advanced design and his
amazing accomplishments. He tells Roy to "revel in his time", to which
Roy comments "Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into
heaven for." Roy then holds Tyrell's head in his hands, gives him a
kiss, and kills him by crushing his skull. Sebastian, watching in
horror, begins to run for the elevator, with Roy following. Roy rides
the elevator down alone, strongly implying that he has killed Sebastian
as well.
Deckard arrives at Sebastian's
apartment and is ambushed by Pris. Deckard manages to grab his gun and
retires Pris, just as Roy returns. Roy is horrified at her death.
Angrily, Roy manages to punch through a wall and grab Deckard's right
arm, and proceeds to break two of his fingers in retaliation for
killing Zhora and Pris. Roy releases Deckard and gives him a little
time to run before he begins to hunt him through the dilapidated
Bradbury Building. However, not too long into the hunt, the symptoms of
Roy's limited lifespan worsen and his right hand begins to cramp, so he
jabs a nail through it to regain control. Able again, albeit
temporarily, Roy eventually forces Deckard to the roof, as Deckard
attempts to escape Roy, he leaps across to another building but falls
short and ends up hanging from a rain-slicked beam. Roy easily vaults
the same distance and is left standing above his struggling opponent.
As Deckard loses his grip, Roy seizes his arm and hauls him onto the
roof, saving Deckard. As Roy's life fades away, he sits and delivers a
brief soliloquy about the experiences of his life:
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 Tannhauser Gate. All those
moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die.
Roy dies, and from a distance, Gaff
shouts over to Deckard, "It's too bad she won't live; but then again,
who does?" A worried Deckard returns to his apartment and is relieved
to find Rachael alive. As they leave, Deckard finds an origami unicorn,
a calling card left by Gaff. Depending on the version, the film ends
with Deckard and Rachael either leaving the apartment block to an
uncertain future or driving through an idyllic pastoral landscape.
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