In this world, there are just 2 Fords. There is the great American auto-maker, and there is the great American actor. One is currently a sell-out. The American auto-maker, identifies a country in need, and created thousands of jobs based on supposed kindness on specific cities in which their factories exist. It seems the auto-maker is an icon of truth when they declare such things, because while all the other American manufacturers are moving out of the country, Ford shows no desire to do so. Harrison Ford on the other hand, looks like he would sell himself to whoever, for whatever. Harrison Ford starts out his career with some fantastic work, putting together a body of work to rival for a "greatest ever" title. At least until the early to mid 90's. Yes he had his flops, but its hard to find people who haven't. But, the problem is that since then, he has delivered virtually all flops.
Makes me wonder how someone who has masked some of the most iconic names in overall storytelling, and go all the way to the gas station bathroom floor. The man has played Indiana Jones and Han Solo for goodness sakes. But hey, he has to do whatever it takes to put 1 million pounds of bacon on the table right?
Before he sold his soul to Hollywood fail films, be was cast to play Rick Deckard in "Blade Runner". In this film, we get a tough and rugged police officer charged with chasing down human clones. In this story, he is confronted with a question. The question posed could be greater than any other question an average Friday night film goer could ever be exposed to.
The film isn't perfect, but being made in 1982, its about as close as what could have been so.
When I think about great monster movies, I can easily get lost in the vastness of monsters. Even more so when I think about the sci-fi genre. But I will say however good Frankenstein is at being a monster, the greatest shark of all time has a bigger bite. Jaws has made itself the superior monster film, and its not because the monster is flawless. Its not even superior because of its story. Its superior because the monster and the story both captured in such a way, that it couldn't be overlooked, it couldn't achieve anything less than greatness. While so many monster films have their lovers and haters, or their debaters, "Jaws" is the champion of monster films.
I want to say the same about "Blade Runner", but to say that without specifying anything more than "sci-fi" wouldn't be fair. I can say however, it appears to be one of the most influential films in general, of all time. I don't want to label the film in some lame way as a "greatest film about the future". At the same time, its hard to wrap your mind around what and how to go about explaining its greatness in terms of putting it in a "greatest" list.
There aren't many science fiction films which have great ideas, great performances, and great direction. Most of the time, even with some of our most beloved science fiction films, we sacrifice or overlook some attributes because they meant or mean so much to us in fantasy. This one however escapes fantasy and enters you into a world which questions your very own ideology. Films like this are those which remain the test of time, those that have grander things to say than say common action sequences pleasing to my current desire. Every year of my life, looking at it in hindsight of watching this film, seems a bit ironic. The world is making similar decisions, which hopefully will result in people asking themselves the very question.
The question. That is what I will refer to it as, and unless you see the film, and appreciate and understand the film, you cannot be in the club.
I can talk about the performances, or the cinematography, or whatever, but there are more intangibles to consider and wouldn't be worth talking about. This is a must see for any sci-fi lover.
"Blade Runner"
8 / 10
