Blade Runner 2049: Everything you need to know before watching 1b50g

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The film Blade Runner 2049 premieres next Thursday (5th) and, as a way to prepare for the continuation of this true movie classic, we decided to watch the Blade Runner original, released in 1982.

We watched four versions of the feature, namely: North American film version (82) International Version (82) Director's Version (1992) and Final version (2007). See in the next few paragraphs everything you need to know to watch the continuation of one of the great science fiction classics.

The plot v6q1u

Blade Runner – The Android Hunter, as the film was called in Brazil, was released in 1982 and was directed by Ridley Scott which was at its peak at the time. Years earlier he had directed another classic: Alien, the Eighth enger (Alien, 1979). The film is based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), by Philip K. Dick , a renowned science fiction writer.

The plot takes place in November 2019 and is very simple. Humanity has made a significant advance in the development of androids that, in the movie, are called Replicators. They are equal to humans, even with more strength and agility, however, they do not have feelings. They are used in slave labor in extraterrestrial colonies.

However, after a few years, the replicants begin to develop the most diverse feelings and begin to question things around them. To keep things from going wrong, replicants are created with a very short shelf life: 4 years. After that period, they simply die.

In the movie, 4 replicants rebel and go in search of answers, in addition to, of course, trying to increase their lifespan. In the process they leave a trail of blood, murdering several people. This is where the figure of Blade Runner, an investigator whose mission is to track down and kill the replicants, who are now illegal on Earth. Interestingly, they do not use the term “kill” but “retire”, which further denotes that the replicants were nothing more than simple work tools.

In the film, we follow a retired Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, Played by Harrison Ford, who is called back to hunt down and retire the 4 Rebel replicants who are on Earth looking for answers. This hunt results in a cyberpunk glimpse of dirty, unattractive Los Angeles, as well as a host of philosophical questions about human nature.

The visual 415jb

Blade Runner inaugurated in cinema a sub-genre of science fiction, the cyberpunk, which throughout the 1980s and 90s was widely used by Holywood. Cyberpunk is characterized by a dystopian society where technology is extremely advanced but the quality of life is the exact opposite.

In Ridley Scott's film we see a dirty, dark, sad, lonely Los Angeles immersed in an eternal rainy night. State-of-the-art technology is present: we have flying cars, equipment with voice controls and human-looking androids. Please note the presence of tube monitors and the absence of smartphones, the film is from the early 80's!

The characters' clothes are also strange. Even though it's set in 2019, people dress like they're in the 40s/50s. We see coats, suits, bow ties and other formal wear items from the early XNUMXth century. This makes a direct link to the movies Black, which were produced during these decades.

Blade Runner's aesthetic influenced an entire generation and was used in several other successful films, such as Terminator (The Terminator, 1984); Robocop – The Policeman of the Future (RoboCop, 1987); The future Avenger (Total Recall, 1990); Akira (1998); Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Matrix (The Matrix, 1999). For that alone we can already see the importance that Blade Runner had in the film industry.

Sci-fi Cyberpunk Neo-Noir? a2q3u

Many critics classify Blade Runner as a science fiction film within two sub-genres: the cyberpunk and neo-noir. The first one we already explained above, but why neo-noir? The reason is that it brings together several characteristics of Noir films. The first of these is a very pessimistic worldview, where everything and everyone is cynical and corruptible. And that becomes clear when we look at the setting of the film.

The protagonists of films of this genre are not one-dimensional heroes. They are complex and usually represented by an authority figure such as a police officer or a private detective. And in Blade Runner we have Deckard, who is a very three-dimensional investigator with numerous layers to his personality. In the original versions of the feature there is a narration by Deckard in some moments, which helps to further reinforce the feeling of being watching a film Noir.

Blade Runner also has a figure of a Femme Fatale, in this case, the replicant Rachel, which not only captures Deckard's heart but also becomes an important ally. In addition, the costumes of the characters refer to the decades in which Noir films were made (1940/50). And the photography and lighting itself drink a lot from the source of this cinematographic genre, making a beautiful play of light and shadows at different times.

The importance of looking 1r182x

A closer and deeper analysis of the film reveals, however, that its strength goes far beyond aesthetics. We see that the look is very important in the plot. Just that one of the first frames of the film is the super close-up of an eye watching the city lights, as if it were a distant galaxy.

And the eyes permeate the entire plot: the replicants are identified through the eyes; androids Roy and Leon visit an eye maker looking for information; Roy Batty kills his creator by piercing his eyeballs; the orange glint in the replicants' eyes and, of course, Roy Batty's redeeming speech at the end of the film, where he says:

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 Tannhä Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like Tears in rain. Time to die.

Eu vi things you couldn't imagine. Attack ships on fire off Orion. I vi c-rays glow in the darkness near the Tannhä Gate. All these moments will be lost in time, like tears In the rain. Time to die.

Did you notice the repetition of the verb to see and the poetic use of the word “tear” in the speech above? In fact, the more you watch Blade Runner, the more thematic nuances you can see.

The various points of view 2p3ms

Although its main plot is simple and obvious, Blade Runner has several complex sub-texts that make the viewer think. There is a strong subjective discussion about mortality; about the ethics of Man in acting like a God creating lives and deciding what to do with them; about the nature of humanity and what makes one human. Could it be that synthetic beings that develop consciousness cannot be treated as humans?

We also see Deckard and Rachel looking for a new purpose in life or simply living a great love, an unrestrained ion. On the other hand, the group of 4 rebel replicants, as they began to experience the outpouring of feelings and sensations from a conscious mind, desperately sought answers for their existence and, above all, a little more time in this world, a little more time to savor all these sensations and experiences. Deep down, deep down, everyone is looking for the same things.

It is precisely this plurality of themes that makes Blade Runner so worshiped by moviegoers in general and generate endless debates in circles of friends.

religious metaphors 2x5v6o

We could not leave out the clear religious metaphors present in the film. Tyrell, the owner of the megacorporation responsible for manufacturing the androids, has the role of God of that world. Smart and unreachable. He creates lives (the Replicants) and decides their fate, including the date of death. The true Creator of those beings.

One of the replicants Above, has the biblical surname: Salomé. She has a pet serpent, the animal that caused man's doom in the Garden of Eden. And it was precisely the snake's scale that led Deckard to meet him. Even her conditions of death are a religious metaphor. She is shot twice in the back, one shot on each side, which represents the wounds of torn wings, as if an angel had fallen from the sky (the alien colonies).

But the most controversial religious metaphor is that of the antagonist, Roy Batty. At certain times he represents the Devil himself, as when he confronts his Creator in search of answers, in a clear example of rebellion. In others, it can symbolize Jesus Christ, as when he drives a nail into the palm of his hand, trying to avoid involuntary contraction of it. The antagonist's objective, which here cannot be called a villain, is compared to that of a Messiah: to free his people from (literal) slavery and to get more time to live.

Was Deckard a replicant? 442u3i

And, as if the plurality of themes and interpretations for the work were not enough, Blade Runner still leaves some questions purposefully loose, which only fuels the debate around the work and keeps it alive in the minds of fans. Is Rick Deckard a replicant who doesn't know about his condition, just like Rachel was?

Throughout its 117 minutes, the film gives some clues that point to such a possibility. The “inexplicable” old photos on Deckard's piano, for example. Soon after it is explained that the replicants' memories are implanted through old photographs, we see that our protagonist has a series of them on his piano. And he looks at them with a look of sadness, as if ing past moments.

Also, when asked by Rachel if he has already ed the replicant detection test, he simply remains silent. But the most obvious clue is undoubtedly the unicorn origami left behind by Officer Gaff at the end of the film. Deckard had had a strange dream about a unicorn at the end of the first act. He doesn't talk about it with anyone. And out of the blue, Deckard finds his colleague's origami unicorn.

This could be an indication that Gaff knows which memories and dreams are implanted in Deckard's head. And the origami was a subtle way of letting him know that. There are still other details that point to the possibility that Deckard is a replicant, but the most significant have already been mentioned.

Personal opinion 2c2h70

There is no doubt about the importance of Blade Runner to world cinema and its countless qualities: script, direction, cinematography, soundtrack, memorable performances, production design, etc. However, this is not a movie that pleases everyone. Blade Runner is a complicated movie to watch and demands a lot from the viewer.

To catch all the philosophical questions and metaphors throughout the plot, the viewer needs to watch the film more than once, with extra patience and attention. Always try to empathize with the characters, which isn't always easy, since the script doesn't develop them that deeply.

Therefore, in test screenings, made months before the official release, he was rejected by the public, who found the story very confusing. So much so that it was a box office failure. Critics, on the other hand, received Blade Runner with hesitation, also for not fully understanding the content of the film. Only with the age of time and with the release of new versions, Blade Runner started to be better understood and, therefore, worshiped by the public. And today he has that movie status cult.

However, make no mistake, Blade Runner is a very difficult film and it will require much more than just you sitting in the chair. You have to keep your brain well wired and keep mulling over the plot, even hours after you've seen the movie. And yes, even if you don't like Blade Runner, it's worth going through this experience.