Blade Runner

Wonderful atmosphere, great execution that makes it look a quarter of its age, excellent actors, several very intense scenes, but terribly boring at the same time. This is what the old cliché of form over substance looks like. Blade Runner failed to win me over, even after a recent second chance (2011). (16/01/2009)

Even after all these years, still a mystery. Sci-fi with a noir touch, which revels in technical and visual gloominess and unfortunately, also in visual weirdness. Scott is afraid to take even a small step and show us more of the future world, instead he just lets it rain on Deckard and tells a relatively ordinary story. Replicants lack psychology, and in the end, I still don't know why I should feel sorry for their fate and destiny. And I would also like to see Blade Runner's average rating if it wasn't directed by Ridley Scott himself. Maybe my opinion would be lower because thanks to its pleasant visuals and especially the excellent cynical performance by Ford, on a background of an amazing soundtrack, it wasn't such a disappointment as I initially frowned upon. Loads of raindrops, saxophone melodies, and Vangelis' fairytale-like music stay in the viewer's mind for a long time. (07/04/2007)

I’m not sure if I have ever seen anything like it. Scott’s Blade Runner is so different that it’s even hard to compare it with Dick’s novel. There are so many differences between the original book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and the film interpretation that it’s not at all worth trying to compare it. Nevertheless, most of the characters and part of the plot are the same. I must say that the dreamy, ambient atmosphere that pervades the whole movie made my eyes heavy with drowsiness and I almost fell asleep. Vangelis’ magical music augmented that sleepy feeling even more but I lasted out :-). The nearer it gets to the end, the more absorbing and thrilling the picture becomes. Furthermore a lot of existential questions and debates concerning the relation of an android with his “death" (my favorite topic). The special effects are completely revolutionary considering when the movie was made. In short, Blade Runner is an unusual movie which won’t appeal to the audience as easily as it seemed at first glance. (11/10/2006)

Even after more than twenty years, this is still a young, fresh, and innovative sci-fi film that has lost none of its appeal. However, Scott's visual vision, supported by Vangelis' music, completely overwhelms the content, which is far too simple in its nature and I certainly wouldn't call it a philosophy. I also don't see much soulful romance in Deckard's relationship with Rachael. I was much more impressed by the demonic Roy Batty whose speeches about the experience of living in fear and tears in the rain resonated with me for the rest of the film. This is a film cult for connoisseurs and for me an extraordinary experience after a two-year hiatus from it, which probably won't be as long next time. (03/01/2007)

A sci-fi cult-classic for true connoisseurs. I remember years ago when I was at the premiere of the Director's Cut, there were three of us sitting in the cinema. Enjoying the visual beauty of Blade Runner on the big screen back then was a completely different experience than a cropped image on TV. It's not easy viewing, it's not popcorn entertainment. The whole film follows an ambient mood that has to be felt. And if you see Blade Runner with perfect sound, you can really enjoy Vangelis' masterful soundtrack and catch the various sonic flourishes in some scenes, like all sorts of whispering or ambient sounds that add to the mood of the film. Ridley Scott created a fascinating, dark, futuristic world, and even if he hadn’t made anything else after that, he would still have been an immortal director. (26/05/2002)