Thinking back to the first time I saw Blader Runner, it reminds me of the VHS times. My watching experience of the movie was on a rainy saturday; the pitter patter of the rain from the sky accompanied the incessant roar of neon lights and shadows present in the film. The film impressionized me on my teenage ages since they were able to showcase something different at the screen. Nonetheless, I still do consider it as a masterpiece, and I truely admire the movies moods and atmospheres because of it.
Blade Runner can be considered as an ever green benchmark of the world of cinema, not just in the context of science fiction, but for anyone who understands that film is more than just a story – it is an art. An exemplary piece even today, Scot’s classic from 1982 is not simply set in a dystopian sobering future, but serves as an invitation into a world so depthful that one can almost imagine the smell of the damp alleyways. It is a film that tells a story enshrouded in emotion where rain is a character of great relevance, and shadows and light duel far more ferociously than the actors. While modern CGI has made it possible to craft entire galaxies from scratch, I still long for the analog magic that Blader Runner offers: a film that feels so real, so weighty, so tangible.
Scott’s vision might have been out of the box but it is one of those ideas that is deemed brilliant in the present and will be appreciated even more in the future. Unlike other films that depend on technology for production, Blader Runner stays relevant because it was created with love. From the model city to the specific lights and the shadows everything was done on purpose. To achieve realism, which most digital effects can not, the model had to be manipulated in regards to texture, light and even detail.
I often find myself thinking about Blader Runner and that speaks volumes about it. For me, every review is a repeatable adventure and in this case, it is due to the breathtaking visuals. Blader Runner cannot be enjoyed on a single viewing and is a marvel to gaze at. The hyper-modern sci-fi films certainly have impressive effects, but to me, they feel void devoid of substance. Everything feels polished to a degree where it lack grace. But on the contrary, the incredible amount of disorder that runs rampant in Blader Runner, whether it be dirt, decay, or the uncertainty of a flickering world surrounding neon lights, is stunning.
The way memory is worked in Blade Runner has puzzled me since I first watched the film, and even moreso after. The entire thing, from the story to how it engages the audience’s hindsight, is astonishingly intricate. Now, I think of the movie in a more profound sense than just the themes; I think about how I personally lived through them. The very first time I attempted to watch Blade Runner, I was far too young to grasp everything that was happening, but the feelings drawn from the film compelled me. The vibe of the movie felt like a size two skin-tight coat hugging my body. Many years later I revisited it to make sense of the themes of humanity, personal identity, and the extremely delicate nature of life. Now, after so many other years, I understand on a different level: it is a phenomenal film that ‘grows’ with you and manages to speak to you at different phases of your life while never hiding what is truly vital.
People still recall Roy Batty’s monologue for reasons that everyone understands. “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” The line, as does many others in the monologue, gives us pause and contemplates death, loss, and existence in such a manner that the very essence of life feels delicate. Initially, I thought this was a poetic device to frame a character’s demise. Now I see it as an entire philosophy, bathed in a single line. We all are Roy Batty in one way or another. At some point in life, we come to the understanding that all our lived experiences, all moments that mean everything to us, will eventually turn into nothingness. The sole people that would be able to enjoy these moments will be those who outlast death.
But even beyond all that, Blader Runner remains profound in some way. This is important because, unlike many other works, it captures something pivotal. Not just the flying cars, dystopian landscapes, or the existence of androids. Rather, it’s feeling, recollection, and being. It is about the artwork, technology, the relationships we build, and their ability to outlive us. Thus, it turns into a film about humanity and, while there have been few other movies attempting to capture that, none have integrated the theme so brilliantly.
Over the years, Blader Runner has been discussed to death, cut, added to, and debated. I find *Blade Runner 2049* serves as an intriguing legacy sequel to the original. There are very few sequels that contribute to the essence of the original rather than attempting to rehash it. Admittedly, I tend to uphold Blader Runner’s original vision much more, but there is something about the feel, the grain, and the meticulous design of the first film that I absolutely cannot replicate.
I worry about how Blader Runner would look today. Would the movie swap the techno dystopic landscape for a more sterile, digital environment? Would handcrafted shadows turn into plain CGI? More importantly, would it lose the dreamlike quality that makes it feel like a memory? I firmly believe that if it fell into the wrong hands, it would be transformed into yet another soulless, slick, digitally enhanced blockbuster.
But this might be the very reason why Blader Runner has endured the test of time. Regardless of the advancements in technology, visual effects, and the world, there is still a need for the tangible and the crafted. Blader Runner feels authentic, which is something that an algorithm or render farm could never replicate. The film lingers, pulses, and breathes.
I think back to that Saturday when it rained heavily and I first saw Blader Runner while sitting cross legged infront of a tiny CRT TV. I surely did not understand a lot of what was presented in the movie, but somehow I grasped the essence. The countless rewatches I did on Blader Runner has taught me the importance of cinema, it is not only about storytelling, but birthing a new reality as perceived by the viewer.
Cinema objectively speaking has a huge influence on modern day society and Blader Runner is no exception. It has left a long lasting impact on who I am today and I can easily say that in the next 10-20 years, I will see it in an entirely new perspective which goes to show the caliber of a true piece of artwork.
