A sacrilege against 'Blade Runner'

Perks · Dec 28, 2008

So, a million years ago, I saw Ridley Scott's much revered Blade Runner. Ever since, whenever it's come up in conversation, I've always convinced myself that I was "just very tired" when I watched it.

So, it's out on Blu-Ray now and I decided to have another look, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. (Although, anyone volunteering that my tail is 'bushy' is likely to receive a dark look for his efforts.)

It's a gorgeous film and thematically interesting. And I'm not set against unrelenting grimness or anything, but - dun dunh dun DUNHHHHHH - it's boring.

I didn't care what happened to any of them. I did enjoy seeing Rutger Hauer in one of his handful of legitimate films, but beyond that, it was a very long stint at nodding thoughtfully while wondering what part of my soul was missing that I couldn't enjoy a sci-fi classic.

Am I alone?

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Dec 28, 2008

Uh... Rutger Hauer... yes!

Blade Runner? Meh.

williemeikle · Dec 28, 2008

Perks said:
So, a million years ago, I saw Ridley Scott's much revered Blade Runner. Ever since, whenever it's come up in conversation, I've always convinced myself that I was "just very tired" when I watched it.

So, it's out on Blu-Ray now and I decided to have another look, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. (Although, anyone volunteering that my tail is 'bushy' is likely to receive a dark look for his efforts.)

It's a gorgeous film and thematically interesting. And I'm not set against unrelenting grimness or anything, but - dun dunh dun DUNHHHHHH - it's boring.

I didn't care what happened to any of them. I did enjoy seeing Rutger Hauer in one of his handful of legitimate films, but beyond that, it was a very long stint at nodding thoughtfully while wondering what part of my soul was missing that I couldn't enjoy a sci-fi classic.

Am I alone?

Yes

Which version did you see? The director's cut without the voiceover, or the cinema version with it?

Perks · Dec 28, 2008

williemeikle said:
Which version did you see? The director's cut without the voiceover, or the cinema version with it?

I watched the original theatrical release the first time and the director's cut last night. No voice over.

Perks · Dec 28, 2008

And as a matter of trivia, doesn't the film open up with James Remar? He's uncredited, but I swear that's the guy who gets blown away by Leon in the opening scene.

maestrowork · Dec 28, 2008

Some of the best SF/F are "boring."

I couldn't finish 2001, for example, for a long time. And Solaris (the original Russian version especially)? It's slower than watching paint dry, but it's a classic.

Perks · Dec 28, 2008

Perks said:
And as a matter of trivia, doesn't the film open up with James Remar? He's uncredited, but I swear that's the guy who gets blown away by Leon in the opening scene.

Nevermind. The character is named Mr. Holden, and he's played by an actor called Morgan Paull. Weird. He sounds exactly like James Remar and occasionally even looked enough like him to have me wondering.

The internet is so good for scratching pointless itches.

Toothpaste · Dec 28, 2008

I don't find it boring to watch, but I do find the plot very thin and weak. I was surprised how much so, since it is quite a classic. Still I think it is gorgeous to look at, and thematically very interesting. It does move at a pace we are not typically used to with film in general, and you really have to submerse yourself into it, let it pour over you.

But again, there is nothing wrong with disliking a film, even a popular one. No film is universally loved.

brokenfingers · Dec 28, 2008

I've scratched you off my Christmas card list.

Karen Duvall · Dec 28, 2008

I really loved that movie and now must go out and rent it yet again. *sigh*

I've discovered a now defunct TV series that is very similar to BR called "Total Recall 2070." Awesome show. I'm watching the entire season on hulu.com, and it reminds me a lot of BR.

robeiae · Dec 28, 2008

*solemnly records this day as the last one in which he will have acknowledged Perks' existence*

williemeikle · Dec 28, 2008

Karen Duvall said:
I really loved that movie and now must go out and rent it yet again. *sigh*

I've discovered a now defunct TV series that is very similar to BR called "Total Recall 2070." Awesome show. I'm watching the entire season on hulu.com, and it reminds me a lot of BR.

They're both spin-offs (a fair distance away) from the same writer's source material, Philip K Dick

Perks · Dec 28, 2008

I actually thought the climactic sequence of Batty chasing down Decker was really very good. If that helps keep me alive and on Christmas card lists...

Jcomp · Dec 28, 2008

robeiae said:
*solemnly records this day as the last one in which he will have acknowledged Perks' existence*

Whoa, that's all it takes?

Uh... I found Blade Runner boring as well, then...

brokenfingers · Dec 28, 2008

To be honest, it's been a while since I saw either version, but if I recall, the "Director's Cut" did seem slow and that's why the studio added the voiceover for the theatrical cut. I believe the test audience found the seemingly long lapses of dialogue made the film drag.

Perks · Dec 28, 2008

brokenfingers said:
To be honest, it's been a while since I saw either version, but if I recall, the "Director's Cut" did seem slow and that's why the studio added the voiceover for the theatrical cut. I believe the test audience found the seemingly long lapses of dialogue made the film drag.

I think not caring if Decker lived or got squashed into a grease stain made it drag.

It was the lack of being able to root for either the protagonist or the antagonist that was the problem for me. I don't need to invest a special two-plus hours not to care about anyone.

Although, every scene with Batty in it was a bit charged. He was intense and at least a little complicated, so I enjoyed watching him.

SPMiller · Dec 28, 2008

Not everyone can appreciate antiheroes. That's just how it goes.

HeronW · Dec 28, 2008

Took me 20 years to watch 2001 through 5 seperate times without falling asleep. Aside from BR's nifty future and the breaking fingers part, it drags like an arthritic snail over flypaper. Eyes Wide Shut is another yawner. Sometimes classics are such due to the name in it or on it --has nothing to do with the worth of a film.

rugcat · Dec 28, 2008

Perks said:
I think not caring if Decker lived or got squashed into a grease stain made it drag. . .

It was the lack of being able to root for either the protagonist or the antagonist that was the problem for me. I don't need to invest a special two-plus hours not to care about anyone.

I think Phillip K. Dick's books were all about ideas, dystopian futures, and paranoia in general. He wasn't particularly interested in character, imo -- his characters were only there to hang the philosophical ideas and the invented world on. That's not necesssairy a bad thing -- I read practically all his books back when they came out as Ace Double Novels -- remember those? (Youngsters need not answer)

So it's no surprise Blade Runner, staying true to that vision, also stayed true to the lack of empathy for the character.

I see why it's a cult film, but it never grabbed the way it does some.

BenPanced · Dec 28, 2008

It's been years, but I've seen both the theatrical release and the director's cut. I remember liking the director's cut more because I didn't have Decker telling me what I should think and/or feel about what was going on.

Chumplet · Dec 28, 2008

I like the Director's Cut better, too. I lose myself in the images and music.

Still, I felt it missed a lot of key components, so I bought the book. I have yet to struggle through it.

TrickyFiction · Dec 28, 2008

BenPanced said:
It's been years, but I've seen both the theatrical release and the director's cut. I remember liking the director's cut more because I didn't have Decker telling me what I should think and/or feel about what was going on.

Agreed. The voiceover was god-awful. But I loved the director's cut when I first saw it. Got all weepy even. But then, that's me. I did other things while watching 2001, which helped, and I got all weepy over H.A.L. too.

kuwisdelu · Dec 28, 2008

rugcat said:
I think Phillip K. Dick's books were all about ideas, dystopian futures, and paranoia in general. He wasn't particularly interested in character, imo -- his characters were only there to hang the philosophical ideas and the invented world on. That's not necesssairy a bad thing -- I read practically all his books back when they came out as Ace Double Novels -- remember those? (Youngsters need not answer)

So it's no surprise Blade Runner, staying true to that vision, also stayed true to the lack of empathy for the character.

I see why it's a cult film, but it never grabbed the way it does some.

If you want a surprisingly good adaption of a Philip K. Dick novel, I thought A Scanner Darkly was excellent.

dclary · Dec 29, 2008

I thought Blade Runner was "meh" when I first saw it, but there's a lot of stuff that people consider classics because they emotionally commit to it and then can never look at it with unbiased eyes again.

For the time period it came out it, it was like Unforgiven: a deconstruction of the kinds of sci-fi movies that had come before it. There's no plucky space cowboy hero (harrison ford is no harrison ford, let's just say)

And remember: Blade Runner was a financial flop when it was released, earning a paltry 27 mil... But what it WAS... was true sci-fi juxtaposed against the other, far more successful "sci-fi" movies of the year: ET and Wrath of Khan. Because it tried to compete with a kiddy movie, and a Kirk movie, it gained a huge place in the fanboy hearts of the world, and that's why it's adored today.

I still don't like it, but I appreciate it, and I appreciate Ridley Scott's enthusiasm during this period for sci-fi.. Alien and Blade Runner were formulative films in the minds of many of gen X sci-fi fans and writers.

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 29, 2008

I was never a huge Bladerunner fan. I guess I don't like dark dystopian societies. But then I also found 2001 and Alien (yes, I tried watching this with my son and we fell asleep) boring when I tried to watch them recently.

A sacrilege against 'Blade Runner'

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