So, lets talk "Blade Runner" ....

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Joel_Kirk, Aug 22, 2014.

  1. Joel_Kirk

    Joel_Kirk Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I just watched the "Final Cut" with the ambiguous ending of whether or not Rachel lives or dies....and the ambiguous insertion of a unicorn scene that wants to tell the audience that Deckard may or may not be a Replicant. (I'm okay with the ending, but I would rather the unicorn scene not be there....since that is an element not really followed up on in the film).

    There is a big plot hole that I found, however: If Rachel had been working with Tyrell, and he knew that replicants were illegal on Earth....why did he ask Deckard to perform the test to see if she was a replicant? Why was he allowing her to work for him knowing she would be in danger eventually?

    Note: I still have the original cut to watch again - I've not seen it for years - as well as the 'international' cut and 'director's cut.'
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2014
  2. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    Never heard of it. Is it any good?

    They all wanted to see how good the Voigt-Kampff actually was on a Nexus 6.

    The clue is in the cop saying to Deckard "Now there's a Nexus 6 over at Tyrell Corp..."
     
  3. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    Since the Tyrel Corp makes the replicants, I imagine they have leeway in having them on Earth for experimentation and development. Tyrel tells Deckard she's an experiment in implanting memories which Tyrel is using Deckard to check out the effectiveness of.

    More than the Unicorn is part of Deckard's background. The changing number of Replicants, for instance. We're told six escaped, four are at large and one was killed in the attempt to get into Tyrel Corp so where is the last? Deckard is given only four names and pictures so what about that unaccounted for one? The chief gives Deckard a couple of odd looks especially when the question of the voidcomp not working if these new brain implants work. Then there is Roy knowing Deckard's name at the end though they've never met during the investigation. There's a lot that can make the viewer wonder about Deckard.
     
  4. Joel_Kirk

    Joel_Kirk Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The "Final Cut" takes away Ford's narration, brightens up certain scenes visually so you can see landscapes and backgrounds, adds certain scenes of violence (e.g. Roy killing Tyrell, Deckard killing Pris, Deckard killing Zhora). And, very possibly adds some footage to certain scenes - one scene being the aforementioned unicorn scene.

    I personally prefer the film without the narration since it adds less of a distraction, and allows me to focus on the film rather than hearing what I'm supposed to get out of it. (Without the narration, it's basically "showing not telling").

    Ah, so there is a fifth at large....;)

    In regards to Roy knowing Deckard even though they haven't met, we can attribute that to Roy knowing that Deckard was on the case to take them down. Zhora had already been killed by a Blade Runner, and Leon was killed while confronting Deckard...as well as Pris. (Roy seems to know how to put together facts based on little information, hence the reason they're a lot more than robotic slaves).

    Still, the fifth replicant possibly being Deckard is interesting. I do wonder if that "is he or isn't he?" will be followed up on in the tentative sequel?

    As for Rachel: So, since she was part of the Nexus 6, she was to be 'retired.' However, if she was just a replicant working for Tyrell...she possibly would have been allowed to roam free, or at least a 'free' as a replicant would be allowed, as long as a Blade Runner didn't find her outside Tyrell's complex without supervision.
     
  5. FalTorPan

    FalTorPan Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The Final Cut corrects the arithmetic error.
     
  6. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    None of this has anything to do with what I posted. I was answeriing a question in the OP.
     
  7. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    He might be unaware you're a replicant. Use that.
     
  8. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    I'll start misquoting Blake. That should do the trick.
     
  9. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    Am I the only one who's never watched the theatrical cut of Blade Runner? My first introduction to the film was the 90's director's cut on VHS and I didn't get my hands on the theatrical cut until the final cut box set that came with all the different versions.

    When I tried to watch it, I couldn't get more than 20 mins in. The narration was awful in every sense and it's clear Ford was not having a good time with the copy. Maybe it's because I was "spoiled" by seeing the DC first, but I have a really hard time figuring out why so many people actually prefer the narration.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2014
  10. Pingfah

    Pingfah Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Are you trolling? You told me you would get The Final Cut on Blu Ray just a few months ago. :vulcan:
     
  11. Forbin

    Forbin Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The narration was awful. A lame and needless "homage" to the old noir first-person detective novels. When that final bit starts ("I don't know why he didn't kill me...") right after that gorgeous bit of poetry from Hauer, a friend of mine actually gave out a frustrated moan and said "Oh, shut UP!" :lol:
     
  12. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    Thanks, I'll have to watch it again.

    Trolling? She's a little lamb I tell thee. She is meek & She is mild.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2014
  13. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    BWAA HA HA :guffaw:
     
  14. ManOnTheWave

    ManOnTheWave Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Tyrell wanted to see if the Voigt-Kampff test could sniff out a Nexus 6, his corporation's latest and greatest. Their motto was "More Human Than Human" after all.

    Neither here nor there, but there is a scene present in no version of the film, where Roy Batty having just killed Tyrell enters an adjacent room to find Tyrell preserved but dying in a stasis chamber. The Tyrell we see and hear during the movie turning out to be a replicant himself. This kind of further explains his motives.
     
  15. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    If that fails, another good trick: spinning. :p
     
  16. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    ...are we all just playing along with this or are some people here really that slow on the uptake? :p
     
  17. Joel_Kirk

    Joel_Kirk Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    So, I just finished watching the original U.S. cut....and looking forward to seeing the International Cut, then the Director's Cut.

    I noticed the plot hole I commented on is covered, somewhat. Tyrell seems to grant audiences for individuals - replicants or non-replicants - then ignores them unless they can further serve his interest. We see this with J.F. Sebatian, an employee whom Tyrell plays chess with through presumably non-visual means; J.F. lives in a dump while Tyrell lives in a lavish home. We see this with Rachel whom he seemingly turns over to Deckard when he tells the Blade Runner to do the Voight-Kampf test on her. Tyrell then ignores her when she tries to seek answers.

    Interestingly, when Roy meets Tyrell, Tyrell doesn't turn him in. However, Tyrell talks to Roy as if he is an experiment; he tells Roy to accept death. Hence, I don't really know if I should feel sorry for Tyrell; grossed out at his death, but not sorry for his death.

    Anywho, now that I'm having a Blade Runner marathon, I'm reminded of two songs I like by indie artists who base their music on the sound of the 1980s. Their music videos have been posted to scenes from the movie:

    Noir Deco - Sentient Love
    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8DOXVaCdhI[/yt]

    Le Cassette - Tonight
    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8OeVZRQnSM[/yt]

    Sidenote:
    All the replicants have 'those eyes' with the distinctive iris. In one scene from the Final Cut, in Deckard's apartment when he's talking with Rachel, the camera is focused on Rachel while Deckard is in frame but not in focus. And, we can somewhat see Deckard's iris lit up like said replicants. (Of course, I may have to watch it again to re-verify).

    Another sidenote:
    I noticed a couple of things that inspired Luc Besson's The Fifth Element. For example, the city and what looks like a one-man police station which looks similar to the Fhloston Paradise spaceliner navigation station. Besson even cast Brion James in the film as an Earth general.

    Interesting!
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2014
  18. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    There is still one vestige of that scene in the film, in the form of a brief shot of Batty standing in what appears to be another room.
     
  19. Joel_Kirk

    Joel_Kirk Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You mean the scene when he grins to himself in contemplation after Sebatian's and Tyrell's death?

    I thought that was the elevator he came up to Tyrell's room in, especially since there is a shot of sky while descending....before we see Roy grinning in wonder to himself.
     
  20. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    I always suspected Tyrell was lying--at least about some of the Nexus 6 "models." He wanted Roy to wear out.

    If there is a sequel, it should be on all those things Roy saw. The CGI for Avatar is perfect for that.

    If there is ever a sequel--it can only have one name:

    Tannhauser Gate

    Though it was simply to be a metal war--I would rather it be a damaged cubic wormhole of Matt Visser.

    The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Geometry has and entry on Thurston's hyperbolic geometry.

    Thee is a drawing by John Sharp of an object that seems to billow--not unlike what you see here:
    http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/stories/strange_surfaces.aspx?page=2

    I can imagine Roy watching the remnant of a cubic wormhole billow for hours
    http://cosmoquest.org/forum/showthr...-Like-*really*-big-ones&p=2102197#post2102197