...Blade Runner: The Original Theatrical Release vs The Director’s Cut Blade Runner, set in 2020 Los Angeles, is focused on Rick Deckard and his mission to hunt down and kill replicants. Originally these genetically engineered human-like individuals were only meant to live for a limited amount of time, so they returned to Earth in search of a longer life span. This film is ultimately centered around artificial intelligence, personal identity, and skepticism. The filmmakers used brilliant cinematography, production, design, and editing to make Blade Runner a thought provoking film. The cinematography of the film was truly what allowed the director to display how he wanted viewers to comprehend his work without noticing it. Light, specifically, was a major factor in influencing viewer’s moods throughout the film. The strong channels of light and backlighting is reminiscent of black and white movies, and although the film is set in 2020 this makes the film closely resemble a film straight out of the 1940s. The use of shafts of light, unusual camera angles, and high contrast were the factors giving it this effect. High contrast and backlighting gave the film a gloomy mood, and the rain and lightning only added to this. Ultimately, while Decker is on the streets it is clear that the director purposefully made the streets feel overcrowded. The people were packed into the streets, like ants, making them all appear the same. It seemed as if they were all going around in circles, going...
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...To put in perspective the prodigy that is Blade Runner, you will need to remember that takes only a pure genius to create a film so realistic that it suspends any doubt that a world of uncontrollable robots and a futuristic dystopia could indeed be the future for us all. All that’s left to wonder after watching Blade Runner is; how could a film make me crave a life of blowing robots up and standing in the rain of a rooftop thanking the lucky stars that I survived after my life skimming the barrel of death? The answer comes in that pensive state of thinking that inevitably comes to anyone after watching Blade Runner. Ridley Scott has created a film so remarkable that even with out of control replicatants taking over earth, it still seems like something viewers would love to be a part of. The film draws us into a trance with the pure awe-inspiring special effects and manipulates our thoughts to draw out the secret hunt for thrill audiences all have hidden within. There is something innovative about a film that can achieve “classic” status, and a legacy that remains 30 years after. By doing exactly this, Blade Runner has claimed the title of being ‘untouchable’, therefore any re-make would fall well short of the mark. It seems that Blade Runner was a film of revolution, as the feminists of 1982 bowed down at the knees of Ridley Scott. To have dominant female replicants depicted in a ‘one punch could kill’ representation in the film seemed like a massive statement to men. With Pris...
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...Texts in Time Texts embody paradigms corresponding to their social, economic and historical contexts. The capacity of thematic concepts to transcend time is manifest within Mary Shelley’s 19th century gothic novel Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s science fiction film Blade Runner (1992) as both pose similar existentialist discourses regarding the fate of humanity. As a Romanticist, Shelley condemns humanity’s intrusive assumption as creator. Similarly, Scott responds to Shelley warning by also spurning man’s ruthless ambition. However, the film’s 20th century context of capitalist greed and mass industrialisation shifts the criticism onto the pursuit of commercial dominance. Both texts employ techniques such as allusions and characterisation to depict similar dystopian visions ensuing from man’s dereliction of nature. Composed during the Industrial Revolution and radical scientific experimentation, Shelley typifies the Romantic Movement as she forebodes her enlightened society of playing God. Her warning permeates through the character of Victor, whose self-aggrandising diction “many excellent natures would owe their being to me” represents a society engrossed with reanimation. Shelley moreover questions the morality her microcosm’s pursuit of omnipotence through Victor’s retrospection “lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit”, as the juxtaposition of “all” and “one” emphasises Victor’s cavernous obsession to conquer death; akin to scientists of her time...
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...science fiction films we can’t help mentioning Metropolis and Blade Runner. Made over 50 years apart from each other, both films address the problems that people living in the present foresaw in the future and the other of which is concerned with machines’ effect on human beings. Both films are quite visually stunning and attention grabbing and they are good examples of how science fiction movies have changed over time with the evolution of technology. Undoubtedly, these two films exhibit a gorgeous technological world and tell us a myth of future similarly and differently. In Metropolis, the workers depicted in the film have to live in poverty and work under very dangerous situations underground. The background blending of the two environments demonstrates a surrealistic environment and two contrasting atmospheres in the movies. The film Metropolis is set in the year 2026, in the extraordinary Gothic skyscrapers of a corporate city-state. In spite of it being a black and white old movie the director describes a magnificent vision of future world filled with high-rise buildings. It is a simple world, consisting of two classes--the pampered citizens of the surface and the workers who belong underground. The environment on the surface is super modern while the underground is crowded and shabby. This easy setting makes the story line clearer and the visually inspired, action-packed pictures were hits of that year. Blade Runner depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in 2019, in which genetically...
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...Blade Runner Critique ENG225: Introduction to Film (GSK1442C) Professor Brad Waltman November 16, 2014 The film Blade Runner is an outstanding example of the science fiction genre of film. The film uses it’s futuristic setting, combined with the plot of a policeman hunting down illegal and violent androids, to set the stage for a truly thought provoking film. The viewer is exposed to new ideas about morality and the boundaries of technology. Blade Runner is widely regarded as a pioneer film in the science fiction subgenre of “cyberpunk” and its dystopian style has influenced dozens, if not hundreds of films since it’s release. The style, message and distinct futuristic darkness of Blade Runner is an outstanding part of the science fiction genre and a fascinating example of movie making. Blade Runner was released in 1982 and much of its distinct personality comes from the unique people involved in the film, both in front of, and behind the camera. Ridley Scott directed the film and is revolves around one of his favorites elements, artificial intelligence. Blade Runner is regarded is a Scott classic, and displays the elements that audiences expect from one of his films. Jordan Cronenweth worked as the film’s cinematographer and was regarded as one of the best in the industry, even years after his death. Cronenweth’s dark and moody work provided much of the noire and intrigue of Blade Runner. The film stared Harrison Ford as the not too heroic main character...
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...…….. (REFER TO QUESTION HERE) Every text is a product of its time and may reflect changing values and differing perspectives……. (Which can significantly enhance an audiences understanding of that time and context). The capacity of such values to be ultimately universal is seen within Mary Shelley’s 19th Century Gothic novel Frankenstein and Ridley- Scott’s sci-fi thriller Blade Runner. Despite being written centuries apart both remain powerful reminders and critiques of humanity’s infatuation with science and technology and the dangers of human hubris. Both Shelley and Scott reveal these values through the integration of literary and cinematic techniques …….. (To challenge the established values of their time... However the different time periods influenced the textual form, so the way these values are represented are different, and yet the same message is explored) The context of Frankenstein/ The modern Prometheus is the product of Industrialisation and Romanticism. The novel is ultimately emblematic of the Romantic era, and is in essence a revolt against the period of scientific development, that is Englightment. This period, to quote William Blake of the “dark, satanic mills” spread progress yet at the sacrifice of the natural world…….. Shelley’s cautionary tale is accentuated metaphorically through the tragic character of Victor who forms an obsession with science and technology, in his quest to create life. As Victor recounts his ordeals, his obsession with his project...
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...Frankenstein/Bladerunner In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) humanity’s manipulation of nature paradoxically erodes the human spirit and compromises integrity. Although contextually disparate, both texts explore a creator’s need to take responsibility for his creation, cautioning responders of the dangers of unrestrained scientific progress and conveying humanity’s severed relationship with nature. Where Shelley communicates with a certain ambiguity characteristic of the contradictory Age of Reason and sets her tale against a backdrop of a sublime natural world, Scott portrays a society fuelled by ecological destruction and 1980s corporate abuse. This reflects each composer’s anchoring of their visions in the socio-cultural realities of their time; a fundamental transgression of human values over time. Both texts explore the dangers of uninhibited scientific progress. In Frankenstein, Shelley fashions a gothic world where nature is tampered with and a ‘hurricane of enthusiasm’ drives the protagonist towards abandoning his conscience, prompting Shelley’s valuing of moderation. Underpinned by the Industrial Revolution and an era of scientific change, Victor embodies the obsessive passions and Romantic ego-identities of 19th century scientists. The epistolatory narrative framework adds a disquieting sense of truth to Victor’s retrospective dialogue, “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge,” reflecting his Promethean disobedience...
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...Similar issues, explored in different contexts, may reflect changes in values and perspectives. How is this demonstrated in the comparison of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner? The concerns that composers challenge in their texts not only reflect the ideals and perceptions of their time, but the same issues are also found to transcend through the decades. This has been demonstrated through the comparative study of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s feature film Blade Runner in which their 150 year contextual difference could not create a barrier in exploring related issues. Despite Shelley’s Frankenstein being written in the early 19th century Romantic era, while Blade Runner was created in the period of late 20th century America influenced by Reaganomics, both texts delve into the concerns of the overpowering need for glory, the dichotomy between humanity and monstrosity, and the lack of parental responsibility. Through Frankenstein and Blade Runner, the desire for ultimate success is represented through the pursuit of knowledge and the application of science and technology. The underlying intention behind the project is of utmost importance as there will be dire consequences if the purpose of the creation is of a superficial motive. Through Victor, Shelley has portrayed humans as deeply ambitious yet also deeply flawed. Victor dreams of transforming society and bringing glory to his name through his scientific achievements yet...
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...Chancellor Instructor Hubbard Liba 102 “Multifaceted” Hampton Fincher and David Webb Peoples’ complex screenplay and Ridley Scott’s use of film noir combine together to produce Roy Batty, a character out of Blade Runner, whose diverse personality reflects Jesus Christ, Adam, and Lucifer. As a result, Roy Batty, is much more multifaceted than the heartless, man killing machine that is seen at first glance by an audience. Because Roy reflects Jesus Christ, Adam, and Lucifer, three religious icons, there is an unlimited amount of religious subtext in the film Blade Runner. Hampton Fincher and David Webb Peoples use these religious allegories to hinder a direct and understandable message from the film’s narrative. Therefore, Fincher and Peoples took their complex writing to a deeper level than most screen writers by denying the audience a straightforward interpretation of Roy Batty. One example is the allegory of the creation story and the fall of man. Parallels from the creation story are seen time and time again throughout the film, which is one way Roy’s character relates to the Biblical character, Adam (Gravett, pg. 38). In the Bible, Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil as it is stated in Genesis 2: 16-17: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’"...
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...The texts in time elective allows us to compare how a treatment of similar content in a pair of texts composed in different contexts may reflect changing values. How has this been revealed though your comparative stuffy of Frankenstein and Blade Runner? By juxtaposing texts, their paradigmatic undercurrents emerge, with timeless scientific and ontological concerns transcending contextual discrepancies. Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel, Frankenstein, written in response to the Industrial Revolution, and its prospering advancements, values the moderation of scientific endeavour connected to the enlightenment. Similarly Scott’s neo-noire film, Blade Runner is in response to the impact of his 20th century, consumer driven society on mans ethical framework, condemning progression of technology through his depiction of a dystopian future. Ultimately Frankenstein and Blade Runner are cautionary tales when explored individually, however when examined comparatively, values presented in each become more comprehensive for both contexts and enduring audiences. Shelley’s retrospective depiction of a milieu exploited by scientific egotism embodied by Frankenstein highlights the disruption of nature, and criticizes the 18th century enlightenment in relation to Frankenstein’s galvanistic approach to knowledge. The Declaration in the text “I will pioneer a new way, to explore unknown powers,” underscores victor’s ambition for knowledge, his egotistical desire to control nature and his...
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...themselves. Victor Frankenstein states, "One of the phenomena which had peculiarly attracted my attention was the structure of the human frame, and, indeed, any animal endued with life. Whence, I often asked myself did the principle of life proceed?" -Both creators share a fascination with where life proceeds from. Is it merely intellect? Or, as in the case of Blade Runner, are emotions the defining element of human life -Both creators are expressly interested in creating a life form equal to human and Tyrell even wishes to create a life form superior to man ·Both stories share a central theme, that the acquirement of too much knowledge is dangerous -Throughout Frankenstein, the reader is left with the feeling that Victor's obsessive desire to defeat nature, through the creation of another life, directly led to the many tragedies that befell him, "Learn from me, if not by my precept, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow" -In Blade Runner, the Replicants have been granted an intellect superior to their human counterparts. Are the Replicants revered or given special treatment because of this? No, in fact, they are treated as slaves and hunted down when they return to the birthplace of the human race ·Both creators are faced with limited tools in which to create their new life forms -"...but...
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...Allison Margolis Authors and Genres Professor Griffith 3/13/2013 Critiques of Society Through Technology in THX 1138 and Blade Runner The threat of overdeveloping technology has been portrayed in film throughout time as a negative influence on society. As shown in THX 1138 and Blade Runner, made by George Lucas and Ridley Scott respectively, society is overturned by the use of technology and these films can therefore be seen as a warning against the cultural changes to come. The dystopic societies shown in THX 1138 and Blade Runner are the direct result of the technological development of society, therefore each film proves to be a critique of what is to come if these technologies become overdeveloped. In both THX 1138 and Blade Runner, the cities created by Lucas and Scott respectively appear as central characters that further the plot. The city created in Blade Runner helps to display the hierarchies within the society and who controls whom. In the year 2019, Los Angeles is an acid-rain drizzling space crowded with punk gangs, physically disabled and many Hispanic and Asian people (Galagher 170). The streets are populated yet deserted, those who live there are those left behind and unable, physically and financially, to escape to the new colonies in space (Tiltsman 32). Therefore, these people that remain in the city are either of poorer-class or of upper class that have established themselves through their residences or commercial corporations. This is shown by those...
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...Film Noir Lighting comparison with Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner”. Menelaos Pampoukidis 3. Choose a film, TV show, music video or advertisement and discuss how the directing OR editing OR lighting style and choices inform its narrative form, genre and theme(s). Consider the film or show in its entirety and demonstrate your understanding and awareness of directing OR editing qualities. How lightning style and choices inform Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner”(1982) narrative, genre and theme. In early 1940s, soon after the second World War, a new film genre started to develop. Almost, twenty years later Nino Frank, influenced by the France “Black Book”, gave it the name Film Noir. “Product of a multifaceted interaction between developments within particular genres – the gangster/crime film and the Gothic melodrama – fluctuating conditions of production and reception within the American industry, and more diffuse cultural movements.”1 The early Film Noir was profoundly influenced by the depression of the war. Hard boiled, dark, devious and cynical, it was originally based on German expressionism and later on Italian neorealism in order to create it's individual style and unique iconography. “As expressionists motifs supplied Noir's dark undercurrents, the Neo-Realist influence that appeared after war introduced a documentary flavour to American thrillers”2 As Film Noir kept progressing many elements were added to the prime features, expanding the range of the genre...
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...Paper #1: Descartes and Artificial Intelligence Blade Runner, a film based in the future, precisely 2019 shows the world with genetically engineered robots called replicants. Replicants look just like other adult beings that are substitutes for humans that live for only four years. Living for such a short period of time allows no opportunity for development or emotional growth. The name of the film Blade Runner, are those who hunt for “replicants” that are banned from earth for defying their position in society. Descartes provides us with principles that he considers is the nature of the human mind and its evaluating process, in which the replicants would not be considered human. In Descartes Sixth Meditation we see the distinguishing factors between the mind and body. “From this we are prompted to acknowledge that the natures of mind and body not only are different from one another, but even, in a manner of speaking, are contraries of one another”. Mind is different than the body. When both are working in equilibrium we are functioning well. Compared to replicants who have no thoughts or feelings, just the ability to continuously work and complete the task assigned to them. This is a result of the body performing physical labor while having no thought or interferences of the mind. To be considered a human you need to have these important things working in accordance, according to Descartes. “I am therefore precisely nothing but a thinking thing; that is, a mind, or...
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...The worlds of Frankenstein and Blade Runner are effective representations of their context and the values which were catalysts for their composition. How has your study supported this? Throughout time, literature has served well as a window into the schools of thought and social concerns of any given era of human history. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (Director’s cut), 1986, continue this trend. Frankenstein is a typical example of Gothic literature that engages with issues commonly raised during the Enlightenment and Romantic Movement. Blade Runner was composed in the early 1980’s, a time of radical change and development in areas of science and business. Despite their differing social contexts, both texts question similarly ethically driven issues. The question over man’s right to push the boundaries of science in the creation of life has transcended time, growing increasingly relevant with recent advancements in technology. The contentious issue was predominant throughout the Enlightenment period, an era characterised by significant change where reason was valued over religious faith. This contextual significance is mirrored in Shelly’s condemnation of Frankenstein’s experiment through the loathing tone of “now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” She furthers her argument through the monster’s description of Frankenstein as an “unfeeling, heartless creator!”, reflective...
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