lets talk about BLADERUNNER

[$CASHMONEY$]

so is harrison ford a replicant?! and if so.. how does he/the audience come to this conclusion?!...

 

[RevQuixo]

so is harrison ford a replicant?! and if so.. how does he/the audience come to this conclusion?!...

Simple. He dreams of electric sheep.

 

[Rade K]

somethings are best left to the individual's imagination.

the answer is what you think it is.


Personally? i think that Deckard dreamt the whole thing.

 

[qube]

I think that at some point there should have been a Blade Runner side story that followed Batty's adventures previous to meeting Deckard

Not a new film now mind you, but back in the early 80s.

 

[SML]

A prequel wouldn't have had the high production value BR had... BR only looked as good as it did because they had time to focus on sets and props thanks to an actor's strike.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

I can't see how he is NOT a replicant. He dreams about the unicorn, only for Gaff to make a unicorn origami at the end of the movie, like he knew what he had programmed into him. You could say the whole "everyone that's a replicant in the movie has a scene where their eyes glow orange" makes him a replicant, since everyone AND him have this in the movie. Also, his fascination with saving Rachel, and his sadness for killing the replicants could have something to do with this. Then again, he wouldn't know he is, so why be sad about it? Meh, whatever.

Taking out the dialogue that Ford had, a la Film Noir, was the best thing this movie ever did for itself.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

A prequel wouldn't have had the high production value BR had... BR only looked as good as it did because they had time to focus on sets and props thanks to an actor's strike.

Really? I mean, to me it seemed like Ridley stole a LOT from Alien (which he could, of course... it was his, after all). The landing pad graphic was stolen from Alien, the sound of his apartment "breathing" was ripped off from Alien. Seems like they cut some corners, if anything.

 

[NeoSneth]

he is not a replicant.
but he does have broken mf'n fingers.

 

[Neogeofan12]

The Blu-Ray is great (a must buy), but I'm keeping the Criterion SE LD.

 

[Late]

Ever read the novel? Imo Blade runner/Do androids dream... is good prophecy, a direction where mankind is going. We'll all find ourselves in there I'm afraid. A cesspool of consumerism, no culture nor no future. Fuck, Appleseed and Nausicaä were from the future hahahah!

 

[$CASHMONEY$]

I can't see how he is NOT a replicant. He dreams about the unicorn, only for Gaff to make a unicorn origami at the end of the movie, like he knew what he had programmed into him. You could say the whole "everyone that's a replicant in the movie has a scene where their eyes glow orange" makes him a replicant, since everyone AND him have this in the movie. Also, his fascination with saving Rachel, and his sadness for killing the replicants could have something to do with this. Then again, he wouldn't know he is, so why be sad about it? Meh, whatever.

Taking out the dialogue that Ford had, a la Film Noir, was the best thing this movie ever did for itself.

this makes sense.... but does he have a longer lifespan since he's apparently NOT nexus-6?? or do they all shut down after 4years?

 

[NeoSneth]

if you look at some of the debates and early scripts, the evidence weighs in that he is a replicant...in the movie.

the novel leaves almost no debate that deckard is human.


so if you are a fan of either outcome, just stick to that medium and you'll be fine. I'm on the side that feels he is human. I do love how it's so cryptic in the movie, you will never really know.

Is he human because he has emotions or does he have too much empathy to be human?

 

[DangerousK]

The Final Cut of Blade Runner is the only version that matters.

Ridley Scott has already come out and said that Deckard is a Replicant. It's not even a debatable topic anymore...maybe if the 1992 Director's Cut was still the only version we had, it could be debatable.

On a side note, the original theatrical release is actually kind of amusing to watch. I love Ford's voiceovers because you can still he'd rather have lobsters pincing his dick instead of doing the VO's.

 

[IoriYagami n8]

I remember reading an interview where Ridley mentioned that in his mind, Deckard is a replicant. But they liked leaving it more open ended for the audience. The fact that Gaff knows Deckard dreams of the unicorn (as if programmed), the glint in his eye at the end, and Gaff's further comment near the end to him state "You've done a man's job" would lean pretty heavily toward the replicant arguement I believe.

I would agree with the previous post in saying that in the film, he is a replicant. While in the novel he is not.

 

[rarehero]

I like the voice over noir version too.
I've watched the directors cut on ld and to me it just wasn't the same.
as a kid I never read into it and was oblivious to the
idea that deck may have been a replicant.
learning about that in my internet years kind of remade the movie
into a new, more interesting experience.

 

[Baseley09]

Scott saying that Deckard was a replicant was just adding fire to the flames, it really is upto you.

I like to think that he wasn't.

 

[Mike Shagohod]

I like the voice over noir version too.
I've watched the directors cut on ld and to me it just wasn't the same.
as a kid I never read into it and was oblivious to the
idea that deck may have been a replicant.
learning about that in my internet years kind of remade the movie
into a new, more interesting experience.

My feelings exactly. Though unlike most, I PREFER the "voice over" version outside of that one stupid line right after Batty expires. To me BLADERUNNER was the perfect mesh of 1940s film noir with Cyberpunk, and the voice over is what made it feel even moreso, though I admit that the dialogue wasn't anywhere as smart/whitty as anything Rick Blaine (Bogart) uttered in Casablanca or in other films of that era. Though the FINAL CUT movie is pretty cool, I will always regard the original International Version as my personal fave. It's really the only version I watch unless I'm with other B.R. buffs.

Personally I believe that Deckard is indeed a Replicant and that for whatever reason Tyrell Corp didn't program him with the 4 year kill switch, however, they did with Rachel and is the reason Gaff says: "It's too bad she won't live, but then again who does?" at the end. He knows that she'll expire and either Deckard will off himself or return to LAPD to either be retired and/or be used again for further Blade Running. That's just my personal version though. Of course the sequel novel by K.W. Jeter: Blade Runner 2: Edge of Human was pretty bad ass, and IMO "almost" as good as the film, but I didn't care for part three which was called Replicant Night.

 

[Hot Chocolate]

He was as most have said there's obvious clues pointing right to it, might pick up the BR ver sometime or at least finish watching the rest of the extra discs I got with the SE case when it came out

 

[Jedah Doma]

Funny this thread should come up as I just finished watching the film for the first time with a good friend. I had never seen it before now, I know I know. I bought the Blu Ray 5 disc special edition. He is a big Blade Runner buff and has not seen the final cut, and since I hadn't seen the film ever, it worked out great.

First impressions, it lived up to expectations. The picture wuality is amazing and it really makes me miss the craftminship and heart within real sets built by human hands. I still can't see they day when CG will ever look "right". It just looks too perfect.

Great music too. Of course we talked afterwards about the whole Harrison Ford replicant thing, and I have to say on my first hunch I believe it he is not. Couldn't give you a boatload of evidence, just my gut.

I'll have to watch through the other versions and listen to the commentary.

 

[OMFG]

The fact that Gaff knows Deckard dreams of the unicorn (as if programmed), the glint in his eye at the end, and Gaff's further comment near the end to him state "You've done a man's job" would lean pretty heavily toward the replicant arguement I believe.

The fact that Gaff knew what he was dreaming of was one thing. But also, did it seem odd that Gaff was always there or hounding Deckard for something? To me the question wasn't so much "Is Deckard a replicant", but more so "Was Deckard Gaff's replicant?" Gaff treats Deckard like an object/slave/dog more than a fellow Bladerunner. Only at the end of the film he gives Deckard praise for doing "a man's job". Gaff could've been just a regular detective using Deckard as a tool. As in the book, humans are rely on technology (the empathy box, mood organ, etc). It seems that police were also dependent on using some form technology to get the job done. The only other connection that Gaff has is that he was Deckard's keeper and memory pool.

The movie is whatever you want it to be. I personally think that Deckard was originally Gaff's replicant and both were called in from an offworld colony to help out Bryant (as master and servant).

 

[abasuto]

I love listening to people pick apart the movie and insert their own personal theories to explain that he was a replicant.

I don't think he was.

 

[Cornerb0y]

I love Blade Runner! It was the first movie I got on blu ray. I don't think he was a replicant....I mean why send a replicant to do a humans job?

 

[PleaseKillMeNow]

For someone made to be "more human than human," he sure as hell had an all-too-human alcohol problem. Also, the replicants killed with ease. He was unable to kill the males, and only shot the females to death as they fled (shooting a fleeing woman also seems to be very subhuman, if you ask me). To me, the main point of the movie was Deckard (human) and Batty (machine) coming to a mutual admiration toward each other as they both faced their own mortality.

 

[Mike Shagohod]

For someone made to be "more human than human," he sure as hell had an all-too-human alcohol problem. Also, the replicants killed with ease. He was unable to kill the males, and only shot the females to death as they fled (shooting a fleeing woman also seems to be very subhuman, if you ask me). To me, the main point of the movie was Deckard (human) and Batty (machine) coming to a mutual admiration toward each other as they both faced their own mortality.

This actually makes sense (in an odd way). For about 15 years I'd swore up and down Deckard was human, then with the whole glowing eyes thing, the Unicorn dream and all that I was like: "Nope, he's a replicant."

But something else comes to mind.

Why wasn't Deckard as strong as the other Replicants? Hell he had a hell of a time with Batty. Combat/Soldier model or not, he barely could hold his own against Batty, makes me wonder if he wasn't somehow human after all.

 

[SouthtownKid]

and insert their own personal theories

Yeah, personal theories like a direct quote from the director. You rabble rouser, you.