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Old 1st December 2015, 01:14 AM
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Default Blade Runner

November Noir is finishing so I thought I would wax lyrically (or waffle needlessly) to that magnificence of Future Noir that is better known as Blade Runner. (Spoilers hereafter)



I still remember the first day I saw this film. I was nine years old, and I had returned to a store to return a PC game that didn't work on my PC. Since the game wasn't technically at fault, I was offered a store credit refund instead. I browsed the aisles and found a VHS of Blade Runner - in Widescreen and in the Director's Cut. I was familiar with the concept of a "director's cut" as the Resident Evil game had a director's cut which meant new content. But, Widescreen was something new to me at that age, and with a promising looking cover of Indiana Jones holding a gun over a futuristic building, as well as being "from the director of ALIEN", I opted for the tape. Dad told me I was in for a treat.

And, by God, was he right. I felt a shiver down my spine as Vangelis' score cracked over the opening title cards. And then, I was struck by one of the most amazing opening shots ever - a cityscape lit by industrial fires and lightning. I had never seen anything like it before. I had seen Terminators turn from liquid to solid, or dinosaurs run amok through parks but I never seen an entire city created onscreen before.



At nine years of age, I had no idea of the themes or subtleties of Blade Runner but I didn't care. All I cared about was that I was watching Harrison Ford gun down robots in the most amazing future I had ever seen. I wore the tape out, watching it again and again. Thankfully, DVD had arrived by then and I bought it again.

I had fallen in love with the world of Blade Runner. The Asian influences in architectural design; the cityspeak; and the extraordinary low-key lighting (by ace cinematographer, Jordan Cronenweth). I couldn't get enough - I tracked down the book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and was struck by how different it was. I even snagged a copy of the PC game (still have it), which is very much a sidequel that follows Phillip K. Dick's book a lot more closely. I learnt that Blade Runner was considered the start of a genre called Cyberpunk (future-noir), so I started reading William Gibson novels and watching Japanese animes. Needless to say, Blade Runner probably made me the film-geek I am today.



When I was 14, I discovered something strange. TnaG (a station aimed for Irish speaking audiences) were showing Blade Runner, and having just finished my homework I switched it on rather than load up the DVD. It looked like Blade Runner, but it didn't sound like Blade Runner. Who the hell was talking over the film? And where did my unicorn go to? And wasn't the film meant to end when the elevator closes?

I was flummoxed. What was this new version I had seen? I didn't like this new version as much but I was still fascinated. Thankfully, we soon got hooked up to the internet (dial-up ) and I was able to get to the bottom of this mystery. I learnt about the horrors Ridley Scott had to go through to try and get the film on screen, and how it was ripped away from him and was mutilated into something "blockbuster-friendly". I just got my first major lesson on how editing can make a major difference. Once again, Blade Runner had shaped my tastes.



Over the years, my estimation of Blade Runner has gone up. I rewatch the film every couple of months and I still get enraptured. Not just by its visuals, or that wonderful soundtrack, but by the themes I now understand. Its a grim warning of a future collapsing under overpopulation and pollution, and the dominance of corporations. Its a cry to God or the maker of your choice - why are we here? What is our purpose? Who are we? What is the meaning of life if it doesn't last forever? [I should point out that, shortly before he agreed to do Blade Runner, Scott's brother had passed on. The scene where Roy Batty confronts Eldon Tyrell is pretty much Scott confronting God on the same issue]



Despite its sci-fi setting, and philosophical musings, Blade Runner is noir. Shadows and paranoia dominate the rainy Los Angeles of November 2019. And scurrying within these shadows are some of the most morally complex, or grey, characters ever captured on celluloid. Even though he looks the part, Ford's Deckard is only the hero because the society within Blade Runner calls him one. It's hard to be heroic when you're gunning down suspects whose only crime is trying to survive. I sometimes suspect this is why Ford had a hard time revisiting the film, as it was made in between his runs as Han Solo and Indiana Jones. It's a shame, as I honestly think Deckard is his finest character and performance. He says a lot about his weariness, moral unease, and paranoia without ever opening his mouth.

This paranoia he feels leads us to what is the biggest controversy in Blade Runner: is Deckard a replicant?



Maybe it's because I grew up with the director's cut, but I always find it hard to believe that people do not accept Deckard as a replicant. It makes sense - Deckard is a "retired" cop who is, according Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh), "the best". Would it be too hard to believe that Deckard was created specifically to hunt down advanced replicants? Rachel (Sean Young) was implanted with memories from Tyrell's niece to keep her in check so why wouldn't Deckard be implanted with memories or previous Blade Runners? Also, his dreams of unicorns are known by fellow Blade Runner, Gaff (Edward James Olmos). How else would Gaff know this unless he has checked Deckard's files?

For me, Deckard being a replicant is a perfect encapsulation of the film's themes of humanity and identity. We define ourselves by our memories (i.e. any political choices you make are more than likely influenced by an occurrence in your past) but, if the memories are not ours then who are we? This fits well within the dark world of Blade Runner (what with the replicants' love for photographs) and the paranoia generated by higher beings (corporations, governments, God).



I flat out love Blade Runner. If Ridley Scott were to drive a bus full of children off a cliff, he would still be my hero simply because what he achieved here. It's beautiful yet troubling and it lingers with you like the most vivid dream.


[All images from www.film-grab.com]
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Last edited by MacBlayne; 1st December 2015 at 12:00 PM.
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  #282  
Old 1st December 2015, 06:59 PM
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Default I Confess (1953)

I Confess (1953)
Interesting Hitchcock movie that gives us the old Colombo routine, A man is seen dressed as priest leaving a lawyers house,Ovila Légaré as Monsieur Vilette, only scene of him is him lying dead on the floor. Later on the killer O. E. Hasse as Otto Keller , goes to confession and knowing the priest, Montgomery Clift as Fr. Michael William Logan cannot inform the police he tells Father Logan it was him that killed Vilette. Only trouble is Logan has his own reasons for wanting Vilette dead,and soon becomes chief suspect in the murder case.For Hitchcock film this is fairly straight forward noir thriller,we know who has really killed the victim,and we know that Logan can't tell the police,so as a viewer we have to squirm in our seats when the police suspect the wrong man,and all the time the real killer is scott free. And there lies its strength, the viewer like Logan cannot do anything about his situation due to his circumstances and Karl Malden as Inspector Larrue is chasing the wrong guy, Ironic that Montgomery Clift dose a film about blackmail and deceit considering he had a few skeletons in his closet during his short life, and although his character is the main lead,he is'nt really given enough to do,he just tends to stare into the middle distance allot looking either gloomy or wistful,he is an extraordinary actor but his character is kind of boring really, I imagine he probably needed all his method acting skills just to get the part off of the page of the script.Im afraid this is not one of Hitchcock's better films,its fairly pedestrian in direction and has no lighter moments (perhaps if we had caught Logan wanking while looking through a peep hole) even Psycho had its moments humour in it .A lesser Hitchcock ,movie I'm afraid but worth a watch.
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  #283  
Old 1st December 2015, 07:17 PM
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What an outstanding post on Blade Runner that is Mac.

Superb work.
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  #284  
Old 1st December 2015, 07:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
What an outstanding post on Blade Runner that is Mac.

Superb work.
Thank you.
Demdike@Cult Labs likes this.
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  #285  
Old 1st December 2015, 08:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
What an outstanding post on Blade Runner that is Mac.

Superb work.
Agreed!

Well, Noir November is now over and I didn't watch nearly as many films as I would have liked.

I managed 21 films in total:

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  #286  
Old 1st December 2015, 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs View Post
Agreed!

Well, Noir November is now over and I didn't watch nearly as many films as I would have liked.

I managed 21 films in total:

I think you did pretty damn well sir,it was a good month for the roses.er I mean Noir films,well done gents.
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  #287  
Old 3rd December 2015, 01:25 PM
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Rififi has been re-released at selected cinemas Stateside.

Rififi (2015 re-release) (2015) - Box Office Mojo
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  #288  
Old 6th December 2015, 08:55 AM
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Default Strangers on a Train (1951

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Horrible Bosses-
Kurt Buckman: Yeah. Yeah. Like Hitchcock’s ‘Strangers on a Train’, right?
Nick Hendricks: I haven’t seen that. Did they…
Dale Arbus: The Danny DeVito movie. It’s funny.
Kurt Buckman: [sarcastically] Yeah. Yeah. That famous Alfred Hitchcock, Danny DeVito movie. That’s the one he’s…


Based on screenplay Raymond Chandler, Whitfield Cook and Czenzi Ormonde which in turn is based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. This is one of my favourite Hitchcock movies, it has that great criss cross story line and tremendously morbid subject matter. Crazy Robert Walker as Bruno Anthony meets handsome playboy tennis star Farley Granger as Guy Haines. While together on a train journey Bruno explains a plan he has to kill his hated father, while Haines he discovers is trying to get a divorce from his adulterous wife so he can marry socialite Anne Morton (Ruth Roman) ,he explains that if they swap murders then they both have an alibi and no motive. Haines laughs off Bruno's story as just the talk of a drunk. But Bruno has other ideas. Robert Walker is magnificent as Bruno, a lazy spoiled man who despises his rich father because he wants Bruno to work for a living. Bruno gives the appearance of a sane man but is clearly bonkers especially when anyone dares to antagonise him. As usual there's lots of lovely bits of black humour, when a little boy shots him with his cap gun Bruno bursts the little boys balloon just out of spite. Guy Haines wife Miriam Joyce Haines (Kasey Rogers ) is portrayed as pretty much a slut, she openly admits to being pregnant by another man and is spied on by Bruno while on a date with two men, so as an audience we don't really have much sympathy for her. This is one of those perfect Hitchcock movies, a classic morbid tale, with an innocent man trapped in a cobweb of someone's else making. The only minor criticism is that Bruno starts outwardly showing what a maniac he is, especially when he gate crashes a party and strangles a woman to show her how to commit a murder. Apart from that this is a tight little nourish thriller and anyone who is a fan of the film Shadow Of A Doubt will love this film I'm sure.

out of 5
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  #289  
Old 8th December 2015, 09:01 PM
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Une Si Jolie Petit Plage (Riptide) 1949 - The French title translates as 'A pretty little beach' - let me assure you this is as savage as irony gets - the landscape here is as far from pretty as it's possible to get - muddy, rainy, windswept - hell on earth. As you might expect from a post war French noir, as outside, so within. We're talking serious angst here as our antihero wrestles with his past and lack of a future. A local orphan mirrors his fate. Doom X 2. Unbearable right? Well, actually no - the French blu-ray I picked up (be warned, it's pricy) looks incredible and the film spins a real spell right up to its amazing last shot. Highly recommended.
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  #290  
Old 11th December 2015, 04:54 PM
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The Otto Preminger Collection - only £16.99 from The Entertainment Store on Rakuten at the moment. Absolute bargain.
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