1982: Original BLADE RUNNER Review | Film 82 | Classic Movie Review | BBC Archive

Iain Johnstone casts a critical eye over Ridley Scott's sumptuous-looking science-fiction film, starring Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah and Rutger Hauer. Does it pass the Voight Kampff test?
Also included in this review is an on-set interview with the film's special effects supervisor Doug Trumbull, who chats to Alan Yentob about the challenges of bringing a 'credible' science fiction world to the screen.
Originally broadcast 4 October, 1982.
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[@brucekennedy5274]

My all-tim favourite movie. A pretty fair review, but how could they not mention the incredible score by Vangelis? It’s inseparable from the film.

[@Flying_Acehole]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@followtheboat]

The greatest film score ever composed. RIP Vangelis.

[@Nodux359]

Same here, nothing more to add.

[@88feji]

Its a review of the threatrical cut, and thats fair ... but the Director's Cut or Final Cut would deserved to be reviewed as a monumental masterpiece ....

[@williamharris7956]

I miss how polite everybody sounded on TV back then.

[@1TheWhiteKnight1]

Was my favorite movie as a kid and still is to this day. I have a 14 yr old son now who simply refuses to watch old movies. Anything pre 00's is a no and 80's movies look silly to him which I can understand as the special effects in kids movies like the Marvel brand are mind-blowing these days. Couple of weeks back I started to watch Bladerunner and he laughed and eye-rolled when I told him it was from 82. He watched the opening scene and then sat down next to me and watched the whole thing without saying another word. Two days later I came home and he was watching it all again. It's timeless.

[@danholmesfilm]

Don't squander that wonder, show him more like it asap :)

[@frankvee]

Haha that's awesome! He saw the genius in the images and score.... it really is spellbinding.

[@kawaiilotus]

mad max next, taxi driver and full metal jacket in a couple of years time, oh and the godfather too.

[@Giskard1000]

What a great piece of intuition by this reviewer that the ending looked like footage from The Shining. - Ridley has since confirmed that he DID use some of Kubrick’s footage from that film for that end sequence!

[@davidjames579]

The Shining is also a Warner Bros film. Kubrick said to Scott there was hours and hours of aerial footage he could use, as long as none of it was from the release cut of The Shining.

[@Bleckman666]

@@davidjames579 Exactly. As mentioned in the great documentary "Dangerous Days", Scott could use any unused footage he liked, as long as the VW Beetle was not seen.

[@davidjames579]

@@Bleckman666 I read in Paul M Sammon's excellent book, Future Noir, that if the projectionist didn't align the projector correctly, the Beetle became visible in Blade Runner. But I don't know how true that is.

[@minilite7184]

Also the voice over was ‘a late after thought’ - something Ridley took out on his Directors Cut

[@kevga2758]

That's new to me, but good to know, thank you, for the information

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

1:26 - Lovely to see Doug Trumbull talking about one of his finest creations in this contemporary interview! RIP Douglas Trumbull.

[@cablehogue599]

He's a legend

[@Paul_1971]

A damn genius of cinema

[@gus4u2c]

Silent Running great movie

[@ewaf88]

I sent Doug an email a few years ago enquiring if a short film he made about a journey to the Moon was available ( the very film that interested Stanley Kubrick in his work ). He sent a very kind and polite reply saying that it was in some archive somewhere but that it was time to move on to better things

[@elouisecarlton5971]

@@cablehogue599 He is. And he deserves 100% of the credit for 2001 looking as great as it did. The oscar was given to the director who didn't design anything. Anyone can sit here and say 'Do this and do that', but it takes a GENIUS to realize it!!

[@GBPaddling]

No mention of the most fantastic soundtrack by Vangelis?

[@mooseyman74]

Chariots of Fire got a lot of praise

[@generalyellor8188]

I don't remember which country got what soundtrack, but one got Vangelis, the other got a symphony orchestra version.

[@judgeberry6071]

Rachel's Song is amazing. Unfortunately the track was never used in the movie. Still, one of Vangelis' best pieces.

[@mikeburton7077]

I have watched this film hundreds of times ,still the most fantastic, technically elegant and so enjoyable ,great effects ,great cast,simpl superb ! ical

[@cgavin1]

Based on Scot's later work .. as with so many "name men", it was in spite of him not because.

[@AtticusStount]

@@cgavin1 Creative people´s creativity, or muse if you will, gets exhausted with age and changing circumstances. Would you say Lucas´s success is because he was a name?

[@kevga2758]

Totally agree with you, I watch it every couple of months, Its a special movie, so we'll made, it still transports me to somewhere else, everytime I watch it

[@captlazer5509]

Blade Runner stuck with me. Years ago visiting Kowloon, walking in the rain with the neon signs, thinking damn this is Blade Runner.

[@samuelrichardson1564]

Look at those sets, incredible!

[@garyburley1960]

i still thought it was a masterpiece when i went to see it in 1982. somehow i knew it was the greatest movie i would ever see alongside Apocalypse Now three years earlier. i loved the theatrical cut as a teenager even with the voiceover and ending. It was the only version i knew for many years and i struggled to defend it to all the naysayers until it started to become a rental phenomenon a few years later. lightning in a bottle

[@SuperCarcher]

You must be my twin

[@captlazer5509]

Same here upon its release and this is not for everyone. It's layered and doesn't spoon feed you.

[@bighands69]

It is not the greatest movie ever made but it most certain is an excellent movie.

[@colinrumford2265]

Harrison Ford even managed to get into Apocalypse.

[@mattm3400]

My top 2 films are blade runner and Apocalypse now followed by aliens, la haine and Withnail and I x

[@gowkie3940]

"There are too many films that have been where special effects are holding up a lousy story, or poor performances or poor direction" Amen Doug, Amen.

[@franohmsford7548]

Considering he said that in 1982.....Exactly what films is he talking about? I could understand that being said in 2002 or 2022 but NOT in 1982! He basically attacked Star Trek: The Motion Picture which yes I can see BUT he also attacked Close Encounters which is ludicrous! And then he said "Too Many"? Uh what other films than The Slow Motion Picture pre 1982 were special effects heavy with "bad stories"?

[@projektkobra2247]

@@franohmsford7548 I was wondering that same thing...I suppose he is talking about the plethora of cheaply made "direct to video" type films back then as well..too forgettable to ..uh..remember.

[@FranzSanchez-ky9up]

The Black Hole maybe?

[@milosjovanovic9859]

@@franohmsford7548 there was a slew of star wars ripp-offs in the years prior to blade runner release. All of them now forgitten, for good reason. Also, special effects were used, for better or worse, since the beging of cinema (king kong, journey to the moon etc.). They just weren't cgi.

[@bobrew461]

He could include his own movie, Brainstorm, which had a lousy script.

[@paultaylor7059]

He makes some good points but misses the central one. He says that these replicants are devoid of emotion, whereas they are actually lacking in empathy. This is crucial because it is what this, and much of Dicks work, is about - what it is to be human, what qualities define us. I don't agree that the story loses impetus, also although he was obviously reviewing the original version, which is a different animal (different owl !). The film steadily heads towards a showdown between Deckert and Batty and pays off absolutely beautifully. It's something that 2049 didn't come close to matching - settling for a conventional fight out and a predictable "she's dead. Oh no, she isn't dead yet !" finale. To be fair to him, the first viewing is always going to focus on style and the story in front of you. The depth of the movie, like the Godfather for instance, reveals itself bit by bit on multiple viewings

[@davidjames579]

Yes, the Replicants' emotions is a big part of the story. Deckard, the human, appears to have less.

[@sexobscura]

I completely agree with on this film -- yes, 2049 was *absolute* rubbish

[@paultaylor7059]

@@sexobscura well, a bit harsh to call it rubbish but it was a fairly standard, linear movie compared to the original. Visuals were not bad but the story had nothing of the depth of the original

[@sexobscura]

@@paultaylor7059 Admittedly it was visually quite captivating and very stunning, but as a sequel, it could hardly escape the diligent critiques of the original's hard core fans. The original is just *too* unique 👌

[@Omnicient.]

@@sexobscura the sequel, like most films produced in the last 30 odd years, contain far too many secondary characters and so focus is generally lost. The Bond films suffer this and have done so since the 80s. The sequel seems too long and sluggish as these characters keep padding out the running time. It was like they were more interested in out visualising the original and in the process lost the script.

[@drparnassus2867]

Johnstone was absolutely right about the voiceover being "a weak afterthought" and in spotting the Shining footage. Interesting guy, nice to hear the ghost of an Ulster accent on TV in the '80s

[@davidjames579]

Amazingly perceptive. Scott, Ford and the writers didn't want it and the studio forced it on them. The writing in the VO is terrible and obvious, and Ford clearly isn't putting the effort in. So maybe these stood out in contrast to the rest of the film for Mr Johnstone.

[@killboggins]

@@davidjames579 I think ford really IS putting in effort. it's just terrible dialogue and he's trying his damndest. poor guy

[@davidjames579]

@@killboggins He's on record as saying he was trying to make it unusable. He was contractually obligated to do it, but not to give the best performance.

[@killboggins]

@@davidjames579 wow. I did not know that.

[@geoffross5512]

The VO is terrible. It sounds like Deckard doesn't really care about anything. Weirdly, I think it enhances the movie. Deckard was out and then he's dragged back in. All he wants is for it to be over, and the VO reinforces that.

[@stevelang6727]

I thought this film was amazing back when I saw a preview screening in Newcastle 1982 - it still is!

[@simoncarlile1965]

The rain was only in the film to cover the wire's on the spinners.Blade Runner without the rain does not quite work.Look at the sequel.

[@VisiblyJacked]

You are right about the lack of rain in 2049! Never occurred to me before

[@davidjames579]

It wasn't only for that. Although never stated in the film the backstory on 2019 was that pollution had screwed up the sky and weather so much, it rained Acid Rain all the time. Just adds to the oppression of L.A. Along with the wet uncollected Trash.

[@evo5dave]

Great looking film. Agree with him about the script. Should have used more of PK Dick's novel: the conversations with Deckard's wife are crucial to the story.

[@DarioDarrow]

Surprising that they knew the tacked on ending was from The Shinning all the way back then. For me the film didn’t become a masterpiece until I’d seen both theatrical and directors cuts...and I kinda like how dirty the work print is. it feels more appropriate for the films setting. Like a grunge filter 🙃

[@alm5966]

My favourite all time movie and I remember recording this episode aged 13. It's a movie that stands up today and thankfully Blade Runner 2049 was a fitting sequel.

[@lordprotector3367]

I found 2049 like watching paint dry, it was so slow.

[@88feji]

2049 kinda have mixed reactions ... some loves it (especially Denis Villeneuve's fan boys who loves big empty hollow space) and some are deeply disappointed with it ... I'm deeply disappointed with 2049 as it feels like an unfulfilled potential, the artist illustrations prepared for the movie production are far far more beautiful than the movie itself ... the movie really looks lazy as it fails to render so much details that the artists came up with ...

[@GroupCaptSlow]

“There are too many films they’ve been made where special effects are holding up a lousy story or poor performances or poor direction” It was evident in 1982, why are so many people blind to it now?

[@HunterTinsley]

Yea, that's about right. Most/all of the issues are now fixed in the final cut, thankfully.

[@mrt445]

No they're not, the final cut didn't improve peoples opinions of the movie. It's the most overrated film in history. It even flopped when it was released.

[@southlondon86]

@@mrt445 So did The Thing... Sometimes the time period of release can screw it up.

[@mrt445]

@@southlondon86 It doesn't matter which period it was released, the film would have underperformed regardless. It just wasn't a good film.

[@southlondon86]

@@mrt445 Blade Runner was overhyped in my opinion. The Thing definitely was good.

[@mrt445]

@@southlondon86 I'm not talking about "the Thing". This discussion is about Blade runner. I don't even remember the last time I watched "the Thing".

[@davedogge2280]

I watched almost all of Barry Norman's 80s reviews on Film but this is the first time I've seen Iain Johnstone, he is more old school presenter but what he's saying is very detailed.

[@elouisecarlton5971]

Douglas Trumball did everything to move cinema on a million miles. Starting in 1968 he designed and realized everything in 2001 and the credit was stolen by the director.

[@Alan_Connor]

I think that's a bit unfair on Kubrick. DT was an amazing talent though and is sorely missed.

[@robertthomsonwatson2542]

Wrong , Douglas Trumbell only did the slit-scan effects for the beyond the infinite sequence at the end , other artists did the rest of the film . The reason why the film still stands up today in both the overall film and special effects is because of Stanley Kubrick who did all the quality control ( ie he supervised ever aspect of the film minutely not only the scenes with the actors but all of the effects as well which included how the effects were shot both with the framing and lighting of them )

[@mrmeerkat1096]

No you were right its sci fi. we don't have replicants in 40 years. This movie is closer in time to the end of WW2 than it is today, and it still looks better than most films today.

[@markshirley01]

I loved the original with the voice over - plus the ending is great for me

[@Holeyguagaamoley]

Yes as we have subsequently seen Ridley loves a depressing pointless ending to his films so I liked the hope at the end and the daylight night rain contrast was meaningful

[@garrybaldy327]

Remember, this was not The Final Cut, so wouldn't have seemed the masterpiece it would eventually become.

[@smokaduke2527]

The voiceovers he mentioned were removed in subsequent cuts.

[@ian_b]

It already was. I saw it when it came out, and it was amazing.

[@davidjames579]

A lot of people found it to be a masterpiece in 1982, but in general audiences couldn't connect with it. There also seemed to be an anticipation that the new Harrison Ford Sci-Fi adventure film would be along the lines of Star Wars and Raiders Of The Lost Ark. So there was disappointment at that.

[@ian_b]

@@davidjames579 Yes, that's true. But for those of us who "got it", it did allow us to indulge in a certain amount of pleasurable snobbery😀

[@mooseyman74]

Loved reading the Marvel adaptations of this and Time Bandits in the Return of the Jedi comic

[@hypnodelica]

Interesting observations at the end about the both the voiceover (that Scott removed in the Director's Cut) and the end sequence footage (that was B-Roll from The Shining)... a pretty fair and balanced review

[@Omnicient.]

As we know none of the footage featured in The Shining. He took in so much after one viewing; for most of us it has taken 40 odd years! If the VO had been removed originally how would that affect its chances at the box office? My view is that no VO would have made an bigger dent in its takings. I love VO anyway as they stimulate a slightly different area of the mind which 'some' of us pick up on; think of all those old black and white films and their narration; surely they give you goosebumps?!

[@johnneville403]

Blade Runner - a film made in 1982 that was decades ahead of its time. This BBC programme from the same year seems like a relic from the 1950s.

[@mrt445]

It wasn't decades ahead of it's time. It's overrated and flopped when it was released. Even all the top 10 film critics on KZbin agree that it's overrated.

[@royfontaine5526]

@@mrt445 then they’re all wrong.

[@mrt445]

@@royfontaine5526 I was pleasantly surprised that they all found the film boring because it's often cited as being one of the best films ever made and that only happened during the 90's, almost 10 years after its release, at a time when we couldn't instantly Google and watch films. The best films ever made do not need repeat viewing to eventually realise how good they are. It doesn't work that way

[@robtyman4281]

I'm with Roy on this. Mr T, film critics are overrated and often rave about films that don't capture the imagination of the public. Conversely, when a film is a huge hit with the public it will have been slated by film critics. The public are always the best judge of a film. If most don't like it then it's not a good film, or it just stinks. Regardless of whether critics are obsessing over it. Ultimately their opinion is NOT the one that counts. Remember how critics salivated over 'Lalaland' while the public thought the film average at best, and at worst one of the mist nauseating films of the last ten years. Some even regretted going to see it. So it's worth remembering that when film critics unanimously praise a film, it might be better to not see it. Let your own friends be the judge. If they talk positively about a film, it's probably worth considering.....if not seeing.

[@Omnicient.]

@@robtyman4281 that's always been a rule of thumb for me and my brother! If a film gets 4 and 5 stars it's often best to avoid but if it gets much lower it's often more likely to be enjoyable. There are exceptions but they're rare!

[@theengineer6213]

This movie was part of what got me into films. When I saw it in 84 I realize i was watching something special. the world the music the cast..And it held its quality for a long long time. The city itself was and is much more believable than most CG today. Ridley managed to create this world that basically was a big part of why people loved it so much.

[@AchtungEnglander]

Damn - this reviewer was ahead of his time when he said the voiceover was unnecessary!

[@leecalladine]

Great sci-fi film. Has not dated still one of the best.

[@passiveaggressive6175]

Brilliant questions by Alan Yentob about SFX. Some that we still need to ask today.

[@Louisejames23]

Haha as opposed to the real 2020 where everyone was sat indoors frightened by the governments, while they were shanking it up at parties…. 😉😬

[@rikmodeler6723]

My all time favourite movie , Can’t explain why and be rational about it , but its the best , snook off school to see it in 1982 I was 13 and when i came out it was raining and dark , have been in awe of all the versions since …. Amazing .

[@LJW55]

This is such a wonderful adaptation of the book by Philip K. Dick, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" which I read as an 18yo in 1973. Then this movie was released 10 or so years later and it was just fantastic to see the book come to life (with a few alterations).

[@jasonedwards6870]

Book is better, but the film is good in its own right.

[@brianz7917]

Interesting Iain Johnstone mentions the voice over early in it's release, I saw it when it first hit Cinemas and I thought the voice over worked well and don't understanding why it's been a big deal since .

[@Decrepit_biker]

Fantastic film, but quite a few inaccurate descriptions in the opening description. The Nexus 6 definitely had emotions, they just couldn't regulate them because they didn't have a childhood to learn.....

[@TonyP_Yes-its-Me]

The "AA" rating gave me a warm buzz of nostalgia.

[@iancharlton678]

Excellent view……. Further reinforces the fact that the Directors Cut version is THE only one worth watching…… gone is the monotone explanation for the hard of thinking ……. and the bowl of syrup ending. Masterful work…… still shines all these years later. Watched it with my 16 year old son recently, mindblown 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@antonylaing2499]

The work print is my favourite version, no voice over. It was version before the film was recut for the theatrical release.

[@projektkobra2247]

I saw the original narrated one as a kid in the theatre..we went cuz it was "spacey" and had "Han Solo" in it. I dont remember if I liked it, but it certainly grew on me on video after. I hardly consider myself "hard of thinking" that's smug hindsight bandwagon thinking. They were trying to give it that Noir detective feel. Did it work?..Meh...Youre here aint ya?

[@ivankaramasov]

Impressive that he points out the voiceover and the ending as weak points. Blade Rumner was seriously underrated when it came out. Now it might be slightly overrated. Still it is one of the best sci fi movies of all time and my favorite Ridley Scott movie

[@Barnaby_bo]

Can't believe it opened in Middlesbrough. Wonder if that's something to do with Ridley Scott

[@theodisius1]

Reminds me of a delivery van I saw: it had the writing "Paris, London, New York, Mansfield... but mainly Mansfield"

[@AD-kv9kj]

Yeah, the final cut of Blade Runner is the best. Not only removed the studio's tacked-on voice-over and happy ending as with the old "Director's Cut", but finally restored and lightly polished up in a few other scenes too. This movie suffered from executives holding it back on multiple releases with bad uncreative decision making before Scott got the chance to finally release the cut he wanted, and it's clearly the best. The idea developed as Scott was making the movie, but if you do watch BR with the idea in mind that Deckard himself is a replicant, everything makes so much sense. Even down to his largely emotionless acting style and the way some other characters like his boss give him odd looks in certain scenes and he gets treated almost like a slave when dragged back to HQ and basically forced to keep working for them. Gaf's unicorn referencing his implanted dreams etc just being the more obvious references. I don't think it matters what the original intention for Deckard was, because film-making is and should be an organic process and the interpretation of any more abstract style storytelling should be open to interpretation as part of the art.

[@jamestoney6108]

Tremendous replicant impression from the presenter

[@lexvonghoul6996]

So glad I found this channel

[@AnthonyFlack]

Chinatown: theatrical release cut Final scene. Evelyn speeds away in her car. Shots are fired. Abruptly, it cuts to helicopter footage of wilderness scenery leftover from The Shining. Voiceover (Jake): "Well, she got away. And that was that. It was a couple of months before I heard from her again. She had found a place to stay in Colorado. She was going to start a new life, she said. She wanted to thank me for everything I had done for her, that she would always owe me a debt of gratitude. I said hey, forget about it - it's Chinatown". END Studio executive: MUCH BETTER

[@wanderingfool6312]

One of the finest films of all time.

[@88feji]

I first watched it on poor quality VHS, despite the terrible VHS visual problems, the beauty of the world building still came through and planted a seed in my mind, the impression it left in my mind ... and I felt an impulse to revisit the movie and everytime I rewatched it I love it even more ... even up till now I would still discover new meaningful details in the movie which I never noticed before after countless viewings, no movie have such a dense visual detail ever and no movie could withstand so many rewatches without me getting tired of it ever, not even close ....

[@8bitgamerC64]

This brings back memories.

[@jandekker6008]

Johnstone seems to be sitting at Bamber Gascoigne's University Challenge desk. Did they share a set?

[@BugVlogs]

Question: when this movie was first shown in the UK, which version was shown? The theatrical cut or the international cut?

[@jimmycumslayer9439]

It came out in the UK in September 1982 and it was the 117 minute theatrical cut, the same version released in US theatres

[@BugVlogs]

@@jimmycumslayer9439 Thank you!

[@darkstar223]

Wow spot on …. Apart from adding this is probably the greatest movies ever made

[@jaysterling26]

I hope that's Halliwell's film guide on the desk.

[@kascnef]

did he review the thing which opened the same day as br in the us

[@Omnicient.]

His voice was always soothing.

[@TheRubberStudiosASMR]

I love how reviewers just completely spoil the film

[@arthurchadwell9267]

Saw this in theatre in 1982... Magic.

[@billkingston4402]

What a film, soon to be reclassified as a documentary

[@newsmansuper2925]

how much more rational, articulate and calmn and in control people sounded back in 1982

[@robertthomsonwatson2542]

Masterpiece whatever version you watch .

[@anthonygeorge9932]

Greatest movie ever with one of the greatest sequels ever.

[@tomallen5837]

I can't blame this television critic to trash the voice-over version, as well as the studio demands with editing which took it away from being a perfect release, although I'm not sure at the time of this man's critiquing that he was aware there was struggle in the studio. The Director's Cut is the only one I will watch... Getting to see it on the big screen soon, in my home town. Can't wait.

[@davidjames579]

Does anyone know why Blade Runner only opened in Manchester, Leeds, Sunderland and Middlesbrough?

[@Cjbx11]

Can’t say for for certain but films didn’t open nation wide back then and it wasn’t unusually for films to open in different parts of the country at different times. I suspect that Sunderland and Middlesbrough were chosen because Ridley Scott was born in South Shields in the Tyne and Wear area before moving to Teesside where he went to school and collage.

[@davidjames579]

@@Cjbx11 Thanks. It is appropriate as the opening was inspired by Teesside industrial works at night. As this is a national review programme, it'd suggest the North got it before London!

[@kitezzz360]

I've seen reviews, you people wouldn't believe

[@PoweredbyRobots]

Pace... It's not a fast film, doesn't need to be. When it does move it is decisive and incisive. DIrector's cut is far better than the cinema release though

[@DS-od1kb]

One thing I've noticed about old school futuristic films is that they seem to predict video calls but they are usually made from home phones or public phone boxes both of which are almost obsolete. However I don't recall any that predicted we would be carrying phones in our pockets that double up as video call facilities, music libraries, encyclopaedias etc. This is still a great film though.

[@davidjames579]

Ziggy in Quantum Leap is kind of that.

[@reggie18b]

It's easier to depict the scene with a larger, telly sized screen than with a small hand held device. It might not be obvious they were talking to someone on a video phone.

[@henryviii6341]

Star Trek circa 1967 had mobile communication devices. but no video.

[@rosstee]

Video calls from home phones have become the very similar home computer/laptop video calls via Zoom/Skype/Google Meet etc.

[@FuturePast2019]

3:36 Bright fellow.Years later a "Final cut"

[@Tob1Kadach1]

And it's now concidered one of the greatest SciFi films of all time. Also one of my faves.

[@neilwallaceandlolawallace1969]

Just a fantastic 🎥 Head of its time.

[@LennyNero2019]

Already accurate pretenses towards tacked on 'happy ending' and unnecessary voice over! Also funny to hear about special effects not overcrowding the film or story, little did they know what would happen with Transformers and new Star Wars and such, which are CGI cartoons rather than films.

[@MaryBrownIsTheBlairWitch]

Only accurate if you too don't like the happy ending and voiceover.

[@elliotagain7731]

Awesome 🤘

[@tylermorgan5230]

One of my favorite moives

[@lathan.]

Thanks for this forgot about Iain standing in for Barry always thought it was always Parkie who hated Verhovens Flesh and Blood with a vengeance and walked out, Ian was more considerate and engaging and I enjoyed his reviews.

[@KaitainCPS]

Did Russell Harty sometimes stand in as well, or am I misremembering?

[@andylikesstuffchannel]

Lol don't remember this chap when I was a kid on TV not surprised when he said replicants don't have emotions 🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@SusannaSaunders]

I think the review missed how iconic this movie was to later become. Truly a great movie!

[@KaitainCPS]

Y'know, honestly MOST reviewers did. For some reason it didn't blow people away in the manner that you would have expected. Because watching now, even with the effects blockbuster boom of the time, Blade Runner was still a major leap ahead of anything else that had ever been made up until that point.

[@Omnicient.]

How would the reviewer know?

[@jamesmain_email6969]

So they were given the most used set I Hollywood to reduce costs .. risky having to change it and shot and night so it wasn’t so obvious. Money was so tight they wheeled the last set off the plot to finish the movie .. filmed at night but the last shots off set in day hence the dove flying into blue sky. I love and voice over.. the movie is simply a masterpiece .. it wasn’t on the page when Rudger ad-libbed his last lines and it will stay on the stage forever ..

[@mooseyman74]

40 years later, and it's aged a lot better than me! 😄

[@trumpsdailytruthsmakelibsc6952]

It was set in November 2019 not 2020

[@Arizona-ex5yt]

I agree with the review. BR is a movie that I've watched multiple times and there just isn't much story there. We just want it to be a masterpiece because it's so visually spectacular. The versions don't matter much either.

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

I would love to have heard his thoughts on The Final Cut. Though, I prefer the original, cheesy voice overs and all. But I grew up with that version so I admit to a lot of bias.

[@simonkevnorris]

I agree with the voice overs. When I watch other versions I can still 'hear' the voice over. It's not that they've filled the sound gaps.

[@MaryBrownIsTheBlairWitch]

Hence, also, the negativity toward the Special Editions of the original Star Wars trilogy; despite being objectively superior, they're not the films the fans grew up with.

[@fffffffffffffffffark]

Where's Barry Norman??!

[@mikedytham9996]

Machines that respond to a human voice! Yeah, like that's ever going to catch on!

[@solitarianihilista1454]

Barry Norman on holiday?

[@PopeLando]

That's so funny that Ian Johnstone spotted Kubrick's helicopter shots from The Shining (even though no exact shots from The Shining appeared in Blade Runner). I'm pretty sure Stanley did know all about it and was happy for Ridley to go ahead with it.

[@davidjames579]

Yes, Ridley asked him. Both films being Warner productions saved on legal and cost issues too.

[@elouisecarlton5971]

It wasn't Stanley's footage anyway. It was shot by Jan Harlan and John Alcott.

[@davidjames579]

@@elouisecarlton5971 But being Stanley, he owned it.

[@gamingtonight1526]

There is a "Future Clock" in New York that tells if humans will have a "Star Trek" future or a "Bladerunner" future. For the last 8 years, it has permanently been pointing at a "Roadrunner" future.

[@mechanicaldavid4827]

MEEP-MEEP!

[@rosstee]

@@mechanicaldavid4827 Watch out for falling anvils.

[@DCHurlford1]

One of the greatest sci-films ever made. Ridley Scott didnt get his dues for this masterpiece. I still think the original international release is the best version (with the Harrison voice over).

[@projektkobra2247]

Love you Sean!

[@kumachan9311]

CRT TVs kinda kill the "future" vision though

[@barryschwarz]

The script brushes up quite a bit better once the explain-everything voice over is taken out. Completely disagree with the reviewer about the pacing, and wonder if he might have thought differently if he'd seen the version with no voice over. There was more left to chew on without the narration pre-masticating it.

[@MaryBrownIsTheBlairWitch]

Blade Runner really needs resetting to, say, 2219 - offworld colonies, flying cars, replicants in 2019?! Optimistic, Ridley... 😂

[@bertraminc9412]

Also my all time favorite movie. It is total submersive in great music and dark 20s futuristic noir. I watch it every year on my birthday. And I still love it. And every movie wont satisfy everyone. Especially tossers from England who tolerate great oppression even today.

[@TheSenseiNeo]

The reviewer made me proud to be British. Im quite stoned tho

[@MeiGunner]

2:33 And then we have Transformers in 2022

[@robertsteinberger5667]

I do think the music and looks of the movie overshadow the story but I guess Im one of the few.....

[@Holeyguagaamoley]

The problem with bandwagons is everyone jumps on! Back in 1983 I sat in a largely empty cinema and was blown away by the original cinema uk release. Now all of a sudden I'm a heretic for saying I prefer this cut well no less an authority than Guillermo Del Toro agrees that it is his favorite also....just saying.

[@robertthomsonwatson2542]

I also like the original cinema cut , saw it first day of release back in 1982 , I think the film is a masterpiece no matter which version .

[@dannjp75]

2020 has come and gone and still no flying cars!

[@rossdonald594]

Well it just shows you how much he knew.........

[@willmoore7582]

I always thought the film was set in the year 2015?...Anyone?

[@MrGezino1]

The opening night time city panoramtic image opens with the text - Los Angeles 2019!

[@BradiKal61]

@@MrGezino1 I remember sitting in the theater watching Bladerunners opening and thinking, '37 years? Could happen!'

[@waynesimpson2074]

@@MrGezino1 Correctamundo, well done Sir, you've done a man's job😉

[@joemurphy2177]

Why dont si fi films set in the future not go 200 or 300 years on rather than this 40 years and then look ridiculous when we catch up. Terminator is similar

[@MG-bs5mr]

That's why I like the idea of Dune and Foundation. They're set millennia into the future.

[@PrinceBarin77]

BTF 2 😏

[@reggie18b]

Maybe they think that people will relate more to the story and find it more dramatic and accessible if they feel like it's a future which they or their children could actually live to see.

[@PaulOrtiz]

What’s really amazing about this is how far beyond the technology and aesthetic of the time Scott’s vision for Blade Runner does. Nothing about that movie feels like it came from the 80s. It’s like a peek into our contemporary Cyberpunk vision (which obviously has been heavily influenced *by* Blade Runner). Once in a while a few films just manage to quantum leap beyond the ideas of the time. Alien was another one for me. And Star Wars. Blade Runner is in there too.

[@VisiblyJacked]

Not sure what you mean that nothing in it looks like it came from the 80s. Scott definitely had a vision but the various elements he incorporated are not that hard to pick out.

[@paulharris7660]

Basically a love story of a man falling in love with a toaster

[@jaysterling26]

Hot stuff.Just add some Seville marmalade.

[@DCHurlford1]

"AA" rating , that's taking me back. Then you had "XXX" for the naughty films , lol.