Harrison Ford On BLADE RUNNER

Subscribe to this channel for more exclusive videos from AFI: bit.ly/SubscribeAFI
Harrison Ford talks about the sci-fi classic film BLADE RUNNER.
Follow AFI:
/ americanfilminstitute
/ americanfilm
/ americanfilminstitute
www.afi.com

[@kennedytaylor4783]

"I resisted the idea of being a replicant, as a replicant would." What a haunting quote.

[@mikebasil4832]

Harrison's way with words certainly benefited his reprisal of Deckard in Blade Runner 2049.

[@jjeon9850]

After 34 years that smirk as he says 'as a replicant would,' is still there

[@Autonova]

"...as a replicant would" spot on

[@lewstone5430]

Random Commenter are you a replicant?

[@lewstone5430]

@Random Commenter lol!

[@exiles_dot_tv]

He answered that a lot more gracefully than people often give him credit for.

[@mgsparky8870]

Yea because he hated making it.

[@Itsaboutthewaterlife]

"All these moments, will be lost in time, like tears in rain." Rutger Hauer.

[@Cryptonymicus]

If Tyrell Corp can give replicants the memories of a natural human why would any "moments" ever be lost? People would be going to chain stores with coupons to preserve all their memories.

[@Itsaboutthewaterlife]

@@Cryptonymicus Good take.

[@onenone811]

@@Cryptonymicus the memories experienced not inserted one. even tyrell corp no longer exit in 2049.

[@viciousbloodbath]

There are a few different versions to this movie. I really enjoyed the most recent, "Final Cut" version the best. I never liked the idea of Deckard being a Replicant, only because I take that as an unnecessary plot twist. Leaving it ambiguous is cool, as to make people question the philosophical idea of "I think, therefore I am". But personally, I like Deckard as a human, who ultimately questions himself, finds commonality with the Replicants and feels regretful for having hunted so many of them down in his professional career. I just think that character arc is deeper than a twist ending.

[@wizardsbane]

I absolutely agree with you. In fact, it's always struck me as something of an uncharacteristically dumb move of Scott to attempt the subplot. The story's themes come across way more meaningfully if Deckard is human. It's also what science fiction that dealt with increasingly intelligent robots had mostly done up to that point: tug at the boundaries of how humanity is defined.

[@BarrySlisk]

Deckard can't be a replicant. He got his ass kicked by a pleasure model. Come on :)

[@vincentvangogh3634]

deckard shouldn't be a replicant, the reason why it's such a powerfull story is because it deals with the ethics of robots (or artificial life) being used as slaves! and that moment will come in the not too distant future were we will create artificial intelligence! the story loses it's power if deckard is a replicant! the whole point is that deckard evolves and starts to think that these beings have as much right to live free as any other sentient being!

[@Machinedead]

I've seen the one with the elevator.... saw another ending here on youtube with a car driving into the mountains... not really a fan of that ending..

[@kemicon]

I'm of the minority that prefers the original theatrical release. I did like the added unicorn scene which ties in the ending sequence in the director's cut; but I really didn't like that they cut the narration. He says so many great lines and it makes the movie a classic film noir detective piece. Without it, the movie gets lost... like tears... in rain.

[@michwashington]

To me , BLADE RUNNER is one of his best roles! 👏🏻😍

[@SeanJTharpe]

Agreed!

[@TEKKENMANJI]

It is his best role

[@Revolver2002]

Concordo! (I agree!)

[@dog-n2b]

I don't think there is any way to know if Deckard is a replicant or not. That's why this movie so perfectly captures the turbulence and dread of human life. We'll all go to the grave, never fully understanding our own nature.

[@Cryptonymicus]

This idea that Deckard is a replicant is just Ridley Scott trying to prove what a genius he is and if not for Cyd Mead and Vangellis the film would have been forgotten a long time ago.

[@dog-n2b]

@@Cryptonymicus harrison ford didn't think deckard was a replicant. but the question remains, how can you possibly know if you are a replicant or not, if they are capable of implanting an entire lifetime's worth of false memories in you?

[@perrymanso6841]

@@Cryptonymicus OMG, sure, because the only things that makes Blade Runner a cult movie are just the design and the soundtrack, right? By the way, you can't even name him properly, Syd Mead...

[@commonsense2680]

Wow, great line "we all go to the grave never fully understanding our own nature" Thank you. That is my live long existential dying without knowing the full context of our existence. Even if our existence is coincidental I know like to definitively know in this conscious form.

[@tryscience]

Of course Deckard is not a replicant. In the context of the job he does, he's valuable because of decades of experience after which he was allowed to retire. In the conventional sense that is lol He would not be allowed to stay on Earth because replicants are unpredictable and that's why they are retired on sight in the Blade Runner sense.

[@GNeuman]

I think Harrison Ford is one of the last great Hollywood actors who really have the Old School Hollywood Star Quality...You rock, Mr. Ford!

[@jamest7500]

that half smile at the end, all I could see for a second was Indy

[@williamflach2774]

ooooh yes

[@mikebasil4832]

Whether Deckard is a Replicant or not, it was the role that proved how Harrison Ford could most seriously grow in the sci-fi universe beyond the confines of Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

[@chocmilkshake24]

2019? we're almost there, i guess?

[@CCLGamer]

+chocmilkshake24 Roy Batty has inception date January 8th, 2016 and expiration date 2020. He dies after 4 years lifespan. Blade Runner takes place in 2019-2020. Roy Batty died because he was at the end of his lifespan. It is 2020 when he dies, or he would not have died.

[@xoxomars6832]

chocmilkshake24 ITS 2017 NOWEW

[@BlemishesNow]

chocmilkshake24 few more days

[@shreyashmukesh316]

How about now

[@saulsavelis575]

soon 2020

[@saulsavelis575]

The main Blade Runner has just died few months ago in 2019. RIP 'tears in rain' man

[@alicenestpasmonprenom5784]

"Tears in Rain" man.😂

[@nihilist1680]

@@alicenestpasmonprenom5784 I shouldn't laugh at this lmao

[@tubewatcher155]

Could not agree more. That's exactly the reason I have a lot of respect for the man as an actor. The fact he's slightly put off by all the celebrity crap makes him more genuine.

[@lewstone5430]

He could’ve been in radio with that voice, a late night dj playing smooth jazz.

[@MartianStories]

Did you know that Roy Batty's final speech, "tears in rain," was not in the script? In the script, he simply said nothing and died, and Ford's character was supposed to just be left confused about the whole thing. In his trailer just before that shoot the director spoke with Hauer to tell him it was time. Hauer recited some lines of poetry in his head he had been composing. The "tears in rain" speech. So it's in the film. A good actor can MAKE a movie great. A good director listens.

[@triakis2]

Thank you Harrison! I've been arguing his being human for years! who else would be the touchstone for the audience, J.S. ? Don't need an M. Night/O'Henry ending.

[@hughmanatee7657]

Rutger Hauer and Sean Young played the most interesting and dramatic characters in that movie, in every way.

[@perrymanso6841]

ALL characters were interesting and dramatic, so much on, that to me, the best quote in the movie is not the mythical one by Roy Batty, but the one by Eldon Tyrell...

[@smuthern]

Tyrell was my second favorite character after Rachael

[@natedoggrevolution]

This movie is do dear to me, having watched it multiple times throughout my life. Deckard's identity was the most stunning revelation I had during my adolescent years!

[@GregoryWonderwheel]

For me Deckard was never thought of as a replicant because Deckard was unambiguously cast as human in the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

[@isaachaze1]

i think it was intentionally ambiguous and open to your own interpretation. I think it's unfortunate that some have insisted on imposing their own interpretation of who or what Deckard was.

[@t5kcannon1]

I've never thought of Deckard as a replicant. But, that then is the beauty of this great film: We can find our own interpretation.

[@Cryptonymicus]

Deckard wasn't a replicant in the book and he wasn't even a cop in the book.

[@shazbot16]

That last line really makes the interview.

[@lamecasuelas2]

uh boy! that smile at the end! a priceless image!

[@DanielLopez-zt4ig]

That is why I need to find the theatrical version of this film, as I have already seen the final cut so many times.

[@jjay3494]

He's right. Deckard should be a human. It feels better to watch both old and new Blade Runner knowing that. There are a few reasons like his relationship with Rachel. He seems to be the only human to see the replicants as equal to humans. If he was a replicant this nice effect would be gone.

[@jwdewdney6757]

Jędrzej that takes away all the delicious ambiguity doesn’t it?

[@jwdewdney6757]

For me it’s far nicer to have a replicant representative thinking he is human to give us a kind of ‘insiders subjective view’ of the conflict a replicant goes through making that realization ...

[@vossburton3437]

@@jwdewdney6757 that's what K and Rachel were for.

[@oscarsucre9059]

I agree. If you make Deckard a replicant, the beauty of what it has been meant originally in the story written by Phillip Dick gets unmistakingly lost...

[@Kornknealious]

I totally disagree, knowing that Deckard is a replicant adds an interesting take on the whole story. Humans have gotten to the point of relying on technology too much to the point that we (all humans) have allowed ourselves to create technology that has gotten out of our control. The reason no one points out Deckard is a replicant hammers the point of being technology dependent is beautiful and terifying; if Deckard knew he was a replicant, it would very likely remove his effectiveness at being a Blade Runner. If a replicant who "retiring" replicants, accidentally kills a human, they can just turn off the defective machine...and never run the risk of getting any human into that position.

[@66cuda]

From what I remember from the book, deckard was a human with a wife and even buys a goat

[@hagensteele4447]

The book was ass imo.

[@denisdooley1540]

+Hagen Steele The book was dry as the Sahara. The Roy Batty character was flat as a sheet of paper, which made sense in the book because of the central theme of empathy and the lack there of, and the Deckard character was just plain bureaucratic. All in all, that would have made a horrible movie. It didn't make for an exciting book either.

[@ianbauer4703]

Very true

[@DaynJo]

Am I the only person in the world, who preferred the version with the commentary?

[@radio-su6lh]

Nope, welcome! There aren't many of us, but we should revel in our individuality. The final cut is okay but don't need the unicorn dream sequence and the extra bit of violence

[@nrqed]

It's much more interesting to have him a replicant (as the movie unambiguously shows). In the movie the replicants all have more motions and empathy than actual human beings, and this makes it great that he is indeed a replicant.

[@unsound64]

Hmmmm, that voice.

[@1Atossa]

harrison ford asmr

[@elisapaim8198]

Amo...blade runner e nao imagino outro ator que nao seja harrison ford...❤ e pra fechar com chave de ouro...trilha sonora de vangelis...elenco megafantastico...direcao impecavel....fotografia....som... figurino...enfim perfeito pra mim❤

[@Oucluscupitumamo1]

Cute, "I nailed the Replicant bit" smile at the end from Harrison !

[@abhinavbhat5882]

This guy is right, A replicant making other replicant understand about life. Useless. Ford was correct about human representation.

[@jackspring7709]

"I resisted the idea of being a replicant....as a replicant would." Excellent comment.

[@Paletoe]

"....as a replicant would." Brilliant!

[@Camaristhehero]

Great movie with a different twist so to speak than the original story. Has one of the best lines every delivered as well....

[@perrymanso6841]

Has multiple amazing quotes...

[@laurence4065]

brilliant response

[@cecipineda1033]

Oh God! I love This Man!

[@skar8009]

I pretty much agree with Ford. In that world of replicants, it's important for the audience to have a human character to identify with, it makes one feel like it's part of the story.

[@reniisgod]

My favourite Harrison Ford film

[@TehOak]

Very clever man. I'd love to meet him one day.

[@andrer.newcomb6516]

Best film ever made. About people born to lose.

[@felsner1]

"...As a replicant would." Nice ending to that question!

[@souloftheage]

Harrison Ford is so damn smart!.

[@freetrailer4poor]

Both Ford and Hauer.

[@dutchmenneer3289]

The low end in his voice is relaxing

[@lasfsaf]

that movie was part of my college degree. Thanks for the video.

[@tabor721]

I agree with Harrison Ford. Deckard is a human and not a replicant. This also captures the beauty of the last line (Gaff's line) of the film - "Its too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?" It gives this powerful statement - When it comes to death, It doesn't matter if it is a human or a replicant. They both (humans and replicants) meet the same end - the death.

[@acekilla202]

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe, attack ships on fire off orions shoulder, c-beams glitter in the dark near tannhauser gate, all those moments lost in time, like tears in rain"

[@ElMattador89]

Intense interview!!!!

[@thegr8n84ever6]

His narration sounds so much like he or his character would read or talk about something he doesnt want or care to do

[@DMGaertner]

Every actor is a replicant. They work emotions and reactions based on a target reference to simulate its another being.

[@ResistanceQuest]

The Mustang of Harrisons. Don't know what that means, but it's said with fondness

[@mzztter08official]

Brilliant content

[@gwynedd1]

Ridley: "Bad joke, your character's not a replicant."

[@Zkkr429]

Just chucking this one out here. Everybody says Gaff's origami unicorn proves Deckard is a replicant. Consider this, Deckard is a retired Bladerunner generally considered the best. If the Bladerunner unit were to develop a Nexus 6 model to work for the department, what better memories to transplant than that of its top Bladerunner. Deckard isn't the replicant Gaff is. 'Too bad she won't live, but then again who does?' Takes on a different meaning now. Origami unicorn explained, Deckard 100% human.

[@Boudosaved]

I'm reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? right now. People need to read Philip K. Dick. He was an awesome science fiction writer. A few of his novels have been made into film.

[@huntshahidblue]

i love this guy...

[@thenewyorkpauls]

Last sentence is genius.

[@blader45bc]

Good to see Harrison warming to the realization this is the best film he has been associated with. As to which version is best,... is he a replicant? Who cares? It's all Rutger.

[@FormatorBlack]

Yes, indeed! And a good one, too!

[@Huckxxx]

But Harrison, the whole point of the film and story is the question of how we deal with machines that not only look, sound and act like humans, but THINK they are too. By revealing the Deckard protagonist to be a replicant, the audience can truly participate in the dilemma presented by the movie and its world.

[@soldatheero]

he seems to have a lot more interest in bladerunner than star wars

[@LeroyKinkade]

Amazing Film.

[@davisgreen2020]

@Illumirage:BLADERUNNER ! Only 9 years away.. 2019.. You´ll be amazed that this was made over 10 years before CGI !! This film was made in 1982 !! A classic film that stood the test of time ! Ahead of it´s time ! The greatest Sci-Fi film ever other than "2001" ! A must see !! I like the orginal verson with the voice over..For me, makes the ending more moving.. Fans disgree..But I like the "hard boiled" element..

[@souloftheage]

I loved "the feel"and look of Prometheus....typical Scott colored film...must use same cinematographer-as most directors do. The color gave the film an ominous feel...from the beginning one just felt "this isn't going to go well....." As Roy Batty once said: "It's not easy to meet your maker..."

[@BlckCloud73]

Notice how he talks about Blade Runner in a totally different way than he does Star Wars- he likes Blade Runner.

[@andreiadeandrade9608]

Maybe, the answer is in this old interview to a stunning Brazilian actress Bruna Lombardi, on tv called Gente de Expressao Harrison Ford. She said to him : " Blade Runner is one of my favourite movies! " Harrison was very cool with her in this amazing interview!

[@roxiroxi4181]

Harrison Ford is great in blade runner ...you feel that he is an handsome guy full of emotions...just like humans!!!

A LOT of the effects in the original TRON were NOT CGI, but traditional animation made to look "computer-like". As for this video, Harrison Ford refused to talk about Blade Runner for many, many years. Good to know that he changed his mind. And his last line, about resisting the fact that he could be a replicant (as a replicant would) is great.

[@iMacniatic]

Genial comentario de un genio del cine!

[@jamesgroome1466]

How many replicants would replicants replicate, if replecants could replicate replicants?1

[@WilliamDye-willdye]

That comment was written 4 years ago. I wonder if it inspired the scriptwriter of the sequel. :-)

[@lukeschroter9389]

people say that ford has been in two Iconic roles. Han Solo and my favorite Indiana Jones but I think Blade runner is a fantastic movie and Rick Deckard is Fords Third most Iconic character

[@dylana.9057]

@@lukeschroter9389 3rd most iconic . But his actual most well written, acted character

[@saulsavelis575]

similar replicants can be found in movies Island and Oblivion

[@rjones197]

Deckard is all of us, individually. That is why some want him to be a replicant, and some want him to be a human, and some don't care. He represents the humanity and vulnerability in us all.

[@twiglet2214]

In a world where we can find answers to virtually any question as quickly as it takes to tap the keyboard i think this debate reveals something about the human desire to ask questions,to find answers, combined with the power of the imagination, but also the skills of those who create the ambiguity in the first place ! The film was made in 1982 and we are still talking about it in 2021. But then the central question is what is it that defines us as being human and there's no simple answer to that, surely ?

[@owingsart]

Do you mean Roy? Roy Batty was Rutger Hauer's character in Blade Runner. This was perhaps Hauer's best role. I also enjoyed him in The Hitcher.

[@eulereix]

Well, I guess it depends on the version , theatrical release ( with Deckard`s monologues and happy ending, they escape in to the`` green`` ), or ``Directors cut`` version. Personally , I never thought of Deckard as replicant, but then again who knows...

[@Gasten400]

he just a normal guy after all. not that loud and melodramatic like other celebritys are, I kinda like that about him

[@leeboy2k1]

No problem, I appreciate the reply and consideration :)

[@hachouse]

And there we have it

[@jrzy49]

"As a replicant would." Harrison Ford's a smart guy...

[@schizoidboy]

What is more interesting is the that maybe Deckard himself questions what it means to be a human rather then him being a replicant. Some have even suggested that the Replicants are more human then the humans in this movie.

[@Illumirage]

@davisgreen2020 I had been hearing, on the previous AFI video, that there are multiple versions. Which one should I check out?

[@coomservative]

quite different to how he responded to questions about Star Wars

[@Vebinz]

@amostills I disagree. Deckard is shown as being somewhat distant and confused, unlike the more sure and passionate Batty. Having Deckard be human and Batty replicant makes the conflict betwen "cold human/warm replicant" all the greater. But by making Deckard a replicant as well, that conflict is gone and we're left with just two versions of the same thing.

[@perrymanso6841]

No, it's the opposite. Making him human is just creating a cheap Manichaeism or dichotomy to impress gullible minds.

[@Vebinz]

@@perrymanso6841 But making him arepicant serves no purpoe except to "ooooh aaah" people wit a worthless twist, worse than a Shyamalan one.

[@perrymanso6841]

@@Vebinz It's not a worthless twist at all, since first, no one expects It, second, makes total sense, third, opens new philosophical topics like the hunter who hunts his own people. In fact, Deckard being human makes the film totally idiotic, how the fuck Gaff knows about Deckard's dreams? I ask myself if some of you have actually watch the movie...

[@Vebinz]

@@perrymanso6841 That's just it. Gaff shouldn't have known about Deckard's dream. It was inserted because Ridley Scott wanted Decard to be a relicant, and so I (and countless others) are objecting to that. The movie should be an examination of the replicants and their motives, any empathy should be directed at them and their plight; a replicant eckard steals all that away from them by becoming the main focus of the audience's musings and empathies.

[@perrymanso6841]

@@Vebinz It's quite the lack of intellect If the audience cannot grasp more than one line of attention, don't you think?

[@UrbanZ0mbie]

I always thought it was cause he is private and goes to great lengths to keep his life private. Which is also weird to average people. but no he is a pretty cool guy, I was told he helps out a lot of people when he fly his heli.

[@am3ri3s]

I'm also shy, and being a teacher who constantly interacts with kids, I understand that, not only can shy people act, they may do it even better because they throw themselves outside their social comfort zones in daily life, although they may still appear somewhat awkward. Check out Johnny Depp's interviews, although his actors are mostly flamboyant people, Depp appears surprisingly shy, I think~.

[@arbide3]

Good final point he makes.

[@Outsidecontext]

Spot on and exactly the sort of thing K.Dick would have approved of

[@deelennondee]

wikipedia-According to production documents, a long list of actors were considered for the role, including Gene Hackman, Sean Connery, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Pacino, and Burt Reynolds.[16] Christ, imagine arnie playing the role

[@naejttenroc6759]

The important factor is that the movie was about hunting down replicants and killing them. We were supposed to think of Harrison as human which demonstrates the potential threat posed by replicants since he was one.

[@IKillGoliath]

Magnificent is all i can say about this moive ! The acting music story spiritual side of the meaning Timeless words at the end by Nexus 6. and dechart!

[@evilemperordude]

And it isn't like he's never done a hard day's work. He was a working man once upon a time.

[@nigelpisswater484]

Deckard getting his ass kicked in this film by the replicants and surviving to 2049 is probably a clear indication he's not a replicant.

[@mwvidz324]

I really respect Ridley Scott for how he handled this question. It's his art and even though he feels so strongly about the question, he chose to leave it ambigious enough. My interpretation is that it does not matter. During the movie you think Deckard is human and replicants are not. To me the ending is not that Deckard is not human, but that replicants are human.

[@rongray655]

His resistance is what makes the film.

[@matthewakian2]

That's an interesting last line.

[@zebonaut]

Dang, thats so interesting to hear by Harrison Ford himself that he didn´t want Deckard to be a Replicant..and actually i can´t beoeve it. Because..when you look at his facial expressions in Blade Runner as Deckard approaches the Tyrell Corporation the first time (prior to his first encounter with Rachel and Tyrell himself) we clearly see the same unsure to almost fearful emotions as from the Replicants. Now that we all know that Deckard IS a Replicant as shown oin the Final cut, we see, that he FEELS that he is approaching his MAKER. Check it out, you´ll be surprised how obvious it is.

[@AtticTapes14]

It is 2019 now

[@davisgreen2020]

@Illumirage: The final cut and the orginal version I think is the best..

[@midnight15086]

All anyone talks about is the origami b/c of the Ridley Scott interview. Did no one find it suspicious in the movie when Deckard is asked if he's ever taken the test himself? And he doesn't answer?? That at least stirs up some ambiguity right there.

[@LeeHutchingsdrumsUK]

I like his reasoning.

[@EasternRomeOrthodoxy]

Harrison is right, that question should remain open. It was wrong of Ridley to even talk about it. It should have been remained as a mystery in the film for the viewers to secretly absorb

[@WilliamDye-willdye]

It's much better that the audience never knows for sure if Deckard is a replicant with implanted memories, because back in the real world, the audience can never know for sure if *they* are replicants with implanted memories.