Ridley Scott's neon-lit future noir conception of Phillip K. Dicks Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is one of my favourite science-fiction pictures, and I'm horrified to discover that it hasn't been covered at all on The Celluloid Highway. There are some films that I feel so close too that critical objectivity is all but an impossibility, Blade Runner is one such film, which is perhaps why I have avoided reviewing it to date. To compensate for its notable lack on these pages here is a series of eight lobby cards used to promote the film.
These are great. Still more visually stunning than all CG-laden science fiction flicks of today.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more Greg! It also has heart and humanity. So much contemporary science fiction is utterly soulless.
ReplyDeleteMuch of 21st Century culture is soulless thus far, though I'm still holding out hope. And as far as the humanity and soulfulness of this gems goes, it's based in no small part on the superb performance of the always stellar Rutger Hauer.
ReplyDeleteThings are looking up for science fiction, though, what with Mr. Ridley Scott's return to his roots with his eagerly anticipated PROMETHEUS. My guess is it's going to be one of the biggest releases of the year.
In an old article I coined a new sub-generic term for BLADE RUNNER; 'Neon-Noir'. I think the urban/street films of Michael Mann can also be categorised under that label, and the more recent DRIVE, which is stylistically at least, largely derived from Mann.
ReplyDeleteAhhh don't get me started on the Dutch master Rutger Hauer. Probably my favourite actor of all time, in spite of the terrible dreck he made in the 1990's and beyond. I'm the only person I know who thinks THE HITCHER is the best film ever made!
I'm not a huge Ridley Scott fan - his first three films; THE DUELLISTS, ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER were very good indeed, but I struggle to think of any film he has made since that was of consequence or importance. The best thing about LEGEND was the Tangerine Dream score, and the best thing about 1492 was the Vangelis score. I though BLACK HAWK DOWN was okay, but it was in effect, just a remake of BAT 21. So on the basis that I don't think he's made a great film since BLADE RUNNER, I don't hold out much hope for PROMETHEUS.
This is a great site. See also http://philropost.blogspot.com/2012/01/celluloid-decade.html
ReplyDeleteWell, I've read BLACK HAWK DOWN, and I feel that Mr. Scott and the screenwriters did a good job of filmically recounting the events that transpired that twenty-four hour or so hours U.S. Army Rangers were trapped in downtown Mogadishu. It's not my favorite film by any stretch, but it was entertaining (not to mention informative) when it came out. For my money, as far as the current crop of mainstream filmmakers go, you could do a hell of a lot worse than Rid. He's hit or miss, but I thought AMERICAN GANGSTER was a very fine endeavor, a film that very much looked and felt like it had been photographed during the mid-70's in New York and New Jersey. And while I know he hasn't made anything like ALIEN or BLADE RUNNER in decades now, that's to be understood; those films are both masterpieces, and the fact that one man can boast the lions-share of creative ownership for both, is an impressive fact to say the least. To me, ALIEN is just as an impressive film today, as it was thirty years ago. I just re-watched the director's cut this weekend - never fails to fill me with a palpable sense of dread and revulsion. Hands down one of the best movies ever made.
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as Mr. Hauer goes, how did thee like LADY HAWK growing up? I think I'm slightly older than you, so I may have been younger when I first saw it, but if I recall
Michelle Pfeiffe stirred in me a perplexing woody!
I can get lost in this film again and again, it never bothers me to re-watch it, it's such a rich world.
ReplyDeleteHa! I just left a comment over on the EXTERMINATOR review where I apologized for being "... MIA from these pages these last few weeks," yet, my last comment here was on the 17th. That's barely a week! I must really be caught up in my own endeavors these days, as time has stopped to mean anything. I could have sworn the BLADE RUNNER stuff was two weeks ago at the very least. Bizarre.
ReplyDeleteI saw that you included LADYHAWKE in the review poll, too! Though I'd be interested to know your take on BLUE THUNDER, I think you know what flick I voted for!
Oh I just realised I didn't respond to your last communication, many apologies for that. If you don't mind I'll address that one first - I haven't myself read BLACK HAWK DOWN, and such is my lack of knowledge on it, I didn't even know it was a book! I have bad memories about AMERICAN GANGSTER - I went to see the film with a girl, I suppose you might say we were on a date. I allowed her to choose the picture, and despite spending several days trying to convince her to go and see a restored print of Hammer's DRACULA (one of my favourite films) she chose that instead! AMERICAN GANGSTER may well have been a good film, but I was too busy sulking to notice.
ReplyDeleteYeah LADYHAWKE and BLUE THUNDER, and I notice that LADYHAWKE, with a lead actress that inspires perplexing erections, has stormed out into the lead. It doesn't surprise me that BLUE THUNDER hasn't received a single vote. I didn't expect LADYHAWKE or MELANCHOLIA to do that well, I was preparing myself to review DUST DEVIL and IT'S ALIVE, the more overt horror titles. Perhaps my readership is subtly shifting? Y'know I didn't see LADYHAWKE until I was in my early 20's, it just slipped me by. But I saw THE HITCHER when I was about 15 or 16, so I guess that just illustrates where my mind is!