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The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

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Blade Runner (1982)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Tricks of the 'Blade'

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Blade Runner on DVD

When Ridley Scott's director's cut of Blade Runner was released for its tenth anniversary in 1992 it was a revelation. The new print included a single shot of a unicorn, took away Harrison Ford's pedestrian voice-over narration, and deleted the fake happy ending. The movie now suggests a darker history for Ford's character, Deckard, who is hired to "retire" five "replicants," or artificial human beings. But he betrays his mission he inadvertently falls in love with one of them (Sean Young). The screenplay by David Peoples and Hampton Fancher, based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is full of little puzzles, such as the little Origami creatures left lying around by Gaff (Edward James Olmos) and the fact that Deckard only manages to kill women replicants. Blade Runner is an extraordinary work; beautifully designed on a relatively low budget, ambiguous, and darkly poetic. It's more slowly paced than we would ever allow a movie to be today, but its pace is essential for sustaining the unique mood. Blade Runner also stars M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, and Brion James.

DVD Details: Since the 1992 version is the only one available on DVD, the original 1982 release has now become a rarity, increasing its cult value. A 3-disc DVD set -- including the 1982 and 1992 versions as well as the 1991 "pre-release" version -- has been discussed, but is apparently experiencing complex legal issues.

Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, James Hong
Written by: Hampton Fancher, David Peoples, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick
Directed by: Ridley Scott
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 117 minutes
Date: October 21, 1999