In the movie there are scenes that make the audience anticipate unavoidable
situations. This still is from the building scene when Deckard is trying to
sneak up on Roy Batty, but he is surprised by Roy Batty's hand breaking through
the wall to grab him. Before Deckard was surprised by Roy Batty, he was walking
quietly along a wall. The suspense rises because no one knows what is on the
other side of the wall. The tension peaks when Roy Batty's hand breaks through
the wall. By looking at the still, you can see how Deckard's facial expressions
show his alarm.
They are frightened and alarmed as Roy Batty holds his wrist. His eyes glare at
the hand that now holds him and his brow is wrinkled with pain.
Here is another scene that creates suspense for the audience. Leon has found
Deckard and has the intension of killing him. Deckard tries to fight him, but is
very unsuccessful in doing it.
Once Deckard was defeated by Leon, Leon moved in to finish him. The audience
feels uneasy because it looks as if Deckard is going to die. The tension is
released when a gun shot is heard from behind that kills Leon. In the still
Deckard looks tired and beaten as Leon holds him up. Deckard looks as if he is
awaiting death by his glazed expression. The audience feels suspense because
they are unaware that Rachael is there to save Deckard.
In the final scenes of the movie with Roy Batty, Deckard misses a jump and
catches himself on a girder and is losing his grip. Roy Batty looks over at him
to watch him fall. The audience is frightened for Deckard because they know that
Roy Batty will not help him. Once Deckard loses his grip, the tension peaks and
is relieved by Roy Batty action of grabbing Deckard's wrist. In the still,
you can see how surprised and frightened Deckard is by his facial expressions
upward toward his wrist. Deckard and the audience truly believed he was going to
die, but Roy Batty's unexpected compassion saved him.
In today's time we have automobiles that get us from place to place. In Blade
Runner, Deckard is dependent on using a spinner. It is an advanced automobile
that flies around in the air. As you can see in the still, it is a product we
have never seen before in our society. It looks like a car of today, but it
flies like a plane. It tells us that technology has advanced enough for this to
be possible.
To be able to identify replicants, Tyrell Corporation created the Voight-Kampff
machine. In the still it gives a picture of it with Deckard sitting behind it.
The extension from the base is the eye piece that views the subjects cornea
movement. The base has a respiration monitor and EKG analysis machine.
This device is not available in today's time because we have no use for it.
Replicants are a technology that has not been invented yet, so we have no need to
identify them.
In J.F. Sebastian's home he had an advanced micro scope called a stereoscope. It
was an invention created by J.F. for his lab. There are stereoscopes around
today, but are not as advanced as this one. The schematic shows how sophisticated
it is in how large it is and the design of the casing.
The Esper machine is a photograph analyzer. What makes this unique is that it is
voice activated. It zooms in on object in a photograph and gives incredible
detail. The Esper machine gives a mix of old technology with new. In the still
you can see a color monitor. Today we have color monitors, but not with those
kinds of capabilities. Granted this kind of technology could be created, but it
would be too expensive for someone to have for home use.
The most important example of futuristic technology is the replicant. Roy Batty
is artificial intelligence that was created by the Tyrell Corporation. In
looking at Roy Batty, you can not see any differences in the way he looks
compared to a human. His eyes, hair, skin, and brain are manufactured in a
plant, but they look realistic. This is not possible for man kind to manufacture
such a
machine in our time period.
This is the image of the Tyrell Corporation building. The similar archetecture
of the pyramids shows power and splendor. The size of the structure is very
large. As Deckard approaches the building, the imagination runs wild to figure
out how big the building is. The use of the color makes an impact as well. The
building shines with thousands of golden lights coming from the inside. The
audience interprets those lights as rooms of the building. This gives the
building the appearance of being large in size. The golden color is translated
by the imagination as an object of power. It symbolizes the city of gold that
the conquistadors were in search of.
This advertisement is for space exploration to Off-World colonies. Today we are
just scraping the surface of space travel and the thought of colonies on other
worlds are left to our imaginations. The colors of the Off-World blimp are
bright and exciting to look at. It helps the viewer imagine what it would be
like to live on another planet. The blimp itself is different than the blimps we
are used to seeing. The blimp is larger in size and has more lights on it. The
viewer imagines what it would be like to see one of these blimps in the air.
Clothes that were being worn in the film were clothes that we might wear in
today's times. Here Deckard is sitting at a Chinesse noodle bar. His clothes do
not have any futuristic look. They are clothes we have worn in our past. Trench
coats have been around for centuries. Deckard is wearing a plain tie. The
viewer begins to believe that this plot could happen because of the personal
connection with the clothes that are being worn. Had the clothes been totally
different, the plot would have been less rational because it happens thirty years
in the future.
There are pictures of places and objects that are familar to the viewer. Some of
the action takes place in china town. In the still, Chinesse writing is on the
buildings. The viewer can believe it's existance because China Town is an actual
location in Los Angeles. Familar objects can be seen in the film. A police
spinner is seen in the film. The viewer can identify with the police spinner
because we have police cars that we see in our daily lives. Bladerunner tries to
be able to convince the audience that the plot could take place by these familar
places and things.
Stills were taken from Blade Runner Online Magazine and Blade Runner FAQ
Link to 2019: Off-World.
Return to Online Highbeam
To view other student works in Daniel Anderson's 309M class.