Agreed. This film was Rutger Hauer's FINEST hour.
Dun-dun-DUUUNNNN!!1
Blade Runner: Where to begin?
- Thread starter Risu
- Start date
They would be activating a lot of them if they were the Deckard model.
See, it starts to get silly. So they go through the whole thing again with Bryant and Gaff?
I don't know about that. The one in the film seemed to do pretty well.
No, that would assume that each one would behave in precisely the same manner every time. Differences in circumstances would change responses & reactions.
IRL, even cloned animals have differences (as paradoxical as that sounds)...
Can we all just agree that the gun is cool?? :cry
I know I agree.
And for the record, just like favorite movies, directors, etc, it's OK with me that some folks consider Deckard a human. The film is ambiguous enough that people can draw their own conclusions.
He actually WROTE some (all?) of that monologue, too. :thumbsup
Close,
My idiot buddy ran into me, or we ran into each other.
Felt like idiots. Too stupid to be replicants. :lol
Solo4114
Master Member
I started with the International version on VHS. It had the voiceover, the ending, and a bit more violence than the US release.
I then went on to the first "director's cut", which isn't really the ideal version. Then I saw the Ultimate Edition.
I'd say start with either the US or International theatrical version, and then watch the Ultimate Edition/Final Cut (whatever the most up to date one is). It'll help you understand why people love the later version.
I then went on to the first "director's cut", which isn't really the ideal version. Then I saw the Ultimate Edition.
I'd say start with either the US or International theatrical version, and then watch the Ultimate Edition/Final Cut (whatever the most up to date one is). It'll help you understand why people love the later version.
Carson Dyle
Sr Member
Yes, well, that was my original point. Deckard has a purely human motivation for staying on Earth; Bryant threatens him, and it's a threat he takes seriously.
DECKARD: I'd quit because I'd had a belly full of killing. But then I'd rather be a killer than a victim, and that's exactly what Bryant's threat about "little people" meant.
Deckard doesn't stay on Earth because he's "programmed" to stay; he stays on Earth because he's afraid to leave.
But Bryant makes clear that replicants are capable of developing emotional responses (which is why Tyrell Corp instated the "Incept Date" failsafe), so my response to your last statement is that he stays on Earth because (due to his particular set of memory implants) he's "programmed" to be afraid to leave... :love
Carson Dyle
Sr Member
Um... OK.
Look, I'm not arguing that a case can't be made in favor of Deckard being a replicant. Clearly Ridley Scott thought this was a really cool idea (God knows why).
My point is that, from a thematic standpoint, the question is more important than the answer.
The cool thing about the original theatrical release is that the ending leaves room for both interpretations.
By spelling out Deckard's replicant-ness in no uncertain terms (via the unicorn dream) the director's cut dilutes the story's power for the sake of a cheap gimmick that isn't nearly as shocking or interesting as Scott seemingly gives it credit for (Oh my God... Deckard is a replicant! I never saw that coming!).
Maybe Deckard's a replicant and maybe he isn't. The suspicion that the Man may be a Machine is what gives the story it's power. It's one of the reasons people are still talking about the film. By answering the question definitively Scott fills in a blank for the audience that is better left unfilled.
Look at it this way: Do you really think Inception would be a better film if Nolan had held on the spinning top long enough for the audience to know for certain that Cobb was in a dream?
Colin Droidmilk
Sr Member
Actually I agree. Despite my preference for the later versions, I must admit that I was always underwhelmed by the Deckard-is-a-replicant ending. Used as an ending it is a pretty cheapo twist-in-the tale, certainly. In Dick's novel, it's more interesting. About halfway through Dick sabotages the reader's certainty that Deckard is human and has him arrested on suspicion of being an android; the interrogator suggests his whole life has been nothing but a tissue of memory implants. For a whole chapter or so, the reader is in suspense as to whether Deckard's an android or not, Deckard's own belief in his humanity resting only on his now-dubious memory of once having passed the Voigt-Kampff test.
Colin Droidmilk
Sr Member
WHAATT? So people have been in here saying the Final is tops, but it actually has a castrated, censored Batty?? WTF?? (What the father???)
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It's tops. See it. It's just devoid of the little hiccups and jumpy edits the earlier versions have. Image quality is gorgeous too. A little lighter, a lot clearer, I don't know what the heck they did but it was good.
I do agree that the doubt over Deckard's humanity is more effective than a definitive answer. Even watching the Final Cut I still manage to maintain a bit of doubt: Gaff is insinuating something, but he's not coming right out and saying it. Maybe Deckard's a replicant, maybe he's been used in memory extraction experiments and then had his memory of that erased, maybe Deckard's ex-wife told Gaff that Deckard talks in his sleep.
In the Final Cut Batty's line remains "I want more life, ***ker". I guess CB was talking about the Director's Cut there.
Edit: I had to go look it up, didn't I? Nnggh...I don't actually have a copy myself, and I started to doubt my memory. So Wikipedia says this:
When Batty confronts Tyrell, he says, "I want more life, father"; this is from the workprint version, an alternate take intended for—but never used—in television broadcasts of the film, as opposed to the original line, "I want more life, ****er." The line also has a noticeably deeper tonal quality than the previous versions.
But Wikiquote says this:
* I want more life, father.
o In the "Final Cut" version, the line above is "I want more life, ****er." The line also has a noticeably deeper tonal quality than the previous versions.
And now I definitively...can't remember.
I do agree that the doubt over Deckard's humanity is more effective than a definitive answer. Even watching the Final Cut I still manage to maintain a bit of doubt: Gaff is insinuating something, but he's not coming right out and saying it. Maybe Deckard's a replicant, maybe he's been used in memory extraction experiments and then had his memory of that erased, maybe Deckard's ex-wife told Gaff that Deckard talks in his sleep.
In the Final Cut Batty's line remains "I want more life, ***ker". I guess CB was talking about the Director's Cut there.
Edit: I had to go look it up, didn't I? Nnggh...I don't actually have a copy myself, and I started to doubt my memory. So Wikipedia says this:
When Batty confronts Tyrell, he says, "I want more life, father"; this is from the workprint version, an alternate take intended for—but never used—in television broadcasts of the film, as opposed to the original line, "I want more life, ****er." The line also has a noticeably deeper tonal quality than the previous versions.
But Wikiquote says this:
* I want more life, father.
o In the "Final Cut" version, the line above is "I want more life, ****er." The line also has a noticeably deeper tonal quality than the previous versions.
And now I definitively...can't remember.
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SSgt Burton
Sr Member
I hated that change.
And I was in the "he's a replicant" category for the longest time too. Until I understood that it destroys the underlying themes.
Humans becoming robotic- killing without feeling. Robots becoming human- developing feelings.
Sure there are more than just the Unicorn giveaway- but everything else can go either way-
-The humans are all referred to by their last name. The replicants by their first name. Deckard is the only one referred to by both.
-Deckard is nearly killed by Zhora but chases her full steam seconds later. He is also thrown around like a ragdoll by Leon, but only has a few loose teeth and doesn't end up in the hospital. Maybe he's a replicant, or maybe he's just one tough son of a *****.
-Deckard had glowing red eyes. It is my understanding that the glowing eyes technique is not an easy one to accomplish on film, so Ford missing his mark doesn't quite cut it for me.
-He has an ex-wife. Maybe that's why she left him- he acted like a robot all the time. :lol
But don't get me wrong- I'm 100% in the "human" camp.
As for the unicorn dream did anyone stop to think that it was simply Rachel's dream and not Deckard's?
Sure it's ambiguous, but think of this- When Deckard has the unicorn dream, he's obviously feeling melancholy. Perhaps he is already developing feelings for Rachel despite knowing what she is. So having seen her memory files, he dreams about the unicorn.
Gaff leaves the origami unicorm because he has seen her file as well.
Just a thought. :angel
Of course there is the line "You've done a man's job sir!" Which originally included, "But are you sure you're a man?"
Glad Ridley didn't keep this one. I guess he felt he only needed a hammer to hit the point home and not a sledgehammer. :rolleyes :lol
Kevin
SSgt Burton
Sr Member
Final Cut he says "Father". I don't own the workprint version.
Kevin
Kevin
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