Re: What is the facination with Blade Runner?
The fascination with Blade Runner is that it's a visually beautiful film coupled with compelling ideas about artificial intelligence and what makes someone 'human.' Rutger Hauer gives an amazing performance and the soundtrack is evocative and cool. That's just off the top of my head. Sorry you didn't like it. There's subject matter in there worth exploring and it's been regarded as a classic for years.
Yeah. This is basically the short version.
Longer version:
Preface -- much of the way to appreciate this film is to consider it within its own historical context. The same way people might say
Citizen Kane is kinda boring these days, if you consider what it did for/to film in its time, it's pretty damn impressive. Likewise, watching
Star Wars today in its theatrical form may not be that impressive if you grew up in the last 20 years, but in its time, it was mindblowing. Similar stuff applies to Blade Runner.
1.) The visuals. While perhaps not quite as impressive nowadays, at the time, they were visionary. Blade Runner basically defined the look of cyberpunk. The world has a futuristic look to it, but also a grittiness and "used" feeling. The film, visually speaking, evokes a sense of dystopian future, but not in the typical "post apocalyptic warriors of the wasteland" way. The world's very much "alive," it's just bleak.
2.) The music. Vangelis' score is haunting and, again, while dated, was "futuristic" at the time.
3.) The overall "feel" of the film. It's very much a science-fiction film noir story. It's got similar pacing to film noir, as well. A much more sober, deliberate pace, rather than what you normally see in action-packed sci-fi. Deckard draws his gun, what, 3? 4 times?
4.) The themes. The film has some really intriguing science-fiction themes which, while timeless (the question of humanity when faced with an automaton/simulacrum), is handled in a particularly moving way. There's also questions about the nature of the mind itself with the concept of memory.
All that said, if you've only heard people rave a la "DUDE! It's SUCH an awesome movie! You'll love it! You gotta see it!!" then they really didn't prepare you very well for it. It's more cerebral than a lot of what passes for sci-fi. It's slower paced, with a LOT less action and a LOT more talk. The visuals, at this point, are sort of futuristic, but also dated. It doesn't have CGI. It's not a thrill-ride. Also the whole feel of the film is very somber. Brooding, even. If that ain't your thing, then no amount of hype will make you like this film. There is, by the way, no shame in that. Blade Runner is NOT everyone's cup of tea.
