BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Official Thread

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AndyDursin
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#61 Post by AndyDursin »

I love the movie. I don't find it cold or impenetrable. It's more atmosphere than story, but wow, talk about a film that absolutely influenced an entire generation...there are only so many movies you can ever point to and understand what kind of a mark it made like BLADE RUNNER did. Like the best and most influential films, it transcends its era and exists in its own universe even today -- it ain't a "product of 1982" per se, and that's one of the things that's most admirable about Scott's films. They are contemporary in their visual elements no matter when they were produced.

Story wise, some find it off-putting...but the theatrical version, WITH the voice-over, works fine as a sci-fi detective story. The Final Cut/Director's Cut muddies the waters narratively but even with the voiceover's shortcomings, it adds more than it detracts and was always meant to be a part of the film as it was conceived. That, and what Harrison Ford doesn't like about the re-cuts, too. ;)

But in terms of cinematography, production design, FX and score, there isn't anything else like it.

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Paul MacLean
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#62 Post by Paul MacLean »

AndyDursin wrote:I love the movie. I don't find it cold or impenetrable. It's more atmosphere than story, but wow, talk about a film that absolutely influenced an entire generation...there are only so many movies you can ever point to and understand what kind of a mark it made like BLADE RUNNER did.
Entirely agreed.

Blade Runner was dismissed as (at best) as a "noble failure" upon release. But its not hard to see why -- in a summer movie season which included hits like E.T., Poltergeist, Star Trek II, Conan, etc., most people probably assumed a movie from the director of Alien, with the star of Raiders of the Lost Ark would be another exciting thrill ride (with, of course, another hit instrumental tune from Vangelis, fresh off the success of Chariots of Fire).

I think audiences and critics were baffled -- more because of what Blade Runner wasn't, as opposed to what it was. Although it does have some action sequences (and impressive effects work), it's far-more introspective and atmospheric than your average science fiction movie. And 35 years on, there's little in the film which seems dated (with the possible exception of one scene which features a pay phone), and it has in fact proved very prescient. Many critics who dismissed Blade Runner upon release, reconsidered their opinion after viewing it again in later years (Roger Ebert most notably).

I personally was kind of ambivalent about Blade Runner when I saw it in theater. I thought it "looked kinda cool" and was watchable, but I wasn't especially impressed (I also was expecting Indiana Jones meets Alien -- plus I was also too young to appreciate it the deeper issues the film explores). But seeing it again a few years later (luckily once again on the big screen) I was completely knocked-over. It was -- and remains -- so unlike anything else. And I agree Andy -- it's not a relic of its (or any other) era.

It's also arguably the most visually impressive film ever made, and features what is probably Vangelis' best work (for films or otherwise). Certainly it is one of the best science fiction film ever made.

https://youtu.be/Ywd0yNXmHaA?t=27
https://youtu.be/yWPyRSURYFQ?t=58

mkaroly
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#63 Post by mkaroly »

BLADE RUNNER is one of the few movies that I never tire of seeing - I don't care which version I watch (ALIEN is another one). I agree with what Paul and Andy are saying. For me, the visuals are unbeatable. ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER was a one-two combo punch from Scott that I still marvel at. As I have gotten older I appreciate even more the deeper issues BLADE RUNNER explores; and the final scene between Roy and Deckard still makes me cry. Outstanding accomplishment that holds up extremely well.

And Sean Young is SMOKING HOT!!!!! Lol...

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AndyDursin
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#64 Post by AndyDursin »

That's probably the most enduring component to Scott's work -- the fact that when you watch one of his movies, it's not 1979. It's not 1982. It's always HIS work, separated from the kinds of "contemporary" films that you'd usually see back at the time.

Watching ALIEN or BLADE RUNNER even today, I still think I'm watching a modern/futuristic film -- not a product of the late '70s/early '80s. They hold up so remarkably and their visual language is always "current."

And I agree Michael on Sean Young...an apparent psycho, but so hot when she was young. And she was REALLY young making that movie too. Ford couldn't stand her though, which makes their "love scene" so unbearably uncomfortable!

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Paul MacLean
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#65 Post by Paul MacLean »

AndyDursin wrote:And I agree Michael on Sean Young...an apparent psycho, but so hot when she was young. And she was REALLY young making that movie too. Ford couldn't stand her though, which makes their "love scene" so unbearably uncomfortable!
Yeah...kind of makes you wonder to what extent Ford is "acting" when he shoves Young against the wall (or how much of that anguished look on her face is Rachel's character, or Young's genuine discomfort)!

Further on the "love scene", I personally prefer the way Vangelis originally scored it; his original cue expresses a melancholy uncertainty and edginess (which I feel is the true essence of the scene). The final "saxophone" version creates a more nostalgic, "film noir" feeling, but I think is a bit too lyrical and romantic -- especially in that ambiguous moment where Deckard shoves Rachel against the wall.


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Paul MacLean
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#66 Post by Paul MacLean »

Johanssen is officially off the project...

http://icelandreview.com/news/2017/09/0 ... ner-sequel


Academy Award Nominee and Golden Globe winner Jóhann Jóhannsson is no longer attached to the film Blade Runner 2049. He was announced as the film's sole composer in August 2016, and in July this year, it was reported that Hans Zimmer would join him due to Jóhann's busy schedule.

The film's latest poster now only shows Zimmer's name. Jóhann's agent has confirmed to Fréttablaðið that the Icelandic composer is no longer involved with the film in any capacity, though he is prohibited from saying anything at this point due to his contract.

Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel to the 1982 film Blade Runner. It is directed by Denis Villeneuve, who has collaborated with Jóhann on a number of his films, such as Sicario, Prisoners, and Arrival. The film is scheduled to be released globally October 6th.


Sounds like the studio is playing it safe and wants the film to have a "familiar, accessible sound".

I have to be honest -- I have not been a fan of any of Johanssen's work so far, and while I get tired of seeing Hans Zimmer's name on what often seems like every major release, I think he might actually do a better job.

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Monterey Jack
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#67 Post by Monterey Jack »

Query...I was thinking of showing this to my nephew later this week for one of our movie nights (paired possibly with Alex Proyas' Dark City for a "sci-fi cityscape" double-feature), so which edit of the movie would be best for a "newbie"?

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AndyDursin
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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#68 Post by AndyDursin »

The theatrical cut. The voice-over explains the story and sets the mood -- I would think for a younger viewer, and a first-time viewer especially, it makes the film more accessible.

I've always felt it added more to the film than detracts from it, even if some of it is stiff and unnecessary. The movie was always designed for it too...was in the script from the very start.

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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#69 Post by Monterey Jack »

Yeah, you're probably right, and I'm of a mind that one's first viewing of most movies should be the version that originally played in theaters (with the exception of films that were brutally edited against the filmmakers' intent by the studio...I can't imagine watching the theatrical cut of Scott's Kingdom Of Heaven ever again). Doesn't the theatrical cut have that extraneous "happy" ending, instead of the cut the black when Ford enters the elevator, though?

Also debating muting the volume during the opening of Dark City, just so that Kiefer Sutherland's opening narration won't spoil 75% of the movie that follows. :x Yeah, the director's cut nixes it, but it also adds more footage that harms the movie's pell-mell pacing and updated F/X I don't care for.

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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#70 Post by AndyDursin »

It does but I dunno, it's more a happy ending extension of what's already there anyway. I'd stick with it myself.

On Dark City, yeah, I would just mute the theatrical cut's opening. Or start the movie with Rufus waking up in the tub. I actually got there late and walked in during that scene when I first saw the movie in theaters...only to realize months later, when I watched it on DVD, that they spoiled the film with that crap added narration to spoonfeed audiences after test screenings! Ruined Everything!!

And it's so obvious the movie was meant to be watched as I saw it the first time.

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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#71 Post by Monterey Jack »

AndyDursin wrote: Sun Sep 10, 2017 10:17 pm On Dark City, yeah, I would just mute the theatrical cut's opening. Or start the movie with Rufus waking up in the tub. I actually got there late and walked in during that scene when I first saw the movie in theaters...only to realize months later, when I watched it on DVD, that they spoiled the film with that crap added narration to spoonfeed audiences after test screenings! Ruined Everything!!
It really IS astounding...it's akin to a text screen saying, "By the way, he's a ghost" at the beginning of The Sixth Sense. :lol: Imagine if The Matrix opened and flat-out told you at the beginning that Keanu Reeves was living inside of an elaborate virtual reality construct...yeah, it still would have had cool anti-gravity kung fu and bullet time stuff, but a big part of the reason the movie works the first time you watch it is figuring out what the hell is going ON. Even for movies where the "twist" is incredibly obvious for attentive viewers, it's just bad form to insert spoilers from the studio releasing the film. Was Dark City really that hard to follow without the opening Sutherland narration? Yeah, we wouldn't know why these odd characters are flying and why the buildings keep shifting around, but that's why it's intriguing.

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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#72 Post by AndyDursin »

That reveal when Hurt starts floating into space, if memory serves, was awesome the first time I saw it. I could not believe they put that narration in when I finally realized it months later...I was showing it to someone and I was like "no no no no no no!! What the hell is this?!?!" and I think I shut it off/fast forwarded before it was totally ruined.

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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#73 Post by Monterey Jack »

If there's a chapter stop right before Rufus wakes up in the tub, I'll likely skip directly there, and inform my nephew about the spoiler-crammed narration and let him know I'll go back and show him AFTER the movie is done so he can appreciate how stupid the decision to add the narration was.

Anyways, it'll be nice to show him some prime, pre-anorexia Jennifer Connelly. :D

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Re: BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Scott & Ford Still Don't Agree Over "That"

#74 Post by AndyDursin »

Sounds like Harrison Ford enjoyed working with Ryan Gosling as much as he did Sean Young! :shock: :lol:



Entire article here:

https://www.gq.com/story/harrison-ford- ... y-2017/amp


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