I’ve seen
Blade Runner a few times now, and one of the things that never fails to impress me is the scenery. Or lack of scenery, if you’d like to look at it that way. That opening four minutes that pans out over Los Angeles and gives us a view of 2019 is rather magnificent. Yes, the flaming buildings and the extent of the sprawl is scary, but it’s not totally unbelievable. We could look at it as a warning of what could happen if we let ourselves get carried away with industrialism. It is also somewhat deceiving. The scene is dark, so I just assumed that the setting was at night. It wasn’t until the scene switched down to street level that I realized it’s simply consistently cloudy and raining, making this another sign of industrial overload. I am especially impressed with the way Norman M. Klein analyzes the “layers” of construction of the film in his article “Building
Blade Runner.” What Klein writes is complete common sense, but it is something that I never would have thought of on my own. The gangster, film noir feel of the lower level is meant to emphasize poverty and the immigrant population, showing the possible deterioration of our great cities in the future. The upper levels mix L.A. with Tokyo, further emphasizing the Japanese immigrant population in the film. The floating billboards and especially the flying cars are all things that we want to see in the future, perhaps proving that some of our dreams and expectations may come true.
One of the other big things that catches my eye in this film is the clothes. Honest to goodness. But in any film that is unmistakably “80’s,” it is almost a reflex to watch for the ridiculous styles and obnoxious patterns.
Blade Runner does not fail to deliver. Deckard’s long trench coat with the huge
collar, layered with a dark patterned shirt and a skinny tie. Gaff wears like six different patterns all in the same outfit, plus a funky hat. Pris’ makeup and Zhora’s clear
raincoat/stripper getup are both most certainly 80’s. Even Rachel’s
dress, that is supposed to channel a 30’s and 40’s film noir look, has obnoxious shoulder-pads that make it one from the decade known for that
feature. You would think that if movie makers were clever enough to come
up with a concept for a future L.A. with flying cars and outer worlds,
they could have made more futuristic looking clothes...
Overall, I have mixed feelings about
Blade Runner. On one hand, I absolutely love it. It is simply one of those films that everyone must see at some point in their life. On the other hand, I have a hard time enjoying it. It’s dark and sinister, and I find the concept to be rather unnerving. It’s difficult to follow and very often leaves the viewer with more questions than answers. And am I the only one who thinks Harrison Ford did a terrible job in this movie..?
*Note: If any of you
Blade Runner fanatics are interested, you can buy one of those light up umbrellas like in the movie. A friend of mine who is obsessed with this movie owns one. It's pretty wicked.
And it's only $15!
The clothing in this film is so unfuturistic! I am so glad you talked about the clothing in your post. If clothes in the future are going to be terrible 80's inspired outfits, I'm scared. I thought the first scene with Rachael where she takes the test, her outfit looked so familiar. I realized it looked like it was from The Hunger games - Effie Trinket's style of clothing.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find funny watching this movie now in the year 2014 is that it takes place 5 years in the future for us. It's comical to watch now and see that this is what people thought the world would be like back in the 80's. And I agree when you say that what Klein wrote in his article is common sense but I definitely couldn't have thought it up on my own.
ReplyDeleteThe clothing in the film was also interesting. The fact that Rachel was always wearing something with shoulder pads to make her shoulders look broader helped her look more like a robot, yet shoulder pads was such an 80's fad. All of the clothing reflects what each character was supposed to be-human or replicant. Pris is obviously the most eccentric character, and I agree when Ashley says in her comment that it reminds her of Effie Trinket because her and Pris do dress very much alike. Pris's clothing and way she presented herself also amplified the fact that she was not human.
I'm so glad that the "future" look that Ridley and the rest of the team were going for is not in today's culture because I could not see myself wearing a clear rain coat and shoulder pads anytime soon, but hey we still have 5 years. I always wonder if Ridley Scott ever gets upset that a movie he made 30 some years ago about the future looks nothing like what he imagined. That has to mess with his head, as I'm sure happens to all science fiction creators. I just hope we get flying cars soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen the camera was close up on Harrison Ford in the police car I kept thinking that at any moment the film could turn into Star Wars or Indiana Jones. He looked so much like those characters.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is interesting that the film is so focused on a futuristic look and yet the clothes are still so 80s. Maybe Ridley Scott really likes the 80s clothing style and was hoping it would be the look of the future.
Hey, I want one of those umbrellas! And also, but that was exactly the point, you know, visually, to have the Blade Runner future look hyper-80s. I can't think of another movie before than that deliberately makes the future look like a fusion of the cinematic past and the immediate present, except all deteriorated. It's like you _almost_ see that, and why it's interesting, and opt for snark instead. You cite, quite aptly, the layered construction of the cityscape, it's combination of reference and artifice, and I'd have really liked to see that carry over to an analysis of the clothing styles. I'm not sure that's been done extensively, though plenty of ink and pixels have been spilled discussing the architecture.
ReplyDelete