can you remember the first time that you
saw a Blade Runner and what kind of
impact did it have on you it does a huge
impact on me because it was the first
time I was seeing a movie where I felt
that someone in some strange ways sees
the future and it was really like
someone had been in a time capsule and
came back with images Blade Runner was
always a film that stuck with me I saw
it when I was very young on VHS and we
would watch it incessantly it was a film
that took you to a place that you hadn't
been before
from the cinematography to the script to
Ridley as cadence of the style is pretty
important it was so different still is
so different I think it's a number of
things as to why the original film is so
beloved it was so much ahead of its time
it's good filmmaking it's a good story
it's different to the world we live in
it stood the test of time people stolen
characters from it stolen scenes from it
and so that's a great compliment to the
first film once you see that movie it
kinda never leaves you yeah before the
release of this year's equal to Blade
Runner we examine the original Blade
Runner came out in 1982 and in the
decades since its release the movies
given birth to a cyberpunk world that's
continued to inspire filmmakers fashion
designers musicians and video game
developers
now 35 years later than evil enough and
Ridley Scott have teamed up to continue
the story in the sequel Blade Runner 20
49 I talked to the sequel's cast and
crew to find out why the original still
resonates I wanted to know what happened
to those characters that I wanted to
know what happened in that world and I
was excited by the opportunity to find
out all right I'm gonna ask you a series
of questions just relax and answer them
as simply as you can
Blade Runner is loosely based on the
sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of
Electric Sheep by philip k dick which
takes place in the near future after a
nuclear war this movie is still alive
after so many years because that was not
a science fiction movie like any other
one in truth it's more of a noir film
genre than it is science fiction yes
it's a little bit in the future but if
you really look at the original movie
the technology is more analog than
digital it's very tactile
it doesn't feel Ober futuristic it was
like an extension of our reality and you
didn't knew if you wanted to go there or
escape you know it's like it was a very
oppressive and beautiful world in the
same time play drones are a city frankly
like Beijing I saw city on overload and
so you're gonna get a bit grungy and
you're gonna get a bit dystopian
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Ridley Scott used a combination of
visual techniques to create this
distinctive world most movies involve
visual effects from that long ago don't
look that great today doesn't look dated
at all at all it's why in my opinion
Ridley Scott is probably the greatest
visual ascent of man and techniques that
he pioneered have been used now over and
over again the use of miniatures what
Doug Trumbull did on the original film
is really the godfather of visual
effects I mean these are techniques that
inspired entire generations of
filmmakers I think now the audiences
really appreciate just how masterful
Ridley's original movie was it's a
pretty remarkable piece of art how many
times I heard on set doing commercials
or our videos that's a Blade Runner shot
you know because of the way the light is
falling the atmosphere that is in the
shot the tone it's like it's it was so
unique the vision really had was so
striking and people were just in awe of
it and responded to and I think that's
why today it's it's so revered they look
combined the use of spotlights with
smoked fog shaft lighting and neon to
make the film feel both dense as well as
mysteriously expansive the moving lights
from police cars and advertising blimps
are in constant motion across the faces
of the characters and gives a sense that
they are always being watched
this aesthetic was used for similar
effect for decades to come
my first impression was the realization
of how influential it had been over so
many of the things I had grown up
watching and listening to like what the
aesthetic the sound of Angelus core how
much impact that it had musically the
world's retrofitted theme was reflected
in the score of the film by the composer
Vangelis he paired slow jazz with dark
cents to create a distinctly eerie feel
the combination of noir esque jazz
sounds with synthesizers has made
Vangelis soundtrack one of the most
sampled of all time
this mixture has been picked up by a
range of musicians who've cited the film
as influential to their music I think
it's rare that you can make a film that
has that kind of impact over that amount
of years and still hold up today both
visually and from a narrative standpoint
she's a replicant she's beginning to
suspect I think suspect how can it not
know what it is just had big themes big
ideas implants those aren't your
memories there's somebody else the movie
was raising up those questions about
what makes us human the relationship
between humans and technology how fast
is that going I think I'm a replicant
don't you certainly we've seen
incredible advancements in technology
that help repair human frailty and so to
some extent like the original movie I
think as humans really look for more
life there will be technological
advances that do that
the ideas of the first film are more
relevant today because the the
fundamental concept of a replicant which
is a bio engineered human being you know
feels less impossible now than it
probably felt 35 years ago machines are
getting smarter it's not just assembly
line your manufacturing jobs at risk
computers are now learning everything is
going extremely well I hope to do things
such as go to school study make art
start a business billionaire founder of
Tesla and SpaceX said Monday that humans
but someday merge with machines in order
to avoid becoming obsolete must says if
you can't beat the machines it's better
to become one
we have given power to technology and it
has become such an important part of our
lives that those questions remain alive
today as humans continue to merge with
our technologies a line between the
living and the synthetic is increasingly
blurred meanwhile the movies many shades
of grey continue to engage and stimulate
debate to this day leaving us the
audience to decide who the heroes and
the villains of the story really are the
sequels greatest challenge is delving
into these mysteries without diminishing
the complexity at the center of the
story our movie is inspired by the first
movie and it's touching the same subject
what it means to be human
how much are we humans without memories
what defines us part of I think that
legacy is is there's a lot of unresolved
mythology that void contest of yours
ever take that test yourself the most
famous thing is is decorative replicant
is he not a replicant okay but it's that
gonna be solved in this new film there
are certain aspects of the original film
that are answered and we open up a whole
new host of questions for fans to
contemplate with this film
oh boy what do you want I want to ask
you some questions
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you