Blade Runner

Blade Runner (1982)

6 answered questions since 22 Dec '17, 00:00

(8 votes)

Question: Why do people in the film refer to replicants as androids and machines when (just like normal humans) they seem to be made of flesh and blood and are not mechanical?

Answer: This could start getting metaphysical but ultimately it's semantics. An android is a humanoid robot. A robot is "a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically". A machine is "a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action". Note none of those definitions specify metal parts, or even being artificial. Human beings are machines, in the same way that human beings are animals, in literal terms, we're "just" biological machines, but we tend not to think of ourselves as such, because "human" is a more specific definition, and people like to feel that humanity confers a higher status of sorts. So it boils down to us vs. them, really - despite all of their many human traits, a lot of humans don't want to be conflated with replicants, so different terminology is used. There's also an argument to be made that as with a lot of dehumanising terms used in the present day, calling them machines helps to justify mistreatment, even though the replicants are just as capable of life and thought as humans are.

Answer: The replicants are indeed androids/machines; like Terminators, they are made to look human by adding human parts, such as skin and blood and even organs ("surrounded by living tissue", if you will). Unlike Terminators, however, they are not programmed simply to kill/destroy humans...they are simply "upgraded" versions of humans, who like all of us want to live with freedom and self-actualisation.

Question: I'm aware that there is debate on whether or not Deckard was a replicant, but as I was watching the movie, I couldn't see any clues as to why anybody would think this. Did I miss something obvious? Why do people think this?

Answer: The two most notable hints are as follows. The first (which is only in the Director's Cut) is that after Deckard dreams of a unicorn, Graf makes an origami unicorn and leaves it at Deckard's apartment. Some people interpret this as suggesting that they're aware of the memories that have been given to Deckard to prevent him realising his true nature. The second hint is that replicant eyes glow in certain lights - at one point in the film, Deckard's eyes can be seen glowing in the same fashion. Ridley Scott has stated on several occasions that, as far as he's concerned, Deckard is a replicant, but he does concede that they deliberately left it as somewhat ambiguous - the viewer should decide for themselves.

Tailkinker

Answer: Rachel asks Decker at one point if he had ever taken the replicant test himself, and he doesn't answer. Even though the movie itself doesn't seem to stress the point, in the book on which the movie is based "Do androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", the question of whether the protagonist detective is an android is the main theme.

Answer: Mostly it was personality clashes between Ford, Young, and also director Ridley Scott. Ford is not particularly congenial or talkative, and tended to be put off by Young's more hyper, off-beat personality. Young claims Scott wanted to date her, but she refused, and said he then treated her badly. Ford and Scott also had conflicts.

raywest

Answer: It was probably a matter of public record or a big company she worked for would have some connections to find out.

Question: Can anyone tell me the translated piano notes of the original soundtrack?

Answer: Back to the future 1 Yes he was sent back to 1955 thereby he accidently interacted with his parents he didn't know they were from the beginning and when he did it was too late he already interacted with them thereby altering 1985 thankfully with the help of his friend Emmett Brown he was able to fix the timeline and go back to the future Back to the future 2 Emmett Brown went 30 years into the future thereby discovering Marty's son altering the future so Emmet Brown had go back to 1985 to take Marty back to the future to repair the future which they did unfortunately Marty obtained Greys Sport Almanac Biff from the future obtained it& the DeLorean sending himself back to Nov 5th 1955 handing to his younger self what he obtained from the future which created 1985a the reason why 2015 wasn't altered by old Biff future because Emmet Brown and Marty McFly repaired that timeline n the timeline old Biff collapsed in pain and slowing faded away in 1985a both Emmett and Marty discover both Emmett and Marty decide go back to Nov 5th 1955 to repair that timeline meaning that timeline never really existed meaning Biff from the future is alive and well Back to the future 3 On Nov 12 1955 the lightning struck the clock tower and the DeLorean sending Emmett Brown into existence Emmett wrote a letter what had happened 6 days before he was shot in the back by Biff's great grandfather realising this Marty raced back to 1955 to get help so he could go into the past so he could rescue his friend and get him get him back to the future this brought timeline 8 into existence that's where Emmett fell in love with Clara later the marry and to have a family unfortunately when Marty goes into the past so he could rescue his friend and get him get him back to the future Back to the future 4 Marty learns he' not in 1885A he's in 1885B similar to timeline 4 with Emmet Brown's help Marty goes back to January 1st 1885 10 minutes before Emmet brown arrives Marty explains 6 days after you sent me that letter which Marty shows who get shot in the back by Buford Tannen over 80 dollars both Emmet and Marty head back to 1985 Marty wakes up believing he's now back in 1985 only he discovers he's not n 1985 he's in 1955B similar to timeline 4 Marty writes a letter to his friend 30 years into the future Emmett arrives and collects Marty and arrives back to Nov 12 1955 at 6am unfortunately the clock tower hasn't changed its still at 10:04pm Emmett then remembers 4 hours ago he did sent himself back into the past his did damage the clock tower and it's because of that the clock still reeds 10:04pm.

This is an answer for the wrong film.

Bishop73

Question: Why had the replicants tried to break into Tyrell Corporation? How come Roy Batty knew the corporation existed at all?

Answer: Replicants appear to know about their origin and lifespan, and even if they didn't, Roy is highly intelligent and motivated, and could easily have determined Tyrell's role in his creation through various means. The reason they broke into Tyrell Corp was they wanted the company or Tyrell himself to extend their lifespans, or to work out the means to do it themselves.

Sierra1

Other mistake: When Deckard visits the Tyrell Corporation, he prepares to test Rachel with the "VK" machine. He is shown putting his briefcase of the table and lifting the "VK" machine out and onto the table. If you look closely, the "VK" machine is already on the table and Harrison Ford is miming the lifting - there is nothing in his hands! (00:19:45)

More mistakes in Blade Runner

Batty: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain. Time to die.

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Trivia: At the end, Batty gives his 'a time to die' speech on the roof. Rutger Hauer made up the speech himself, between an hour and half an hour before filming the scene. (01:46:15)

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Question: When Roy confronts Tyrell, he says something that I'm having difficulty figuring out. The captions read that he is saying "I want more life... father!" But to me, and I've listened to that part over and over trying to figure it out, it sounds like he is saying "I want more life... fucker!" So is he saying Father, or Fucker?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: It's a more complicated question than you might think. Two versions of the scene were filmed, the main one, where Roy says "fucker" and an alternate, originally intended for use on television, where he says "father." Different versions of the movie use different takes. Of the three best known variants, the original theatrical release and the inaccurately-named Director's Cut both use the "fucker" line, whereas the Final Cut, the only one that Ridley Scott had full control over, uses the "father" line. What he's saying will depend on which version of the movie you were watching. Only you can answer that one.

Tailkinker

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