Tag: Ridley scott

Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a 1982 movie directed by Ridley Scott.

Blade Runner tells the story of Deckard, who is pulled from retirement to hunt artificial replicants. Scott frames his story as a futuristic, pulpy film noir, as Harrison Ford’s character narrates his journey. The moody, almost dystopian atmosphere is the highlight of the movie, as Scott brilliantly casts shadows and bursts of light throughout. Ford is his typical laconic, mush-mouthed hero – but Daryl Hannah and Rutger Hauer are scene-stealers as the ill-fated replicants.

THE BEST – Daryl Hannah’s Backflips

The scene where Ford’s Deckard first encounters Hannah’s Pris is extraordinary. She emerges from a room full of genetic toys to engage in battle. Hannah assaults Ford with a brilliant acrobatic display – before meeting an unfortunate end.

THE WORST – Rapey Harrison Ford

I guess sexual assault – or at least coercing a genetically synthetic woman into sex was more accepted in the 80’s. Here, Ford’s Deckard basically Jedi Mind tricks Sean Young’s Rachael into a sexual encounter – a moment that establishes each character’s emotional motivations.

FOX FORCE FIVE RATING – 4/5

Blade Runner is a brilliant visual movie that also presents technological and moral questions that have grown in relevance. It’s worth a watch.

The Duellists

The Duellists is a 1977 movie directed by Ridley Scott.

The Duellists tells the story of two French soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars who engage in a series of duels. The duels span fifteen years and become a vital part of each man’s life.

You can usually tell when you’re watching a first-time director. There’s an energy and inventiveness that has been bottled up – and typically embellished with exuberant overindulgences.

Yet The Duellists is an incredibly restrained first offering. Ridley Scott delivers a movie that is strangely timeless – it’s a low budget production that is occasionally grand but brilliant in its grittiness. The focus is rightly squared on its two lead actors, Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel – and ignores getting swept up in the grandiose map of Napoleonic conquests.

At its heart, The Duellists is a character study: this is an actor’s movie. Carradine and Keitel essentially play opposites. Carradine’s Armand is an even-tempered, good humored soldier who exhibits a soft, loving exterior. Keitel’s Feraud is intense and hot-headed – he’s prone to quick violence.

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