The Blade Runner by Ridley Scott - Movie Review Example

The Killer Name: Course: Date: Mise-en-scene Film descriptions are concerned with the manner in which related events in a story are formulated and placed. Genres are essentially categorizations and excellent ways of separating films with unique repetitive elements into collections. The Blade Runner by Ridley Scott is a motivating film since it cuts across several genres, hence the name, hybrid genre film. This implies that makes use of several dominant major genres in one narrative. The film is both a film science fiction and noir film. It illustrates to the viewer recognizable elements of both categories of genres, even though some of the concepts scripted and shot within the film were clearly ahead of their time. This essay will analyze a five-minute sequence towards the beginning of the film. In the scene, the main protagonist is unveiled and allocated an assignment that acts as the main focus of the film’s scheme. Mise-en-scene refers to the term that denotes the design elements in a film production. In other words, the several individual scenes captured in one film that make up the whole production. The Blade Runner opening sequence is set in a neo noir sub genre. The selected sequence to be analyzed starts with a view of the business district of Los Angeles in the future, 2019 to be exact. The film’s scene is achieved with well-known structures that seem to cover an expansive distance and embellished with revolving neon advertisements on their sides. The skyscrapers and structures are suggestive of 1940s office buildings characteristically associated with the capital of United States. Flying vehicles are a common element all through this scene, as well as the pouring rain, signifying an adverse environmental anomaly in the city. The conspicuously retro appearance of the structural design in Blade Runner had a big impact on the production styles of other successive sci-fi films. The soaring vehicles and towering buildings in Dark City are highly suggestive of Ridley Scott’s style, keeping in mind that the structures are less grim-looking. Even though soaring vehicles are an ordinary sci-fi feature, the daunting environment illustrated is connected to film noir. Persistent elements of that genre are smoke-filled alleys, precipitation, intimidating urban settings, and a negative world view. The gloomy universal perspective is captured appropriately by the extraordinary sight of pouring rain in Los Angeles. The film’s foremost character, Rick Deckard, is unveiled in a trench coat, another regular feature of film noir, making him appear like other classical film noir actors. Deckard is placed in a district that appears to be densely populated with Asian people. Since this film is based in Los Angeles, it is likely that the setting was Chinatown, another location that is famous for being depicted in neo noir films. Soaring above Deckard is a large blimp floating idly. Spewing off the loud speaker in the blimp is an announcement welcoming foreign colonies to the “golden land of opportunity and adventure”. This represents one of the rare mentions of space travel within the motion picture and the concept of space colonies is captured in later sci-fi films. Pouring rain and heavy fog are climatic conditions foreign to Los Angeles. Using these audio and visual elements solely, the spectators are offered a preview into the state of the planet in the first five minutes of the film. This strategy is particularly excellent given that it is achieved without direct contact such as dialogue to inform the audience of the events, dissimilar to the theatrical version of the film that had narrations. More elements of the film are exposed using a dialogue when Deckard is arrested while having his meal. Such an interruption in the protagonist’s universe is another common feature of film noir, as is the actor’s lack of enthusiasm towards law enforcement. Cinematography The representation of these images is delivered through the usage of mid-air special effects camera shots and ground level landscape. While airborne, the structures are an attractive collection of rectangular, cone shaped, triangular, and tubular shapes. In the absence of ambient sound, the urban district being shot is a patchwork of diverse geometrical forms offset and corrupted by sharp lights and the shadowiness in the skies. At the street level, it is a different situation it is a less alluring People of different heritages cross the streets while cars maneuver through road signs flashing different colors and divulge commands. The audience is limited in their visual access of the horizontal surface because of the large throngs of citizens. There is also restricted visibility on a vertical level because of the buildings and blimps moving in slow motion that promote Off World journeys and purchases of mood pills. After the first shot of the apocalypse, the successive shot in Blade Runner is a close up frame shot of a blue eye. The eye is a reflection of the city’s image against its cornea and sets the significance of eyesight all the way through the film. It is evident that this eye is that of Roy Batty. In the particular scene under analysis, the viewers are further analyzed through Scott’s intelligent framing techniques that make use of a sharp difference between the high and low camera points of view. For instance, when the protagonist first approaches the building (1:29:40), the entry point is captured from an elevated angle- with Deckard pushed back into a measly fleck near the entrance. This places Deckard in a position of helplessness- somewhat unusual for the protagonist. The frame rapidly cuts to an acute close-up on Deckard’s visage, focusing on his isolation and reducing it using human aspects, when put together with the “helplessness” of the earlier frame. After a short duration, Deckard becomes aware, through the close-up that links the unidentified with his perspective, signifying that he has surveyed his environment, and is fully aware of his exact location. From this moment onwards, Deckard is captured from below, stressing his dominance over this new area. By the time the film reaches 1:30:00, the protagonist is captured in a long shot, and using a very low angle that places the actor on a stairwell located between two routes, creating a figurative “bridge” between the foreign and well-known elements of this universe- a link which Deckard alone has the capacity to cross. Afterward, after Pris has been murdered, there is a rapid cut to this identical shot involving the ramp between the pathways reinforcing that the protagonist had crossed this bridge linking the cultured world and the mysterious future (Deeley et al. 4). Editing The editing of Blade Runner is a complex and muddled area given that the film was never fully edited to the director’s initial standards, an aspect that motivated Scott stubborn infatuation to change its face. The overall editing process was very slow and took approximately two decades until ultimately a complete version of the film was released. The film was initially perceived as uninteresting and perplexing. After these remarks, the director worked on improving the film by recording a voice-over by Harrison Ford. The actor had initially strongly opposed the proposal to do a narration from the start, and this created a unique conflict between the two given the constant trips between England and the United States. At this point, the director was deeply concerned over the inclusion of vital story elements as well as clarification of existing parts. One misconstruction was that the motion picture was never designed to have voice-over—it was fully expected to have one, and Scott was influential in making sure this was a reality. This level of editing allowed the audience to gain insight into the character’s thoughts; it was eliminated from the final script for the basic reason that it was formulated to be included in post-production since it was expected that tweaking would be necessary (Deeley et al. 66). Sound The dichotomy between the recognizable and the indefinite is further highlighted by Scott’s application of sound. When Deckard gets into the house, the film’s artificial soundtrack is dropped in support of a frightening dash of wind, and snatches of an almost inaudible, but slightly happy tune. In the course of this scene, there is no conversation, and only the background sound of dripping water to embrace the viewers. After a few anxious moments, a creepy song starts to play- an East Asian tune being vocalized apparently from no particular direction. In fact, the sound at round 1:29:51is extradiagetic, originating from a passing advertising blimp (Deeley et al. 45). This combination of the quiet complex, with the brash colors and cheerful representative brings the busy New World into unexpected focus and creates a raucous contrast between the neglected artifacts of the past- and the dazzling prospects for the future. Additionally, the conventionally sounding melody ushered in with the innovative technology persists in stressing the combination of the traditional and the ultramodern. At the back of one’s mind, the tune also reminds the viewers of samurai movies- with identical songs being played to increase the apprehension before combat, predicting the altercation between Roy and Deckard. All the way through this scene, the “hollowness” of the replicants is strongly stressed through the deformation and intensification of their natural tunes – perpetuating the trend of separation between replicants and humans. Pris’ demise is accentuated by a shrill bizarre shriek that echoes within the building. In the meantime, Roy’s emergence is characterized by the howl of a wolf- a sound that also emerges when he realizes that Pris was no longer alive. In conclusion, the film, Blade Runner represented a massive jump in cinematography and editing styles. Although the film was shot in 1982, it contained a vast amount of technological and film superiority. Choosing to base the film on the sci-fi genre was in itself a bold especially in the face of rudimentary filming, and scenery within the industry. Most of the cinematography, scenery and props used in the Blade Runner were adopted for other blockbuster movies in the 1990s. References Top of Form Deeley, M., Fancher, H., Peoples, D. W., Scott, R., Ford, H., Hauer, R., Young, S. Warner Home Video (Firm). (1999). Blade Runner. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video. Bottom of Form Read More

This strategy is particularly excellent given that it is achieved without direct contact such as dialogue to inform the audience of the events, dissimilar to the theatrical version of the film that had narrations. More elements of the film are exposed using a dialogue when Deckard is arrested while having his meal. Such an interruption in the protagonist’s universe is another common feature of film noir, as is the actor’s lack of enthusiasm towards law enforcement. Cinematography The representation of these images is delivered through the usage of mid-air special effects camera shots and ground level landscape.

While airborne, the structures are an attractive collection of rectangular, cone shaped, triangular, and tubular shapes. In the absence of ambient sound, the urban district being shot is a patchwork of diverse geometrical forms offset and corrupted by sharp lights and the shadowiness in the skies. At the street level, it is a different situation it is a less alluring People of different heritages cross the streets while cars maneuver through road signs flashing different colors and divulge commands.

The audience is limited in their visual access of the horizontal surface because of the large throngs of citizens. There is also restricted visibility on a vertical level because of the buildings and blimps moving in slow motion that promote Off World journeys and purchases of mood pills. After the first shot of the apocalypse, the successive shot in Blade Runner is a close up frame shot of a blue eye. The eye is a reflection of the city’s image against its cornea and sets the significance of eyesight all the way through the film.

It is evident that this eye is that of Roy Batty. In the particular scene under analysis, the viewers are further analyzed through Scott’s intelligent framing techniques that make use of a sharp difference between the high and low camera points of view. For instance, when the protagonist first approaches the building (1:29:40), the entry point is captured from an elevated angle- with Deckard pushed back into a measly fleck near the entrance. This places Deckard in a position of helplessness- somewhat unusual for the protagonist.

The frame rapidly cuts to an acute close-up on Deckard’s visage, focusing on his isolation and reducing it using human aspects, when put together with the “helplessness” of the earlier frame. After a short duration, Deckard becomes aware, through the close-up that links the unidentified with his perspective, signifying that he has surveyed his environment, and is fully aware of his exact location. From this moment onwards, Deckard is captured from below, stressing his dominance over this new area.

By the time the film reaches 1:30:00, the protagonist is captured in a long shot, and using a very low angle that places the actor on a stairwell located between two routes, creating a figurative “bridge” between the foreign and well-known elements of this universe- a link which Deckard alone has the capacity to cross. Afterward, after Pris has been murdered, there is a rapid cut to this identical shot involving the ramp between the pathways reinforcing that the protagonist had crossed this bridge linking the cultured world and the mysterious future (Deeley et al. 4). Editing The editing of Blade Runner is a complex and muddled area given that the film was never fully edited to the director’s initial standards, an aspect that motivated Scott stubborn infatuation to change its face.

The overall editing process was very slow and took approximately two decades until ultimately a complete version of the film was released. The film was initially perceived as uninteresting and perplexing. After these remarks, the director worked on improving the film by recording a voice-over by Harrison Ford. The actor had initially strongly opposed the proposal to do a narration from the start, and this created a unique conflict between the two given the constant trips between England and the United States.

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