On the Edge of 'Blade Runner'

Just saw this on Film Four tonight (UK TV chanel)... very interesting, but 50 minutes isn't even near long enough if you've read Paul Sammon's excellent "Future Noir: the Making of Blade Runner". Interviews with everybody involved except Harrison Ford and Sean Young of course, who hated each other's guts during the making of the film. We even see Philip K. Dick before he died - what a paranoid bloke he was! And even, for the first time ever, a look at the deleted scene where Deckard visits Holden in hospital. If you look you'll see the set for that scene was from Alien.

It's amazing visiting the buildings Ridley Scott used to make his future vision of Los Angeles. In the daytime they look NOTHING like Scott's sets, particularly the Bradbury Building in L.A., used for the final battle... when you see the before and after shots it really brings home what a genius of visual style Scott is.

Most shocking is that whilst all of the people have obviously aged in the last 20 years, Joe Turkel (Eldon Tyrell) hasn't aged a day! Hmmmm...

For anyone that hasn't read Paul Sammon's book, you'll be amazed at the problems encountered making this film, a true up-hill struggle. But Blade Runner still remains one of the best American movies of all time.

Ridley Scott admits this is one of his best films, and millions of cult fans worldwide agree. A true original...

Had I seen "On the Edge of Blade Runner" closer to when it premiered, this probably would've blown my socks off. For one thing, this is the first time anyone got to see the deleted hospital scene (pretty much catnip for those starving for supplemental material that Warner Bros. has since only been too happy to oblige). Timing is a lot here, and I've heard all of these talking head anecdotes several times over by now.

But, taken for what it is, this is a solid documentary, covering as much of the production it can pack into 50 minutes. The crew are happy to tell these stories (leaving out only Harrison Ford, still nursing old wounds), the tone is likable, and it's got that stylish "E True Hollywood Story" look of the late-'90s.

Besides, it's always fun to hear Ridley discuss this movie.

7/10

Having read Paul Sammon's laboriously-researched novel "Future Noir" from cover to cover, I didn't find a lot of fresh insight in this semi-modern rumination on Ridley Scott's rainy portrait of a gloomy future culture. Having said that, it's nice to hear the various words and stories straight from each horse's mouth, rather than coldly reprinted, oral history style, on a long page. Having shunned the project since almost the moment it was released, it's no surprise to see Harrison Ford and Sean Young conspicuously absent from the list of interviewees, though an appearance from either would have made this a much more interesting piece. The few concept sketches and effect demos the doc's producers manage to dig up are extremely interesting, but they're too few and far between for this to hold the interest of non-hardcores.

I'm not a big fan of "Blade Runner" (great visuals+no plot= bad movie), but I thought this documentary would make me revise my original opinion. It didn't.

In fact, this documentary was very uninspired. I was really shocked when producers started bashing Ridley's work.

Not much technical information either. Just a lot of talking. Although it was funny to find out they actually used outtakes from Kubrick's "Shining".

No matter how "hard" it tries, it won't make you feel "Blade Runner" is something great... unless you're convinced this way around.