Why do you think Blade Runner is a cult film?

[QueenLarifa]

Hello everyone, just like to know why you all think that Blade Runner is a cult film and why you all love it so much?!!

[Thanatos]

Do you want the short or the long answer?

To me it was a dream come true: novel by Philip K. Dick, directed by Ridley "Alien" Scott, visuals by Syd Mead, music by Vangelis, acting by Harrison "Indiana" Ford... I still recall 25 years later the thrilling sensation of being in an (almost) empty theatre hearing those hovercars, the subdued music and the voice off: "you don't advertise for killers in a newspaper"

As with every cult movie it's harder to explain the reasons to those not "in the know"

[tangaloomababe]

Having Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer is a great start. Rugter's portral of Roy Batty was brilliant. Visually it was and remains an excellent movie.

[iansales]

The reason Blade Runner is a cult film is because it is very popular among a small group of people. It flopped at the cinema on its release, but did a great deal better on sell-through. Lots of cinema critics and commentators have also praised it, and this has only enhanced its reputation. But a lot of people - the vast majority, in fact - still don't see its appeal.

So there you have it: critical appreciation, near-obsessive liking by a small group of people, and everyone else can't understand it. Hence, a cult film.

[gully_foyle]

Also because it was a layered film, and even though it was not true to the novel it still carried that Dicksian internalisation. It was also something different to the sci fi fare being presented. It was new wave cinema sprung from the mind of a new wave author (see New Wave SF). True, it does not have a wide appeal, but it is recognised as more than just a sci fi movie. In an attempt to make school a bit more interesting, Bladerunner was added to the year 12 english curriculum in one of our states. Don't know if it stayed on, but it was recognition that there was a lot in this movie to analyse and explore.

[DeepThought]

Originally Posted by iansales

The reason Blade Runner is a cult film is because it is very popular among a small group of people. It flopped at the cinema on its release, but did a great deal better on sell-through. Lots of cinema critics and commentators have also praised it, and this has only enhanced its reputation. But a lot of people - the vast majority, in fact - still don't see its appeal.

So there you have it: critical appreciation, near-obsessive liking by a small group of people, and everyone else can't understand it. Hence, a cult film.

Well put iansales . My favorite movie of all time. Lost count of the number of times I've watched it and read PKD's novel (though loosely based). The pivotal scene; the confrontation between Roy and dekard towards the end of the movie is just chilling "...Time to die"...

Neil Gaiman's Sandman and the Anime Cowboy Bebop are similar cases IMHO.

Cheers, DeepThought

[iansales]

Gully, PKD wasn't a New Wave author - he was an influence on the New Wave, but he didn't belong to it himself. And Ridley Scott certainly wasn't a Nouvelle Vague director.

[Scifi fan]

I think it didn't become popular because it was too gloomy - and, on many levels, too cerebral.

[Steve S]

Apart from the stunning visuals, I think it is a difficult film to fully appreciate on first viewing; it is so dense and so layered. Other than the fantastic production design and special effects I was not that impressed with the film the first time I saw it. Only years later when I watched it again did it begin to appreciate what an incredible piece of work it really is; the 'final cut' DVD box set sealed my love for the film!

[SchnickTech]

I believe simply people do not understand the science fiction concept of how the artificial intelligence was progressing in the course of the film and questioning what is human or they don't care about the subject of artificial intelligence.

I am not going to over-psycho-analyze the movie like I have seen time and time again. Yes, there was religious symbolism in the movie, but ignore that for the moment because I just don't care about the religious symbolism or the environmental look of the film or the societal problems of overpopulation, etc. I believe nerds over-psycho-analyze everything. I simply enjoy the AI concept in the film that, I believe, most people missed like:

What did we see in the beginning of the film? We saw a replicant fire a gun at a Bladerunner because the replicant was computing what the response should have been and wound up with a computer error. Most people, I believe, didn't find any meaning in that scene because most people forget or don't know about what the Voght-Kamph test was really supposed to be about. The Voght-Kamph test was supposed to be like the Turing test. If a computer can convince you that it is human than it has successfully reached the top level of artificial intelligence.

What did we see near the end of the movie? We saw a replicant save what it thought was a human from falling and empathize with the value of human life. [Note: I only refer to Deckard as a replicant because Ridley Scott says he is one.] Tyrell said their company motto was "More human than human". The point of Roy Batty saving Rick Deckard was to say that Roy Batty, the replicant, has empathy for human life and therefore more human than the people who murder other people with no regard for human life.

[MontyCircus]

Originally Posted by Scifi fan

I think it didn't become popular because it was too gloomy - and, on many levels, too cerebral.

And slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow

[Blackrook]

Film noir style in a sci-fi setting. What's not to love?

[tyche]

I think at one time it was considered a cult film, but over the course of it's release and rerelease and rererelease, it's elevated beyond the status of cult and become a mainstream classic.

Of course, this is coming from someone who was barely alive at the time of the original release and hadn't seen the original version until it came out on the special edition DVD earlier this year.

[Rodders]

It's certainly a classic. I think the darkness of the film makes it stand out. (Both in mood and time of day.)

It's a shame Rutger Hauer's career never took off after this. He's been in some bad films since then.

Slightly OT, has anyone read the KW Jeter Sequel books that were released late in the 90s. There where three Blade Runner sequels i think. Edge of human, Eye and Talon and i cannot remember the other one.

[Vladd67]

Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human (1995)
Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night (1996)
Blade Runner 4: Eye and Talon (2000)