By Drew Dietsch | Published
When we talk about some of the greatest failures in the history of cinema, there are generally two types of films at the center of this discussion: really terrible films that deserved to be rejected by the public and poorly understood films that simply did not hit at the right time.
Some of those in the second category end up being considered as legitimate masterpieces after escaping the need to recover their money. And this is what we are looking at today, a science fiction masterpiece that did not bring its budget to the box office and obtained mixed reactions from criticism. And today, it is considered a cornerstone of the genre.
Origins of the blade runner
Novel Do Androids dream of electric sheep? by the emblematic author Philip K. Dick, Blade runner is the story of Rick Deckard, a retired police officer who specializes in hunting replicators. Replicants are humans artificially created for manual work. Deckard is brought back into work by his former boss and traces a number of fleeting replicators while falling in love with a woman, Rachel, who happens to be a replica herself.
Now, just to cover my basics on everything I’m going to say, let the disc show I think Blade runner is great. But it is not difficult to see why it took so long for most people to see it in this way, and why some viewers will never be able to see it in this way.
Why Blade Runner failed for the public
Detective history at the heart of Blade runner is the first thing to grasp when you explain why the film did not work for most audiences. Although Deckard does the expected detection, the public also follows rebel replicators. So there is very little my real mystery feeling of this part of the film. It is not really a mystery story in this regard, so the pace of Deckard’s investigation can make the public feel slow.
Another major component of Blade runner The overall vision of director Ridley Scott of the future and all the artists he used to help shape this vision. Even the biggest Blade runner Detractors can admit that the design of production and the execution of the film are amazing.
However, that Blade runner In addition to a work of bad humor than an exciting science fiction blockbuster. This is the kind of atmosphere that is almost guaranteed to operate only for a selected audience.
Blade Runner is spoiled by producers
Then there is what really happened Blade runner On the way to the editing bay. Some producers were nervous about the film having a meaning for the public. Thus, against the will of Ridley Scott and the other main creations behind the image, a voice of interior monologue was created for Deckard. Admittedly, this is not in his place for the inspirations of the film Noir behind Blade runnerBut it was a decision that even Harrison Ford felt pretty weird when it happened. And although there are notable fans of the Voiceover version, it is not exactly the most famous part of the Ford actor career.
Then, the real interference began because the decision was made to reconfigure the end of the film to allow a happy escape between Deckard and Rachel. It was clear that production became disturbing for people of money and that they wanted to try to shape the film that Ridley Scott had transformed something by trying to be more commercial and accessible.
But all their fiddling would end up being for nothing. Blade runner Open in second place at the box office with a disappointing of $ 6 million compared to its 30 million dollars budget, the equivalent of almost $ 100 million today.
Harrison Ford against and
It didn’t help it Blade runner Open the third week of a huge changer of pop culture game at the box office, And the alien. There is this common perception which Blade runner Did not do well at the box office because it was an austere and dark film while people rose the emotional heights of AND I think there is a certain credibility to this argument, but I do not think Blade runner Had always been widely accepted by the general public even if it had the best possible place on the liberation calendar.
It is a strange, melancholy and meditative film that is not something that the traditional public almost never wants to throw their support unless it is culturally attached to a Barbie film. It is not a film with an adorable hero and Quippy who saves Big Bad day. It is a dark and contemplative examination of what a human being means, our account with the knowledge that we are going to die, the always destructive and apocalyptic nature of a society led by capitalism. Look, Blade runner is great but it’s not exactly a good time in the movies.
The resurrection of Blade Runner
Blade runnerThe failure of failure has a lot of meaning once you understand the context of its release and the kind of film it is, but what is most surprising Blade runner is that his failure led him to be properly appreciated.
Even during its initial release, there were many viewers who fell in love with the adaptation of Ridley Scott of Philip K. Dick, Clunky Harrison Ford Voiceover and all. Although the critical response was mixed at the time, science fiction fans saw how remarkable and revolutionary the work of effects was.
This led to Blade runner Being adopted as a cult film, and as more information on the troubled production of the film have come in the world, the more cinema fans have started to see the value of the film.
And that led Ridley Scott to get the opportunity to use the film in a way that has completely changed its perception. In 1992, Warner Bros. Blade Runner: the director’s cup. In this version, Scott deleted each piece of the voiceover of deckard, cut the happy end imposed and even added a dream sequence that reshaped the whole story to add the ambiguity to the deckard’s own identity.
Scott had another chance to reissue the film in 2007 with The final cupwhich above all contains everything Director With newly drawn effect scenes and other digital changes.
Thank you to the multiple versions of Blade runner And their overwhelming success on home video, fans have had a lot Blade runner To suranalyse and go over the years. The film has become more than a simple cult classic, as shown in its inevitable franchiseification with a direct studio series in 2017, an animated series and a next series of streaming on Prime.
Blade Runner failed and became emblematic
It goes without saying, Blade runner is anything but a failure today. The science fiction film is very alive, continues to influence the new generations of filmmakers. But it is important to remember that the box office and the initial response to a film are often without consequences for its real longevity in pop culture.
Here is a fun example: in 1982, Blade runner was the 29th most profitable film at the national box office. Do you want to know certain films that have been beating it significantly this year? Sharky machine At number 23, Burn at number 14, and Porky’s At number 6. Now, unless you are an old man or a film monster – I am both – I would bet that you have not seen these films and that you may not even know them, but you have definitely crossed something of something Blade runner.
So next time YouTube The film Dimwit wants to repress itself on the importance of the box office with regard to the quality of a film or the cultural impact, ask them why they do not have a collection Porky’s Piphol on their toy shelf. And then go watch Blade runner Because it’s great.
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And because I could not integrate it elsewhere in the script, I will simply tag it here at the end: Rutger Hauer because Roy Batty is one of the best actor performances in all the cinema. Okay, I’m done.
