Film Batty example essay topic

This ambitious, enigmatic, visually- complex film is a futuristic film noir detective thriller with all the trimmings that one would associate with a film of this genre. It has an alienated hero of questionable morality; a femme fatale, dark sets and locations in a dys topic Los Angeles of 2019, and in the version which was first released, an emotionless narrative voice. This film is set in the Industrial Wasteland of Los Angeles in the year 2019, on an earth that is in physical and psychological decay. In the opening sequence, fire belches out of the oil refinery towers and factory smokestacks, in the industrial overgrowth.

There are thousands of city lights flickering in the misty night air. Futuristic vehicles cruise through the polluted sky, and there is no sun. Ridley Scott has very innovative ly used the adverts. In the opening sequence there is a 'Coca Cola' advert.

This gives the viewer something to grasp from the present, while the rest of the film is embedded in the future. Ridley Scott has created another nifty effect called 'retro fitting'. He takes many objects, for example, umbrellas, which have been created years ago and installs them with neon lights. Scott seems to add another dimension to the de-naturalized world by using neon lights, and disregarding the sun as a form of light. He has created the impression of a world that is incredibly overpopulated, by utilising a jungle of tall buildings to suggest that all space on land will not suffice. Ridley Scott is making his own predictions about the future by predominantly having Chinese and Japanese people appearing everywhere.

By complementing this with Arabian style music he plays on the fear that the whole Middle Eastern economy will one day engulf the Western economy. The traditional image of the rich white man businessman is substituted for one of oriental masses. Vangelis, a composer known for his electronic new age works, wrote the music for Bladeruner. The main reasons why the music works so well is precisely to do with its harmonious simplicity and the electronic sound sources. Vangelis creates many effects with his music, he fluctuates in his tones and keys.

Whenever there is a sorrowful scene Vangelis plays his music in a minor key and this adds a very melancholy effect. Vangelis is a great composer because he has the capability to change his music dramatically. He creates an exceedingly menacing effect by using wind chimes in certain scenes. For example, the music in the club where Zhora presents herself to be the femme fatale.

There is also the cosmopolitan effect of bagpipes creating the effect of a multi cultural environment. Arabian music in certain scenes which postulates that there is an ethnic pot of music from which Vangelis chooses his own mix The pace of the film is in places very slow, especially the conversations between Rachel and Deckard. However, in the chase sequence the editing is of a especially high calibre. The shooting of Zhora in slow motion and the shattering. of the glass are particularly interesting. The latter symbolizes the shattering of her life. The mannequins surrounding her corpse play a significant role because they imply that Zhora, once she is shot, will become a mannequin, just like the ones in the shop.

The snow in this scene is very fake. This adds clarity to the image that Zhora is surrounded by imitations but she is no more real than they are. In my opinion, the performance of Rutger Hauer eclipses that of Harrison Ford. While Harrison Ford's acting could be accused of lacking energy, Hauer seems to steal many of the scenes such as his stomach- churning murder of Tyrell, the man who designed him. Roy, the prodigal son, affectionately touches Tyrell's cheek with one hand. He also places his hand on both sides of Tyrell's face and kisses his replicant God - his 'father' Tyrell, passionately on the lips.

Then with his powerful bare hands and a look of utter contempt, Roy suddenly crushes his maker's skull with superhuman strength and gouges his eyes out as Tyrell screams and blood oozes out of his eye sockets. Tyrell's corpse falls to the floor. Because there is no way for the termination dates to be altered, in a twist of bitter revenge, the creature destroys its creator for having provided him with such a hellish life and fate. The most poignant of the film, is in the final sequence when Roy Batty releases the dove.

There is a lot of ambiguity in the scene of the dove flying away. In a supreme moment of emotional intensity, the created android, Roy, has a change of heart with Deckard. He graciously lets him live in his own final, final moments. Ironically he appears to find his soul, develop human feelings and an empathic response, and lose his intrinsically evil nature. He spares Deckard's life in a supreme act of choice and redemption. Still with the dove in his hand, Roy sits down in front of a dazed Deckard and delivers a climactic, majestic soliloquy from the depths of his heart with the rain streaming down his face.

This is particularly very moving because at the very moment of his own termination, he has acquired the human capacities of caring and benevolence. His final moments are truly moving as he eloquently speaks about his own memories of the distant outposts in space that will be lost forever when he dies. Then with half a smile at the moment of his death, his head slumps down, and the white dove is released. Its flight is symbolic of Roy's death and Deckard's rebirth. There is a case to be made that Batty is the epitome of evil.

However, in my opinion, the remarkable thing about Rutger Hauer's character is that, as Roy Batty, he can be portrayed in two completely different lights. Throughout the film Batty shows a dishonest smile. He is a dangerous character, with distrusting eyes and this is embodied in the villain, Roy Batty, who will destroy anyone or anything that might hinder his chances of obtaining 'more life. ' In contrast his facial exterior gives the impression that he is wise and powerful, but on the inside Batty is extremely frightened of the fact that he is quite simple intellectually powerless against human force. By the end of the film, the audience sympathise with Batty because he fails in his efforts to sustain life, of which he is given and he is only a mere taster.

I think Harrison Ford's acting, in this film, is far away from his usual ability. He is slow to get off the mark in his dialogue and no wonder film critics have criticised him as being ' flat footed. ' His vocabulary is far less powerful and evocative than Batty's. Also, Batty's costume is intimidating, as if he is an erotic character.

Harrison Ford's costume is very down- to- earth, and at times he is a bit too serious. If Harrison Ford was more of an upbeat character, Blade runner could have been potentially an action- packed thriller, but Ford slows down the pace of the movie dramatically. The film raises many ideas and many questions. I think the film is trying to obscure the boundary between human and android. This is because Deckard, potentially a replicant himself, is hired to eliminate other more dangerous replicants.

Ridley Scott is trying to portray a world that is characterized by Chinese and Japanese people, dominated by replicants. The film has many subliminal messages. The visual icon of the eye appears many times in the film. For example, eye and vision motifs, glowing replicant eyes, Tyrell's magnifying glasses that emphasize his eyes, the Voigt Kampf empathy test that focuses on the subjects eyes, 'Chew's eye works', the owl's wary eyes and the gouging of eyes. For example, it reinforces the theory that the eye reveals a lot about the soul. Pris's eyes are cold, and in the middle of the film Pris sprays her eyes black, which symbolism a coldness and lack of emotion.

The film is set in the year 2019, which is one year short of 2020- the numbers associated with perfect vision. The image here is that human eyes do not always reveal the truth behind the characters actions. Ridley Scott has also inserted the 'unicorn reverie'- a dream sequence of Deckard's implanted memory of a unicorn. Gaff wouldn't have known about Deckard's dream, unless it was implanted. Doesn't the mythical unicorn symbolize, therefore, that Gaff knows, as an inside joke that Deckard is a replicant too? Another point of view about the unicorn could be, that Deckard only has the dreams of the mythical horse whenever he is around Rachel.

Could it be that the mythical horse, different from all ordinary horses, is a symbol of Rachel herself- a unique replicant that doesn't have a limited life-span? The greatest evidence to suggest that Deckard is an Android occurs, when Deckard is on the edge of the building hanging on for dear life, Roy catches his wrist in mid-air over an empty space with his spiked hand, and he shouts, 'KINSHIP', suggesting that they are made of the same substance Overall the set up of the film is entertaining because of its futuristic plot and images. I believe that Scott is trying to cover too many genres, including action, suspense, drama and romance within the same plot. It can also be said that the slow nature of the dialogue in certain scenes makes it hard for the audience to be entirely captivated. Having said this, it is undeniable that the film leaves the audience with lasting images and a thought- provoking view of the future, which paradoxically, does not bear thinking about.