Before I begin my discussion on how I feel about Blade Runner after reading the book it was based on, let me inform you film loving folks that I watched the final cut of the movie. Apparently there’s a bajillion different versions and I don’t know what scenes have been added or deleted.
Regardless, as Rinn said, I got the action that I felt was somewhat lacking in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (hereby referring to it as Sheep because typing out that title over and over again gets quite grating on my nerves). Gunfights, gore, scenes that made me a bit squeamish even, though to be fair, anything involving eyes makes me incredibly squeamish. The final fight at the end with Batty basically gave me all that I felt like I missed out on. And that soliloquy. OH THAT SOLILOQUY. You can’t help but love the “Tears in Rain” speech. Iconic and wonderful~
The composition of the movie itself was surprisingly beautiful as well. Having expected a desolate, radiated wasteland, I got a barrage of wonderful camerawork and other aspects to make film majors start drooling. For example, when Harrison Ford takes a shot and you see blood drip into the glass, spreading through the liquid in branchlike motions.
Also, it was a fun surprise realizing that a young Edward James Olmos was in the film. Made me really happy.
But… even regardless of all those sequences that I enjoyed… I felt like the film lost a lot of what made the novel great to me. Changes in some names or settings didn’t bother me much at all. Not compared to the other obvious omissions that make this film such an utterly different experience. No explanation for abundance of artificial animals. Nor for the obsession of going off world. No “specials”, no Mercerism. The emphasis on empathy became so much less important, save for a casual mention toward the beginning of the film. In consequence, even though they try to keep some of the deep-thinking questions going through the movie, it wasn’t as fascinating as I would have liked it to have been. Hints of PKD’s mind games could be felt, especially towards the end (that twist!), but… It wasn’t the same. Out of all the changes the film made, this is what bothered me the most.
I suppose the essence of the Sheep was diluted for me. Unfortunate, but difficult to capture a movie audience with perhaps.
There was a point too in which I had to ask my boyfriend why someone was killed, not realizing that one of the androids wasn’t supposed to look like a highly important main character. Note to self: don’t compare movies and books too much unless you want to become utterly confused.
But I still want one of those damn light up umbrellas. Neat shit.
A side note… Why did LA become an extension of Tokyo? At least, it seemed that way. Highly amused me that I knew more Japanese than Harrison Ford though.
Here, why don’t you have my favorite band’s song that has Blade Runner in the title? Because my brain isn’t wanting to function after watching the creepy snake lady. I don’t want to think about why that is a thing. Like dinosaur porn. Sigh.
Novel Reflection 