Blade Runner ***** (1982, Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, Edward James Olmos, M Emmet Walsh) – Classic Movie Review 40

Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner is the most spectacular slice of cinema sci-fi imaginable. M Emmet Walsh was inducted into the Character Actor Hall of Fame by his co-star Harrison Ford in 2018.

Based on the 1968 Philip K Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, director Ridley Scott’s 1982 vision of a near-future Los Angeles where the rain never stops, androids are on the loose and human memories are not what they seem is the most spectacular slice of cinema sci-fi imaginable.

The classic story, the impeccable performances, brio direction, Vangelis’s score and Jordan Cronenweth’s cinematography and the stunningly imaginative and eye-filling production designs (Lawrence G Paull) and art direction (David Snyder) – still incredibly influential 30 years later – add up to one of the finest sci-fi films of all time.

As scripted by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, the sci-fi plot is presented in the film noir style of the 40s, featuring a man alone in a dark world beset by evils beyond his control. Harrison Ford is terrific as that man, the doomed Blade Runner Rick Deckard, bounty hunter and embittered ex-cop, assigned to seek and destroy four rogue ‘replicants’ who have infiltrated LA to extend their limited lifespan.

Rutger Hauer is quite amazing, totally scary as the blond, glacial-eyed android leader Roy Batty and Sean Young is also outstanding as the almost-human replicant Rachael. There’s also a fine support cast that includes Edward James Olmos, M Emmet Walsh as Captain Bryant, William Sanderson, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy and Brion James, while Daryl Hannah is especially striking as Pris.

Blade Runner opened to mixed reviews and some resistance at the box office, but it got a second chance in the video era, suddenly becoming a huge hit and achieving classic status a couple of years after its cinema release in 1982.

A Director’s Cut was released in 1992 at 116 minutes, with restored footage, some cuts and the deletion of the original voice-over narration, which had been hastily added when American preview audiences complained the plot was incomprehensible.

And in 2007, the 25th anniversary of the film’s release, came the definitive The Final Cut, fully restored from the original negative and digitally remastered with improved visual sound effects, and considerable changes. This is the only version over which Scott had complete editorial control and artistic freedom.

The argument still rages which version is better, many admiring the noir-style voice-over, some preferring the original ending too.

With its influence seen everywhere in sci-fi movies an TV ads, there is no doubt about the film’s lasting quality now. Some think that this is the great Scott’s best movie. And that would mean that Alien isn’t.

Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, Blade Runner, was released more than 40 years ago on 25 June 1982, the same day as John Carpenter’s masterpiece, The Thing. Both were widely and generally undervalued at the time (though not by everybody!), and are now re-evaluated.

The cast are Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty, Sean Young as Rachael, Edward James Olmos as Gaff, M Emmet Walsh as Bryant, Daryl Hannah as Pris, William Sanderson as J F Sebastian, Brion James as Leon Kowalski, Joe Turkel as Eldon Tyrell, Joanna Cassidy as Zhora Salome, James Hong as Hannibal Chew, Morgan Paull as Dave Holden, and Hy Pyke as Taffey Lewis.

In 2015 a sequel was finally announced, Blade Runner 2049. Denis Villeneuve helms the follow-up, starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling. It was released in 2017.

Rutger Hauer (1944–2019).

Rutger Hauer, the legendary Dutch leading man, died on 19 July 2019 at his home in the Netherlands after a short illness, aged 75.

Michael Emmet Walsh (March 22, 1935 – March 19, 2024) died of cardiac arrest in St Albans, Vermont, on March 19, 2024, aged 88.

He appeared in more 200 films and TV series, including Alice’s Restaurant (1969), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Little Big Man (1970), What’s Up, Doc? (1972), Serpico (1973), The Gambler (1974), Bound for Glory (1976), Slap Shot (1977), Airport ’77 (1977), Straight Time (1978), The Jerk (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Blood Simple (1984), Critters (1986), Christmas with the Kranks (2004), Ordinary People (1980), Reds (1981), Silkwood (1983), Fletch (1985), Back to School (1986), Raising Arizona (1987), Romeo + Juliet (1996), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), The Iron Giant (1999), Calvary (2014), and Knives Out (2019).

He appeared in the London stage production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child in 2004.

Walsh recalled: ‘My job is to come in and move the story along. The stars don’t do the exposition. I’m driving the movie forward. I just try to sublimate myself and get in there and do it.’

He was inducted into the Character Actor Hall of Fame by his Blade Runner co-star Harrison Ford in 2018.

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