Steven Spielberg: "I thought Ridley [Scott, director of Blade Runner] painted a very bleak but brilliant vision of life on earth in a few years. It's kind of acid rain and sushi. In fact, it's coming true faster than most science fiction films come true. Blade Runner is almost upon us. It was ultranoir."
http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/10.06/spielberg_pr.html
Alex
Another quote by Blade Runner's biggest fan:
Guillermo del Toro: Blade Runner is simply one of those cinematic drugs, that when I first saw it, I never saw the world the same way again.
Alex
Thanks for the Christmas quote Alex. This has always been one of my favorite threads. Hope you're having a good one over there in Merry Old...
have a better one...
A forgotten artist:
Jim Burns: "Here's the story in brief. Ridley Scott got in touch via my agent. Earl days in his film career, Alien under his belt and a new project gestating. That project was Dune. He saw my illustration for 'Colonel Kylling' in the joint book project Planet Story I did with the sf writer, Harry Harrison - and thought that this depiction was perfect for the Baron Vladimir Von Harkonnen character in Dune. Shortly before I was supposed to fly out to Hollywood and participate in early concept work on Dune - that project was shelved and Ridley Scott found himself instead with a script based on the novel by Philip K. Dick called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This of course became Blade Runner. The offer to go and work on early concept material for this new film was held open for me - and so I went over to Hollywood for ten weeks and found myself involved mostly on design work for the police spinner and the various city design details. The police spinner found it's earliest incarnation in a machine I painted for a book a few years earlier called Tour of the Universe - actually a 'flying ambulance' in that story. Ridley turned the image upside down and said "Hey Presto - there's the police spinner!" - or words to that effect. Eventually the hugely talented Syd Mead was taken on and he basically took on the look of the whole film - very successfully indeed. But I like to think that some germ of my original police spinner resides in the version you see on film!"
Alex
Question: Aside from yourself, what filmmaker has given us the best picture of human-robot relations?
Greg Pack (Robot Stories, 2003): I think Blade Runner is tremendous. I like the way the replicants have real emotional lives; they may do terrible things, but we understand their motivations and almost love them anyway. I actually prefer the way they're depicted in the movie to the way they're depicted in the original Philip K. Dick novel -- Dick makes them incapable of any real emotion, which strikes me as false. Ultimately, if a machine is able to think with as much complexity as a human and has the ability to learn, I'm guessing that an emotional life will inevitably follow.
Alex
@Wing: When it comes to Dick's novel, Mr. Pack seems to think like you, wing!
Alex
When it comes to Dick's novel, Mr. Pack seems to think like you, wing!
I read your post with Pack's quote this morning (with my coffee, as usual) and it made me smile 'cause I thought "cool..someone else thinks like me!"....'course then my second thought was "the poor fool"
~We don't see things as they are, but as we are~
'course then my second thought was "the poor fool"
Michel Chion: "Sometimes a film appears which tries to recover this idea of an organic unity of all sounds. In my opinion, Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, US, 1982) is one rare recent film which tried to do this and which succeeded because of an analogical content relation between the electronic sounds as noise and Vangelis' synthesised music, and also because of the rhythmic conception of the film as a whole. This is a kind of rhythmic pyramid which goes from broad rhythms on the deep notes, electronic 'drones', to quicker rhythms in the ultrahigh notes, and also because of the 'symphonic' conceptualisation, the admirable organic mix achieved by Graham Hartstone."
Michel Chion: born in 1947 in Creil, France, is a composer of experimental music. He teaches at several institutions within France and currently holds the post as Associate Professor at the Université de Paris where he is a theoretician and teacher of audio-visual relationships.
Alex
Axcess May 1997
by Alison Rosen
Jill, the make-up artist, who happens to be a close friend of Jovovich's from years ago, asks if The Fifth Element is "Blade Runner-ish?"
Milla Jovovich: You can compare it to Blade Runner only because it's futur- istic," she says. "I would compare it more to Star Wars than Blade Runner, because it's really fun. Blade Runner was very dark. New York City in this movie is very bright. There isn't enough space, so people build up. The richer you are, the farther up you live, and the poorer you are, the lower down. But all the smog stays down, so if you have enough money, you live above the smog where the air is clear, and if you go down it's all dusty and dirty and horrible." --- (Millaj.com)
Milla Jovovich on 'ULTRAVIOLET'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
March 2, 2006
Were all of the stylized buildings in Ultraviolet just sets and miniatures, or did the locations in China actually feature some of that futuristic-looking architecture?
Milla Jovovich: Oh, man, it was amazing! Like in Hong Kong...I mean, it's like Blade Runner times ten. They have freeways that are like multi-layer freeways. And you're driving on the freeway, and you see a building, and then you look down, and you're like halfway up the building, on the freeway. So it's all built "up." And there's high-rises up in the mountains. And Shanghai is crazy because they have the most modern architecture, but it's kind of a strangely set up city, because it's not like the modern architecture is there for people to enjoy. It's just business...It's not like you have a restaurant around there, or a plaza. And then you have to go like "all the way over there" for like restaurants. So that was kind of annoying, because there's so much amazing stuff, but there's nowhere to kind of sit down and take it all in...So hopefully they'll incorporate that kind of architecture with something more pleasurable.
SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2007 | RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION
An Interview with Milla Jovovich
By Denzel Walkes
How was it working with the Mexican crew and with Eugenio Caballero?
MJ: It was such an amazing thing to work with him because he is so talented and he showed me all the books for Pan’s Labyrinth which were just unbelievable. He had all these diaries where he kept all the photographs, the feelings of the inspiration, his writing, just incredible and he’s just such a cool guy. I think it’s funny because the Mexican people in general were very cultural and there is a lot of cultural diversity over there. They have really great museums and a really sophisticated city in Mexico city and you’ve got a lot of young artists there and it was a really great feeling in that sense like a lot of young people that are very creative which I love and it reminded me of Berlin actually, it was like “oh you can actually compare those too cities”. I had an amazing time too because I got a chance to go see the pyramids. So I went a few times and it was unbelievable. The second time I went it was pouring down with rain which was really great because no one was there so we were like the only people there and I have some great pictures of the pyramids that almost look like blade runner. I almost feel like blade runner took inspiration from the pyramids for their building because they look so modern… I loved it.
"I think, Sebastian, therefore I am." --- Pris (Blade Runner)
Interesting quote from Michel Chion, alex. You mention he's a composer - have any of his compositions been recorded? If so are there any links for listening?
~We don't see things as they are, but as we are~
You mention he's a composer - have any of his compositions been recorded? If so are there any links for listening?
http://www.michelchion.com/v1/index.php?option=com_content&task=vi ew&id=32&Itemid=52
Milla Jovovich: You can compare it to Blade Runner only because it's futur- istic," she says. "I would compare it more to Star Wars than Blade Runner, because it's really fun. Blade Runner was very dark. New York City in this movie is very bright. There isn't enough space, so people build up. The richer you are, the farther up you live, and the poorer you are, the lower down. But all the smog stays down, so if you have enough money, you live above the smog where the air is clear, and if you go down it's all dusty and dirty and horrible."
Eh, Millla, that's exactly how the city in Blade Runner functions. Another thing Blade Runner and The Fifth Element have in common is that they both borrowed heavily from the Metal Hurlant artists (Heavy Metal magazine).
Alex
Thanks Alex. Loved it. Funny thing, when I listened to the first few excerpts, Godard and particulary Alphaville popped into my mind.
Strange huh?
~We don't see things as they are, but as we are~
Not quite a direct quote but - concerning the Coen Brothers film The Hudsucker Proxy: No. 6 from 'The Coen Brothers FAQ'
6. Why the large budget?
The Coens wanted to build large sets and use elaborate special effects. They had screened Blade Runner (1982) before making The Hudsucker Proxy, which also used elaborate sets and a large, detailed cityscape. Twenty-seven craftsmen spent three months building a '50s New York skyline, constructing fourteen skyscrapers. The movie's skyline was based on photographs from a book that Dennis Gassner found called, New York in the Forties and the scale after Citizen Kane (1941).
Some cool quotes, especially the Coen bros one. Too bad Hudsucker was a flop, but at least it didn't stop their careers.
My uncle (now dead) worked on Blade Runner as a make-up artist. He said it was the most massive set he had ever seen, and the amount of detail was just stunning and he thought a lot of it wasn't even able to be seen on screen. I would have loved to be able to walk around that set, now it'd be harder because most big budget spectacles are largely CGI... so on set, there's less to see.
Patrick Lussier (director/editor): In terms of direction, I’ve take a lot of inspiration from Tsui Hark, the films he’s produced, "Chinese Ghost Story" etc, as well as Guillermo del Toro who I had the privilege to edit "Mimic" for. And these days I think Ridley Scott is one of the most profound influences on contemporary filmmaking. "Blade Runner", its look, tone and feel may have inspired more directors than anything else.
Alex
Marc Miance (original visual concepter of Renaissance): One the design side, one we start with designing Paris. What we wanted to do is make a futuristic version of Paris, but we wanted to avoid is making science fiction. For sure we've got big influences from Gattaca and Blade Runner and so on. But what we wanted to do is to keep it believable, so push it as far away as we can, without getting too science fiction looking. So that was the main topics about the design.
George Bures Miller (creator of multimedia pieces that combine aspects of sculpture, cinema, sound installation, and short-story fiction): In 1982 we saw Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” in Edmonton. It was a bright sunny day when we went into the cinema and when we came out it was pitch black and it was raining. I think we’ve been in another dimension ever since.
Alex
More from the creators of Renaissance:
Delaporte and Petelliere (scenarists for Renaissance): Our main influences were Blade Runner and Ellroy. You have the example of a very brilliant future movie. It integrates the technology of todays problems and it takes us far away. Blade Runner keeps an interesting concept that we find in film noir. As fans of murder mystery novels, we always had Ellroy in mind. Many of his novels are set in the 50's or 60's in the city of Los Angeles. We used Paris.
I may have posted that before. Not sure but you reminded me of it Alex with your post. I watched Renaissance a month or so ago. It's very experimental and a little hard to follow but the Blade Runner influence is undeniable.
For those not familiar with Renaissance, it's a Frence sci-fi thriller from 2006 that was made entirely by using MCI and entirely in starkly contrasting B&W.
~We don't see things as they are, but as we are~
Delaporte and Petelliere. I may have posted that before.
I don't think you have, wing, not in this thread anyway. Must put Renaissance on my list of movies still to see.
Alex
Yeah I saw it when it released a few years ago, very nice animation. Story isn't amazing, it's a little on the boring side but the BR influence is unmistakeable.
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http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/fight5?kids=30
I found it (Renaissance) hard it follow because it was difficult to differentiate between the characters with such high contrast B&W. Still it's worth seeing for it's style. I don't think anything like it was done before or after. I don't think I even watched it in it's entirity but it's images sure stuck with me.
~We don't see things as they are, but as we are~
Tyler Bates (composer of Watchmen): There are moments in the score where it definitely reflects that and you would probably say Blade Runner, because you hear us playing an CS-80 keyboard, which is pretty famously associated with that film but that’s pretty apparent in Jan Hammer's work and Frank Zappa, so there’s a whole pod of influence at least as far as I’m concerned.
It’s like you said, Blade Runner — Blade Runner just spilled over into pop culture all together so, I think it was one of those early movies that song and score sort of had a similarity to them as far as how people perceived their musical experience with that film. There are just a lot of movies like that. Like Manhunter is another movie that actually has a vibe or Miami Vice — you know, the TV show. Thereare a number of things — even To Live and Die In L.A. has that vibe.
Alex
The Wachowski brothers when asked about Blade Runner had this to say:
"Of course we f*/*cking liked it - but no one else did."
That was taken from a bit more colorful interview with Ridley Scott in November 2008. Here's the entire excerpt:
RS:"With Blade Runner, I knew I’d nailed it really good, or I thought I had, but I hadn’t because no one got it except for a few loony diehards. In fact, the Wachowski brothers were asked about it recently and they said: "Of course we *beep* liked it - but no one else did." So, they were being complimentary and bitchy at the same time. So I say that what they did was copy Blade Runner - it obviously influenced everything they do. So they can stick that up their pipe and smoke it."
~Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing. ~
Hernan Findling (Breaking Nikki): I am not going to be very original; without a doubt Stanley Kubrick is the director who has the most influence in my work. Since I was twelve years old and when I saw “The Shining” I took the decision to make cinema. The first stage of Ridley Scott (The Duellists, Alien, Blade Runner) are impressive to me and most of the films of John Carpenter. For Breaking Nikki the inspiration was David Lynch and Calvarie (of Fabrice Du Welz) and Naboer (of Pål Sletaune).
Alex
Tone: What film’s visual effects do you gush over?
Mark Spatny (the supervising visual effects producer of Heroes) : Blade Runner. When that movie came out I was studying to be an aerospace engineer. Then I saw that movie and thought, “Well, I’m going to be a really bad engineer because I’m not very good at it”. I’d have been the guy designing doorhandles in the plane! I wanted to design scenery and visual effects [as in Blade Runner], so that’s what I did.
Q: Weird Science or Blade Runner?
Robin Hunicke (game designer): Blade Runner all the way! Robots that are sexy and emotional (we’ll forget for now that they’re homicidal) are the best!
Q: Since we're on the topic of films, AI's been the main focus for a few recent movies such as I-Robot and AI. When you watch these productions what do you think? I mean, is the rhyme and reason right? Or is it all just Hollywood hooloomooloo?
Robin Hunicke: I really liked AI. Many films explore the link between technology and death – usually demonizing what’s new and unfamiliar (Matteo Bittanti wrote a great thesis on movies about video games). But films like AI and Blade Runner contemplate death (loss, really) in conjunction with love and life. They push us to analyze the hopes and fears that fuel our technological practice – which I think is essential to our survival.
Vito Acconci (architect): When we’re designing something, yes we’re channeling ourselves into doing architecture, but it’s got to be an architecture that’s affected by the other things in the world. Blade Runner is probably just as big an influence on architects as a lot of architecture. But you know Blade Runner came at such an interesting, Post-Modern time, and came out of that, but it was a very different version of Post-Modernism than a lot of architects were doing at the time. It was Post-Modernism because it was desperate, because you were building on the ruins of the old—which Rome has done for a long time.
Bryant Rousseau: Do you think you were influenced by Blade Runner?
VA: Yup, yup, yup, very much. For me, it was, wow, for me it was, this is the alternative to 2001. In 2001, the future is all white, it’s built as if there was nothing there. Blade Runner kinds of shrugs its shoulders and says, well, you can’t get rid of everything, so let’s build on it. Blade Runner, I don’t know if it introduced me to [the concept], but I started to think of architecture as a parasite. There were all these empty facades in New York, and we built stuff on them.
Information about Vito Acconti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito_Acconci
Alex
Your doctoral thesis was on the novels of Philip K. Dick – how has his work been an influence on you? Have you enjoyed the various film adaptations of his stories?
Kim Stanley Robinson (novelist): Yes, inevitably I have been somewhat influenced by PK Dick’s great work, though we are not very much alike. What I admire in his novels is the consistent and penetrating critique of capitalism and its corrosive effects on human relations, also his foregrounding of ordinary people as heroes of the plot, and his sympathy for all his characters. Then also there is his tremendous boldness and comic sense, which cannot be imitated but only admired.
Of the many Dick movie adaptations, I only really liked Blade Runner, and to an extent Total Recall, but not Minority Report or the others.
Kim Stanley Robinson:
"Kim Stanley Robinson is a widely acclaimed author of novels with strong science and scientist characters including the Mars trilogy, Antarctica and The Years of Rice and Salt, and he has won a number of prestigious awards such as the Hugo, the Nebula and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. The upcoming book Sixty Days and Counting will complete his best-selling climate change trilogy ‘Science in the Capitol’."
Alex
There were all these empty facades in New York, and we built stuff on them.
That's been happening in Chicago alot for the past 15 or 20 years. The old buildings in the downtown area are saved when possible and the insides will be rebuilt if necessary. Often a new facade and occasionally even extra floors are added. I've never seen more than a few stories added though. Buildings are usually limited by their exsisting foundation as to how much extra weight they can carry. But yes, retrofitting is happening now.
Thanks for the new quotes Alex:-)
~ We don't see things as they are, but as we are ~
Carl Graig: It was on video, when I was a teenager. What was really phenomenal about Blade Runner, other than the visuals — because the storyline was kind of *beep* — was the music, which was incredible. Vangelis did an amazing job at bending ideas and capturing moods in what he composed. It's a remarkable soundtrack: I felt it at the time, and I still feel that way now. That Blade Runner influence was big here in Detroit.
Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs.
Alex
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