04 January 2008

Blade Runner Memorable Quotes


"Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes"



"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Time to die."





"I think, Sebastian, therefore I am."







"Is this testing whether I'm a replicant, or a lesbian, Mr Deckard?"

"I'm not in the business... I am the business"


Και κάποια πράγματα που ίσως δεν ξέρατε:

~~Seven different versions of the film exist, but the most well known are the International Cut (1982) and the Director's Cut (1992)

~~Each character is associated with an animal:

Leon = Turtle

Roy = Wolf, Dove

Zhora = Snake

Rachael = Spider

Tyrell = Owl

Sebastian = Mouse

Pris = Raccoon

Deckard = Sushi (raw fish), unicorn


~~IS DECKARD A REPLICANT?
This question causes the most debate among BR fans. The different versions of BR support this notion to differing degrees. One might argue that in the 1982 theatrical release, Deckard is not a replicant but in BRDC, he is. There is no definitive answer: Ridley Scott himself has stated that, although he deliberately made the ending ambiguous, he also intentionally introduced enough evidence to support the notion, and (as far as he is concerned), Deckard is a replicant.

~~WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHESS GAME?
The chess game between Tyrell and Sebastian uses the conclusion of a game played between Anderssen and Kieseritzky, in London in 1851. It is considered one of the most brilliant games ever played, and is universally known as "The Immortal Game".

The Immortal Game, in algebraic notation, was as follows: Anderssen - Kieseritzky (London 1851):

1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Bc4 Qh4+ 4 Kf1 b5 5 Bxb5 Nf6 6 Nf3 Qh6 7 d3 Nh5 8 Nh4 Qg5 9 Nf5 c6 10 Rg1 cxb5 11 g4 Nf6 12 h4 Qg6 13 h5 Qg5 14 Qf3 Ng8 15 Bxf4 Qf6 16 Nc3 Bc5 17 Nd5 Qxb2 18 Bd6 Qxa1+ 19 Ke2 Bxg1 20 e5 Na6 21 Nxg7+ Kd8 22 Qf6+ Nxf6 23 Be7 Checkmate.

The chess boards in the film are not arranged exactly as they would in be the Immortal Game, and Sebastian's board does not match Tyrell's. The concept of immortality has obvious associations in the ensuing confrontation between Tyrell and Batty. On one level, the chess games represents the struggle of the replicants against the humans: the humans consider the replicants pawns, to be removed one by one. The individual replicants (pawns) are attempting to become immortal (a queen). At another level, the game between Tyrell and Sebastian represents Batty stalking Tyrell. Tyrell makes a fatal mistake in the chess game, and another fatal mistake trying to reason with Batty.

~~WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE UNICORN?
When Deckard leaves his apartment with Rachael at the end of the film, she knocks over an origami unicorn. The unicorn is the last of a series of origami figures that Gaff uses to taunt Deckard. In Bryant's office when Deckard insists he's retired, Gaff folds a chicken: "You're afraid to do it". Later he makes a man with an erection: "You're attracted to her". And finally, the unicorn: "You're dreaming, you can run away with her, but she won't live" (he says basically the same thing to Deckard on the rooftop). One interpretation is that the unicorn was simply a message to Deckard to say "I know you've got Rachael, but I'll let her live." Another interpretation (based on the script) is that the unicorn is Gaff's gauntlet and he will hunt them both down.

A unicorn has long been the symbol of virginity and purity (being white), which ties in with Rachael's status. Legend states that only a virgin could capture a unicorn. Unicorns are extinct, and Gaff may think the same of Rachael, as she definitely has a limited lifespan.

A unicorn was used in Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" to symbolize that the girl was "different to other horses". The horn on this unicorn represented her physical handicap, which prevented her from meeting people. When she finally did meet a man, they danced and knocked over the unicorn, breaking its horn off. "It's just like all the other horses now," she said, which symbolizes that she has overcome her shyness and lost her virginity.

The unicorn may also symbolize:
- Rachael is (and always will be) a replicant among humans, and will be different, like a unicorn among horses, because of her termination date. (In the tacked-on ending, Deckard says that she doesn't have a termination date)
- Rachael leaving and knocking over the unicorn symbolizes her escape from the Tyrell corporation, which only looked upon her as a replicant. Deckard fell in love with her as a human, and by doing so, she became human.
- "The silver unicorn... is a made thing, a piece of human handiwork, beautiful and fragile and glittering, yet perceived as waste, thrown down and trodden upon, easily destroyed. Also, it is in the form of an animal, albeit a mythical one, and in the BR future, the beasts of the earth and fowls of the air are all be extinct, except in replicant form."
[Source: Rebecca Warner in "Retrofitting Bladerunner"]

BRDC, however, includes a scene not in the original release. It is a dream sequence, showing Deckard's dream of a white unicorn. One can now argue Gaff knew that Deckard had dreamt of a unicorn. If Gaff knew what Deckard was dreaming, then we can assume that Deckard was a replicant himself, and Gaff knew he would be dreaming of a unicorn just the way Deckard knew about the spider outside Rachael's window.

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