Blade Runner Shots

 

Reviewing a few angles in

Blade Runner

from director Ridley Scott

Establishing Shot:

The film opens with some text on screen, teaching the viewer some basics of the film. After the text fades, we get an extremely ominous view of this dystopian, steampunk city. Feeling almost robotic, this shot sets up the movie very well and shows the world we are going to inhabit for the next two hours. As a matter of fact, to show the viewer how different this world is from our own, they tell the viewer that this futuristic city is Los Angeles, almost like something you would see in a dream.

Extreme Close Up:

Intercut with the opening establishing shot is this shot of a human eye. The eye is looking upon this futuristic city, previously shown. However, I find something eerie and mysterious about this shot, almost robotic. The eye does not move or flinch. The eye just stares ahead at the soulless, dark city. This shot perfectly sets up the conflict of human nature in the film perfectly. It's a great precursor to the film and its many unnatural depictions of humanity as a whole.

Close Up:

In this shot, we see our main character, Deckard, shooting a replicant, the so-called antagonists of the film. The scene is very atmospheric due to its score. But something I noticed is the lack of humanity and emotion on Deckard's face. He just killed someone. It seems as if he feels no remorse or regret over what he just did. He just sees it as his job. He has no inner conflict with it. Overall, this shot makes me question Deckards morals and him as a person.

Wide Shot:

Leading up to the final confrontation between the hero and villain of the film, we get this shot of Deckard. This shot, to me, is absolutely beautiful. It has a distinct lack of color, like a majority of the world in the fim. We see Deckard in the shot, but can only make out his figure due to the light behind him. He seems a bit intimidating in this shot. If I told somebody who had not seen this film that this was a shot of the main antagonist, they would believe me. This is due to the nature of the film and its commentary on humanity as a whole.

Close Up:

At the end of the film, during the climax, Deckard is hanging off of a roof, clinging on. If he falls off this roof, he's dead. The main antagonist, Roy, a replicant, decides to save Deckard. Roy, literally a robot, the main antagonist, saves the hero from certain death. He proceeds to talk to Deckard about human life. This one scene, is the most human this film ever gets, and that is the point. A robot shows the most emotion out of any character in this film. The scene is extremeley emotional and atmospheric. Overall, this shot and scene left me questioning many things and made me very reflective, A very moving scene.