Voiceover or not? and IS Deckard a replicant?

POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Sunday, June 25, 2006 23:07
VIEWED: 9338
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CHRISISALL

Thursday, April 7, 2005 9:13 PM

BTW you're right about the voice over, I liked it a lot when I was 21, but then I was only 21 ( don't mean to offend the youngsters).

The old Chrisisall

CHRISISALL

Thursday, April 7, 2005 11:16 PM

Starrbaby, thanks for the comeback, but I'm dyin' to know if people think Deckard's a replicant.

After reading my arguments, what do ya think?

An edgy, defensive Chrisisall

STARRBABY

Thursday, April 7, 2005 11:50 PM

I made my own decision based on the movie W/O the VO. I then decided that he was a replicant. I really can't give much of a reason; it was just a gut feeling.

CHRISISALL

Thursday, April 7, 2005 11:58 PM

Thanks, Starrbaby.

The losing 2 against 1 on this question Chrisisall

ZOID

Friday, April 8, 2005 1:10 AM

chrisisall:

You're only playing devil's advocate: You think he's a replicant too. And you're right to feel that way, because he is a replicant. He's not a 'kick murder' type like Zhora, or a 'pleasure' model like Pris; he's an anti-replicant 'blade runner' model.

"You've done a man's job, sir." -Gaff
There's evidence all through the movie that he's a replicant (the pictures on his piano, and that he has a piano). That's why we always suspected he was one. People have asked Ridley for years whether Deckard was a replicant or not. He always steadfastly refused to say one way or another.

Then, on the 9th of July 2000, in an interview with the BBC, he fessed up. ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/825641.stm)

Ridley Scott's a filmmaking genius. I don't believe for one second that he intended anything other than for Deckard to be a replicant. He didn't change his mind about it, or any other explanation. Deckard was intended, written, foreshadowed and played as a replicant.

It was one of the greatest debates of all time, though, about arguably the greatest sci-fi movie ever shot (until 30 Sep 2005, that is).

You just missed the memo. It happens.

Respectfully,

zoid

P.S.
Wanna talk about whether Sharon Stone was or was not the ice pick murderer in Basic Instinct?
_________________________________________________

"Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me." The Ballad of Serenity

CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG

Friday, April 8, 2005 1:39 AM

This is so weird, I just came to the site for a break from writing my Blade Runner essay and top of the page is a topic devoted to it!

Is Deckard a replicant? In my opinion yes, he is. It has nothing to do with Ridley's confession (though it's interesting to note Harrison Ford has said that he and Scott discussed during filming how he definately was not a replicant), but the clues are littered through the film.

"Have you ever taken that test yourself?"
"You've done a man's job sir"
"Tyrell really did a job on Rachael. Right down to a snapshot of a mother she never had, a daughter she never was. Replicants weren't supposed to have feelings. Neither were blade runners. What the hell was happening to me? Leon's pictures had to be as phony as Rachael's. I didn't know why a replicant would collect photos. Maybe they were like Rachael. They needed memories." Just like Deckard.
Gaff's origami unicorn, just like Deckard's dream.
And most importantly, like every other replicant, Deckard's eyes shine red when he talks with Rachael in his apartment.

As to what sense it makes to give him human strength and intelligence, people of human strength and intelligence can kill replicants, so why risk it? If he knew he was a replicant why would he work as a blade runner? Empathy is a universal problem (or gift depending on how you look at it) in the film, if Deckard had any reason to empathise with them he couldn't finish his job.

ZOID

Friday, April 8, 2005 2:03 AM

chronic':

Just goes to show ya': 1) Harrison Ford is smart enough to suspect his character was a replicant, too; 2) The director frequently keeps the actor in the dark as to the true nature of his character. He wants him to play it 'straight', acting like Deckard the Human, not Deckard the Replicant.

And like I said before, Tyrell Corp designed several models of replicant, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Clearly, the Deckard model was favored with analytical skills. "I think, Sebastian, therefore I am," Pris says. But analytical thinking is something Deckard does better than Roy, and Roy beat Tyrell at chess.

And Deckard is not totally devoid of superhuman endurance and strength. Carl Lewis would've been a stain on the sidewalk if he'd tried to long-jump the gap between those buildings (there's a street and sidewalks down there). Even though Roy jumped it with ease, Deckard's leap was inhuman, too.

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"We're not computers, Sebastian, we're physical." -Roy, Blade Runner

"Ah, kinship." -Roy, Blade Runner, as he grabs and lifts Deckard by the wrist, as he is slipping from the girder

ZOID

Friday, April 8, 2005 2:05 AM

chronic':

Just goes to show ya': 1) Harrison Ford is smart enough to suspect his character was a replicant, too; 2) The director frequently keeps the actor in the dark as to the true nature of his character. He wants him to play it 'straight', acting like Deckard the Human, not Deckard the Replicant.

And like I said before, Tyrell Corp designed several models of replicant, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Clearly, the Deckard model was favored with analytical skills. "I think, Sebastian, therefore I am," Pris says. But analytical thinking is something Deckard does better than Roy, and Roy beat Tyrell at chess.

And Deckard is not totally devoid of superhuman endurance and strength. Carl Lewis would've been a stain on the pavement if he'd tried to long-jump the gap between those buildings (there's a street and sidewalks down there). Even though Roy jumped it with ease, Deckard's leap was inhuman, too.

Respectfully,

zoid

P.S.
We got moved to 'Other Sci-Fi Series' while I was composing that, so that was a weird sensation. I guess this thread'll die now; but I think Tyrell was a replicant, too. A Tyrell replicant -- like a Tyrell's niece replicant (Rachael) -- would have valuable uses: A decoy against crazed replicants returning to Earth and snuffing the real Tyrell, for instance. Which begs the question: Who made the Tyrell model? (Answer: Bill Gates?)
_________________________________________________

"We're not computers, Sebastian, we're physical." -Roy, Blade Runner

"Ah, kinship." -Roy, Blade Runner, as he grabs and lifts Deckard by the wrist, as he is slipping from the girder

THEGREYJEDI

Friday, April 8, 2005 2:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
BTW you're right about the voice over, I liked it a lot when I was 21, but then I was only 21 ( don't mean to offend the youngsters).

The old Chrisisall

I first saw Blade Runner waaaaaaay back in the day. Like 13 or so. I don't remember which version I saw. But I remember uhich version I saw. I remember being confused.

But I got the Director's Cut several years ago, I think I was 18 or 19. I really like that version. And the Unicorn thing. I thought Deckard was a replicant.

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NEEDLESEYE

Friday, April 8, 2005 6:34 AM

When I first saw Blade Runner, I didn't catch the replicant question. I think I wasn't really watching the content of the movie.(I was watching Deckerd/Ford and Batty/Rutger.) But several years later when I got the video, I did notice all those things, and Deckerd's eyes,photos, etc... oh yeah I think he's a replicant.

I've thought maybe that the blade runners were created to be no better than human's abilities, so as not to intimidate, maybe explaining Deckerd's performance compared to the other replicants.

Keeper of Jayne's goggles. 8)

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