Blade Runner Mystery

Above is one of the great scenes from one of the great movies, Blade Runner. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) and Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) have spent the previous 5 minutes trying to kill each other. Deckard was beaten and dangling from the rooftop of the building by his fingers (Two of them broken by Roy). When he finally let go, Roy inexplicably saved him. Shown above is the scene that follows. More on that in a moment.

I bought the Blade Runner VHS tape as a gift for my dad. I don't know how long it took for movies to make it to video then but it was longer than it is now so I'm guessing this was 1983 or early 1984. Blade Runner was released in 1982. I don't remember if it was a birthday or Christmas present. We had no VCR of our own then (We got our first in 1984) and did not know that people rented movies rather than bought them. "New release" VHS movies were expensive then. I think we paid about $40 for this one but there were others going for $100. I think Dad watched it once, put it away, and never watched it again. I watched it, myself, after he did. I didn't think much of it the first time I saw it, either. To me, it was just a standard sci-fi action flick. All of this is a long way of saying that this was the original theatrical release and I'm not sure if I ever gave it back to Dad.

Many years later, I was up late at night and Blade Runner: The Director's Cut came on HBO/Showtime/Whatever but it was at an odd time. What I mean by odd is that it didn't start on the half-hour like most movies do. I figured I'd watch it until the top of the hour and switch to something else. That didn't happen. Something clicked in my pea brain this time and I was hooked. Maybe it was the time of night or the zero distractions but I was totally engrossed. It was awesome.

Some time after this, my brother-in-law asked if I still had the VHS tape. He's a big fan of the film and the book. He also knows a lot of the trivia surrounding the making of the film. I asked why he'd want to watch the VHS when the DC was out on DVD. He said the VHS is the original theatrical release and has Rick Deckard's narration throughout. Ridley Scott, the director, removed the narration for the DC. It had been a long time between my viewings of the original, when I didn't think much of it, and the DC, which I thought was awesome. I had not watched the original start-to-finish again since that first time but what had always intrigued me in my many subsequent viewings of the DC was why Roy saved Deckard near the end. They were trying to kill each other. Why save him?

In an email exchange with my brother-in-law the other day, I asked him if there was an explanation in the book. I haven't read it but he has. He didn't remember if there was an equivalent moment in the book. He then said he agreed with Deckard and then went on for a moment but again, something in my pea brain clicked. What? Deckard? I hadn't seen the finish of the original since that first time. That was at least 25 years ago and I didn't think the film was all that memorable then. I finally did watch it just the other night and there it was. Rick Deckard, himself, offered up an explanation via narration. I love how he alternates between calling Roy him and it. He does that with Rachel, too, when he asks Tyrell "how can it not know what it is" at the beginning but then falls in love with "her". If you're still with me, that's what the Quote of the Day is all about. I listened to it at least 10 times to make sure I had it right. It is Rick Deckard's opinion on why Roy saved him and all I can say is WOW.

Although I love the quote, I don't view this as the final word on the matter. Deckard is a mess. He survives the story not so much with "the old magic" as pure luck. He was in over his head from the beginning, makes mistakes, and is overmatched against all of the replicants, especially the two men, Leon and Roy. His opinion is worth more than mine, though. Enjoy.

Quote of the Day

I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life ... anybody's life ... my life. All it wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where do I come from? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die.

Rick Deckard, Blade Runner

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "First and foremost shouts to my man Karma for lacing the new stickers lovely(and all Bladerunner related shiaaat)"