Film Review: BLADE RUNNER (1982, Ridley Scott)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 117 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, M. Emmet Walsh (MISSING IN ACTION, BLOOD SIMPLE), Edward James Olmos, Joe Turkel (the Bartender in THE SHINING), James Hong (BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA), Brion James (HOUSE III), William Sanderson (DEADWOOD), Joanna Cassidy (THE OUTFIT) . Cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth, music by Vangelis. Based on the novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K. Dick.
Tag-lines: "Man Has Made His Match... Now It's HIS Problem!" Wow.
Best one-liner: "Wake up, time to die!" (often and enthusiastically quoted by Abel Ferrara on his commentary track for THE DRILLER KILLER)
Schlitz Sign Sightings: 2

On a TV, BLADE RUNNER's an essential film; on the big screen, it's a revelation. From the ominous opening tones and expository scroll to the first shots of fireballs bursting forth from futuristic smokestacks, the viewer is immediately aware that they're about to embark on something enrapturing, exceedingly rare, and immaculately crafted.

Director Ridley Scott, cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth (ROLLING THUNDER, ALTERED STATES CUTTER'S WAY), special effects artist Douglas Trumbull (2001, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND), and production designer Lawrence G. Paull (BACK TO THE FUTURE) merge their talents to create a moody, jaw-dropping, futuristic atmosphere, the likes of which hadn't been seen since METROPOLIS and will likely be never seen again, so long as Hollywood clings to its CGI like a cured fool to his needless crutch.

Though not following his work to the letter, the film wonderfully replicates the Philip K. Dick 'aura'- a world of confusion, filth, wonderment, paranoia, disquiet, and mystery. A smoky Middle-Eastern nightclub with shades of PEPE LE MOKO; an icy laboratory where eyeballs are fashioned from bubbling, frigid vats; a dark, rain-soaked alley, intermittently lit by neon and the flashing headlamps of police spinners;

a sooty, decaying space, full of mannequins, robots, and incessantly chortling mechanical toys; a musty, shadowy, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired apartment

where Harrison Ford's Deckard pours bottle after bottle of stinging hooch down his throat– the sheer creativity and perfect realization of these places leaves them etched upon your mind, long after the film has finished. Combined with an ethereal Vangelis score, one sits, transfixed and with mouth agape, as one might while experiencing one of the great cathedrals.

Violence is handled with firm-handed Dickian weight: visceral and distressing, full of shrieks and spasms and existential dread. The acting is superb: Sean Young's art deco naivete, Brion James' detached brutality, Rutger Hauer's unsettling perfection, James Hong's yammering hermit, Joe Turkel's thick-lensed mogul, Edward James Olmos' craggy visage, William Sanderson’s sweet gullibility,

Daryl Hannah's raccoon-eyed urchin, and M. Emmet Walsh’s oily countenance all function to develop a colorful landscape of characters, remaining true to Dick's wider vision. Ultimately, Scott possesses a complete confidence in his material, and never second-guesses, never concedes a point, never gives in to showcasing some 'flavor of the month,’ and consequently has created a languid, timeless work of art.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: ROLLING THUNDER (1977, John Flynn)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 99 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Written by Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould. Starring William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Dabney Coleman, Linda Haynes, cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth (ALTERED STATES, BLADE RUNNER).
Tag-lines: "Major Charles Rane Is Coming Home To War!"
Best one-liner: "Listen Cliff, I hope you don't mind my saying this but I'd sure appreciate it if you didn't call my kid a runt."
Viewed: 8/8/09 at the Anthology Film Archive in NYC as part of a series of unavailable gritty 70's pictures chosen by Bill Lustig (MANIAC!, VIGILANTE, MANIAC COP).

This is not a simple revenge movie, an exploitation picture, nor is it a 'Nam vets gone wild flick. It's an art film- a powerful examination of frustration, memory, and endless brutality. Written by Paul Schrader (and Heywood Gould), the film centers on Schrader's lifelong fascination: in a society that ceaselessly pendulates between stagnancy and violence, how does the individual come to grips with the pain of living? With one's fists? One's guns? One's hook?

ROLLING THUNDER is TAXI DRIVER, BLUE COLLAR, and a touch of MISHIMA wrapped in one, taut package, full of moody natural lighting and potent chiaroscuro visuals (by BLADE RUNNER cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth). And who better to do the packaging than director John Flynn (THE OUTFIT), whose gritty, efficient storytelling and no-nonsense style perfectly suit the film and its themes?

Shielding himself behind mirrored aviator glasses, Charles Rane (William Devane, in one of the best performances of the 70s) is a burned-out husk brimming with Nitroglycerin: he's dead inside and knows it, but he wants to find his place, wants to put on a smile, wants to jam together the puzzle pieces that just don't fit no matter how hard he tries to force them.


A series of events occur, beginning with his homecoming (to a throng of well-wishers whose applause is as vacant as Rane's soul) and ending with the business end of a garbage disposal. Suddenly there are no more choices to be made, and the path has been set out. It's one he's followed before, and now its as simple as "I'll just get my gear."

Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones in a scary-good role) joins his former Major's quest with obedience and relief, having been equally unable to readjust (with a hilariously unaware, blathering family). It all plays out with a striking lack of standard Hollywood 'emotion' and is so intensely matter-of-fact that it lends itself as frequently to bouts of uncomfortable laughter as it does to recoils of mind-numbing horror. A criminally unavailable American masterpiece.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: CUTTER'S WAY (1981, Ivan Passer)

Stars: 5 of 5. Running Time: 105 minutes. Notable Cast or Crew: John Heard, Jeff Bridges, Lisa Eichhorn, Nina van Pallandt, Stephen Elliott, Patricia Donahue, co-producer Larry J. Franco (Kurt Russell's brother-in-law and John Carpenter's co-producer through the 1980's), cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth (BLADE RUNNER, ROLLING THUNDER). Tag-lines: "Cutter does everything his way. Fighting. Loving. Working. Tracking down a killer. " Now there's a studio-imposed tag-line if there ever was one. Best one-liner(s): "I don't drink. You know, the routine grind drives me to drink. Tragedy, I take straight." Absolutely brilliant film from Czech expatriate and Milos Forman-collaborator Ivan Passer. At once a powerfully understated neo-noir, a nuanced character study, and a sharply unforgiving look at post-Vietnam America, CUTTER'S WAY is one of those masterpieces that has been swept under the collective cultural rug for whatever reason. You may rest assured, however, that the Coen Brothers have watched this movie many a time: the influence of its labyrinthine, noirish plot structure; its dark streak of humor; and its colorful, unpredictable characters can clearly be seen in everything they've done from BLOOD SIMPLE to BURN AFTER READING. The acting is superb: in a role that Richard Dreyfuss campaigned for, John Heard is nearly unrecognizable as the sometimes ridiculous, sometimes violence-prone, and sometimes sweet Alex Cutter. Heard transcends his 'character-y' props and trappings (physical disability, gravely voice, eyepatch, and cane) to deliver a completely believable, three-dimensional performance, which is a true feat and a treat to watch. As Richard Bone, Jeff Bridges balances Cutter's mania without sacrificing character flavor, remarkably similar to how his 'Dude' stabilizes the unhinged madness of John Goodman's 'Walter Sobchak' in THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Rounding out the cast is the nearly unknown Lisa Eichhorn as Cutter's long-suffering wife, Stephen Elliott as the possible Bogeyman or perhaps just upstanding citizen, and the always underrated Billy Drago in a bit part as a garbageman. Using his deft direction, lots of natural lighting, and the instincts he honed as a Czech New Wave filmmaker and screenwriter, Passer makes CUTTER'S WAY a subtle, latter-day Noir masterpiece. Five stars. (And as a side note, the similarities with LEBOWSKI are insane: a gun-toting, unreasonable, ridiculous war vet friend convinces slacker Jeff Bridges character to engage in a blackmail plot involving a possibly nefarious, rich, respected public figure (among other noirish subplots) upon Bridges' character's unwitting, tangential involvement in a young woman's peril- umm, maybe the Coens should give a little credit where it's due, instead of saying THE BIG LEBOWSKI draws the bulk of it's inspiration from THE BIG SLEEP. And I'll tell you why they haven't: because it sounds a lot better to say you're drawing upon generic, classic, respected archetypes than drawing entirely upon a little-known, underappreciated 1981 film. It's like when a student filmmaker tries to replicate some of the editing in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM but insists their inspiration is BATTLESHIP POTEMPKIN. All of this being said, however, my only problem with the Coens here is failure to cite sources; THE BIG LEBOWSKI is one of the best films of the 90's, just as CUTTER'S WAY is one of the best of the 80's.) -Sean Gill