I spent last evening watching Blade Runner, as I do once a year or so.* It’s an infinitely rewarding picture because I always wind up seeing something new—this time it was the umbrellas, the poles of which lit up like lightsabers in the omnipresent rain. Are they a subtle critique of Star Wars' overly optimistic aesthetic? Or just a nifty bit of set design? I’m guessing the latter, but you never know.
Anyway, this is the first time I’ve watched Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic since the release of Prometheus last summer. As I noted in my review, they tackle a similar BIG ISSUE, namely a creator’s relationship to his creation. (Some spoilers for both to follow, though I feel like giving a spoiler warning for a 30-plus-year-old film is kind of pushing it.)
In Prometheus, you’ll recall, aged scientist/businessman Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) spent a trillion bucks to fly a bunch of scientists halfway across the universe to find our creators. The creators were none-too-pleased and, in a fit of rage, kill Weyland using the head of an android he himself had made. The creator kills his creation with his creation’s creation.
Meanwhile, in Blade Runner dying android Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) confronts his creator, Dr. Tyrell (Joe Turkel**) and demands more life. Tyrell cannot extend Batty’s life. The android was none-too-pleased and, in a fit of rage, kills his maker. The creation has killed the creator.
In both films, man is weak, vulnerable. We are something of a blight, messing with primal forces we cannot possibly comprehend. Not only have we no right to create life, we have no right to seek out those who created us. Dabbling in the unseen causes only sadness and destruction.
Scott’s view of man’s need to answer the deepest metaphysical questions is perhaps best summed up as "Leave well enough alone: you may not like what you find." Enjoy what you have while you have it and accept your natural lifespan. Or, as Gaff (Edward James Olmos) says in the closing lines of Blade Runner’s director’s cut: "It’s too bad she won’t live! But then again—who does?"
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*True story: I continue to own a HD-DVD player solely because I have the 5-disc 25th anniversary Blade Runner set in that format.
**Another thing I realized only now: Turkel also played Lloyd, the devilish bartender in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.