Blade Runner (1982) is a Masterpiece

Added: 2026-05-29

[00:00:03]A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.

[00:00:14]>> If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.

[00:00:18]>> Sushi. That's what my ex-wife called me.

[00:00:21]>> Greetings, my friend.

[00:00:29]Oh, hi there. My name is prosthetnic Voggon Jeffs and in this video we're talking about the 1982 science fiction masterpiece Bladeunner. The movie is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do and Androids Dream of >> What's a Bladeunner?

[00:00:45]>> Dude, okay. It's the movie that we're talking about in this video. Yeah, obviously I get that the movie is called Bladeunner, but I'm asking you, what is a Bladeunner? Right.

[00:00:56]>> Like, what does it mean?

[00:00:58]>> Oh, okay. Sure. Well, Bladeunners are police officers who hunt down and retire replicants, which are basically androids or synthetic humans that have been created as slave labor. And >> now, I I don't think you understand.

[00:01:11]What does Bladeunner mean? Are they running on blades? Are they like gun runners but for blades?

[00:01:19]>> Right. Well, well, kind of. There was a novel from the 70s called The Bladeunner, which was about people called Blade Runners who smuggled medical supplies. Through a series of uninteresting events, the name became attached to this movie and means literally nothing within the context of the story.

[00:01:35]>> Oh, so it just sounded cool.

[00:01:38]>> Uh, yeah, pretty much. Yeah.

[00:01:50]I need you, Dex. This is a bad one. The worst yet.

[00:01:55]I need the old Bladeunner. I need your magic.

[00:01:59]>> All right. Well, as I was saying, Bladeunner is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. They're kind of the same, but also completely different. The movie was directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fans and David Peoples and stars Harrison Ford, Rutgar Hower, Shaun Young, Edward James Almo, MMT Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Joe Turkl, and Bion James.

[00:02:27]Not Brian, Bion. I made the mistake of calling him Brian James in a previous video, and everyone got mad at me.

[00:02:36]Well, lesson learned. Okay.

[00:02:41]Hey, you don't forget to keep your ears peeled for the secret word. When you hear it, I want you to scream at the top of your lungs for no [ __ ] reason whatsoever. Okay, cool. The secret word is iterations.

[00:03:00]All right. Um, let's start with a bit of background.

[00:03:04]Early in the 21st century, the Tyrell Corporation advanced robot evolution into the Nexus phase. Artificial beings that were virtually identical to humans, known as replicants. The Nexus 6 replicants were superior in strength and agility and at least equal in intelligence to the genetic engineers who created them. Replicants were used off-world as slave labor in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets. All right. Um, some of the Nexus 6 replicants revolt. All replicants are declared illegal on Earth, and Bladeunner units are established to hunt down and retire, aka kill, any trespassing replicant. Los Angeles, November 2019. In a prologue to the events of the film, we're introduced to Bladeunner Dave Holden. He's interrogating new workers at the Terrell Corporation and administers the Voit Comp test on Leyon Kowalsski.

[00:03:55]>> It's a test designed to provoke an emotional response, >> which seems to be going fine until Holden asks Leyon about his mother. Let me tell you about my mother.

[00:04:07]>> Cut to Rick Deckard, a former police officer and bladeunner. He's grabbing a bite to eat when he's approached by Gaff and threatened with arrest unless he agrees to meet with his former boss.

[00:04:17]>> Captain Brian Brian. Huh?

[00:04:22]>> Decard reluctantly plays along and meets with Brian.

[00:04:26]How you >> Brian? The former Bladeunner is informed that four replicants are running a muck in Los Angeles. But Deckard has no interest in hunting them down. He's retired.

[00:04:36]>> Was quit when I come in here. Brian, >> I'm twice as squid now.

[00:04:41]>> You're not cop. You're little people.

[00:04:43]>> So Bryant tosses out a vague threat and Deckard immediately caves.

[00:04:48]>> During a briefing, Bryant reveals that there was an escape from an off-world colony two weeks ago.

[00:04:53]>> Six replicants, three male, three female. They slaughtered 23 people and jumped the shut off.

[00:04:58]>> And three nights ago, they tried to break into the Terrell Corporation.

[00:05:01]>> Two of them got fried running through electrical field.

[00:05:04]>> Bryant had Holden go over and run Voit Comp tests on the new workers.

[00:05:08]>> Looks like he got himself one.

[00:05:09]>> Bryant gives Decard a breakdown of the four replicants he needs to find.

[00:05:13]There's Leyon, a super strong ammunition loader on intergalactic runs, capable of lifting 400 lb atomic loads all day and night.

[00:05:21]Roy is a combat model with optimum self-sufficiency, probably the leader of the group. And then there's Zora. She was trained for an off-world kick murder squad, whatever the hell that is. And the fourth skin job is Pris, a basic pleasure model, a standard item for military clubs in the outer colonies.

[00:05:37]Bryant also reveals that the Nexus 6 models are unique. Their designers believed that after a few years, they might develop their own >> emotional damage.

[00:05:47]>> So, they built in a failsafe device, a 4-year lifespan. In order to find out whether the Voit Comp will even work on a Nexus 6 replicant, Bryant sends Decard to the Terrell Corporation. They've got a Nexus 6 on site that Decard can't.

[00:06:00]Wait, hold on a second. I thought replicants were illegal on Earth under penalty of death. I guess on this dystopian version of planet Earth, corporations are above the law. And what a terrible world to live in. Thank god that's not what it's like in real life.

[00:06:13]Oh shoot. Right. Anyway, Decard heads over to meet with Elden Terrell and his assistant Rachel, who happens to be the Nexus 6 replicant in question. She didn't even know she was a replicant because Terrell gave her false memories.

[00:06:25]The memories of his niece to establish a cognitive history, an emotional cushion to create the mental illusion that she's a real person.

[00:06:32]>> How can it not know what it is? More human than human is our motto. Shadowed by gaff, Decard investigates Lyon's apartment. He finds personal photos and a scale from the skin of an animal. Roy and Lyon are dismayed by Decard's snooping and head out to search for their creator. They hit up an eye manufacturing lab and are directed to a man named JF Sebastian, a genetic designer with close ties to Elden Terrell. Later, Decard returns home to his apartment and is confronted by Rachel. She's going through an existential crisis and tries to get Decard to admit she's not a replicant, so he does the opposite. implants.

[00:07:06]>> Those aren't your memories. They're somebody else's.

[00:07:09]>> And she wanders off despondent.

[00:07:11]Meanwhile, replicant Prris locates Sebastian and manipulates her way into his home.

[00:07:15]>> I'm hungry, JF.

[00:07:17]>> I got stuff inside.

[00:07:20]You want to come in?

[00:07:21]>> I was hoping you'd say that.

[00:07:23]>> And back at his apartment, Deckard dreams of a unicorn. Unless you're watching a different version of the film, in which case he doesn't. He spends an ungodly amount of time zooming into one of Lyon's photos and finds a clue. A woman with a snake tattoo on her face. Armed with a Polaroid and a scale, Decard hits the streets. He finds out that the scale is synthetic from a fake snake that was produced locally.

[00:07:45]>> Snake Ry Abdul Bin Hassan.

[00:07:48]>> The dude who made the snake points Decard in the direction of a strip club where he finds replicant Zora. She sucker punches the bladeunner and bolts, leading to a tense chase through the gloomy streets of Los Angeles. Decard eventually gets a clear shot and takes her out. He's uncharacteristically shaken by the experience and plans on heading home to get drunk, but his plans are interrupted by Gaff and Bryant. His boss congratulates him on a job well done. Only four more to go. There's three to go.

[00:08:13]>> There's four.

[00:08:16]That skin you VK Tyrell Corporation.

[00:08:19]Rachel disappeared. Vanished. Didn't even know she was a replica.

[00:08:22]>> Gaff and Bryant take off and Deckard spots Rachel across the street. He pursues her, but is confronted by Leyon, who was witnessed to Zora's execution.

[00:08:30]He's not happy about it. He throws Deckard around like a rag doll.

[00:08:33]>> Wake up. Time to die.

[00:08:35]>> And just as Leyon is about to give Decard the old Three Stooges eye gouge, he gets a bullet to the brain. It's Rachel to the rescue. They head back to Decard's place for shots, and Rachel shoots the bladeunner a hypothetical.

[00:08:46]>> What if I go north?

[00:08:49]Disappear?

[00:08:53]Would you come after me?

[00:08:56]No, >> but somebody would.

[00:09:01]>> The two replicants, whoops. Uh, sorry. I mean, the replicant and the totally not a replicant, Bladeunner, spend the evening together. And then Decard tries to kiss her, but she's like, and he gets a bit grapey and etc. And so on. Back at JF Sebastian's creepy apartment, Chris introduces the genetic designer to Roy.

[00:09:21]>> Hi, Roy.

[00:09:23]This is the friend I was telling you about.

[00:09:24]>> The two replicants convinced Sebastian to help them connect with Elden Terrell.

[00:09:28]>> Will you help us?

[00:09:30]>> We need you, Sebastian.

[00:09:33]You're our best and only friend.

[00:09:36]>> We're so happy you found us.

[00:09:38]>> Sebastian is reluctant, but through a mixture of empathy and fear, decides to help Roy gain access to Terrell's penthouse.

[00:09:45]>> I brought a friend.

[00:09:47]The replicant asks his maker to help extend his life to remove the four-year safeguard.

[00:09:52]>> Well, I'm afraid that's a little out of my jurisdiction. You I want more life, father.

[00:09:59]>> When Terrell reveals that it can't be done, Roy kisses him and then gouges out his eyes while crushing his skull and then he kills Sebastian. After police discover the bodies of Terrell and Sebastian, Decard is ordered to investigate Sebastian's residence. He's ambushed by Prris, who tries to kill the intruding Bladeunner with her thighs.

[00:10:16]And she might have been more effective here if she hadn't insisted on announcing her attacks by screaming at the top of her lungs.

[00:10:27]I mean, she kind of made it easy for Decard to shoot her into a spasming lump of replicant flesh.

[00:10:34]Roy returns to find the last of his replicant friends dead at the hands of Decard. He breaks the blade runner's fingers, chases him through the building, and forces him up to the roof.

[00:10:42]Decard tries to jump to another roof, but doesn't make it. He holds on for dear life, but begins to slip. So, Roy saves his ass, pops a squat, gives one of the coolest monologues about the fleeting nature of memory. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain and then dies. Soon after, Gaff shows up to congratulate Decard on a job well done.

[00:11:13]>> You've done a men's job, sir.

[00:11:15]>> Huh, that's a weird thing to say. It's also worth noting that he speaks to Decard in English and not the city speak gutter talk he uses throughout the film.

[00:11:23]Almost like Decard has earned his respect, which is also kind of weird.

[00:11:27]Isn't Decard supposed to be one of the best Bladeunners? Wasn't that why Bryant wanted him on this job? Huh?

[00:11:33]Interesting. Very interesting. Gaff drops an ominous line about Rachel.

[00:11:38]>> It's too bad she won't live.

[00:11:42]But then again, who does?

[00:11:44]>> Prompting Deckard to check on her at his apartment. She's still alive, so he gives her a Spider-Man kiss. And they leave the apartment, knowing that others will be coming for them. I mean her. I mean her. She's the only replicant left.

[00:11:54]Decard is totally human. But what's this? An origami unicorn. Gaff was there.

[00:12:04]Decard and Rachel hop in the elevator.

[00:12:06]And the end. Unless it isn't and there's some nonsense happy ending driving off into the sunset kind of garbage tacked on. And no, no theatrical cut. No bad cut.

[00:12:19]What the hell was that all about? Well, if you're a fan of the movie, you're probably already aware of its various releases. But to those of you with only a passing interest, this might be news.

[00:12:29]Here's the deal. There have been eight versions of this movie, and we're going to sort through this mess so we're all on the same page.

[00:12:35]>> No.

[00:12:39]>> Okay. Well, this one never saw the light of day. It was shown to folks at the studio, and there are rumors that it was 4 hours long or whatever. It was never officially released, so it doesn't count.

[00:12:54]Now, this is the first one that matters.

[00:12:56]The work print prototype is our first look at the world of Bladeunner. The opening text crawl was just a definition of the word replicant. There's no unicorn dream, no happy ending.

[00:13:05]>> Me so funny.

[00:13:06]>> And it was rediscovered and released in 1990 as a director's cut without the input or approval of the director and removed from circulation shortly thereafter in exchange for an official director's cut. More on that in a moment.

[00:13:21]The work print prototype didn't go down well with test audiences and the studio and financers forced Scott to include the notorious voiceover narration in subsequent edits.

[00:13:30]>> Whatever was in the bathtub was not human. Replicants don't have scales.

[00:13:37]>> The San Diego sneak preview is more or less the same as the US theatrical cut released later that year. But like the first cut, this thing only exists in the memories of a handful of people. It doesn't count either.

[00:13:54]Outside of the workprint prototype showing up in 1990, the US theatrical cut was the definitive version of Bladeunner for a solid decade. If you saw the movie in North America when it came out, this is almost certainly the version you watched. It includes the voiceover narration and the quote unquote happy ending.

[00:14:11]>> Me love you long time, >> but notably lacks the unicorn dream.

[00:14:19]Okay. Uh, this one is pretty much the same as the US theatrical cut, but it's slightly more violent. Oh, >> that's good.

[00:14:25]>> The edits don't really change anything about the story, so >> Oh, boy. Okay. Uh, it's a castrated version with no TNA and toned down violence.

[00:14:38]>> Is that not good?

[00:14:44]The only thing that's notable about it is the inclusion of a preschool level preamble that explains the plot and clarifies that Decard is not a replicant.

[00:14:52]>> I knew it.

[00:14:54]>> It's the absolute worst edit of the film. Shouldn't even be on the list.

[00:15:03]Unhappy with the 1990 work print prototype director's cut, Ridley Scott was brought on to supervise a proper director's cut. The voiceovers were removed. The unicorn dream was added. An additional line of dialogue from Gaff was included to further imply Decard might be a replicant. And the happy ending was next.

[00:15:19]>> We love you long time so corny.

[00:15:23]>> But Scott wasn't really as involved as he wanted to be or some [ __ ] like that. And consequently wasn't super happy with the result, which ultimately leads to the final cut.

[00:15:36]It's the version of Bladeunner that is closest to Scott's original vision. He was given complete creative control which led to a longer unicorn sequence, the inclusion of the more violent elements from the international cut, the removal of the voice over, and the removal of the happy ending.

[00:15:52]Eight versions of the same movie. Well, seven for sure. But the truth of the matter is that there are really only two distinct versions of Bladeunner. The one with voiceover narration that implies Decard is human and gives him a happy ending and the one without narration that implies he's a replicant. The US theatrical cut and the final cut.

[00:16:13]Completionists and lunatics might have reason to watch any of the other iterations, but these are the only two that really count. Why does any of this matter?

[00:16:26]Great question.

[00:16:31]For over 40 years, science fiction nerds have been arguing about whether Decard is a replicant, nitpicking every little detail to reinforce their confirmation bias. It's honestly one of the dumbest arguments in cinematic history because it stems from the hypnotic ignorance of nostalgia and personal preference.

[00:16:48]>> Memories.

[00:16:50]You're talking about memories. The folks who believe Decard is human will cite the theatrical release, the dialogue that almost explicitly contradicts the notion. They'll bring up the fact that Harrison Ford used to think Decard was human, that the producers and writers believed him to be human. The folks who believe Decard is a replicant will cite the director, who has repeatedly asserted that he is. They'll bring up the fact that there are an overwhelming number of clues that are impossible to ignore. Both assertions are incomprehensibly stupid because the fact of the matter is that they are both correct and wrong and they both miss the point entirely.

[00:17:24]>> What's the difference?

[00:17:25]>> On one hand, we have the theatrical release. Whether or not Ridley Scott intended for Decard to be a replicant in this version is a moot point. The studio stepped in and forced the inclusion of voiceover narration that leans heavily towards Decard being human. In addition, the omission of the unicorn dream changes the meaning of Gaff's origami unicorn at the end of the movie. The implication in this version, while still ambiguous and open for debate, is that the unicorn refers to Rachel and her unique nature. On the other hand, we have the final cut. It doesn't get more explicit than this. Scott went into this version with every intention of positioning Decard as a replicant. The inclusion of the unicorn dream seals the deal because it makes Gaff's Unicorn a direct call back to Decard's dream.

[00:18:08]Neither version of the film is definitive, but each has a clear slant in regards to the protagonist. Some might argue that Deckard being a replicant doesn't work with the themes of the movie. Some might argue that him being a human doesn't work with the themes of the movie. It's that [ __ ] divisive. But here's the thing. Both statements are wrong.

[00:18:25]>> The ambiguity and uncertainty of the character is exactly what works with the themes of the movie. The central question of the film is, what does it mean to be human?

[00:18:34]>> Is the answer Jesus? The point the movie is trying to make is that it is our experiences that define us, that make us human, our memories. It's the main character arc of the story, for Christ's sake. Decard, whether human or not, evolves from a replicant hunter to a replicant lover. Why? What is it about Rachel that makes him feel the way he does?

[00:18:53]>> Just answer the questions, please.

[00:18:54]>> Her memories aren't her own, nor are most of her past experiences. Despite that, Decard develops feelings for her as if she were human, because for all intents and purposes, to him, she is.

[00:19:05]Whether Decard is a human or a more human than human replicant has almost no bearing on this outcome.

[00:19:10]>> You just got to keep living, man. L I V I N.

[00:19:15]>> Bladeunner remains a shining example of the power of editing. A fantastic case study on the impact of creative decisions in feature films. The theatrical release and final cut of Bladeunner have two main differences.

[00:19:27]The voiceover narration and the unicorn dream. Now, some might argue that the happy ending is a third, but I don't think it's that important. It isn't the shot of Decard and Rachel driving away from the rainy darkness of Los Angeles that matters. It's the narration, the dialogue that shifts the tone.

[00:19:41]>> Tyrell had told me Rachel was special.

[00:19:44]No termination date. I didn't know how long we'd have together.

[00:19:50]Who does?

[00:19:51]>> It's this element along with the unicorn dream, a relatively brief cutaway in the middle of the movie that transforms the tone of the film. Adding or removing these elements creates or eliminates context and changes the viewing experience entirely. When I started writing the script for this video, I had every intention of leaning into my favorite version, the final cut.

[00:20:11]Personally, I hate the stiff delivery of the theatrical narration.

[00:20:14]>> Replicants weren't supposed to have feelings.

[00:20:18]Neither were Bladeunners.

[00:20:20]What the hell was happening to me?

[00:20:22]>> I get what they're going for, that film noir vibe, but I think that the voiceover fails miserably. Harrison Ford is on record acknowledging that the voiceover content was initially removed because it was redundant. They went out of their way to put most of it into the visual storytelling. The final cut doesn't feel any less film noir because the narration is missing. I actually think it's the opposite. It feels uniquely film noir. It manages to hit all the same notes with visuals alone, which I think is way more impressive.

[00:20:49]The final cut allows the film to be analyzed and interpreted in a way that the theatrical cut can't because it's holding your hand the entire time. So yeah, I had every intention of big upping the final cut and ragging on the original theatrical release. And I haven't changed my mind. The theatrical cut sucks.

[00:21:09]Listen, the moral of the story is that movie studios have a long history of [ __ ] up good movies. I'd argue that it's probably par for the course. In this case, as in many others, executives bent the knee to the questionable tastes and intelligence of test audiences. They didn't understand the visual storytelling Ridley Scott had presented, and the execs assumed that most viewers wouldn't either. They weren't completely wrong on that front. There are a lot of folks who would rather watch a movie passively instead of actively. They don't want to interpret a story. They want everything laid out in black and white. And really, there's nothing wrong with that. That being said, I'm not trying to place all of the blame at the feet of the studios. Director's cuts and complete creative freedom do not a good film always make. Sometimes reigning in a director is absolutely necessary. And you know what? I'm just rambling. What I'm really trying to say is that Decard is a replicant. You [ __ ] muks.

[00:21:58]>> I guess you're through, huh?

[00:22:01]>> Finished. Long live the final cut.

[00:22:06]>> Reading into every word you say.

[00:22:10]You said that you could let it go and I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used yesterday.

[00:22:18]>> But you didn't have to cut me off in history books. He's the kind of cop used to call black men.

[00:22:37]It >> was definitely an N word.

[00:22:50]How are you?