Matthew B. reviewed on + 3 more book reviews
fyi....
This is the first of Phil Dick's fiction to be made into a movie.
Although the author died before the film's release, he was shown a reel of futuristic Los Angeles by dir. Ridley Scott and by all accounts was "blown away" by what he saw.
"Blade Runner" is credited to the writer William S. Burroughs...Less well known is whatever became of the movie screenplay Burroughs attached to it, or whether Burroughs was paid for the use of it by Scott.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was for a decade many people's first experience reading PKD. That changed with the 1990s resurgence of interest in PKD complete with a stylish reissue of most of his best books; a complete short story compendium; and a bounty of biographical & scholarly works of a writer who transcended the SF genre and has been compared with Pinter, Pirandello, Kafka, and Jorge Luis Borges among others.
Blade Runner's influence continues to this day, deservedly so. The creative team who realized Scott's vision testify to his thoroughness: nothing was simply a window or an apartment landing. Scott always wanted to know what was beyond it: what would be seen or heard or felt by the inhabitants. And slowly he built up the futuristic-noir, rainy metropolis which if you traveled to Hong Kong circa 1980 - 1990 would have given you a good approximation ... a cosmopolitan yet crowded world in which the human impact on the environment is no longer a political issue but a daily (or nightly, since it is almost always dark out) experience. Advertisements beckon the tired huddled masses yearning to breathe free "in a Golden land of Opportunity and Adventure...OFF WORLD" ... Scott's decision to pare the storyline to its essentials, limit character development, including what many feel was the central question posed by the novel: What does it mean to be human? all worked to strengthen the picture.
A few years ago Scott's "Director Cut" was released. Most notable for its interviews with cast & crew, the movie runs a scant 5 minutes longer than the original. One key scene of Deckard waking from dreaming of a unicorn is put back in. Perhaps the best way to pick up the story of Rick Deckard's "humanness" one should read PKD's novel. And if you have not seen Blade Runner then you are doubly blessed.
This is the first of Phil Dick's fiction to be made into a movie.
Although the author died before the film's release, he was shown a reel of futuristic Los Angeles by dir. Ridley Scott and by all accounts was "blown away" by what he saw.
"Blade Runner" is credited to the writer William S. Burroughs...Less well known is whatever became of the movie screenplay Burroughs attached to it, or whether Burroughs was paid for the use of it by Scott.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was for a decade many people's first experience reading PKD. That changed with the 1990s resurgence of interest in PKD complete with a stylish reissue of most of his best books; a complete short story compendium; and a bounty of biographical & scholarly works of a writer who transcended the SF genre and has been compared with Pinter, Pirandello, Kafka, and Jorge Luis Borges among others.
Blade Runner's influence continues to this day, deservedly so. The creative team who realized Scott's vision testify to his thoroughness: nothing was simply a window or an apartment landing. Scott always wanted to know what was beyond it: what would be seen or heard or felt by the inhabitants. And slowly he built up the futuristic-noir, rainy metropolis which if you traveled to Hong Kong circa 1980 - 1990 would have given you a good approximation ... a cosmopolitan yet crowded world in which the human impact on the environment is no longer a political issue but a daily (or nightly, since it is almost always dark out) experience. Advertisements beckon the tired huddled masses yearning to breathe free "in a Golden land of Opportunity and Adventure...OFF WORLD" ... Scott's decision to pare the storyline to its essentials, limit character development, including what many feel was the central question posed by the novel: What does it mean to be human? all worked to strengthen the picture.
A few years ago Scott's "Director Cut" was released. Most notable for its interviews with cast & crew, the movie runs a scant 5 minutes longer than the original. One key scene of Deckard waking from dreaming of a unicorn is put back in. Perhaps the best way to pick up the story of Rick Deckard's "humanness" one should read PKD's novel. And if you have not seen Blade Runner then you are doubly blessed.
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