Blade Runner: Difference between revisions

| editing = {{unbulleted list|[[Terry Rawlings]]|Marsha Nakashima}}

| studio = {{unbulleted list|[[The Ladd Company]]|[[Shaw Brothers]]|Blade Runner Partnership}}

| released = {{Film date|1982|06|25|United States|1982|12|22|Hong Kong}}

| runtime = 117 minutes<!-- First theatrical run, not the later Director's or Final Cut --><!-- Theatrical runtime: 117:04 --><ref name=bbfcoriginal />

''Blade Runner'' initially underperformed in North American theaters and polarized critics; some praised its thematic complexity and visuals, while others critiqued its slow pacing and lack of action. The [[Blade Runner (soundtrack)|film's soundtrack]], composed by [[Vangelis]], was nominated in 1982 for [[36th British Academy Film Awards|a BAFTA]] and [[40th Golden Globe Awards|a Golden Globe]] as best original [[film score|score]]. ''Blade Runner'' later became a [[cult film]], and has since come to be regarded as one of the [[List of films considered the best#Science fiction|greatest science fiction films]]. Hailed for its production design depicting a [[high-tech]] but decaying future, the film is often regarded as both a leading example of [[neo-noir]] cinema and a foundational work of the [[cyberpunk]]<ref name="Torres Cruz 2014" /> genre. It has influenced many science fiction films, [[Blade Runner (franchise)#Video games|video games]], [[anime]], and television series. It also brought the work of Dick to Hollywood's attention and led to [[List of adaptations of works by Philip K. Dick|several film adaptations of his works]]. In 1993, it was selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]].

 

 

The film is the first of [[Blade Runner (franchise)|the franchise of the same name]]. A sequel, titled ''[[Blade Runner 2049]]'', was released in 2017 alongside a trilogy of short films covering the thirty-year span between the two films' settings. The anime series ''[[Blade Runner: Black Lotus]]'' was released in 2021.

== Production ==

=== Development ===

 

{{Anchor|Writing|Development}}

[[Casting (performing arts)|Casting]] the film proved troublesome, particularly for the lead role of Deckard. Screenwriter Hampton Fancher envisioned [[Robert Mitchum]] as Deckard and wrote the character's dialogue with Mitchum in mind.<ref name="DangerousDays">{{citation |title=Dangerous Days: Making ''Blade Runner'' [documentary] |work=Blade Runner: The Final Cut |type=DVD |publisher=[[Warner Bros.]] |year=2007 |orig-year=1982}}</ref> Director Ridley Scott and the film's producers spent months meeting and discussing the role with [[Dustin Hoffman]], who eventually departed over differences in vision.<ref name="DangerousDays" /> Harrison Ford was ultimately chosen for several reasons, including his performance in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' films, Ford's interest in the ''Blade Runner'' story, and discussions with [[Steven Spielberg]] who was finishing ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' at the time and strongly praised Ford's work in the film.<ref name="DangerousDays" /> Following his success in those two films, Ford was looking for a role with dramatic depth.<ref name="BladeRunnerNightmare" /> According to production documents, several actors were considered for the role, including [[Gene Hackman]], [[Sean Connery]], [[Jack Nicholson]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Tommy Lee Jones]], [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Peter Falk]], [[Nick Nolte]], [[Al Pacino]] and [[Burt Reynolds]].<ref name="DangerousDays" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/3834604/blade-runner-ridley-scott-harrison-ford/ |title=Blade Runner at 30: Celebrating Ridley Scott's Dystopian Vision |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=September 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930132246/https://time.com/3834604/blade-runner-ridley-scott-harrison-ford/|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

''Blade Runner'' used a number of then-lesser-known actors: [[Sean Young]] portrays Rachael, an experimental replicant implanted with the memories of Tyrell's niece, causing her to believe she is human;{{sfn|Sammon|p=92–93}} [[Nina Axelrod]] auditioned for the role.<ref name="DangerousDays" /> Fancher originally wrote the role for his then girlfriend [[Barbara Hershey]].<ref name=vanity>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/09/the-battle-for-blade-runner-harrison-ford-ridley-scott |title=The Battle for Blade Runner |magazine=Vanity Fair |last=Schulman |first=Michael |date=September 14, 2017 |access-date=August 9, 2024}}</ref> [[Daryl Hannah]] portrays Pris, a "basic pleasure model" replicant; [[Stacey Nelkin]] auditioned for the role, but was given another part in the film, which was ultimately cut before filming.<ref name="DangerousDays" /> [[Debbie Harry]] turned down the role of Pris.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/10-things-you-never-knew-about-blade-runner-759354 |title=10 Things You Never Knew About Blade Runner |website=[[NME]] |date=October 5, 2017|access-date=October 8, 2021|archive-date=October 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010002338/https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/10-things-you-never-knew-about-blade-runner-759354|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hollywood.com/general/debbie-harry-my-biggest-regret-is-turning-down-blade-runner-59856599/ |title=Debbie Harry: 'My biggest regret is turning down Blade Runner' |date=June 16, 2014|access-date=October 8, 2021|archive-date=January 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109040050/http://www.hollywood.com/general/debbie-harry-my-biggest-regret-is-turning-down-blade-runner-59856599/|url-status=live}}</ref> Casting Pris and Rachael was challenging, requiring several screen tests with [[Morgan Paull]] playing the role of Deckard. Paull was cast as Deckard's fellow bounty hunter Holden based on his performances in the tests.<ref name="DangerousDays" /> [[Brion James]] portrays Leon Kowalski, a combat and laborer replicant, and [[Joanna Cassidy]] portrays Zhora, an assassin replicant.

{{Main|Spinner (Blade Runner){{!}}''Spinner'' (Blade Runner)}}

[[File:Spinner3.jpg|thumb|A "spinner" (police variant) on display at [[Disney's Hollywood Studios|Disney-MGM Studios]] in the 1990s]]

 

==== Voight-Kampff machine ====

Despite being well received by fans and critically acclaimed and nominated in 1982 for [[36th British Academy Film Awards|a BAFTA]] and [[40th Golden Globe Awards|a Golden Globe]] as best original score, and the promise of a soundtrack album from [[Polydor Records]] in the end titles of the film, the release of the official soundtrack recording was delayed for over a decade. There are two official releases of the music from ''Blade Runner''. In light of the lack of a release of an album, the [[New American Orchestra]] recorded an orchestral adaptation in 1982 which bore little resemblance to the original. Some of the film tracks would, in 1989, surface on the compilation ''Vangelis: Themes'', but not until the 1992 release of the ''Director's Cut'' version would a substantial amount of the film's score see commercial release.{{sfn|Sammon|p=419–423}}

 

 

=== Special effects ===

=== Versions ===

{{Main|Versions of Blade Runner}}

 

Several versions of ''Blade Runner'' have been shown. The original workprint version (1982, 113 minutes) was shown for audience test previews in Denver and Dallas in March 1982. Negative responses to the previews led to the modifications resulting in the U.S. theatrical version.<ref>{{citation |last=Kaplan |first=Fred |title=A Cult Classic Restored, Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/movies/30kapl.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 30, 2007 |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131220052847/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/movies/30kapl.html |archive-date=December 20, 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Sammon|p=289}} The workprint was shown as a director's cut without Scott's approval at the Los Angeles Fairfax Theater in May 1990, at an AMPAS showing in April 1991, and in September and October 1991 at the Los Angeles NuArt Theater and the San Francisco Castro Theatre.{{Sfnm|1a1=Bukatman|1p=36–37|2a1=Sammon|2p=334–340}} Positive responses pushed the studio to approve work on an official director's cut.{{sfn|Bukatman|p=37}} A San Diego Sneak Preview was shown only once, in May 1982, and was almost identical to the U.S. theatrical version but contained three extra scenes not shown in any other version, including the 2007 Final Cut.{{sfn|Sammon|p=306 and 309–311}}

Ridley Scott's ''Director's Cut'' (1992, 116 minutes)<ref name=bbfcdirectorscut>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/blade-runner-directors-cut-film |title=''Blade Runner'' [Director's Cut] |publisher=British Board of Film Classification |date=September 29, 1992 |access-date=January 8, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160406204404/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/blade-runner-directors-cut-film |archive-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref> had significant changes from the theatrical version including the removal of Deckard's voice-over, the re-insertion of the unicorn sequence, and the removal of the studio-imposed happy ending. Scott provided extensive notes and consultation to Warner Bros. through film preservationist Michael Arick, who was put in charge of creating the ''Director's Cut''.{{sfn|Sammon|p=353, 365}}

 

 

Scott's definitive ''The Final Cut'' (2007, 117 minutes)<ref name=bbfcfinal>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/blade-runner-film-0 |title=''Blade Runner'' [The Final Cut] |publisher=British Board of Film Classification |date=October 12, 2007 |access-date=January 8, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160305203132/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/blade-runner-film-0 |archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> was released by Warner Bros. theatrically on October 5, 2007, and subsequently released on DVD, [[HD DVD]], and [[Blu-ray Disc]] in December 2007.<ref name="thedigitalbits">{{citation |title=''Blade Runner: The Final Cut'' |date=July 26, 2007 |url=http://www.thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/articles/br2007/announce.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222043104/http://www.thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/articles/br2007/announce.html |work=The Digital Bits |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-date=February 22, 2014}}</ref> This is the only version over which Scott had complete artistic and editorial control.{{sfn|Sammon|p=353, 365}}

=== Critical response ===

 

 

Initial reactions among film critics were mixed. Some wrote that the plot took a back seat to the film's special effects and did not fit the studio's marketing as an action and adventure film. Others acclaimed its complexity and predicted it would stand the test of time.{{sfn|Sammon|p=313–315}} Negative criticism in the United States cited its slow pace.<ref>{{citation |last=Hicks |first=Chris |date=September 11, 1992 |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700000200/Blade-Runner.html |title=Movie review: Blade Runner |work=[[Deseret News]] |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140407001657/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700000200/Blade-Runner.html |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> [[Sheila Benson]] from the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "Blade Crawler", and Pat Berman in ''[[The State (newspaper)|The State]]'' and ''[[Columbia Record]]'' described it as "science fiction pornography".<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Sammon|p=313 and 314}}, respectively.</ref> [[Pauline Kael]] praised ''Blade Runner'' as worthy of a place in film history for its distinctive sci-fi vision, yet criticized the film's lack of development in "human terms".<ref name="Kael">{{citation |last=Kael |first=Pauline |title=Taking It All In |year=1984 |publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston |isbn=978-0-03-069361-8 |pages=360–365}}</ref> ''[[Ares (magazine)|Ares]]'' magazine said, "Misunderstood by audiences and critics alike, it is by far the best ''science fiction'' film of the year."<ref name="Ares">{{cite journal |last=John |first=Christopher |title=Film & Television |journal=[[Ares (magazine)|Ares]] |publisher=[[TSR, Inc.]] |date=Winter 1983 |issue=13 |page=43}}</ref>

Academics began analyzing the film almost as soon as it was released. One of the first books on the film was Paul M. Sammon's ''Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner'' (1996),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sammon |first=Paul M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Al2lPwAACAAJ |title=Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner |date=1996 |publisher=Orion Media |isbn=978-0-7528-0740-9 |language=en|access-date=October 1, 2020|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414015432/https://books.google.com/books?id=Al2lPwAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> which dissects all the details concerning the film making. He was followed by [[Scott Bukatman]]'s ''Blade Runner''<ref>Bukatman, Scott. ''Blade Runner''. London: BFI, 1997.</ref> and other books and academic articles.<ref>{{citation |last=Williams |first=Douglas E. |url=https://philosophy.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Ideology%20as%20Dystopia%20-%20An%20Interpretation%20of%20Blade%20Runner%20-%20Douglas%20E.%20Williams.pdf |title=Ideology as Dystopia: An Interpretation of "Blade Runner" |work=[[International Political Science Review]] |volume=9 |issue=4 |date=October 1988 |pages=381–394 |access-date=October 13, 2015 |jstor=1600763 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160708052749/https://philosophy.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Ideology%20as%20Dystopia%20-%20An%20Interpretation%20of%20Blade%20Runner%20-%20Douglas%20E.%20Williams.pdf |archive-date=July 8, 2016 |publisher=[Sage Publications, Inc., Sage Publications, Ltd.]}}</ref> In ''Postmodern Metanarratives: Blade Runner and Literature in the Age of Image'', Décio Torres Cruz analyzes the philosophical and psychological issues and the literary influences in ''Blade Runner''. He examines the film's cyberpunk and [[dystopic]] elements by establishing a link between the Biblical, classical and modern traditions and the postmodern aspects in the film's collage of several literary texts.<ref name="Torres Cruz 2014">{{Cite book |last=Torres Cruz |first=Décio |url=https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137439727 |title=Postmodern Metanarratives: Blade Runner and Literature in the Age of Image |date=2014 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-1-137-43972-7 |language=en|access-date=September 18, 2020|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009064728/https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137439727|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

It has also been noted for its postmodernist approach and that it contributes to the historical development of modern dystopia in film.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bruno |first=Giuliana |date=1987 |title=Ramble City: Postmodernism and ''Blade Runner'' |journal=October |volume=41 |pages=61–74 |doi=10.2307/778330 |jstor=778330|issn = 0162-2870}}</ref> Furthermore, the futuristic version of Los Angeles has been widely discussed by academics with some comparing it to Milton's descriptions of hell in ''[[Paradise Lost]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Desser |first=David |date=1985 |title=Blade Runner: Science Fiction & Transcendence |journal=Literature/Film Quarterly; Salisbury |volume=13 |pages=172–179 |id={{ProQuest|226985939}}}}</ref> A 2019 retrospective in the [[BBC]] argued that elements of the film's socio-political themes remained prescient in the real year of the film's setting, such as its depiction of [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barnett |first=David |title=Are we living in a Blade Runner world? |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191111-are-we-living-in-a-blade-runner-world |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630150706/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20191111-are-we-living-in-a-blade-runner-world |url-status=live }}</ref> From a more philosophical perspective, Alison Landsberg described Scott's direction of the film as a "prosthetic memory"—an action that has never happened and appears to be divorced from lived experience, yet it defines personhood and identity within the wider Blade Runner universe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Landsberg |first=Alison |s2cid=144020560 |date=1995 |title=Prosthetic Memory: Total Recall and Blade Runner |journal=Body & Society |volume=1 |issue=3–4 |pages=175–189 |doi=10.1177/1357034X95001003010}}</ref>

== Themes ==

{{Main|Themes in Blade Runner}}

 

''Blade Runner'' delves into the effects of technology on the environment and society by reaching to the past, using literature, [[religious symbolism]], classical dramatic themes, and ''film noir'' techniques. This tension between past, present, and future is represented in the "retrofitted" future depicted in the film, one which is high-tech and gleaming in places but decayed and outdated elsewhere. In an interview with ''[[The Observer]]'' in 2002, director Ridley Scott described the film as "extremely dark, both literally and metaphorically, with an oddly masochistic feel". He also said that he "liked the idea of exploring pain" in the wake of his brother's death: "When he was ill, I used to go and visit him in London, and that was really traumatic for me."<ref name="scottobserver">{{citation |last=Barber |first=Lynn |title=Scott's Corner |date=January 6, 2002 |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,628186,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080720054223/http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0%2C%2C628186%2C00.html |url-status=dead |work=[[The Observer]] |location=London |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-date=July 20, 2008}}</ref>

{{See also|Tears in rain monologue}}

 

[[File:Tesla Cybertruck outside unveil modified by Smnt.jpg|thumb|Tesla's Cybertruck was heavily inspired by ''Blade Runner''.]]

 

 

 

''Blade Runner'' continues to reflect modern trends and concerns, and an increasing number of critics consider it one of the greatest science fiction films of all time.<ref>{{citation |last1=Jha |first1=Alok |last2=Rogers |first2=Simon |last3=Rutherford |first3=Adam |date=August 26, 2004 |access-date=July 27, 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/life/feature/story/0,13026,1290561,00.html |title='I've seen things...': Our expert panel votes for the top 10 sci-fi films |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070513161801/http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0%2C13026%2C1290561%2C00.html |archive-date=May 13, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was voted the best science fiction film ever made in a 2004 poll of 60 eminent world scientists.<ref>{{citation |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3600802.stm |title=''Blade Runner'' tops scientist poll |work=BBC News |date=August 26, 2004 |access-date=September 22, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140513202114/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3600802.stm |archive-date=May 13, 2014}}</ref> ''Blade Runner'' is also cited as an important influence to both the style and story of the ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' franchise, which itself has been highly influential to the future-noir genre.<ref>{{citation |title=''Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence'' |first=Jim |last=Omura |date=September 16, 2004 |work=[[FPS Magazine]] |url=http://www.fpsmagazine.com/review/040916innocence.php |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193102/http://www.fpsmagazine.com/review/040916innocence.php |archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Hollywood is haunted by ''Ghost in the Shell'' |first=Steve |last=Rose |newspaper=The Guardian |date=October 19, 2009 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/19/hollywood-ghost-in-the-shell |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130308101232/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/oct/19/hollywood-ghost-in-the-shell |archive-date=March 8, 2013}}</ref> ''Blade Runner'' has been very influential to the [[cyberpunk]] movement.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coplan |first1=Amy |last2=Davies |first2=David |title=''Blade Runner'' |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-23144-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XOMjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT20 |access-date=July 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225131828/https://books.google.com/books?id=XOMjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT20 |archive-date=February 25, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Booker |first=M. Keith |title=Alternate Americas: Science Fiction Film and American Culture |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-98395-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CVvb6gfT4o4C&pg=PA185 |access-date=July 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226180206/https://books.google.com/books?id=CVvb6gfT4o4C&pg=PA185 |archive-date=February 26, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Milner |first=Andrew |title=Literature, Culture and Society |date=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-30785-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOmYospPvfwC&pg=PA266 |access-date=July 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225131828/https://books.google.com/books?id=rOmYospPvfwC&pg=PA266 |archive-date=February 25, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Steven T. |title=Tokyo Cyberpunk: Posthumanism in Japanese Visual Culture |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-11006-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_0YDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |access-date=July 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225131828/https://books.google.com/books?id=W_0YDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |archive-date=February 25, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> It also influenced the [[Cyberpunk derivatives|cyberpunk derivative]] [[biopunk]], which revolves around [[biotechnology]] and [[genetic engineering]].<ref name="scifi">{{cite web |last=Evans |first=Josh |title=What Is Biopunk? |url=http://sciencefiction.com/2011/09/18/what-is-biopunk/ |access-date=June 20, 2015 |date=September 18, 2011 |work=ScienceFiction.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602151222/http://sciencefiction.com/2011/09/18/what-is-biopunk/ |archive-date=June 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wohlsen |first=Marcus |title=Biopunk: Solving Biotech's Biggest Problems in Kitchens and Garages |publisher=[[Current Publishing]] |date=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bpptCOi3G_AC&pg=PT15 |isbn=978-1-61723-002-8 |access-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020232507/https://books.google.com/books?id=bpptCOi3G_AC&pg=PT15 |url-status=live}}</ref> The film is also considered to be one of the early examples of the [[tech noir]]<ref name="sherlock">{{cite web |url=https://gamerant.com/80s-movie-invented-tech-noir/ |title=One Movie Both Invented and Perfected the Tech Noir |work=[[Game Rant]] |first=Ben |last=Sherlock |date=February 21, 2021 |access-date=November 4, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826044939/https://gamerant.com/80s-movie-invented-tech-noir/ |url-status=live }}</ref> subgenre.

; ''All Our Variant Futures: From Workprint to Final Cut'' (2007, 29&nbsp;minutes)

: Produced by Paul Prischman, appears on the ''Blade Runner'' Ultimate Collector's Edition and provides an overview of the film's multiple versions and their origins, as well as detailing the seven-year-long restoration, enhancement and remastering process behind ''The Final Cut''.<ref name="thedigitalbits" />

: Directed by Boris Hars-Tschachotin and made by the France and Germany European public service channel ARTE, this documentary informs viewers using behind-the-scenes material from various sets, photos, original locations in Los Angeles, and interviews with those involved in the production.

 

* [[Arcology]]

* [[Biorobotics]]

* [[List of dystopian films]]

* [[List of fictional robots and androids]]

{{David Peoples}}

{{Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation}}

{{Portal bar|Film|Greater Los Angeles|Science fiction}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hong Kong neo-noir films]]

[[Category:Hong Kong science fiction films]]

[[Category:Postmodern films]]

[[Category:Shaw Brothers Studio films]]

[[Category:1980s American films]]

[[Category:1980s Hong Kong films]]