Watchmojo is a popular online site which produces daily “Top Ten” videos. The website has placed director Ridley Scott’s 1982 neo-noir film Blade Runner a well-deserved second on its neo-noir ‘best list’. In order to support this opinion this critique will analyse Blade Runner’s production design, iconographic and symbolic image conventions, whilst also undertaking a mise-en-scene analysis of the films image-based neo-noir conventions and associated codes to conclude that Blade Runner does deserve to be on Watchmojo’s ‘best list’.
Blade Runner (1982) directed by Ridley Scott is a neo-noir film adapted from Phillip K. Dick’s 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The feature length film pays homage to the classical …show more content…
Branching off German Expressionism neo-noir is highly stylised resulting in surreal, abstract and contemporary mise-en-scene. This is portrayed in Blade Runner through the convention of setting. Set in the future, 2019, in the city of Los Angeles, the diegetic world is in complete ruin. The dystopian city has been destroyed by its inhibitors and is drowning in perpetual rain, fog as well as visual and physical pollution. Cars fly through the sky amongst the sea of neon signs, smoke, advertisements and fire. Below people of all races crowd the tiny streets. The setting is confronting, the audience is visually and audibly agitated through busy abstract and surreal mise-en-scene. An example of this is the opening shot. Immediately the audience is immersed into the world as an extreme long shot (establishing shot) slowly tracks into the decaying city. Spaceships fly in and out of frame, passing goliath skyscrapers emitting fire and explosions. Non-diegetic deep instrumental music creates an ominous futuristic atmosphere whilst diegetic explosions, lighting strikes and noises of spaceships are layered on top. The setting of a dystopian and ruined city fits perfectly into the film noir and neo-noir genre creating a pessimistic world. This concept of highly stylised mise-en-scene is consistent throughout the film, for example at 0:58:12 when Deckard kills or “retires” Zhora. This scene is shot in slow motion amongst multiple glass window displays. Electric and neon lights reflect off the glass as Zhora is shot dead by Deckard and crashes through the windows, shattering pieces of glass in and out of frame. Layered over this is non-diegetic futuristic fused jazz like music with a heartbeat sound effect creating an un-easy tension. Obscure scenes such as this are crucial to the film noir and neo-noir genre as they build unsettling tensions and pessimistic moods for the audience.
Blade Runner (1982) directed by Ridley Scott is a neo-noir film adapted from Phillip K. Dick’s 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The feature length film pays homage to the classical …show more content…
Branching off German Expressionism neo-noir is highly stylised resulting in surreal, abstract and contemporary mise-en-scene. This is portrayed in Blade Runner through the convention of setting. Set in the future, 2019, in the city of Los Angeles, the diegetic world is in complete ruin. The dystopian city has been destroyed by its inhibitors and is drowning in perpetual rain, fog as well as visual and physical pollution. Cars fly through the sky amongst the sea of neon signs, smoke, advertisements and fire. Below people of all races crowd the tiny streets. The setting is confronting, the audience is visually and audibly agitated through busy abstract and surreal mise-en-scene. An example of this is the opening shot. Immediately the audience is immersed into the world as an extreme long shot (establishing shot) slowly tracks into the decaying city. Spaceships fly in and out of frame, passing goliath skyscrapers emitting fire and explosions. Non-diegetic deep instrumental music creates an ominous futuristic atmosphere whilst diegetic explosions, lighting strikes and noises of spaceships are layered on top. The setting of a dystopian and ruined city fits perfectly into the film noir and neo-noir genre creating a pessimistic world. This concept of highly stylised mise-en-scene is consistent throughout the film, for example at 0:58:12 when Deckard kills or “retires” Zhora. This scene is shot in slow motion amongst multiple glass window displays. Electric and neon lights reflect off the glass as Zhora is shot dead by Deckard and crashes through the windows, shattering pieces of glass in and out of frame. Layered over this is non-diegetic futuristic fused jazz like music with a heartbeat sound effect creating an un-easy tension. Obscure scenes such as this are crucial to the film noir and neo-noir genre as they build unsettling tensions and pessimistic moods for the audience.