Film noir has traversed various means in the cinematic-sphere. Once a genre, then a form, now finalizing itself as the foundation for narrative and aesthetic stylistic elements, noir has gained popular resurgence. Able to ebb and flow as needed, the presence of noir can be fully detected in Ridley Scott‘s 1982 film, “Blade Runner.”
At surface value, “Blade Runner” may not showcase its noirness. Even upon first viewing of the seminal science fiction drama, what may normally be easy to determine in a noir is layered beneath a study of what it means to be human in this industrialized future world. In a recent video essay by Lessons from the Screenplay, the use of noir as a framing point for the film is broken down and explored.
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Citing three prominent characteristics of film noir, the video essay begins by studying the genre tropes used in the movie to distinguish the presence of a crime. Citing the indiscriminate nature of likable killers and corrupt cops, “Blade Runner” introduces our sympathetic villains as replicants; laborers designated as manufactured sub-humans. The replicants are framed as criminals but are committing these crimes in the hopes of achieving freedom. The cops, conversely, ride their power to the point of losing their moral compass.
The final elements revealed in the video essay are how death lingers over the film and the presence of the private detective. Highlighting what it means to have and take life is explored at great length through Scott’s film. And the most evident stylistic element is Harrison Ford‘s Deckard, a lone wolf of Marlowe-esque nature and tendency.
It would appear as though this new age of film noir is cultivating a grander meaning beyond the oblique lines of venetian blinds and stagnated characterizations. With the release of “Blade Runner 2049” approaching, this video essay a great look at what made the original so special.