Bien Gabriel Gorospe

CRITICI DLM1
Miss Rianne Soriano
BLADE RUNNER FINAL CUT SCREENING REPORT: “Why Blade Runner is Pure Cinema”

There’s a reason why Blade Runner has resonated with many people and has achieved

cult status years after it flopped at the box office back in 1982. It is because it is “pure cinema”.

This is in the context of “pure cinema” being a term used by filmmakers and film enthusiasts to

describe a film that utilizes all the prominent features of the filmmaking medium, with a large

focus on using visuals to tell the story.

To understand why Blade Runner is pure cinema, one could look towards the works of

Hugo Munsterberg’s and Rudolph Arnheim, two of the many prominent theorists of cinema, both

of which attempted to explain what a film is and why it is an art in itself instead of just a second

hand representation of reality.

What’s interesting is that Munsterberg’s theory about how moving pictures are basically illusions

that implant feelings on humans, psychologically is actually a plot point in the film. The character

Rachel is not human, but an artificial human with implanted memories to make her feel like she

had a childhood. The technology to implant the memories is never fully explained in the film, but

one can imply that it is an hyper advanced technology that can be considered a successor to

today’s videos, or motion pictures. Why? At its current state, films are powerful illusions that can

trigger one’s psychology and emotions. They are almost hyperreal An easy proof of this is how

some films can make people cry. In conclusion, Rachael’s memories can be super advanced

films. Munsterberg was really up to something.

In his work, “Photoplay: A Psychological Study”, Munsterberg argues that film is more than just

a recording of reality, but a manipulation of This is what basically elevates a film above just a

recording of a stage play. One important dramatic effect in film that cannot be found in theatre, a
similar medium to film, is the close up shot. It is one of the techniques in a director’s arsenal to

direct the attention of the viewers. In Blade Runner, the close up shot is used multiple times in

the film to accentuate the feelings of the characters and important objects integral to the plot of

the film. An example of the close up being used in the film to direct the viewer’s attention is the

use of close ups each and every time the origami obsessed character Gaff puts down his

origami figures. The close-ups to the origami figures are director Ridley Scott’s way of saying,

“hey audience look at this. This object is important. This isn’t just a background prop!”. And it is

more than just a background prop. Showing the origami figures is the film’s way of conveying

Deckard’s thoughts symbolically and visually. For example, when Gaff sets down an origami

figure of a man with an erection, it conveys how Deckard has a newfound sexual infatuation with

Rachel. And in the end where Gaff sets down a unicorn origami figure, it calls back to an earlier

scene (in the Final Cut) where Deckard dreams of a unicorn. Connecting these two images, one

can imply that Deckard may be a replicant. And that Deckard is even pondering on this thought

himself. This is all conveyed through visuals. With no need for dialogue whatsoever, we are put

into the mind of Deckard. Point of thought. These examples really solidify Munsterberg’s

argument that film is the art of the mind, as the audience, through the film medium, puts the

audience in the shoes of the characters in the film, and basically absorbs the mind of each

character, for at least until the film ends. We dream with Deckard (the unicorn dream), We love

with Deckard (his infatuation with Rachel). We get anxious with J.F. Sebastian (his encounters

with the Nexus - 6 Replicants). We feel Batty’s anger (his pursuit of extending his life).

One could go beyond Munsteberg’s psychology geared studies, and a bit more towards

Rudolph Arnheim’s more technical geared studies to analyse how Blade Runner’s utilization of

lens size is another example of it being a “pure cinema film”.In Blade Runner, cinematographer

Jordan Cronenweth used longer anamorphic lenses to convey a sense of busyness and in the
film. If he instead used wider lenses, the film might run into the problem of the world feeling

empty and staged (especially if the set isn’t designed 100% in the 360 degrees style). Using

longer lenses basically compresses the space, and basically gives the illusion of more items

existing in the frame. It’s a bit more cramped, and a little claustrophobic. Like the close-up, lens

size is an essential part of film, and a powerful narrative device that a stage play simply doesn’t

possess. Filling the frame with exotic materials and objects from Blade Runner’s world, with

multi race extras in the background to busy up the frame, Ridley Scott really created the illusion

of a living environment, like a real location that the viewer can visit. This only supports

Munsterberg and Arnheim’s similar thoughts on film being a way of creating a new “hyperreality”

that the audience can get lost in.

In Rudolph Arnheim’s book, “Film As An Art”, Arnheim goes deeper into the technical aspects of

a film that characterize it as “unreal”, like lighting and colour, time manipulation, music, editing,

the illusion of a three dimensional world through a two dimensional medium, etc. Essential

qualities to film that again, some other mediums simply don’t have. In relation to proving how

Blade Runner is a “pure cinema film” there are so many examples in the film that showcase

Arnheim’s almost “rules” or “essential qualities of a film. Like the use of slow motion in multiple

scenes (like Zhora’s grisly death, and Roy Batty’s Death) to accentuate the emotion of the

scene, or the use of lens diffusion, slow motion and editing to show “Deckard’s Dream”.

Lastly, Vangelis’ bombastic score contributes to the dream like quality of the film (an illusion the

director intended) and helps put the viewer into the illusion that they’re being put into a

technologically advanced, bleak but beautiful, cyberpunk future. Like how multiple times in the

film, musical cues borrow from middle eastern or indian type of music to help convey that the

world of Los Angeles 2019 is a rich, ethnically diverse future. But the score isn’t merely for

“world building”. It is also for “emotion building”. When Deckard and Rachel make love, a
beautiful saxophone based cue plays. When large buildings fill the frame, the visuals are

accompanied by roaring synthesiser sounds. It is a sort of maximalist way of scoring the film.

What separates Blade Runner from a lot of other sci-fi films, and why it is regarded as

more than just another sci-fi, but an art film is because that it takes full advantage of the motion

picture medium. And that is why Blade Runner is “pure cinema”.