Blade Runner

I recently had to write a paper for my film/video II class on the whether film or digital video was better and what were each medium's advantages and disadvantages. Digital video, I concluded, is much easier to use, is of better quality, and is easier when it comes to putting in special effects. However, film definitely has that 'look' to it, and I think Blade Runner is just one of those films that I'm glad didn't have the option of using digital video. It'll always look better on film.

Blade Runner is a grainy, dark, and overall gritty film, and I love it for it. The way in which it was filmed brings the world of replicants and the year 2019 to live, and scares me a little bit. More specifically the replicants themselves scare me, and not because they're strong, fast and deadly. They scare me because sometimes they seem to be the most "human" characters in the movie.

The replicants have such a strong desire to live, to find out who they are and where they came from, it puts the real humans to shame. Deckard seems to care less whether he lives or drinks himself to death, but the replicants are the ones who are really interested in life and real emotion. The human desire/will to survive has long been a strong quality of the human race but seems largely abandoned in 2019 LA except by those who aren't human at all. The replicants to me represent much of what a human should be, they are almost role models, minus the killing and eye-gouging.

Specifically, Rachael has a very strong will to experience love and intimacy, and gives in to Deckard. Funny that the most romantic moments happen in a scene with a replicant (or two if you really must include Deckard). Also, exhibiting the strong will to survive is Roy, doing everything he can to save himself and his fellow replicants. That's another human quality too, saving your fellow persons, as Roy seeks a cure to his eventual death, but not only for himself.

Humans scare me in Blade Runner's depiction of the future. Sometimes being a replicant is just more "real".

TRON

I think it's interesting how similar the computer world and the real world are in some ways. For example, the main way to decide things in the computer world is not by logic, what we'd expect from a computer, but by games. The Master Control Program decides that who stays and who goes will be determined on "the game grid", something that has an element of chance and skill. Why would a computer program let outcomes be determined by chance? It just goes to show that even the MCP shows characteristics of having a user, even though it denies the existence of such beings. Although more powerful than any other program, the MCP is still the creation of a user, just like any other program. We also see this through the idea that the MCP is male, with a deep voice and male characteristics, just like its user.

I kind of wonder if Tron was more a novelty or a cutting edge film when it was first released. I feel that a lot of the interesting themes were lost with such cheesy and cheap humor. Tron brings up some interesting points about the computer world and how similar and dis-similar the real world can be. The computer animation was also cutting edge for the 80s and is actually very cool. However, much of the symbolic meaning of Tron is lost with its silly acting and bad dialogue. I think that we can definitley learn a few things from Tron, but that these things are harder to see because the cheesiness of Tron overwhelms the viewer. I mean really, Jeff Bridges? Come on.

THX 1138

It's a toss up...I can't figure out what was the better scene. Robert Duvall "walking up" the tunnel to freedom in THX 1138 or Adam West "walking up" the exterior of a skeezy bar in Batman The Movie. Both scenes look realistic enough to be actual climbing and both scenes employ crafty camera tricks to fool the audience. I think the tipping point is Burt Ward, so I'll go with Batman The Movie.

One of the most impressing things about THX 1138, and not suprisingly so, was the cinematography. George Lucas knows how to compose his shots and the movie was very visually pleasing throughout. Probably the most impressive and symbolic shot is the final shot with the sunset. What better way to end the movie than with mystery. Has he found freedom or is there really nothing up there for him? The sunset shot could represent so much, but needs to represent so little. A setting sun means the end of a day, the end of a movie. Plus it's a beautiful shot

I think one of the underlying themes of the movie is greed and the human tendency to want more and more control. This can be seen through the extreme amount of control this society exercises on its inhabitants. They cannot let any infraction, or any inhabitant, go and it takes only the thought of losing even more money, to give up on THX1138. Technology is a means to fuel their greed, and the question of who "they" are is so mind-numbingly 'out there', that I won't even address it. They are they, enough said. They use technology to gain more control over their society, use it to manage the society and use it to help feed them the drug that is "control". They are greedy alright, and THX1138 tries to take something away from them (himself, and 3 others), tries to break the rules, and They just cannot let that happen.

One last thought: those silly robots would be a lot cooler if they weren't saying things like "We don't want to hurt you" and "Please, just open the door". They look so cool, but are really pretty lame. They should use those electro-sticks more often...and maybe on kids.