Krista Liebe
Special to Tribune/Advisor
The Williams Lake Film Club will show one more film at the Gibraltar Room, then it is back to our home at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre (psst, some still call it the Old Fire Hall, just don’t say it out loud).
Blade Runner, the final cut of the original movie released in 1982, will be shown at the Gibraltar Room this coming Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. Back doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
When Blade Runner opened it was a box office and critical bust.
It was too new, too different, a blend of science fiction and film noir which had a unique postmodern production design. But the audiences soon caught on. It became the most talked about movie of its era, a cult film, and then a classic.
Blade Runner is really a film like no other.
Harrison Ford, in his biggest starring role at that time, plays a retired cop, Rick Deckard.
The scene is a dark and moody Los Angeles in about 2019, a pan-cultural dystopia of corporate advertising, pollution and flying automobiles, as well as replicants, human-like androids with short life spans built by the Tyrell Corporation for use in dangerous off-world colonization.
In his former police work, Deckard was a talented blade runner, a euphemism for detectives who hunt down and assassinate rogue replicants.
His assignment now is to find and eliminate a quartet of replicants led by Roy Batty, unforgettably played by Rutger Hauer. Batty has escaped his colony and is on his way back to earth. You realize soon enough how difficult it is to detect a replicant from a regular human being.
It is a simple story, but it is brilliantly written, beautifully shot, the effects were way ahead of its time, and many actually still are.
The direction by Ridley Scott is great, as always. This is creativity at its finest and you soon will understand why this film has again and again been called a masterpiece.
A follow-up to this film, Blade Runner 2049, again with Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard but with Ryan Gosling as his nemesis, will be released in the near future. This is a great time to re-acquaint yourself with the unforgettable original Blade Runner.
The film runs for 117 minutes and is rated R. The music was written by Vangelis.
Refreshments will be served after the film – come and meet old friends and make new friends!
The film fee is $10 regular, $8 for film club members and $6 for students and seniors 65 and older.
Memberships are $10 for the 2017/18 season.
As the film club raises funds in support of Williams Lake tutoring services for students with learning difficulties, donations are also accepted at the door.