I've Seen Things You People Wouldn't Believe

Call this a dream deferred. Nine years ago, my wife and I were in New York for unrelated reasons when I realized that Ridley Scott's "Final Cut" of Blade Runner was having its theatrical debut across the street from our hotel at midnight. I dragged Mrs. Baruth over. She fell asleep ten minutes in and then, after waking up some time near Deckard's fight scene with Leon, asked if we could call it a night. I agreed, but I was furious. Looking back, I think my resentment for that was much greater than was warranted by circumstances, but to me it was an example in miniature of all the ways I felt cramped by my life in general and my marriage in particular.

But those frustrations are gone now, like tears in rain. This past weekend, I was finally able to put my resentment to rest, and in fine fashion.

The Gateway Film Center on the Ohio State Campus had a reasonably well-attended showing of Blade Runner: The Final Cut at midnight on Friday. I went, although I was tired. I had some popcorn and SnoCaps, but I didn't take advantage of the theater's well-stocked bar because I was afraid that this time I would be the one to fall asleep.

I didn't inquire but I am virtually certain that this was a digital showing. On the big screen at Gateway, the image was nearly crisp enough as to be unreal. I put my feet up and watched it from beginning to end with complete satisfaction. After seeing Blade Runner a dozen or so times, and having purchased The Final Cut a while ago, the film held no surprises for me. Rather, it was like an exceptionally comfortable couch, full of elements that are as familiar to me as my own memories.

We're getting awfully close to November of 2019, the month and year in which the film takes place, but if there has been a "Blade Runnerization" of California it's been more subtle than that depicted on-screen. Instead of replicants, the modern Los Angeles is teeming with Mexicans, but rather than being hunted and abused they've remade the city in their own image. More and more nowadays, SoCal consists of wealthy white islands in a sea of brown people, existing in uneasy balance until the next social or economic upheaval gives one side the upper hand once more.

I've always been uncomfortable with the idea that Deckard himself is a replicant: it feels too much like a retcon to me. Ridley Scott's Word Of God, however, is final:

Wired: It was never on paper that Deckard is a replicant.

Scott: It was, actually. That's the whole point of Gaff, the guy who makes origami and leaves little matchstick figures around. He doesn't like Deckard, and we don't really know why. If you take for granted for a moment that, let's say, Deckard is a Nexus 7, he probably has an unknown life span and therefore is starting to get awfully human. Gaff, at the very end, leaves an origami, which is a piece of silver paper you might find in a cigarette packet, and it's a unicorn. Now, the unicorn in Deckard's daydream tells me that Deckard wouldn't normally talk about such a thing to anyone. If Gaff knew about that, it's Gaff's message to say, "I've read your file, mate." That relates to Deckard's first speech to Rachael when he says, "That's not your imagination, that's Tyrell's niece's daydream." And he describes a little spider on a bush outside the window. The spider is an implanted piece of imagination. And therefore Deckard, too, has imagination and even history implanted in his head.

I still have trouble believing it. Deckard is too fragile, too human. The strongest argument for it in my opinion, however, is the fact that when we see Deckard for the first time he's doing nothing. He's basically just killing time until the cops need him again, essentially in storage.

Sean Young, on the other hand... has there ever been a more bangable robot? When I was a teenager, she just plain did it for me. The failure of modern technology to produce a Nexus 6 variant of Sean Young is the only reason I'm dating today.

Taken as a whole, Blade Runner is a truly superlative film, best enjoyed on the big screen so you can see the breadth and depth of Ridley Scott's vision. Rarely have so many brilliant actors appeared together for a mere sci-fi film, and rarely have the creative tensions between everyone on the set been so productively expressed. Also, there's Rutger Hauer. playing one of the top-five bad-ass roles in all of movie history. Listen, I love Star Wars and all of its sequels but they are movies for children. Blade Runner was sci-fi for grownups.

Someday, when I've truly grown up, I expect to enjoy it even more.