34. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
I've yet to see The Final Cut of Ridley Scott's excellent tech noir. But I don't think it'll do anything other than reconfrim that this is one of the best sci fi thrillers to ever grace the big or small screen. It features my favourite ever dystopian city in a science fiction film. The dark, rainy metropolitan was just a beautiful backdrop for the dodgy going ons. I mean, the world just feel so immersive, and I believe it's this detailed world that first gave Ridley Scott his Mr Attention To Detail' moniker.
When I first watched Blade Runner, I immediately loved it's sci-fi conventions coupled with philosophical themes on identity. It really was a world you believe in, maybe even more so than Star Wars because of the more blantant adult themes.
The film is as famous for it's trouble production as it is for it's cultural impact on subsequent science fiction films. Y'all know the story. Harrison didn't get on with Ridley and Ridley thought Harrison was an arrogant wanker, etc. The studio cut the film up and didn't meet Ridley's requirements, blah blah blah. Y'see, none of that matters anymore because despite all this studio interferance and production difficulties, Blade Runner has emerged as the sci-fi film to beat.
Production design wise, it's unprallel. The effects were and STILL are gorgeous. You can see the production design influence in the likes of Batman Begins and Minority Report. And the fact that i'm using Batman Begins as a measuring stick should go some way into telling you just how I feel about this film.
But it was also one of those sci-fi films that just spoke to you as if it was telling you a bedtime story. Questions raised were, 'who are we and how do we know that we're we'. What defines our identity? In many ways, Blade Runner has a lot in common with Memento in that it suggests that our memories our the only way of truly identitfying ourselves, but even that can be sabotaged. This leads me to my next question..
Do you guys think that Harrison Ford's Deckard was one of the cyborgs? Both Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford give conflicting answers. But i'm going to go with Ridley as, ultimately, it's his vision. If he says that he intended Deckard to be a cyborg then so be it.
I should also mention Rutger Hauer's Roy Batty. Definitely one of the most sympathetic and complex villains I have witnessed in cinema . He's is both terrifying and intriguing. His final scene where he shows his 'humanity' is epic. The scene that precedes it is a really good chase sequence as well. Brilliant film by the design meister.
33. Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino, 2007)
Ok, I know it didn't go down a storm with a lot of people, specially the folks in the states, but I absolutey ADORE this film. In my own humble opinion - it's Tarantino's 2nd best film. It's his most shallow, sure, one of my favourites from the nutter. MUCH better than Planet Terror. That film doesn't come close. It doesn't matter if it sticks to it's conceptualisation more than Death Proof, that just goes to show that Tarantino's film was going to slightly transcend it's love letter to B movies.
From the opening non-too-subtle metaphoric POV opening shot, Death Proof makes it clear that it's got one aim: To entertain.the.****.out.of.you. As far as in your face homage to 'Grindhouse' movies go, Tarantino's road slasher is thrilling: confident, sexy and very violent. I don't care if people say this is his weakest film, I find it perpetually quotable, with the cast making sure every single syllable is delivered with gleeful intent. And the bird's are instantly likeable. Theres not one annoying presence in there, not even Mary Elizabeth Winstead, though I think her yellow cheerleader outfit may have a little something to do with that.
I know a lot of people who complained about there being too much dialogue in film, specially the extended version (which is the only version i'm referring to here). But man, I just think it's REALLY funny. In fact, it's so ****ing halirious that I literally crack up everytime I watch the film. One of the funniest films after American Psycho. No subtext or Einstein like metaphors, just pure fun fun and...cun fun. I don't even know what that means but yeah, this film is a riot.
It's a testament to Tarantino's writing ability that he makes BOTH sets of girls liekable. I mean, the talk about girltalk stuff such as Sex and The City and such a way that you're familiar with them. These are the type of birds I hear at the back of the bus, only Tarantino's lot are far far wittier. I liked both Sydney Poiter's character the most and Zoe Bell. Her limited acting experience being completely irrelevant here as she not only manages to do some pretty cool stunts, but has a knack for delivering Tarantinoesque dialogue without lookin' like too flash an idiot.
A lot of the credit must go to my boy Kurt Russell, who I have admired ever since I first saw him in Tango & Cash and Big Trouble In Little China. The man is a cinematic legend, no doubt. This film only serves to reconfirm that, with him somewhat cast against type as a really charming and creepy stuntman. Too many favourite moments in the film to point out a specific one. I really like the diner bit where Eli Roth and some other geezer is making fun of Stuntman Mike's eating habits, lol. I also love it when Mike's being a proper creep and sniffing on Rosario Dawson's feet then as soon as she wakes up he pretends he's lost his car keys, lmao. It's just both absurd and really funny at the same time, lol.
I can't forget the cool chase sequences. The last chase is a big payoff. Theres no faking it. I don't think it's up there with Bourne Ultimatum's stunt fest, but it's still better than all that CGI shite we get on a regular basis. And the role reversal of Mike becoming the hunted is as halirious as it is satisfying. Watch how he screams like baby after getting shot and then beaten the **** out of him. Great stuff
