To be honest, she usually does well with longer films. I breathed a sigh of relief when she not only liked "Apocalypse Now: Redux" (she'd never seen the movie in its original or longer forms) but probably counts it as one of her favorite films. But I should have known she'd go for it; she loves psychological tales. So she'll probably enjoy the "Blade Runner" movies. (She also tends to like Ridley Scott, with the exception of "Alien", as bug-like creatures tend to gross her out). I see the 1982 original is available for rent on U-Verse. After that, we'll hit the theater for the new one. I'm kinda psyched. This wasn't even on my radar until the reviews came out.
Masterpiece of filmmaking. Story was good, but it's the filmmaking that really is the reason to see this.
Here's a great article from CNN about the influence of the original Blade Runner on fashion. It talks about both the original and the sequel, how the original has been impacted fashion, and where the ideas for the fashion of the original flick came from. There are no spoilers, not that I saw, since it was before the release of BR:49. I hope this hasn't been posted. Enjoy! 'Blade Runner' influenced 35 years of fashion. Can its sequel do the same? Renee April knew she was playing with fire talking to the press. Over the course of our phone interview the costume designer wrapped her answers in riddles and apologized profusely. "They'll kill me," the French-Canadian added at one point, laughing. She was referring to the producers behind "Blade Runner 2049," 2017's hotly anticipated sequel to Ridley's Scott's sci-fi masterpiece. April, like everyone else involved, is walking a tightrope of nondisclosure agreements. One slip could compromise this unlikely second chapter 35 years in the making. Pressure abounds. "Blade Runner" is lauded as one of the most accomplished works of science fiction of all time. It achieved cult status through the years thanks in part to Scott's continued edits, forcing audiences to reevaluate what was once a critical headache -- "muddled," "will turn off many" -- but now a film considered poetic, existential and profound. Three decades after release it stands monolithic, casting a long, intimidating shadow. Who would dare try to succeed it? Not April. At least, not at first. When she was approached by director and long-term collaborator Denis Villeneuve, she didn't want the gig: "I said 'Oh my God, I'm going to fail. It's too much, I can't.'" She relented, however, and as its release approaches, she's glad she took the plunge. (images spoilered) (Due to length, I couldn't post the whole thing. Check the link.) Spoiler Spoiler Among audiences, April knows there's a certain coterie she needs to satisfy: fashion designers. A week prior to our chat, a friend had showed her pictures of Raf Simons' "Blade Runner"-esque Spring-Summer 2018 collection, staged under the lamps of New York's Chinatown, with models walking under umbrellas in deconstructed macs. Simons is just the latest designer to draw inspiration from the film. "'Blade Runner' is one of the sci-fi films that influenced me the most," Jean Paul Gaultier told CNN, one high-profile example and a man not averse to dressing sci-fi movies himself. Related: Why museums around the world are celebrating fashion's great rebels Fashion was integral to the fabric of Scott's Los Angeles, circa 2019. Unlike the homogenous look of sci-fi forebears like "THX 1138" or "Logan's Run," "Blade Runner's" costume design was rich, varied and uncannily familiar. Much of its aesthetic was sourced from the past. Costume designers Charles Knode and Michael Kaplan read into the noir elements of detective narrative and saw Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Orson Welles in the beleaguered android assassin Rick Deckard. Costumes for Rachael, the femme fatale played by Sean Young, drew explicitly from that era: Kaplan has cited Adrian (costume designer for Joan Crawford, among others) as the inspiration behind her '30s and '40s-cut skirt suits. Spoiler Deckard's rogue androids, called "replicants," channeled punk in leather, studs and dog collars, affecting the look of a disenfranchised underclass. East Asian looks were prominent among the huddled masses; layered, asymmetrical designs reminiscent of Issey Miyake's '80s output littered the city. A seven-year-old Jeremy Scott was transfixed. The American creative director of Moschino and his own namesake label recalls watching alongside his older brother in a small-town cinema in the summer of 1982: "I was never the same after that." "I was mesmerized by the mix of what was then futuristic with what was already retro," wrote Scott in an email. "That is what makes 'Blade Runner' the gold standard (among) sci-fi dystopian worlds, as it's believable. Because we do not live in a world where everything is from today ... We live in a chaotic world of various decades of architecture, automotive design and fashion, combining and colliding all (in) that same moment." .................................. Spoiler ........................ Villeneuve and co. have mined Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", the source material for "Blade Runner." Set in an irradiated San Francisco in 1992, after a catastrophic global war, the book has more apocalyptic overtones than its film adaptation. Radioactive dust is claiming both bodies and minds. Mental aptitude and financial resources are required to buy a ticket off Earth. Many lack one or both. Conscious of this, April set to work imagining fashion 32 years from now. Spoiler "I had to restrain myself," she said, but there were still opportunities to show some flare. "We're using a lot of fake fur and plastic and lights... (and) a lot of breathing masks, because it's so polluted." The fur is explicitly fake, she added, because the real deal "hasn't existed for many years" -- another nod to Dick's novel, in which animal life is scarce. And the shearling jacket worn by Ryan Gosling's Officer K; the one Esquire called"badass" and "the real star" of the film's trailer? It's fake too. "Actually it's not shearling," April says. "It's not leather, it's cotton," waterproofed and painted. Avid fans will be looking for clues in April's work. Deckard, for one, appears dressed down in a gray t-shirt and cargo pants. April confirms the character has ditched his clashing striped shirt and plaid tie combo. "It scared me to do that," she says, "but at the end of the day, he didn't change and he's timeless ... we really wanted something timeless." Those still arguing whether Deckard is human or replicant, read into that what you will. Spoiler Leto loved the costume, said April -- so much so that the Oscar-winner took it home. Further details are scant, and the costume designer is unable to divulge as much as she would like. Only on Oct. 6 will April's full efforts be revealed. One hopes "2049" will leave behind more loose threads for designers to spin into the fabric of their work. Inspiration can be an ephemeral thing, after all: like tears in the rain. http://edition.cnn.com/style/article/blade-runner-2049-costume-design-fashion-renee-april/index.html
Oh yeah the first film really set the fashion world on it's ear and I was wondering if this one would do the same, just got back from seeing it and I am well pleased. The Yamaha CS-80 is all over it.
History repeats itself. I think they could have marketed it better, and as much as I would hate it, they could have made it shorter. I'm hopeful that word of mouth and the Asian market will make the film profitable. I know the studio was hoping to make a series of these.
Could say the same about my wife. She actually fell asleep last night trying to watch the original, but was intrigued enough by it to want to give it another go. And she did enjoy 2049 today. It was certainly a perfect extension of the universe and a story that felt worthwhile. They could practically make a whole movie exploring the city set to the score and I wouldn't mind in the least. Loved the opening scene, not only in that you could truly empathize with the characters, but in all the little details as well. Sound was terrific. There were a few plot elements that I wish they would have explored more, a few plot holes and one scene in particular that was completely unnecessary and seemed to only be done as fan service. And while I know it's not what these movies are about, it still would be nice to have just a little more action. Minor nitpicks aside though, it was great. I'm pretty sure I know exactly the scene you were talking about and I was thinking the same thing. Such a beautiful transition!
On average...when it comes to blockbusters, audiences have made it clear that if it's not a superhero movie or a Transformers movie, then they're not that interested.
Transformers did terrible at the box office, while "it" broke box office records. I am not sure why blade runner is flopping, but alien did the same thing. Maybe audiences are tired of the same cookie cutter ****.
That would be an explanation were it true, but it isn't. This isn't the "same cookie cutter ****," in my opinion. It's far different than the vast majority of films out there, and like with the original, perhaps that's part of the problem. In my opinion, anyway.
I will say this, the title sucks. I have no idea what this movie is about. Compare: the force awakens. 2049, what does that even mean.
It didn't do terrible at all. Made absurd profit, just not as much as the previous Transformers movies.
I agree with you. I'm not sure just what title they should have used, but the one they did use was pretty bad. My understanding is that this film, while having the involvement on the periphery of some major players, like Sony, was almost entirely the product of a studio relatively new on the scene, Alcon Entertainment. They made the film and handled the promotion. This was their first really big budget film, and I think they didn't know how to market it. Terrific film, lousy marketing, with marketing including making the flick longer than it had to be. They should have planned on a "director's cut" later and made it at least 15 minutes shorter, in my opinion.
I might not be the best judge because I'm 47, but honestly the last great movie I saw was Signs in 2002. I liked Guardians of the Galaxy 1, but thought Volume 2 was just okay. I certainly haven't watched any Fast and Furious, Transformers, King Kong, Spider-Man reboots, none of that ****. My favorite film of all time is Lost in Translation. I also thought There will be Blood was literature set to a movie. CGI sucks.
Some of my favorite films of all time were box office flops, guess I have really poor taste in films.
There have been several great films since 2002. Sounds like you are just watching the shitty ones. Why?
