Deckard is not a replicant.

[slimykuotoan]

It just ruins the story that way.

[Kayolan]

I agree, no way is he a replicant himself.

[Tadhg]

Right, no way . . .

but ~ Gaff must be one. Those exquisite origami figures could only be done by a replicant!

[slimykuotoan]

Lol.

Mayhap. Mayhap...

[serleran]

Yes he is. Only way the story is worthwhile to tell.

[Omote]

I guess Blade Runner II will finally answer that question. Look for in January 2018!

~O

[clavis123]

Deckard isn't a replicant in “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”. However, Deckard in “Blade Runner” is. “Blade Runner” (and I'm talking about the final Director's cut without the narration) is one of those rare works that manages to successfully alter, and in some ways improve upon, its source material. Philip K. Dick was an eclectic Gnostic Christian when he died, but “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” was written in 1968, before Dick's famous spiritual experiences in February and March of 1974 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exege ... ip_K._Dick ). Ridley Scott filled “Blade Runner”, however, with allegories and allusions relating to Dick's mature Gnostic beliefs. Gnostic Christianity is predicated on a belief that the world of ordinary experience is in some way a counterfeit created by a lesser god called the Demiurge, and that the mission of Jesus was to awaken us to the spiritual reality behind it. Tyrell is such a Demiurge, creating fake people, and filling their heads with fake ideas. Deckard discovers that he is a counterfeit person, and that discovery allows him the possibility of living a genuine life from that moment on. Similarly, Roy has his own spiritual awakening at the end, when he transcends his material nature and realizes the importance of every life. Roy become, for a brief moment, the image of a Replicant-Christ. None of this is in the book that Blade Runner is based on, yet Scott managed to make a movie that is more Philip K. Dick than the source material written by Dick himself!

For an interesting experience watch Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner”, “Prometheus”, and “Alien”, in that order.

[Tadhg]

Very interesting, clavis. I haven't read Dick's book in like 30 years or so . . . SO I obviously need to re-read it.

I recently purchased and watched Prometheus and enjoyed it very much ~ but, which version (original or director's cut) of Blade Runner do you suggest for viewing that sequence of those movies?

[slimykuotoan]

I find the 'Deckard was a replicant all along too' angle reduces the effectiveness of the story for me.

The point for me is that a human and machine fall in love, and love bridges the gap, etc.

Two machines getting it on does nothing for me.

I do recall endless arguments between Harrison and the director regarding this.

[Tadhg]

I find the 'Deckard was a replicant all along too' angle reduces the effectiveness of the story for me.

The point for me is that a human and machine fall in love, and love bridges the gap, etc.

Two machines getting it on does nothing for me.

Right on, brother!

I'll just ignore this asininity like I did with Alien III. Never happened, F' off yeh, stupid money hogs. [That said, I would in a nano second do what Sigourney did. Hellz yes, take the cash from the studios/pig bitch honchos and MFs and move along to F them again with Alien IV]

[slimykuotoan]

Lol. The irony is that Alien III was fully a result of Sigourney; the actress refused to do the film if there were any guns in it -such was her political leaning at the time. Hence the prison planet.

[Traveller]

Ridley Scott deliberately left the question of whether Deckard was a replicant or not unanswered. Therefore the viewer can make their own choice.

I personally think Deckard is a replicant, but it took Batty saving Deckard at the climax of the film to show Deckard that replicants were as human, if not more so, than their creators.

[Tadhg]

Batty saving Deckard at the climax of the film to show Deckard that replicants were as human, if not more so, than their creators.

Might be one of the best sci-fi scenes of any recent SF movie. I was almost in tears. Rutger Hauer nailed it.

Him in Nighthawks was also goosebumbly

[Jyrdan Fairblade]

I think that is one of the many things that makes the film so wonderful, that core ambiguity. Getting a concrete answer is not something I want.

Ridley Scott deliberately left the question of whether Deckard was a replicant or not unanswered. Therefore the viewer can make their own choice.

[clavis123]

Very interesting, clavis. I haven't read Dick's book in like 30 years or so . . . SO I obviously need to re-read it.

I recently purchased and watched Prometheus and enjoyed it very much ~ but, which version (original or director's cut) of Blade Runner do you suggest for viewing that sequence of those movies?

For Blade Runner watch the 2007 Final Cut, which includes the unicorn dream and origami (the Unicorn was a medieval Christ symbol). The plot of Prometheus parallels Blade Runner, with humans now in the place of the Replicants seeking their creator. And it takes place over Christmas! It is implied in one of the special features on the Prometheus Blue Ray that Peter Weyland invented his androids as an improvement over Tyrell's biological Replicants.

[alcyone]

I also consider Thelma and Louise part of the continuity.

[Omote]

It is implied in one of the special features on the Prometheus Blue Ray that Peter Weyland invented his androids as an improvement over Tyrell's biological Replicants.

I't not implied, it's flat out truth that Eldon Tyrell and Peter Weyland corresponded with each other. Of course, since this was an invention of the 20th Century Fox promotions department only for the Prometheus Blu-Ray, it has been scratched from any official capacity as being in the same "movie universe" as Blade Runner.

~O

[Tadhg]

Very interesting, clavis. I haven't read Dick's book in like 30 years or so . . . SO I obviously need to re-read it.

I recently purchased and watched Prometheus and enjoyed it very much ~ but, which version (original or director's cut) of Blade Runner do you suggest for viewing that sequence of those movies?

For Blade Runner watch the 2007 Final Cut, which includes the unicorn dream and origami (the Unicorn was a medieval Christ symbol). The plot of Prometheus parallels Blade Runner, with humans now in the place of the Replicants seeking their creator. And it takes place over Christmas! It is implied in one of the special features on the Prometheus Blue Ray that Peter Weyland invented his androids as an improvement over Tyrell's biological Replicants.

Thanks.

And I see that I have the Blu-ray of Prometheus. Not sure which Bladerunner version I possess . . having many including my Super Beta HiFi tapes!

[finarvyn]

I think that it's so cool that a thread can have the title "Deckard is not a replicant" with no other context supplied, and everyone knows exactly what is being discussed.

I've seen several threads on this topic on various boards over the years and have no idea what the answer to the question might be (I don't feel enough of an "expert" on BLADERUNNER to really feel like I "know" the answer) but it's fun to see the discussion.

I can see where a book and a movie might diverge enough from one another so that the two answers might not agree. And that different versions of the movie might lead one to different conclusions. That's kind of mind-blowing as well.

[Tadhg]

Well said, Fin!

[Lurker]

Well said, Fin!

Rgr that.

And I've seen this conversation turn ugly in other places, but not here ...