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Blade Runner
(***1/2)
Do androids dream electronic sheep? What makes us "human"? 1982's Blade Runner asked these questions in their own way; as Batty (Hauer) met his end finally in the original cut Deckard (Ford) wondered what made us human. Perhaps this is an explanation of his feelings for the replicant Rachael (Young).
The 1990 director's cut explores this in a different way. But perhaps it's better to explain the movie before I start blathering about the differences. A "blade runner" is a police officer of sorts. Instead of people they arrest, their job is to "retire" renegade replicants. That is exactly what this group is. Several replicants are nearing the end of their short life, and they hijack a ship in space and head for earth. They're a new breed of replicant, and their intelligence makes them illegal on the planet earth.
Led by Batty, the renegades come to earth to find out why they are this way, and to ask their maker Tyrell (Joe Turkel), for an extended life.
Deckard is a blade runner...or he was. He was one of the best, and when the renegades are discovered on earth it's his job to "retire" them.
So why is Deckard the best? The original cut of "Blade Runner" just says he's the best and leaves it at that. Part of Deckard's experience is discovering what it means to have mercy; to be human. The 1991 cut opens an altogether new door; Deckard may be a replicant.
It begins as a taunt from Rachael, "have you ever tried using your test on yourself?" Has he? We don't see him with any family, all he has is dozens of faded photographs. This is all some of the replicants have to call their own too. Deckard's dreams are bizarre, from his tests it's pretty typical that android's dreams are like this.
In the end, this new plot line exists only to have us question it. Just as we never learned whether or not Arnold was dreaming in "Total Recall", we don't really know if Deckard is human or if he's a replicant specifically designed to hunt other replicants. Make your own judgments here.
One of the great things to exist in the world of "Blade Runner" is the sense of philosophy. It's not a practical working by any means. However, it's a story with cajones enough to have faith in what it's telling us, and in the end it tells us what they think it is. Far too often films take their theme and package it up into a nice neat little bundle. Blade Runner presents you the pieces, and you make your own determination.
Of course, it's just a story.