Blade Runner is one of the rare films that initially flopped at the cinemas but would go on to become one of the most acclaimed and beloved films in its genre. For years, critics and fans have deconstructed the messages and morality of the philosophy from the Philip K. Dick adaptation. Although the Harrison Ford sci-fi vehicle now has its legion of fans, many also think the film’s well-intentioned, heady themes and groundbreaking special effects are lowballed by the execution of the plot’s unraveling.
According to SlashFilm, the classic’s director, Ridley Scott, called out those who are critical of the movie’s pace in an interview with Total Film Magazine, “I hadn’t seen Blade Runner for 20 years. Really. But I just watched it. And it’s not slow. The information coming at you is so original and interesting, talking about biological creations, and mining off-world, which, in those days, they said was silly. I say, ‘Go f**k yourself.'”
Scott would also reflect on working on the Blade Runner‘s script with Hampton Fancher, “He had this peculiar cadence with the rhythm of his style, which I loved. But I brought the world to it because he’d written a play that was set in an apartment, where the hunter has kept his quarry, and fallen in love with her. I said, ‘But what’s going on in the world outside?’ So it evolved from that moment on.”
While Harrison Ford minced no words about how miserable filming was for him, Scott shared his sentiment as he had his own misery during the production. “[The shoot] was a very bad experience for me. I had horrendous partners. Financial guys, who were killing me every day. I’d been very successful in the running of a company, and I knew I was making something very, very special. So I would never take no for an answer. But they didn’t understand what they had. You shoot it, and you edit it, and you mix it. And by the time you’re halfway through, everyone’s saying it’s too slow. You’ve got to learn, as a director, you can’t listen to anybody. I knew I was making something very, very special. And now it’s one of the most important science-fiction films ever made which everybody feeds off. Every bloody film.”
Ridley Scott’s latest film, Napoleon, comes out on November 22.