Studying Blade Runner: Instructor's Edition

by Sean Redmond

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is now widely recognised as a masterwork of science fiction cinema,and one of the most influential of any films released in the last twenty-five years. In Studying Blade Runner, Sean Redmond uses the key concepts of media and film studies-film language, representation, institutions, and audiences-to explore the significance of the its breakthrough use of special effects as a narrative tool; the film's revolutionary representation of the future city; its treatment of racial and sexual politics; its unique status as a text whose meaning was fundamentally altered in its rereleased "Director's Cut" form-and what this means in an institutional context.

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a nice balance between real appreciation of a film, and a real critical study of it. Sean Redmond lays out a wide selection of strategies for reading and studying the film Blade Runner, and while there were passages where he went into a little more summary than I really needed his passion for the film, and his insights made me push through it. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to dig deeper into the film Blade Runner and begin writing or lecturing about the film.

[Ryan Splenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a student of film studies, this is the perfect "intro book" on how to break down the technical aspects of a film, as well as the larger thematic elements involved with a film. Redmond does a great job of using film language in this analysis of Blade Runner, while also explaining the meaning of the terms used. While there are great discussions of the themes explored in Blade Runner at the beginning of the book, the second half seems less inspired and rushed. Consequently, the book seems only half-finished. Nevertheless, it is a nice, quick read for anyone interested in this hybrid, Sci-Fi classic.