Twenty-five years ago, the Ridley Scott film Blade Runner became an instant science fiction classic. Set in a sodden, squalid Los Angeles of 2019, the neo-noir masterpiece influenced a generation of filmmakers and video-game designers. Scott’s cyberpunk gem almost instantly became the most important film in the canon of movies people like me love.

Admittedly, I’m still such a fan that I watch it at least once every few months.

In Blade Runner’s dystopian near future, replicants [genetically engineered humanoids] do the hard work on off-world colonies. After a bloody mutiny the androids are forbidden from coming to Earth. So when six rogue replicants return home, they must be “retired” [hunted down and killed] and Ford’s Deckard, once a top replicant hunter, or “blade runner,” is pulled out of his own retirement to do the job.

F/X experts who’ve worked on Star Wars Episodes, on the Matrix films, on AI and Terminator agree that 25 years later there are ways in which Blade Runner surpasses anything that’s been done since.

Watching it even now showcases Scott’s genius for creating stunning effects with simple technology.

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