Blade Runner (1982) is a film that has been released in multiple different versions but the original 1982 released was viewed as the most controversial. Aspects of this include many reasons but some such as the "loosely-faithful" adaptation and ending could have been forgiven but the voice over in the film is nonredeemable. The purpose of the voice over was to explain the ongoing events to the audience while also adding a noir-style feel to the movie. The decision to use the voice over for Blade Runner(1982) was something that was clearly wanted by the producers of the film. Producers are in the film business to make money and to ensure profit they usually target the lowest common denominator. This lowest denominator will pay for most things and are not the hardcore fans of the subject material. To garner to one demographic group would be financial suicide by a production company. It takes away from the movie in a lot of areas and also dumbs the movie down tremendously. Despite the overall disapproval, by both Scott and Ford, Ford was contractually obligated to record the voice over, (Pfeiffer, 124). Ford’s voice is very monotone and the audience can tell that he did not want to do this.
Another reason for the voice over was that it was meant to provide valuable insight of what Deckard was thinking throughout the film. The story and writing should have been good enough for the audience to follow the story line without Deckard just telling the story. At many times, Deckard is simply telling the audience the obvious and it gets extremely annoying to an audience to have their intelligence constantly insulted. From the voice over the audience is expected to gain Deckards inner thoughts and "emotions" but these are both adequately displays by the repealed reactionary personal shots of Deckard's face. I do not think that the viewers learn anything from the voice over other than that the producers think they are idiots.
It’s unfortunate that the voice over was actually added because it does not add anything to the movie in my opinion. When I watched the film without the voice over I didn't feel like I was missing anything. The voice over is something that should not have been added.
I agree that the voice over was rather pointless and went so far as to undermine the intelligence of the audience. Although I do believe that there were some elements of the film (i.e. the electric owl in the Tyrell Corporation’s office) that I would not have understood without having read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the voice over did nothing to clarify these ideas. All it did was state the obvious and explain conclusions that I could have come to myself. Despite my reservations regarding the film’s plot, it is loaded with fantastic visual imagery and a lot of symbolism, further rendering the voice over unnecessary. I would even say that Harrison Ford’s tone as he reads off the script is not simply monotone, but also loaded with sarcasm. Either way, it is clear that Ford had far more respect for the abilities of his fans and other moviegoers to discern the plot than the producers did. It is a shame that the backers of the film were unable to find another way to adjust the film as a result of its bad reviews in the advance screenings or could not place enough confidence in its director or creative team to leave it as it was.
ReplyDeleteVery well written analysis. I agree that the voiceover in the 1982 version of Blade Runner is completely unnecessary. Ford’s monotone delivery makes matters worse because you can tell he genuinely did not want any part in this. Because Ford was contractually obligated to record the voiceover, I think he should have delivered it in a more upbeat or lively way. Producers regularly doubt the American publics intelligence and in this particular situation, felt that the voice over was necessary for audiences to understand what was going on. I feel that the on screen visuals are enough to explain the story. I also agree that while the voiceover does provide insight of Deckard’s inner thoughts, the dialogue and on screen imagery was enough to explain the story line efficiently. Ford simply repeats the obvious of what has just played out on screen or what is about to happen. Altogether, I found the movie hard to watch all solely because of the Ford’s monotone voiceover. I look forward to watching the Directors Cut because I feel I will be able to focus and actually appreciate the film for what it is, rather than being distracted by the producer’s decision to add a voiceover.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the voice over was not needed, it was excessive in moments that were lear to the audience. As I mentioned in my blog the voice over was needed in certain scenes for I was confused myself about what was going on at the moment, but I believe that is the result of a movie put together poorly. If I didn't read the book before hand I surely would have been lost and the voice over may have served a bigger purpose but the movie was suppose to be based off the book. The movie was not able to convey the meaning of each scene so the voice over was imputed to do just this which I believe was pointless in most of the scenes. I agree that it only explained the 'Inner thoughts" and emotions of Deckard which the viewers don't really have any need for throughout the movie.
ReplyDelete