Hollywood legend Harrison Ford is known for having some of the biggest franchises Hollywood has ever produced in his bag. From Indiana Jones and Star Wars to Blade Runner, he has headlined all of them and inevitably gained a massive amount of appreciation for his performances. However, just because the audiences or the critics happen to like something does not mean Ford will like it as well. Such is the case with Ford and the cult classic Blade Runner.
Released in 1982, the movie is known to have a total of seven cuts with one featuring Ford’s character Rick Deckard narrating the scenes from the get-go. However, according to the Indiana Jones star he did not enjoy any version of the movie that later went on to become a visionary masterpiece, as he could not really relate to the character or the story. Although over the years his perspective is known to have changed slightly, especially with him coming back for the 2017 Blade Runner: 2049 sequel.
Harrison Ford’s bitter experience with Blade Runner
Harrison Ford has expressed numerous times his dissatisfaction with Blade Runner. And as much as it happens to be because of his complications relating to the movie itself, his conflicts with director Ridley Scott absolutely did not help. Although the movie turned out to be one of the prime examples of philosophy, sci-fi themes, and visuals, during its initial release the reception was less than accepting.
Something Harrison Ford related to, as he could not get behind the process completely. His character Rick Deckard was an ex-cop and current blade runner, that is, his work was to capture artificially engineered humanoids called replicants and retire them using fatal force. Commenting on this, Ford mentioned that he “played a detective who did not have any detecting to do.” Which was one of the major reasons an action hero like him found it hard to relate to.
He especially regretted the voice-overs he had to do for the cut that had his character narrating scenes as he explained that what haunts him the most are not the 50 grueling nights they had to shoot in the rain but the voice-overs. He added how he was, “obliged to work for these clowns that came in writing one bad voiceover after another.” Although he found it all “really nuts” he also explained that he did not like the movie one way or another.
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Harrison Ford’s changed perspective on Blade Runner
Fortunately, as years went by and the movie started gaining appreciation from critics and audiences alike, Ford’s own attitude towards the movie shifted. He noted once in an interview how the movie was “ahead of its time.” Acknowledging the value of Scott’s futuristic masterpiece’s, “impact on generations of filmmakers and visual storytellers,” he noted that the purpose of the movie was not completely lost by the reception it gained in this release year.
Director Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford have also managed to sort out their differences in the meantime it seems following the 2007 release of Blade Runner: The Final Cut, in which Scott shared a lot of Ford’s visions as he cut out the narration part. As such not only his perception of the overall experience improved but also made it possible for him to reprise his role in the 2017 Blade Runner: 2049 with Ryan Gosling.
He also acknowledged the impact the movie had in his life and how he thought that the sequel might be a lot well received as the audience might be able to connect to it immediately unlike the original movie. Well, it is extremely fortunate that he can finally be able to recount the memories of what is termed one of the best performances of his career, especially as fans continue to hope to see him in such a role once again.
Source: The Independent
