Blade Runner 4K UHD (1982)

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by Drooch

Oh that’s OK then Dude, they’re innocent workers. Do you really think Sebastian deserved to be murdered by Batty?

I get that. But they're still part of Tyrell Corp, which to the Replicants is the enemy.

They probably killed them purely that reason. Remember that they're emotionally and morally immature.

I'm not condoning it, I'm just saying that I get why they did it.

The same applies to Sebastian.

[Gorakijac]

The Tyrell Corporation manufactures slave labor, and all its employees are morally complicit in its actions. The rogue Replicants (Batty et al) are runaway slaves, and Deckard kills runaway slaves on sight. The society in which they live benefits from the slave labor, so no one in it is "innocent". Some are just worse than others. There are no real Good Guys here.

Slaves on a doomed quest for "more life", who in their short life span have been exploited and treated as expendable, can hardly be expected to adhere to a moral code that is absent from the society around them! (Oh, you bad bad Replicants, don't kill people! That is so mean!) So one possible view of Blade Runner is a moral one: if you do not want to live in a world where life is disposable, then do not allow people (including artificial people) to be treated as such. It is simply enlightened self interest.

I was not happy about Sebastian being killed either. He seemed the most sympathetic character.

[Geoff D]

Blade Runner in “morally grey areas” shocker

[Geoff D]

And that’s what I love about Roy and Co., we’re supposed to feel sympathy for their plight but at the same time they’re murderous machines. If people feel uncomfortable with that dichotomy then good, you’re supposed to. The movie isn’t meant to provide easy answers just so folks can fill in their Plot Hole/Character Motivation Bingo cards and rest easy at night.

[NotASpeckOfCereal]

Originally Posted by Drooch

I guess we can write his legendary ‘tears in rain’ death monologue off as the mindless blather of a short-circuiting psycho-robot.

Not really. He was hunting Deckard down almost as play sport, telling his shut down body "not yet" while pushing the nail through his hand. And after he grabbed Deckard to save him from falling to his death, he gave him a long, hard stare as if to be contemplating the balance of life, existence.

At that point, he could have thought several things, such as "I have one last thing to say before I expire and your are my audience", or "This one is a replicant too, just like me, so I'm not going kill him".

I didn't say he was mindless. He was obviously a complex, evolved individual. And this whole film (as well as 2049) begs the question if replicants have a soul, so nyet to "mindless ... short-circuiting psycho-robot."

Either way, none of that invalidates that he cruelly killed everyone else before that moment, probably even the poor guy that helped him get to Tyrell.

Chris

[AreaFive]

Originally Posted by NotASpeckOfCereal

And after he grabbed Deckard to save him from falling to his death, he gave him a long, hard stare as if to be contemplating the balance of life, existence.

At that point, he could have thought several things, such as "I have one last thing to say before I expire and your are my audience", or "This one is a replicant too, just like me, so I'm not going kill him".

I've always wondered if Roy's sparing of Deckard was, at least in part, a showing of superiority, as if to say, "my creator may not have been able to give me more life but I can give you more by sparing you. In that way, I win over you both."

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by AreaFive

I've always wondered if Roy's sparing of Deckard was, at least in part, a showing of superiority, as if to say, "my creator may not have been able to give me more life but I can give you more by sparing you. In that way, I win over you both."

That’s what’s so good about that moment, Batty has been leaving a literal trail of death in the film but instead of going out in a nihilistic blaze of glory by taking Deck with him, he saves his life instead. Up is down, black is white etc etc

[happydood]

Y'all just made me want to watch this again right now.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by happydood

Y'all just made me want to watch this again right now.

Good.

[AreaFive]

Originally Posted by happydood

Y'all just made me want to watch this again right now.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by AreaFive

Less teal than the final cut

[anephric]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

That’s what’s so good about that moment, Batty has been leaving a literal trail of death in the film but instead of going out in a nihilistic blaze of glory by taking Deck with him, he saves his life instead. Up is down, black is white etc etc

It's underlined by Batty going back to Pris during the end fight and weeping over her. I don't think he does it out of any notion of superiority: in that final moment of his existence, any life, even that of the man hunting him who has killed all his friends and his lover and would show him absolutely no quarter in the same situation, is the most precious thing he can contemplate.

[jurid]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

It should be the same material, yes, but something happens. I’ve seen the same thing on Kino’s BDs where they include legacy features, they seem to use the same 480i60 material encoded in MPEG-2 and yet it comes out more jagged. Worth checking what codec the SD on the BR Blus is encoded in though.

OK, it looks like those smarties at WB "converted" 480i60 MPEG2 on DVD to 480p30 H.264 for Blu-ray. Interlace flags got messed up, hence in many instances halve of the lines on BD disappeared. Very smart indeed.

[Drooch]

Originally Posted by NotASpeckOfCereal

Not really. He was hunting Deckard down almost as play sport, telling his shut down body "not yet" while pushing the nail through his hand. And after he grabbed Deckard to save him from falling to his death, he gave him a long, hard stare as if to be contemplating the balance of life, existence.

At that point, he could have thought several things, such as "I have one last thing to say before I expire and your are my audience", or "This one is a replicant too, just like me, so I'm not going kill him".

I didn't say he was mindless. He was obviously a complex, evolved individual. And this whole film (as well as 2049) begs the question if replicants have a soul, so nyet to "mindless ... short-circuiting psycho-robot."

Either way, none of that invalidates that he cruelly killed everyone else before that moment, probably even the poor guy that helped him get to Tyrell.

Chris

OK, it’s just that you commented on the murder of Sebastian that ‘he was probably not planning out his moves in a thoughtful, meaningful manner’ so I figured the you found his death monologue to be equally thoughtless and meaningless.

[bradnoyes]

Rewatched this last night on my new setup (expect a lot of UHD Revisited posts from he coming soon) and I enjoyed this about as much as I ever have. It was interesting to read the recent posts on this page because I found myself loving Batty more than ever and feeling less sympathetic towards nearly everyone else in the film.

I know folks take issue with some elements of this disc but it is still one of my favorites. It was a joy to watch it on the new 77" screen and a more proper immersive audio setup. Such an engrossing experience.

[gates70]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

Rewatched this last night on my new setup (expect a lot of UHD Revisited posts from he coming soon) and I enjoyed this about as much as I ever have. It was interesting to read the recent posts on this page because I found myself loving Batty more than ever and feeling less sympathetic towards nearly everyone else in the film.

I know folks take issue with some elements of this disc but it is still one of my favorites. It was a joy to watch it on the new 77" screen and a more proper immersive audio setup. Such an engrossing experience.

Nice! Fun when you rewatch all your movies on a new setup. Been doing the same. I love this disc all around, period.

[MonolithicErik]

Seeing the 4K UHD in Atmos for the first time was tantamount to a religious experience. I wept with joy...

[Geoff D]

Oh I wept all right, upon seeing the cruddy compression and hearing that shoddy remix.

[trevanian]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Oh I wept all right, upon seeing the cruddy compression and hearing that shoddy remix.

A question: regarding the massive differences in opinion on these issues, is it a matter of what kind of home theater one has, or is it something more about the kind of eye and ear one brings to their entertainment?

I'm saying this as somebody who picked up the BR UHD (used, for a song) even though I don't currently have a TV that supports it, figuring that I'm going to upgrade very soon anyway (have had UHD-capable player for a few years.)

I guess I'm asking whether this is more in the vein of the debate over the various 2001s circulating after Nolan's unrestored print or something even more in the weeds.

I'm more confused than ever, having just looked at screencaps comparing different blu-rays of Lynch's DUNE yesterday and finding that about half or more of the 2009 caps looked better than the newer, supposedly much improved one (and even the new ones that looked better to me seemed to have color timing issues, at least to this color-blind lad.)

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by trevanian

A question: regarding the massive differences in opinion on these issues, is it a matter of what kind of home theater one has, or is it something more about the kind of eye and ear one brings to their entertainment?

I'm saying this as somebody who picked up the BR UHD (used, for a song) even though I don't currently have a TV that supports it, figuring that I'm going to upgrade very soon anyway (have had UHD-capable player for a few years.)

I guess I'm asking whether this is more in the vein of the debate over the various 2001s circulating after Nolan's unrestored print or something even more in the weeds.

I'm more confused than ever, having just looked at screencaps comparing different blu-rays of Lynch's DUNE yesterday and finding that about half or more of the 2009 caps looked better than the newer, supposedly much improved one (and even the new ones that looked better to me seemed to have color timing issues, at least to this color-blind lad.)

Way more about the latter, I think: the eye and the ear. But see how you’re like the most madly critical person of Star Trek on the planet? Transpose that to AV quality and you’ve basically got someone like me.