Textual Analysis On The Trailer Of
Blade Runner
Blade runner is a futuristic dystopian film. It is
about a man called Rick Deckard who is a
police officer long retired from his job as a
"Blade Runner”, a blade runner is someone
who hunts for rogue replicants. He is called
back from retirement to help with 4 replicants
heading towards earth. He is almost killed on
his mission to destroy these replicants, but he
has help from Rachel who seems human but is
in fact a replicant, she ends up forming a
partnership with Rick.
Blade Runner Trailer
Narrative Structure
At the beginning of Blade Runner, the first shot
is the picture on the left and it said ‘Los
Angeles November, 2019’ this is a pastiche in
itself of our ideas of the East, West and future.
It shows the decline in the world and things
starting to come to an end for humanity. This is
a genuine fear amongst humans. As the trailer
progresses, we start to learn more about the
main character Rick. Then the trailer starts to
pick up up pace as Rick is trying to find these ‘6
replicants in a city of 106 million people’.
He quickly learns that that in fact the replicants are
after him and that is where he meets one in the picture
below, but he ends up being saved by Rachel who is a
replicant. Rachel becomes a helper to Rick in the film
which is typical of Dystopian films. Rick Then starts a
relationship with Rachel and together they fight against
the ‘evil’ replicants.
Character
In the trailer we establish that the main
character is Rick. Rick is a typical lone anti
hero and you can definitely sense it in the
trailer. Additionally, Rick comes across as quite
a forward thinking man and is very good at his
job. On the other hand he can be seen as quite
a lonely character at times and that contributes
to the fact that he is a anti hero. But Rick
himself may be one of the ‘more human than
human copies’.
Rachel is another important character because she
acts as a helper to Rick. She is also a replicant herself
but seems to be against the other replicants as she
takes a liking to Rick. Without Rachel’s help Rick
probably would have died, and in the trailer you can
see their relationship grow as the trailer goes on.
Camera
The cinematography in the trailer is also very important
and helps us with the understanding of the characters.
The first couple of shots in the trailer are establishing
shots of LA and what it looks like in 2019, for example
the two top images on the left. The city LA city in Blade
runner is seen as a postmodern city, with huge
advertising posters promoting a off world colony for a
more attractive world. This is quite hyperreal for the
audience watching because we have not discovered
what is beyond earth in terms of people living, and it is
a question always on peoples mind if there is another
life form outside of earth and this film plays on this
idea.
There are Birdseye view shots of the city, and close
ups of the ‘new’ technology. There are also close
ups of the main character Rick as we try to figure
out more about his character, you never know
whether Rick is one of the more human than
human copies. This is another hyperreality because
the film deals with the concept of human
manufacturing, programming emotions and how
we cope in a world where the image overrides the
individual. In the trailer there is never a clear
daylight close up of Rick and that adds to the
mystery of his character.
Titles And Sound
The titles appear at the end of the trailer but they fit
into the theme of the trailer very well. They appear in
bold red writing towards the end of the trailer and that
gives the trailer a sense of mystery. The fact they come
in red, gives it a sense of thriller. Blade Runner is a Sci
Fi Thriller film which is a mixture of two genres. This
comes across very well in the trailer, because some
parts are of the futuristic city, new gadgets and so on,
but it also has a sense of thriller throughout the trailer
from when Rick discovers the replicants are after him
to the bold red title at the end.
The Sound in the trailer begins with the sound of
a futuristic vehicle, like the one in the picture on
the right. The Soundtrack starts when Rick gets
told that he is needed back. Additionally there is
a voiceover explaining what a blade runner is. It
then goes onto a voiceover of Rick trying to find
these replicants. When Rachel saves Rick in the
trailer, a different soundtrack starts as he notices
its her and then it follows their relationship.
Then the tempo of the music picks up towards
the end as it comes to an end and the title Blade
Runner appears in bold rec writing.