A-Level Film Blade Runner booklet

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You will answer one question from a choice of two, requiring reference to two Hollywood films,
one from the Classical Hollywood period (1930-1960) and the other from the New Hollywood
period (1961-1990).
The focus for these questions is on the following core areas, with context foregrounded
• the key elements of film form – cinematography (including lighting), editing, sound, mise-en-
scène, performance;
• meaning and response: how films function as both a medium of representation and as an
aesthetic medium and
• THE CONTEXTS of the films: social, cultural, political, historical and institutional, including
production.
• AUTEUR THEORY: how ‘auteurs‘ determine the look and style of a film in relation to the
collaborative approach to film production within Hollywood cinema
• How auteurs, through the imprint of their ‘signature’ features, can make a significant impact
on a film’s messages and values.
• (See page 13 and pages 20 and 21, Component 1, for further detail.)
A typical question for these films would be:
“Compare how far your chosen films reflect the auteur signature features of their
filmmakers.” [40]
Elements of this question...
‘Compare– this means you MUST directly compare your two films. You need to be critical and
exploratory in your answer: aim to find an answer that applies to both films and/or viewpoint
quickly and establish this at the start of your answer. This will allow you to then explore the idea in
the question in a cohesive and expressive manner.
‘how far’ – essentially this gives you scope to analyse the film in your own way. You need to
answer the question but you can really develop a long, detailed analysis with plenty of personal
interpretation because of these two words
‘reflect’ – a crucial word here, that forces you to give evidence of your ideas. If you give a position
or idea, it must be reflected in the film with relevant evidence.
‘auteur signature…’ – as we’ll explore, ‘auteur’ theory means that the director is viewed as an
author with a specific style. You’ll need to explain and explore what tropes you believe the
director/s utilise in the film and why, in relation to the question.
Overall: this question wants you to compare the two films by explaining how much each shows that
the directors involved have left their personal and indelible mark on the films, covering where we
see these signatures or tropes and ideally, exploring how and why the context may have influenced
these decisions.
Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990 (comparative study)

An advised approach
o Before you start, sketch out a plan for your argument and/or your approach.
o Ensure that you’re familiar with the auteur features of each director.
o Be confident with a wide range of contextual details for each film and the select the most
relevant for that question and your planned argument.
o Choose the most relevant scenes for the question but ensure that they are ones that you
know very well and can analyse and apply to your choice of context and auteur signatures.
o Decide on a few points for each scene, shot or moment of the narrative that will show how
your chosen approach creates meaning and understanding. If you’re struggling for points
then you’ve picked the wrong scene.
o Get your points and chosen scenes into a good order. It might be that you look at the
scenes in the order they are in the film or you might build up to the most meaningful scene.
o Don’t start until you have a secure plan and a core argument because the great essay won’t
emerge as you’re writing it.
o Make sure that the response is persuasive. Whilst you’re not writing a ‘persuasive‘ essay,
your ideas need to stand out as being well-written, well-observed and well-researched; an
original and interesting argument will allow you to do this.
Some final tips
ü Name directors and their intentions, eg. Scott shows us…
ü Smart students often remember the names of people other than the director, Cronenweth’s use
of high key lighting…
ü Examiners like students who correctly use the technical terms, see the example above.
ü Refer to characters by their names, not the actor’s name and where they are the same, define
this early on in your essay.
ü Avoid using ‘you’. Eg. When you see this you think that … This is clumsy expression, refer to the
audience or we, when we see… etc.
ü It is perfectly acceptable to suggest meaning rather than insist that x means y. You are studying
complex films so verbs like suggest, implies and denotes are key to showing that this is your
interpretation and modal verbs like ‘could’ and ‘perhaps’ allow you to explore ideas without
trying to claim that your idea is definitive.
ü Make sure ideas are supported by relevant examples from your chosen scenes. Don’t refer to a
scene unless it helps to prove your point.
ü Re-read your work before submitting it. Any unclear idea is likely to be ignored by examiners,
they won’t spend time organising it for you or trying to guess what on earth you mean.
ü And finally…spelling and punctuation, even capital letters for names. Don’t let silly errors
distract from the work you are presenting.

Now, re-read this and refer to it for any practice essays and revision.
Finally, the focus of this section is on auteur theory (and how contextual factors may have
influenced these). To this end, this means that the following areas will need to be considered,
learned and studied, especially in relation to BLADE RUNNER, as any of these could be the focus
of an exam question.
The idea of the auteur as a critical approach derives from an earlier period of Film Studies when
critics aimed to demonstrate that films are ‘authored’ by individuals, most obviously the film’s
director, rather than being generic products. Today, the concept of the auteur can be applied to a
film or group of films in order to identify and explain its distinctive characteristics, arguing that
these derive from a principal creative individual (most commonly the director, but it may also
include cinematographers, performers or institutions).
Key things to learn and consider in possible exam questions then include:
• how auteurs determine the look and style of a film in relation to the collaborative approach
to film production within Hollywood cinema.
• how auteurs, through the imprint of their ‘signature’ features, can make a significant impact
on a film’s messages and values.
• this idea of the auteur places filmmakers within the context of the Hollywood film institution
in which they worked.
• to what extent it is possible to identify the distinctive contribution of creative individuals,
most often directors, within a large industrial production process
• how far it is appropriate to talk about these individuals as auteurs
• how far it is more appropriate to consider filmmaking as a collaborative process.
• to what extent contextual factors may influence or have a direct impact upon the filmmaking
process and final product, regardless of what an auteur may want from a film.
This booklet is intended as a guide through the study of the film, incorporating the following focus
areas:
• A contextual analysis of the film exploring: the history of the film, its production contexts
and the social, political, cultural and historical contexts that surround the film;
• an explanation and study of ‘Classical Hollywood’ and the filmmaking tropes of this
movement.
• an exploration of film noir as a genre
• detail on auteur theory and Ridley Scotts as a person and filmmaker
• core analysis including the key elements of film form: cinematography, mise-en-scène,
editing, sound and performance;
• key scene analysis guidance/questions and
• a sample essay questions and guidance for answering.

Even before initial theatrical release, BLADE RUNNER was an intriguing, ambitious and deeply
troubled film and since its release in 1982 he film has beguiled and gripped audiences, in part,
because of its complex and interesting production history. An adaptation of the novel DO
ANDROID DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by iconoclastic, sci-fi royalty, Philip K. Dick, BLADE
RUNNER is a wonderful example of how a visionary director can find ha their vision and ambition
can be derailed by budgets, technology, audience reception and of course, production companies.
Crucially however, the film is excellent. However, the instant reaction upon release, was mixed.
Legendary film reviewer Robert Ebert, in his 3-star review of the film, proclaimed that “The movie's
weakness, however, is that it allows the special effects technology to overwhelm its story. Ford is
tough and low-key in the central role, and Rutger Hauer and Sean Young are effective as two of
the replicants, but the movie isn't really interested in these people -- or creatures.”.
However, Robert Osborne’s review in The Hollywood reporter was much more effusive, stating
“The picture is a triumph for Scott, who whallops [sic] over the “B.R.” thesis and atmosphere with
a strong sense of style, and relentlessness. He is aided immeasurably by Lawrence
G. Paull’s breathtaking production design and the strong special photographic and visual effects
supervised by Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer,
Jordan Cronenweth’s cinematography is also noteworthy and underneath it all, eerie music
by Vangelis, often emphasizing a wailing saxophone, makes as much of an impact as did his
score for the decidedly different cup of tea, Chariots of Fire.”
A key genre of Hollywood, science-fiction (hereafter referred to as sci-fi) has been a mainstay of
Hollywood filmmakers and for modern audiences is a key genre in the ‘blockbuster’ or ‘popcorn
flick’ movements. Defined broadly by impressive CGI or special effects to create believable, but
often dystopian, alternative worlds, sci-fi films often explore big thematic ideas often through the
lens of one or two core characters and how these futures have an impact upon them as ciphers for
the audience. It’s these bold and ambitious ideas that tend to mean that sci-fi films are expensive to
make and therefore have an inherent pressure built into them to financially succeed.
BLADE RUNNER is a perfect case study precisely because of its combination of being a genuinely
excellent film, a vital part of Ridley Scott’s videography, but also suffering from a complex and
genuinely fascinating production and distribution history. It also neatly follows the lineage of
classic detective and noir thrillers, allowing audiences to savour and compare the classic noirs with
a modern interpretation that utilises modern filmmaking techniques and ideas, whilst still
maintaining and referring to the recognisable tropes of film noir.
RATIONALE: WHY STUDY BLADE RUNNER?
It seems ageless, despite being set in 2019. This is
a future more murky than shining, where hardened
men move among the lowlife in a warren of streets
lit like an Edward Hopper painting, below pyramid-
like skyscrapers.
Kate Muir, The Times

Harrison Ford
as Rick Deckard
Sean Young
as Rachael
Daryl Hannah
Hauer as
Pris
Edward James
Olmos as Gaff
Joe Turkel as Dr
Eldon Tyrell
Directed by:
Ridley Scott
Produced by:
Michael Deeley
Written by:
Hampton Fancher
David Peoples
Based on:
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - 1968
novel by Philip K Dick
Starring:
Harrison Ford
Rutger Hauer
Sean Young
Edward James Olmos
Daryl Hannah
Joe Turkel
Music by:
Vangelis
Cinematography:
Jordan Cronenweth
Edited by:
Terry Rawlings
Marsha Nakashima
Produced by:
The Ladd Company
Shaw Brothers
Distributed by:
Warner Brothers
Release dates:
June 25, 1982
BLADE RUNNER FACTFILE
Rutger Hauer as
Roy Batty

RESEARCH TASK: Conduct some research and answer the questions below in as much detail
as you can:
1. When was the period commonly known as “New Hollywood”?
2. What are some of the characteristics of New Hollywood films?
3. What happened to the “big five” and “little three” before this period? What was the
situation from 1960s onwards?
4. How did these studios operate, how much freedom and control did they allow their
directors/production teams in the creation of the films they funded?
5. Watch and summarise the video on New Hollywood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um46KwfRIwA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qvubc_khZs
6. What was “film noir”? Recall and summarise using prior knowledge.
7. What is science fiction? Watch and summarise and make a list of generic and narrative
conventions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4j5tGNms14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNMmP9cG_uo
8. What can you find out about Ridley Scott:
▪ Biographical details.
▪ How he operated within the studio system.
▪ What characterises his films.
▪ How he was treated by the studios.
▪ His most famous films.
INITIAL TASKS

Unlike the production history of THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI,
the production of BLADE RUNNER was very well documented
and has become its own cottage industry of sorts. Whilst this
booklet will attempt to summarise and distil some of the core
aspects that are relevant to our studies, entire documentaries,
books and numerous articles should also be read to help
broaden and develop your appreciation of the troubled but
fascinating production problems that many people involved
faced. However, just as with THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI, it’s
worth remembering that the individual stories, tales and anecdotes told may be different from one
version to another, depending on whose perspective they come from. We also need to be mindful
of the differing versions of the film and the differing production details for each-these differing
aspects will be covered later in this guide.
Soon after publication in 1968, Philip K. Dick’s novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC
SHEEP was looked at for possible adaptation into a feature film. After a failed attempt by Producer
Herb Jaffe which was summarily dismissed by Dick and a rumoured interest by Scorsese, the idea
wasn’t developed until 1977 when it was optioned by screenwriter Hampton Fancher. Ridley Scott
officially joined the project in 1980, as he tells it, to take his mind off the death of his brother who
had recently passed away. Scott believed that the screenplay could be turned around quickly, and
that the expansive and ambitious production would be the tonic he needed to keep him distracted
in a creative manner. He quickly became deeply involved with the film, and his role could be
described more of a Director/Producer/Scriptwriter given how
detailed his involvement was. By 1980 Ridley Scott was a well-known
and well-regarded Hollywood director. He had spent the 60s in the
UK working in TV and making adverts (perhaps most notably “the
UK’s favourite TV commercial” for Hovis in 1973 (see right) and for
essentially creating the ‘perfume adverts as mini-epics’ trend on his
work for Chanel No. 5 in the 1970s. In 1977 he directed his debut
feature THE DUELLISTS which whilst not commercially successful
won Best Debut Feature at the Cannes film festival. He followed
this up in 1979 with ALIEN after seeing STAR WARS (1977)
and being blown away by the potential for special effects laden
feature films. Both a commercial and critical smash, ALIEN not
only set the template for sci-fi and horror genres forever, but
also gave Scott almost carte blanche in Hollywood. His record
of both sweeping epics and intimate character-drive stories
meant that he was a great fit for his next project, attempting to
adapt Frank Herbert’s apparently unfilmable sci-fi epic, DUNE.
As with many others before and after him though, Scott left the
project unable to get his version of the film on the screen. It was
the opportunity to direct BLADE RUNNER though that was
Scott’s next, and arguably his most troubled, project.
PRODUCTION HISTORY

Scott studied graphic design at the Royal College of Art but was
influenced by filmmaking, citing specifically the style of cited THE
SEVEN SAMURAI, CITIZEN KANE and THE THIRD MAN. Leaning
into his education and personal interests, Scott works as a
storyboard artists on his films, using pencil and ink to create detailed,
vivid storyboards that lay out his vision for the screenplay and
displaying his unique visual style which is broadly defined as featuring striking composition and
lighting and intensely detailed production design. In the case of BLADE RUNNER, Scott created
some storyboards but also employed Sherman Labby and, as he did when working alongside H R
Geiger on ALIEN, collaborated with ‘futurist’ Syd Mead to help design the concept of the overall
world of BLADERUNNER. Mead worked primarily on the concept art for the film, producing
designs for the environments but also specific props such as the “spinner”, the flying car used by
Deckard in the film, and the Voight-Kampff machine, which is essentially a complex lie detector
that measures eye movement and airborne particles emitted from the body of the subject.
Scott specifically credited Edward Hopper and his painting
Nighthawks as well as French sci-fi
comic METAL HURLANT and the artist Moebius. He also said that
he wanted the landscapes to reflect “Hong Kong on a bad day”
and it’s also clear that Scott was influenced by
the industrial landscapes of his home in North
East England (below left) and Italian futurist Antonio Sant’Elia (below right).
There is also more than a hint of Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS in the overall design
of Los Angeles in 2019, with the multi-level, labyrinthine and imposing
skyscrapers Finally, Scott rounded out his team by utilising the considerable
talents of legendary special effects creator Douglas Trumbull with Lawrence G.
Paull as production designer and David Snyder as art director to bring the pre-
production sketches to life.
Principal photograph
was quite brief-just 4
months, ending in July
of 1982, but occurring
2 years after Scott
joined the project,
BLADE RUNNER was
not a ‘quickly made’
film, and throughout those near 2 and a half years, various issues cropped up, with the issue of
finance being most problematic. It was
Producer Michael Deeley who bought
Scott on board and together they
developed the film into the huge,
sprawling, visually striking piece that
Dick’s novel demanded. A large
aspect of this was trying to create a
literal scale and develop the world of
BLADE RUNNER to be as tangible as

possible, ultimately creating a gigantic working set on the Warner
Brothers studio lot in Burbank California to resemble their vision of
Los Angeles in the future. Using the ‘New York street’ on the studio
lot, dozen of crew members worked tirelessly to manipulate, change
and develop every possible facet of the street, from the colours of
buildings, working neon signs, right down to the parking meters.
There was even an intricate network of plumbing installed so that rain
could be artificially created at will, a complicated and large task. For
Scott and his crew though, this wasn’t just a case of making things
from new, rather about manifesting Scott’s ideas of how Dick’s ideas
should be represented visually. Scott believed that the future of New
York for example, would see huge adaptations and changes to suit
the new and ever-changing environment that humans lived and
worked it. But these adaptations would come, he felt, externally: buildings would be too big, too
fixed and too permanent to adapt internally, so instead he envisioned
a cityscape covered in incremental changes, adornments and
developments that over time would essentially transform the sleek and
generally restrained designs, into something uneven and lacking a
coherent design. However, the production design team did not simply
add ‘bits’ onto buildings and the landscape-a core idea was that
every meaningful addition should have a purpose, a reason or a
‘backstory’ as to why it was there. For example, air conditioner units adorn the side of many
buildings in New York, and Scott felt that his adapted city should borrow this idea, but reflect a
further 40 years of adaptation. One such given example is of a
parking meter which was adapted to include solar panels and
additional sections for payment using things other than cash, c
reating a more complex, detailed but interesting prop. Of course,
few of these ideas will even make it to be a prominent part of the
film, so in some respects this level of detail is a waste of time, energy
and resources, but in a time when CGI was incredibly limited and
basic, this was the only way to create a believable environment. The
sheer scale of the set was so extensive that the crew gave it the
nickname of Ridleyville. Some filming took place on location, for
example in Bradbury Building (see right), the 2nd
Street Tunnel (later
seen in THE TERMINATOR amongst many others) and Union Station
which was converted into the police HQ in the film. Of course, sets and
location shooting like this costs a lot of money and it was the issues
around finance, in part, that eventually lead to the ‘sacking’ of Scott and
producer Michael Deeley.
Production wasn’t easy and
securing the funding needed for
Scott’s vision was complex. The
screenplay too needed work, and
David Peoples was hired to rewrite
sections (though Peoples later
claimed that the script was so good that he didn’t know how
to improve it) which lead to Fancher leaving the project in a
fury. The spiralling costs, the protracted production time, the

clashes between Scott and leading man Harrison Ford, Dick’s reluctance
to agree to specific aspects of the initial script from Fancher and the initial
studio reaction all caused significant issues overall. Whilst Dick was
eventually pleased with progress and the initial special effects reel (he
said “I saw a segment of Douglas Trumbull's special effects for Blade
Runner on the KNBC news. I recognized it immediately. It was my own
interior world. They caught it perfectly.") he [assed away before the film
was complete. However, not everyone was pleased with the film and
how it was developing. Bud Yorkin, a co-financier of the project was distinctly unimpressed with the
spiralling budget and some crew members too were not keen on Scott’s method of working and his
singular vision for the film. Scott later admitted that he wasn’t the most
flexible or even kind person to work with, but he and Deeley were
essentially sacked from the film. Both sought advice and help from relevant
Unions and they stayed on the film through to the completion, but the
problems did not end there. After the initial rough cuts were complete, they
were shown to test audiences who did not take kindly to the film and,
despite Scott’s wishes, several dramatic changes were made.
A key criticism from the test audiences was that the narrative was complicated and difficult to
comprehend. As a result, Harrison Ford reluctantly recorded a voice-over to help make key
aspects of the story, characters and general exposition clearer. Perhaps even worse though, was
the insertion of a new, definitively happy ending for the film. Many of the visuals for the
establishing shots from this new ending actually came from ’off-cuts’ from Stanley Kubrick’s THE
SHINING, helping to develop the feeling that this new additional ending felt out of place.
In the vast majority of films, the completion of a film would see the end of the production period.
For BLADE RUNNER, things were far from finished. Costing a total of $28m, the film made back
around half of this in its original theatrical run-a costly and disappointing result for all concerned,
but the film audiences saw wasn’t the original film that was test-screened, nor was it was a film
which Scott envisioned and aimed to make. This guide will spend more time later on examining the
differing versions of the film, but it’s key to recognise that upon release, and despite the changes
made for the audiences based on the test screenings, the film was a commercial flop but critically
well received.
BLADE RUNNER was released at a fortuitous time
however. A year after its initial theatrical release, the film
was made available for home viewing on VHS and other
rival formats and in 1987, on LaserDisc, a progenitor of
the DVD
format. The
ability of home audiences to watch and rewatch the
film and explore the dense narratives, interesting
themes and luscious visuals, meant that BLADE
RUNNER became a cult classic. Audiences revelled
in the backstory of characters, the ambiguity of
Deckard and the lavish production design and it
became a towering influence on

film audiences, sci-fi writers and later, video game designers. then, starting in May 1990 and
continuing throughout 1991, the original ‘workprint’ of the film, the one shown to test audiences,
was shown across a variety of theatres in LA. These shows sold out time and again and with
extremely positive audience reactions, the films ultimate producer and distributer Warner Brothers
set about making a ‘Director’s Cut’ of the film. Released in 1992, The Director’s Cut followed the
template of the workprint and removed the voice-over and the studio-imposed happy ending to the
film, as well as the now-iconic ‘unicorn scene’. Whilst Scott consulted on this edition, it’s perhaps
not entirely accurate to suggest that it was a true Director’s Cut given that it was film
preservationist Micheal Arick who was ultimately in charge of the officially sanctioned project. It
wasn’t until the release of the ‘Final Cut’ in 2007 that Scott finally had complete editorial control
over the picture and as well as keeping the changes from the 1992 version, also saw some CGI
enhancements and changes and a restoration of the original film, meaning that the film was
suitable for release in HD formats such as Blu-Ray for the first time. From inception in 1980 to
release of the Final Cut, it took 27 years for Scott to finally realise his ambitions and see the
BLADE RUNNER that he wanted to make.
TASK 1:
Create a timeline of key events and production history of BLADE RUNNER. Aim to include no more
than 10 events of moments.
TASK 2:
On the ‘cue cards’ below, summarise the key details from the production history into 6, 30 word
sentences. Take note of the ‘title’ of each.
RIDLEY SCOTT ADAPTING THE NOVEL
PRODUCTION DETAILS PROBLEMS & ISSUES POST-PRODUCTION
INFLUENCES

POST-WAR, BABY BOOMERS, COUNTER-CULTURE, CAPITALISM, A SHRINKING WORLD AND
THE RISE OF THE MEGA CITY
Post-war America had a dramatic few decades. From the initial post-
war boom in the 1950s, the changing gender roles in society, the
assassination of JFK, the Watergate scandal and the Cold War, things
were never easy. The boom and the relative idyll of the 1950s perhaps
bet represented what the American Dream was, but the decades that
followed saw, as some saw it, a looming threat to the American way of
life. As the intensity of the Cold War escalated, so did the trauma in
American society; JFK’s assassination took place in broad daylight and replayed on TV, the Cuban
Missile Crisis threatened to literally end America and the rise of the counter-culture movement in
the 60s saw American society begin to change from within. This change was driven, in part, by the
rise of the Baby Boomers, the generation of children born directly after WW2 who then grew up
and came of age during the 60s as teenagers – where their parents before them would have been
more traditional in their values, it is a fair generalisation to suggest that the post-war baby
boomers were more ‘countercultural’ in their views and outlook. Whilst Elvis had ‘shaken things
up’ in the 1950s, by the 1960s anti-authoritarian rock stars dominated the landscape and the idea
of ‘teenage rebellion’ really took hold.
The tensions between the generations were further reflected by the anti-
war demonstrations that aimed to put a stop to the Vietnam war. Almost
from the very beginning, the war was a disaster for America. Despite
experiencing victory in the space race, and having a consistently
prosperous economy built upon a foundation of capitalism, the super-
power was humbled by the largely Communist minnow, Vietnam.
Perhaps more accurately: it was an unmitigated disaster. After years of
deaths, lack of progress, brutal losses in battles, civil disobediences at home and a huge financial
toll, America eventually headed home from Vietnam with its tail between its legs and the view of
American as an unstoppable super-power no longer held any weight. Whilst the decline of the
Soviet Union was rapidly underway, America also felt an intense pressure from Asia and
specifically, Japan, and its growing financial power, as well as raft of companies which were
making technological strides that made America look almost quaint in its slow development and
lack of innovation.
Anxiety existed in American too over globalisation and
the increasing ‘shrinking’ of the planet, with jets,
commercial air travel and even super-sonic aeroplanes
meaning that it was never easier to not get from one part
of the word to another. The changes in American culture
from the 60s onwards left many American with a sour
taste and worried that the changes had lead to a lost
culture due to the increasing influence of foreign powers
and peoples. This was keenly felt across America but
especially in New York where the financial power of the country and its leading companies meant
that Japanese companies and leading entrepreneurs were buying prime and landmark real estate.
POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

During the economic and population boom, urban centres saw rapid
population increases. New York for example, saw people arrive in
droves, attracted by the high-rise buildings with low rents, the bright
lights of showbusiness and a desire for the young to be a part of
something bigger than small town, rural life. In the years after World
War 2, those aspiring and in need of work flocked to the city but
didn’t find the jobs and opportunities they expected: by 1975 the
city had lost a million manufacturing jobs since 1945, the city’s population grew to an estimated 16
million but at least 1,200,000 of those were on welfare-Government support for the unemployed. The
city then found itself in debt by at least $5billion and there was no optimism for a better future: the city
was falling apart; the East River bridges rusting to near collapse, public restrooms essentially didn’t
exist, roads were covered in pot holes and cracks, subway trains were filthy, the whole system was
consistently late and generally, fairly unsafe. The overall look of the city was one of decay: vandalism
was rife, storefronts were used to advertise pornography shows and X-rated videos, old theatres in
Times Square rotted away or were torn down to make way for office space and, as a result of a strike
by garbagemen, an estimated 48,000 tonnes of garbage was left on the streets.
To try and save money, the city laid off 45,000 fire and police workers and some 7,000 teachers.
Crime soared, as did arson, and the number of murders in the city had more than doubled over the
past decade, from 681 in 1965 to 1,690 in 1975. Car thefts and assaults had also more than doubled
in the same period, rapes and burglaries had more than tripled, while robberies
had gone up tenfold. Such was the sense of paranoia and fear over the city, that
the now infamously hyperbolic ‘Welcome to Fear City’ pamphlet was produced
and distributed to arriving tourists at New York airports in 1975. The guide
suggested 9 things to do that may allow you to get out the city alive and whilst
more of a work of dystopian fiction that reality, the feeling that ‘The Greatest City
In The World’ was a dark and dangerous place was palpable.
Across the world, other ‘mega cities’ emerged in a similar manner, driven by a
need for jobs and a desire for ‘something better’, people flocked to places like Los
Angeles, Rio De Janiero and Mexico City, each witnessing a similar fate to that of
New York in the long run.
TASK 3:
Create 5 questions to answers that could be found in the information above. The answer MUST be
accessible by reading and should ideally cover a range of areas of topics. An example is below:
1. How many teachers were laid off by New York city council?
TASK 4:
Select 5 key events from the context above. Summarise into bullet points and then rank which do you think
has had the most profound effect on modern society.

THE BIRTH OF NEW HOLLYWOOD, THE DEATH OF THE HAYS CODE AND THE RISE OF THE
STUDIO BLOCKBUSTER
The Paramount Decree of 1948 dealt a huge blow to the monopoly that film
studios had over the art and commerce of filmmaking. At its core, it forced
Hollywood studios to break up their monopoly of the production, distribution
and exhibition chain, with studios choosing to sell off their cinemas. As a
result, this allowed smaller film production companies to distribute their films
easier and in turn, this deprived the biggest studios of the huge profits they
were used to generating from tickets sales in their own theatres. Independent producers played a
key role in opening up the previously closed-shop of Hollywood studios and production
companies, with new production ideas and a range of new production processes began to flourish.
Producers aimed to create creative, artistic and unique films that were under the artistic control of
director and to appeal to a new type of film audience.
A good example of this is American International Pictures (AIP)
production company, which, from 1955, produced low-budget films that
were primarily created for a teen audience. These films allowed first-time
actors their first breaks and the likes of Robert de Niro, Peter Fonda,
Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson worked alongside producers and
directors such as Roger Corman (right) in producing films to a tight
schedule, for a low budget and designed to entice a young audience.
Corman, in particular, was a maverick producer, turning round films at
a rapid rate (so the story goes he made his very of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS in less than 2 full
days), on a minimal budget and aimed at a teenage audience keen to watch B movies full of sex
and violence at drive-in cinemas. One of his methods for keeping costs so low was to hire new or
emerging directors, often straight out of film school, and the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin
Scorsese, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, Joe Dante and later James Cameron all worked with
or for him. The likes of AIP also helped to erode the power of the Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA) – the organization who were responsible for the regulation of films via the
Production Code (also known as the Hays Code). Given that the only real sanction that the MPAA
could enforce if their rules were broken was to stop films from being in MPAA member theatres,
but due to the Paramount Decree, the major studios had sold off many of those theatres so the
punishment was severely blunted.
As a result, independent producers increasingly pushed the limits of the
MPAA’s Production Code by including more
sexually explicit and violent content, mostly in an
effort to appeal to the younger generation.
Narratives too became more anti-establishment and
pushed the moral boundaries, explored political
ideas and questioned the idea of patriotism and the American way of life,
resulting in never-before-seen films. Perhaps the most influential in this regard
was Arthur Penn’s BONNIE AND CLYDE in 1967. Often seen as the
watershed moment in the history of modern American cinema, the film’s
overt sexualization of its lead characters and its glamorization of violence
CULTURAL AND INSTITUIONAL CONTEXT:

and a life of crime was a direct challenge to the Hays Code. The film was a spectacular hit and whilst
the initial expansion of independent filmmaking in America was slow, buoyed on by the likes of
BONNIE AND CLYDE, EASY RIDER and CANDY, companies like American Independent Pictures (AIP)
began to develop a significant market presence.
The late 60s and 70s then saw a slew of relatively cheap,
provocative titles that were perhaps only made because of the rise of
the independent production company and the use of directors who
were visionary, creative and overall, ambitious. From Scorsese’s
classic TAXI DRIVER, to Walter Hill’s underground cult smash THE
WARRIORS, films such as THE FRENCH CONNECTION, ESCAPE
FROM NEW YORK (left), MARATHON MAN and DEATH WISH, presented the world at odds from
classical Hollywood. Cities were dark, decaying and full of corrupt morals and crime. Garnering
critical and commercial success, these films triggered larger, more traditional production studios into
producing films in a similar style, but the likes of Michael Chamino’s now infamously sprawling and
ambitious Western HEAVEN’S GATE, and later, BLADE RUNNER, instead saw Directorial control and
ambitious visions spiral out of control. Budgets were passed, production periods lengthened, and
audiences were turned off and stayed away.
Instead, it was the Summer blockbuster than really proved
successful. Often cited as the first summer blockbuster, JAWS lead
the way for bug Hollywood studios investing in ‘blockbuster films’,
spectacle-led films which thrilled audiences with stunts, often
relentless action and engaging, often impressive ensemble casts.
JAWS, alongside the likes of THE EXORCIST, THE TOWERING
INFERNO and ROCKY were all led by impressive Directorial
talents but worked with large production companies who provided
good sized budgets, support for the making of the film but also a
fairly tight support network to ensure that Directors didn’t lose their way in the production period.
Crucially though, it was perhaps the move from using a stepped distribution system that gave the larger
theatres priority over distribution and exhibition of film, to a model whereby as many cinemas as
possible aimed to show the film on the opening night. This introduced nationwide release dates that
saw more efficient, effective and impactful marketing campaigns. Overall, this new model saw
increased ticket sales and oriented films towards more family-friendly storytelling. The pinnacle came
with STAR WARS in 1977 and studios believed that effects-laded, big, ambitious films released to great
fanfare and effort were the way to go for big profits. This situation perhaps meant that, in some
manner, the timing was perfect for BLADE RUNNER to be made, but perhaps the audience the film
needed was also never really there.
TASK 5: Watch this video on the importance of Corman on Scorsese. Make notes and use to help
with the following discussion task. https://youtu.be/cVADc7wnbJg
DISCUSSION TASK: To what extent do you feel that BLADE RUNNER could only have been
made in ‘New Hollywood’, or would this film have been possible, in sorts, during the classical
Hollywood period?

As mentioned previously, the release of BLADE RUNNER was far
from ideal and has contributed to the cult status it has since
gained: upon release, the film was a commercial and generally, a
critical flop. If a cult film can be said to be something that
acquires a following of devoted, almost fanatical fans who pour
pver detail and who defned the film from naysayers, then BLADE
RUNNER was a cult film almost from the beginning. It is fair so
say that BLADE RUNNER was misunderstood by critics. Whilst not
universally disliked, many critics took against it. The criticisms
weren’t especially united in their specific critisms, but the overall narrative was undoubtedly a
stumbling block for many. That’s perhaps not especially surprising though as it was an issue for test
audiences before release and even during production screenwriter Hamton Fancher was essentially
replaced by David Peoples to help ‘improve’ the script. Clearly then, the ‘big ideas’ of existentialism,
the Promethian myth, and the question of nature vs nurture was thematically a lot for an audience.
As well as this, the lack of (at least in the first version of the film) a clear conclusion to the narrative
was problematic. Of course, the original theatrical release did indeed feature a ‘traditional’ ending,
whose included was mandated by the studio, but this clearly wasn’t enough to appease all audiences.
David Pirie in Time Out magazine said that “The android villains are neither
menacing nor sympathetic, when ideally they should have been both. This
leaves Scott's picturesque violence looking dull and exploitative.” The Los
Angeles Times was just as unkind, stating that Scott’s film was so slow that
they called it “Blade Crawler” and influential critic Pauline Kael, argued that
“Scott seems to be trapped in his own alleyways, without a map.” Variety
Magazine’s review stated that the film is “a stylistically dazzling film noir set
37 years hence in a brilliantly imagined Los Angeles… Special effects and
sheer virtuosity of the production will attract considerable attention but
unrelenting grimness and vacuum at the story’s center will make it tough to
recoup reported $30 million budget, not to mention ad-promos costs.” And
quite precientlty, it suggested that “Critical reaction will probably vary
widely.” Indeed it did.
Audience’s were perhaps slightly more forgiving, but the box office return was underwhelming,
earning $26 million by the end of its summer run in 1982. Clearly the film wasn’t a success, though this
could be in part due to the summer releases which featured not only E.T THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL
dominating and genrating over $400m at the Box Office, but also THE THING, POLTERGEIST, MAD
MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR, TRON, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN and CONAN THE
BARBARIAN. BLADE RUNNER earned 2 Academy Award nominations for Art Direction and Visual
Effects (losing in both categories), but the film was not a ‘success’. At least immediately: the film had
plenty more life in it yet.
BLADE RUNNER was released on VHS in 1983, just as the format was becoming near-ubiqitous in
American homes. The ability to rewatch, replay and select key moments to watch, meant that the film
was now more accessible and understandable to audiences who could indulge in the film. Such
indulgence was a vital aspect of what was to become a renaissance for BLADE RUNNER in the home
RELEASE AND CRITICAL RECEPTION

market. After nearly a decade of replays and a now-devoted cult following, rumours and demand for a
‘Director’s Cut’ took root, and the release of the original ‘workprint’ (without voice-over or tacked-on
ending) in LA cinema The Fairfax, BLADE RUNNER found a new
life. Audiences finally had the chance to see the film that Scott
had originally planned and the sold out show at The Fairfax
prompted more screenings. Whilst how much Warner Brothers
actually knew or consented to this is somewhat apocrophal, the
Work Print version of the film was shown numerous times to sold
out shows that had huge demand. Indeed, other cinemas began
hiring copies of this ‘new’ version of the film to show at their
own sold out shows and it’s clear that at some point, WB
realised that there was some money to be made here.
In May 1993 the Director’s Cut launched on VHS (more on the specifics
of this later) and it was a success commercially and critically, with reviews
praising the film much more effusivley than before. The emergence of the
DVD format provided another opportunity for WB to release the film to
the home market and this ‘new’ version of the film essentially became the
defacto version of the film. Released in 1997, 15 years after the original
theatrical release of the film the DVD was another smash hit: whilst tracking the sales figures and
income of home media is very difficult, the usually reliable website the-numbers.com estimates that the
DVD sales of BLADE RUNNER up to the end of 2017 could be as high as $27,273,722 and when
combined with the later-availale (estimated) Blu-sales of $32,519,996, suggest that BLADE RUNNER
had finally become a financially viable ‘hit’. It’s important to recognise that the sheer number of
versions and limited editions produced and made available would have undoubtedly helped in these
figures-the devoted fan base will include serious collectors and completists who rabidly bought any
new versions that offered different versions of the film, tweaks, changes or special features. Alongside
this, a cottage industry of books and documentaries supported the BLADE RUNNER production story.
DANGEROUS DAYS, a 3 hour long documentary made for the Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition on
DVD, HD DVD & Blu-Ray in December 2007 has itself
become an important part of the BLADE RUNNER canon
and helps to highlight just how devoted the fan base is
and also just how much material and details there are
available.
These sales will undoubtedly have contributed to the
‘green light’ given to produce a sequel, BLADE
RUNNER 2049, but the level of appreciation, love and
fervour towards the film has also undoubtedly
contributed to the belief that any new film in the
franchise could be a financial success.
DISCUSSION TASK: What defines the success of a film? To what extent is the box office a good
indicator of the success of a film? What other metrics might we consider in deciding if a film is a
success? Considering the versions of BLADE RUNNER that have been made, do you believe that the
film was a success?

There are many definitions and examples of what makes
‘New Hollywood’. Perhaps the most easily appreciable is the
idea that this was American Cinema reborn and by the first
generation of Film School graduates.
Hollywood New Wave doesn’t have a definitive
“beginning”, but American cinema of the 1960s began to
look quite different for a variety of reasons. One was that the academic study of Film became
more popular than ever and the students and ‘first wave’ of graduates were influenced by the
increasing international distribution of films, with films from the French New Wave proving to be
especially influential. Hollywood was still coming to terms with a new way of working after being
utterly disrupted by the Paramount course case and the traditionally dominant film studios
struggled between evolution and trying to hang onto their traditional methods of working. The
traditional studios then continued to largely produce the types of films that were successful decades
ago. This staleness withing the studio system, or
what was left of it, provided an opportunity for new, fresh
talent to come along and shake things up, and they certainly
did. By the late 1960s a slew of young filmmakers were
readying their first releases, but it was the release of BONNIE
AND CLYDE and THE GRADUATE (right), both in 1967 that
truly shook things up. Both pictures were daringly explicit and
pushed the Hays Code as far as possible, with THE
GRADUATE featuring sexual activity and BONNIE AND CLYDE featuring sex and extreme
violence. It’s argued that both films pushed the Hays Code so far that they essentially ended it,
and in doing so opened the floodgates for not just controversially explicit films, but creativity
overall.
Across the world ‘New Wave’ movements had been taking
place and developing exciting and creative new forms of film
across the world since the 1950s. With it came a new
generation of filmmakers whose work was increasingly seen
and studies across the world, especially by those students in
American film schools. The most notable and perhaps famous
of these global filmmakers included Ingmar Bergman of
Sweden, Italy’s Federico Fellini, Francois Truffaut who was a key figure in the French New Wave,
and Japanese legend Akira Kurosawa. These four directors changed the landscape of their
domestic film industries, in part through radical new ideas, but also their fresh approach to film as
both an artform and entertainment product. American filmmakers took inspiration from these
filmmakers, and ran with it, not just considering how films told stories, represented people and
conveyed thematic ideas through innovative ideas and practises, but also in covering previously
taboo subjects, portraying them explicitly and in pushing censorship rules. It wasn’t all controversy
for the sake of it, but New Hollywood was quite the revolution in filmmaking and was hugely
influenced by others, especially with Italian Neorealism's influence on Scorsese and Kurosawa’s
influence on George Lucas.
NEW HOLLYWOOD

Following the critical and commercial success of both BONNIE
AND CLYDE and THE GRADUATE (and the helpful press that went
alongside the controversy of the films) others studios and
production companies looked to making their own ‘innovative’ film.
1969 saw the release of MIDNIGHT COWBOY and despite
receiving an ‘X’ rating from the Motion Picture Association of
America, (meaning unsuitable for children and could not be send by under 17s in theatres, the X
rating later became synonymous with pornography despite not being developed or designated as
such, however, pornographic films often self-applied the "X" rating as it wasn’t a registered
trademark) but more importantly, the film won Best Picture at the 42nd
Academy Awards, further
showing that New Hollywood wasn’t just controversial, innovative or crowd pleasing, but a careful
considered and exciting new chapter in film making in America.
TASK 6: Conducting research, what other contextual factors may have also had an influence on
the development and creation of the New Hollywood movement and the types of films that
emerged from it? Summarise your ideas in 5 main bullet points below.
From here, Hollywood delved into these types of films and supported this new breed of filmmakers and
with it, establishing household names and eventually development talent that can only really be
described as legends of cinema. Jack Nicholson for example, having worked with Roger Corman and
American International Pictures (AIP), was a New Hollywood star off the back of his turn in FIVE
EASY PIECES (1970) which was a critical smash that went on to be nominated for Golden Globes
and Academy Awards. Released a year later, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW performed even better
at the Oscars, being nominated for 8 awards and despite controversy over the use of nudity in the
film, Director Peter Bogdanovich (below, left) became one of the most in-demand Directors in
American cinema.
A former pupil of Orson Welles, Bogdanovich won Best Director for his work on THE LAST
PICTURE SHOW and alongside other successful New Hollywood directors Francis Ford
Coppola and William Friedkin, formed The Directors Company.
Together, they secured a generous production deal with Paramount
Pictures that essentially gave the directors carte blanche if they kept
within budget limitations. Whilst The Directors Company is perhaps a
good indicator of auteur theory in practice, but given the innovative,
perhaps maverick, nature of the filmmakers, the ‘company’ didn’t last
long, given the reticence of the directors to work to budgets and
traditional ideas of moviemaking.
Perhaps the next cornerstone film in the New Hollywood movement, AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) was
a huge hit at the box office and appealed directly to the younger audiences that cinema was keen to
engage. Directed by George Lucas, the film was a nostalgia-laden trip of youth culture in 1960s

California and enraptured fans and critics alike. The success of AMERICAN GRAFFITI opened many
doors for Lucas who followed up with influential sci-fi thriller THX 1138 and later of course, STAR
WARS, which itself became part of a wave of blockbuster films that were partially responsible for
killing the New Hollywood movement.
A key figure in the New Hollywood movement, Francis Ford Coppola made 3 films in the space of 2
years that many today laud as some of the greatest of all time. Following on the great classical
Hollywood tradition of Gangster films, THE GODFATHER (1972) and THE GODFATHER PART II
(1974) took full advantage of the pressure on the Hays Code and the emergence of the MPAA ratings
system to create violent, aggressive, and dark (both literally and metaphorically) gangster films
alongside paranoid thriller THE CONVERSATION (1974) to truly cement his role as the face of New
Hollywood.
By 1975, New Hollywood had seen a huge pool of talented
individuals come into the industry and make waves, creating
commercially successful films that were also welcomed by critics and
lauded at Awards ceremonies. However, it was two key members of
the so-called Film School Generation who were about to initiate the
slow death of New Hollywood and usher in a new era-the summer
blockbuster. Firstly, JAWS, directed by film school poster-boy Steven Spielberg, was marketed as a
‘blockbuster’- a mix of expensive, impressive and ground-breaking special effects in a film that was a
mix of drama and thrilling set pieces. Released in the summer and distributed so that it could appear in
as many theatres at the same time as possible, JAWS set standards for marketing campaigns,
merchandising and exhibition models that were later the standard model for blockbuster film releases,
in part, because JAWS was so successful. Hollywood studio executives then saw a formula for success,
as a result the template for the summer blockbuster was born and was to be repeated endlessly
afterwards. Two years later, STAR WARS followed the lessons learned from JAWS and went on to
become one of the most financially successful films of all time. Lucas’ sci-fi epic broke new ground in its
use of special effects and, to an extent, ambition, which ran counter to the grounded, socially-conscious
approach of New Hollywood films like EASY RIDER and TAXI DRIVER.
Given the success of the likes of STAR WARS and JAWS, Hollywood chased the huge financial
rewards that came from the summer blockbusters, but the rise of the independent film production that
came alongside the New Hollywood movement didn’t go easily away. The epic war drama THE DEER
HUNTER explored the effects of the Vietnam War on the lives of ordinary American citizens. The film
featured an extraordinary cast of Robert DeNiro, John Cazale, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken
and was a huge success, earning director Michael Cimino a huge
amount of cache and opportunity later on. However, the
production of the film was troubled, going over-budget and over-
schedule, with producer Michael Deeley (who later went on to
produce BLADE RUNNER) overseeing the complex and ambitious
film. It eventually made a sizable profit and Cimino had
essentially his pick of what project to work on next, and was given carte blanche with his next film
HEAVEN’S GATE (1980). An entire booklet could be dedicated to this epic Western, but ultimately,
the film was s staggering flop, bankrupting the production studio United Artists. The failure
of HEAVEN’S GATE, alongside the success of JAWS, E.T THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, STAR WARS and
the lessons learned from the pid flop CLEOPATRA in 1963 made studios reconsider giving complete
control to a film’s director. Whereas previously, directors like Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg proved
that they knew how to make commercially viable films, studios now held a much tighter grip on the
finances and as a result, some of the key creative choices as well.

Whilst New Hollywood gave audiences and film fans a legacy of exciting ambitious and innovative
films and film makers, it also gave us the modern summer blockbuster, and when both combined
successfully, films were bold, modern and unlike anything seen before.
TASK 7: Below is a pie chart that needs creating. Divide the circle to reflect to what extent is Scott
New Hollywood? Give it a percentage with reasons either side.
TASK 8: Below is a pie chart that needs creating. Divide the circle to reflect to what extent is Scott
New Hollywood? Give it a percentage with reasons either side.
TASK 9: Discuss ideas with a partner first and then work collaboratively to create a one-paragraph
response to the following question:
To what extent was New Hollywood not really a film movement, rather a commercial resetting of the
Hollywood studio system that eventually resulted in the summer blockbuster?
Scott is % New Hollywood
because:
•
•
•
Scott is % NOT New
Hollywood because:
•
•
•
BLADE RUNER is % New
Hollywood because:
•
•
•
BLADE RUNNER is % NOT
New Hollywood because:
•
•
•

Just as other cinematic movements featured a ‘manifesto’, the ‘New American Cinema Group’, also
known as the Film-Makers' Cooperative, developed a manifesto, or a blueprint which aimed to create a
template that other filmmakers could follow to ensure that their film met the same ideals as each other.
A key tenet was their ending sentence:
“As they, we are for art, but not at the expense of life. We don’t want false, polished, slick films—we
prefer them rough, unpolished, but alive; we don’t want rosy films—we want them the color of blood.”
Whilst the ‘New American Cinema Group’ developed a somewhat compelling manifesto, this was by
no means the blueprint for all filmmakers or even as influential as the author’s would have hoped for.
But the inclusion of certain lines and ideas does serve as an interesting viewpoint and insight into what
filmmakers in the 60s were considering, for example:
“We believe that cinema is indivisibly a personal expression. We therefore reject the interference of
producers, distributors and investors until our work is ready to be projected on the screen.”
The manifesto is an interesting and relevant read that we shall return to shortly. Instead, consider some
core ideas below as to how New Hollywood films could be designated and defined across as a range
of ideas, disciplines and roles.
NARRATIVE:
Narratives were no longer bound up in patriotic or religious fervour and could explore tougher, more
‘immoral’ ideas and stories. Thematically too, films explored bigger, more expansive ideas but perhaps
more pertinently, challenged norms and societal expectations. The influence of the French New Wave
here was large, and no longer did films have to chronological, uncomplicated and easy to follow.
Events did not have to fit a neat 3 (or 5) act structure or follow one event or action naturally from what
preceded it. Characters too may not be simply definable: characteristics and personalities could be
varied, difficult to pin down and complex. perhaps no longer aspirational. The use of dialogue may not
need to simply be for the purpose of exposition nor have feelings may be obscured under inference
and nuance. Finally, narratives may not be usually resolved satisfactorily in part, because there may
be subplots that may initially seem tangential, but also because there might not be an easy solution to
the larger, existential or spiritual questions being posed in the film.
EDITING:
Editing is generally more experimental and stylised than before. New approaches taken and
influenced by the French New Wave, where the jump cut and montage approaches were often used to
draw attention to the editing process, unlike classical Hollywood with aimed to make the editing
process feel seamless and invisible. Average shot length generally decreased but given that editing
wasn’t always motivated by the narrative, it wasn’t unusual for shot lengths to increase for shots that
seemingly had little immediate impact upon the narrative. Rather, the editing may seek to emphasise
the mood, tone or even theme through long, lingering shots.
SET/SETTING/LOCATION:
Again, influenced by the European film movements, filmmakers took advantage of developments in
camera and film stock technology, and often shot on location. This was also a direct result of a film
production not belonging to a major film studio and therefore having access to a studio lot and also
not having a large budget and therefore, films were shot where was cheapest, available and relevant.
STYLISTIC FEATURES OF NEW HOLLYWOOD

MISE-EN-SCENE:
As a result of shooting on location, of small budgets and often thematically speaking, looking for
realism, a realistic approach was also taken to to costume, props and performance. This helped to
create a sense of modernity and in identifying with a younger audience, the films sometimes actively
encouraged the audience to relate to the characters and the film as a whole. Mise-en-scene then also
allowed the film to highlight its political sympathies or portray very specific representations. For
example, the worn working clothes of supporting characters may mark them out as ‘poor’, leather
jackets and flared denim may portray teenagers or those who engaged in ‘counter-culture’.
CASTING:
As with Directors, New Hollywood was not as beholden to star names or those with reputations. The
leading stars from Classical Hollywood were no longer needed for the leading roles because the roles
were no longer designed for stars in mind as they weren’t designed to sell tickets. Whilst the
Hollywood star system developed from the silent era, the changing landscape of film production meant
that the casting of films too was changing. Stars no longer were ‘managed’ by the studio, were free to
work across production studios and in some cases, allowed an unprecedented freedom for those in the
business. Audiences too were perhaps not clamouring for stars in the same way a before: exciting new
films needed exciting new talents, not those who’d been making generic genre films for decades.
LIGHTING:
Shooting on location means a significant use of ambient lighting and therefore shooting in the day.
Overall, lighting, broadly speaking, contributed to the sense of realism but may also be used more
expressively to influence audience response, just as Classical Hollywood did.
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Cinematography was traditionally used to guide the audience through a narrative with scenes
beginning with wide shots to establish setting and medium long shots and mid-shots to develop
character and close ups will then be used to develop emotional response. The new breed of young
writers, producers and directors understood these rules and would follow and use them, aware through
their studies and experiences as viewers that these ‘rules’ existed for a reason. However, when left to
work without interference from studios, this new breed of talent often produced material that was
unique, personal and perhaps aimed at a new type of audience that wasn’t beholden to classical rules
and techniques. Often due to budgets, films were lit quite naturally, and the images lacked the vivid
Technicolor of earlier Hollywood classics like THE WIZARD OF OZ, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and
CLEOPATRA. Generally, New Hollywood films looked less ‘saturated’ and therefore carried an
appearance of verisimilitude. looking. Shot choice and composition too generally moved on, but
appreciative of the tradition of the experienced rules and established ideas of classic film making.
Framing and composition then may not be ‘traditional’ This is echoed in the unusual approach to
framing and composition taken in some shots and the use of techniques such as canted angles. Camera
movement was no longer only motivated and whilst the steadicam wasn’t in use until the very end of
New Hollywood, handheld cameras and scenes may not be filmed fluidly, resulting in ‘jerky’
movement that didn’t always keep subjects perfectly in frame.
SOUND:
Perhaps mostly constrained by the lack of significant budget, scores were very different to the
orchestral music typical of Classic Hollywood. Instead of the lavish and bespoke pieces, modern songs
were used to form soundtracks or scores that existed for other films were reused and repurposed.

TASK 10: Read the manifesto from the New American Cinema Group. Annotate to explain:
where are their ideas seen/felt in films you have seen or researched and to what extent do you
agree with their premise, across a range of points?
TASK 11: Watch these scenes from a film from the new Hollywood masterpiece, BONNIE &
CLYDE (1967) https://youtu.be/wjVPv5aO_no and https://youtu.be/JBMbrd6t350 . Use the table
below to make notes on the films use of the classical Hollywood features in the left-hand column.
On the right, consider their effect on the audience-how do the creative choices made make the
audience think and feel?
EXAMPLES EFFECT ON AUDIENCE
NARRATIVE
EDITING
MISE-EN-SCENE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND

TASK 12:
Spend some time looking to find examples of films that could be considered ‘New Hollywood films’. To
do this, you’ll need to look online and find at least 5 films that suit the characteristics, stylistic features
and relevant dates that are all established a few pages beforehand. Use the space below to list these
films, including title, name of Director and most relevant release date.
TASK 13:
For one of the films you have listed above, now use the table below to make notes on the films use of
the New Hollywood features in the left hand column. On the right, consider their effect on the
audience-how do the creative choices made make the audience think and feel?
EXAMPLES EFFECT ON AUDIENCE
NARRATIVE
EDITING
MISE-EN-SCENE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND

3 ACT STRUCTURE
In 2021 at the age of 84, Ridley Scott released 2 films, was actively working
on Directing at least 4 other films and was planning to produce at least a
further 15. Ridley Scott is a ferocious, exhausting, relentless talent.
Described by BLADE RUNNER producer Michael Deeley as "the very best
eye in the business", Scott was born on November 30, 1937 in South Shields,
Tyne and Wear in the North West of England. Growing up in a military
family, Scott saw little of his father who was an officer in the Royal Engineers.
The family followed him as his career posted him throughout the
UK and Europe before they eventually returned to return to Teesside.
Scott wanted to joining the Army in his youth following in the steps of his
elder brother Frank who had also joined the Navy. However, it was his
father who encouraged him to develop his enjoyment of, and seeming
natural talent for, art. After studying at a local art college and
graduating with a Diploma in Design, he moved to London and studied
at the prestigious Royal College of Art and gained an M.A. in graphic
design. There he leant into his love of film, specifically LAWRENCE OF
ARABIA, CITIZEN
KANE and SEVEN SAMURAI and his final for his final show, he made a
black and white short film called BOY AND BICYCLE which starred his
younger brother, Tony as well as his father. After graduation in 1963,
he secured a job with the BBC as a trainee set designer having secured the job using his love of
Stanley Kubrick as inspiration in creating a short film version of Kubrick’s film PATHS OF GLORY. He
worked on popular TV shows before opting to branch in advertising, supposedly due to the financial
rewards available. With his younger brother, Tony Scott, he formed the advertising production
company RSA (Ridley Scott Associates) in 1967 and spent the next 10 years making some of the best
known and best loved TV adverts ever shown on British television, including the series of Hovis bread
adverts previously referenced.
In the 1970s Scott began working with legendary producer David Puttnam in the 1970s developing
ideas for feature and their first film together, THE DUELLISTS (1977) was Scott’s debut feature. It won
the Jury Prize for Best First Work at Cannes in 1977 and was nominated for the Palm d'Or, opening
doors for him and giving him huge cache in the filmmaking world. Scott was said to be enraptured by
STAR WARS (1977) to the extent which he abandoned his previous plans and almost immediately got
to work on Dan O'Bannon's low budget science fiction horror movie ALIEN (1979). The film was a
tremendous success, both critically and commercially and in doing so
firmly established his worldwide reputation as a movie director.
After the success of ALIEN, Scott initially planned on adapting Frank
Herbert’s novel DUNE, but as with many others, the difficulty of the
process meant that the film was never made. Instead, in part as a
coping mechanism to deal with the grief of his brother Frank passing
away, Scott agreed to direct BLADE RUNNER and spent the next two
years in pre-production and production on the film before essentially
being fired. His ‘re-hiring’ on the project was done on a technicality
RIDLEY SCOTT

owing to Union rights, but with Warner Brothers being unhappy at the results of test screenings of the
film, BLADE RUNNER was released not as his film, rather a mix of studio interference, scriptwriters
David Peoples and Hampton Fancher as well as Scott tireless and ambitious visuals.
After BLADE RUNNER found a new lease of life on the home cinema market, Scott was consulted
and contributed notes to the making of the ‘Director’s Cut’ version of BLADE RUNNER in 1992,
before working much more hands-on for the ‘Final Cut’ version of the film in 2007.
Scott’s work on ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER earned him a reputation
as a director of excellent, ambitious, and visionary sci-fi films, but his
filmography is much more varied than this. Critically speaking, his
work is generally warmly received, but for every THELMA AND
LOUISE (1991) there is often a LEGEND (1985). His work in the post
2000s typifies this, with the Oscar winning films GLADIATOR and
BLACK HAWK DOWN being highlights, but he was also responsible for the risible ROBIN
HOOD and THE COUNSELOR (2013). Even when working
with his classic franchises, Scott hasn’t been entirely successful,
with his ALIEN ‘prequels’ PROMETHEUS and ALIEN:
COVENANT both released to mixed reviews. Interestingly, both
suffer with the same critics that was aimed at BLADE RUNNER,
that the films look wonderful, but struggle under the weight of
large, existential questions that are often explored through
clumsy dialogue. Perhaps a later-career highlight is another sci-fi film THE MARTIAN, which was
another adaptation but not a script of his, is a taught, thrilling sci-fi film with a tremendous
ensemble cast. Released in 2015, it was a huge success and propelled Scott back into the frame of
‘greatest living Directors’ and with such discussions and momentum, Scott took on a raft of new
projects. Despite reaching 80, Scott shows no sign of slowing
down and continues to have grand, and quite public, ideas about
where he sees the ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER franchises going in
the future. As well as this, he also directed two films released in
2021 and continues to work on
several projects.
TASK 14: Research Scott’s filmography. List the films he has directed and for each the year of
release and the main genre it belongs to.

TASK 15: Watch this BAFTA interview with Scott from 2016 and make notes on key ideas and
insights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zInLxITvRBo
In addition to watching BLADE RUNNER you should try to watch as many SCOTT films as you can,
at the very least you should watch ALIEN, THELMA AND LOUISE, BLACK RAIN and GLADIATOR
to give you a broad appreciation of his range. For now, begin by:
TASK 16: Watching the following clips from films by Scott,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glzYdm7of_E from ALIEN (1979) and BLACK RAIN (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhsViy0zQII
WHAT YOU NOTICE HOW THIS COMPARES WITH NEW
HOLLYWOOD
LIGHTING
CAMERA
MOVEMENT
DEPTH OF FIELD
EDITING (and
transitions)
SOUND
MISE-EN-SCENE

One of the key areas you will need to consider in this
section of the exam is the extent to which distinctive
individual film directors can be auteurs, in the manner
described by Truffaut and Sarris, when they work in an
industry that is highly collaborative.
Consider the following in relation to Scott, who, over his
50 year career, has built up a huge filmography and within this we can see several recurring ideas,
themes and techniques. Some of which include:
FEMALE PROTAGONISTS
Beginning with ALIEN, Scott’s filmography features many
women in the central or leading roles and almost all of
them are strong, fearless, and independent, even if not at
the beginning of the film. This is perhaps especially
interesting to consider after watching BLADE RUNNER and
the representation of women.
THE DIRECTOR’S CUT
Scott is known for his ambitious and meticulous planning of his films which allow him to produce
visually arresting epics. In theory then, he should shoot in an equally meticulous manner, but often
Scott shoots much, much more material than he needs. Ultimately, this gives him and his editors scope
to find the perfect versions of the scenes he wants, but also allows him to retrospectively create ‘new’
versions of his films. Whilst BLADE RUNNER is the clear example, he’s also produced different versions
of LEGEND, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, ALIEN, BLACK HAWK DOWN and GLADIATOR.
SPRAWLING LOCATIONS AS CHARACTERS
Scott leans into his experience as a graphic designer and
director but also as someone who collaborates with
concept artists and production designers to develop huge,
expansive locations.
LIGHTING
His use of lighting is very much defined by the
project, the narrative and the themes of a film,
rather than a personal style. Whilst BLADE
RUNNER and ALIEN are often low key, A
GOOD YEAR and THELMA AND
LOUISE are often bright, high key films that
utilise bright ambient light. GLADIATOR and THE
MARTIAN use both, in part to help emphasises
mood, but one thing that does often stick out is his use of a solitary key light, often resembling a
‘search light’, that permeates the screen, in the likes of BLADE RUNNER, G.I JANE, THE MARTIAN,
ALIEN: COVENANT and BLACK HAWK DOWN.
SCOTT AS AUTEUR

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Scott is known to use long focal lengths, often 75mm and
above, avoiding using wide lenses frequently. Such lenses
are often called ‘zoom lenses’ as they allow the camera
to pick up greater detail from a distance and clean,
precise details in closer, tighter shots. On set, Scott tends
to use the two-camera 'V' set-up, enabling his actors to
play off one another without being constantly interrupted by calls to "Cut!" and allowing Scott to get a
raft of footage from differing angles. Finally, Scott often likes to have significantly tinted or graded
scenes, with a stand-out being the use of blue tint or grade. His tints and grades tend to be quite
‘traditional’ and are used for pathetic fallacy or
denoting weather/climate but often the blue is used
most prominently in his sci-fi films. It’s especially
interesting to note how often he employs near-
silhouetted characters, especially when combined with
the blue tined scenes.
DADDY ISSUES
Many of Scott’s films feature characters who have troubled or difficult relationships with their father, or
in the case of some of his films, their ‘creators’.
RANK AND FILE
Developing this theme further, Scott often features characters and explores theme of ranks, partly in
the armed forces, but also through organisations such as the police and within gangs. This is even
extended to his ‘historical epics’ such as ROBIN HOOD, GLADIATOR and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
where rank and the role of people within those ranks (and their reluctance to accept their ‘minor’ role
or rank) is a key thematic idea that he explores.
WEATHER, SMOKE AND PATHETIC FALLACY
We’ve already seen how Ridley Scott uses colour grading to
establish mood, but he often uses weather further, often to hide or
obscure things and his use of rain, smoke and fog can be seen in
many of his films, often as ‘curtains’ to hide or hold back things.
BLACK RAIN, WHITE SQUALL, 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE
and G.I. JANE all use weather in this way and these also create specifically atmospheric moods. As
well as this he also uses weather to develop stories and narratives, either provoking disasters (THE
MARTIAN) or as an obstacle for characters (PROMETHEUS).
VARIETY
Even a quick scan of his filmography will show his range. Aside from the ALIEN prequels and the
consistent talk of a GLADIATOR sequel (and perhaps the supposed links between BLADE RUNNER and
ALIEN) Scott often directs films which are wholly different from one another. Even when considering
films in the same franchise, PROMETHEUS is very different to the (latterly decided upon) sequel ALIEN,
but films like A GOOD YEAR, THE COUNSELLOR and LEGEND are so different to any other Scott film
that they really stand out. He’s directed many thrillers, but how those have been portrayed on screen
are often vastly different to each other in approach, style and narrative, though often do have some
thematic links, as seen above.
DISCUSSION TASK: So, to what extent is Scott an auteur?

BLADE RUNNER is widely regarded s one of the best sci-fi films of all time. But what is sci-fi?
Science fiction is one of the earliest genres, appearing very early in the silent film era. Whilst initial
attempts were very short, typically 1 to 2 minutes in duration and shot in black and white, the like of
Melies’ seminal LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE (1902) is a masterpiece, in part, because of its ambition,
even as one of the first science fiction films.
As typified from the beginning then, science fiction (or sci-fi), is a genre that uses speculative, fictional
depictions of things which may appear to a contemporary audience to be not fully accepted by
mainstream science, such as extra-terrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar travel or
other technologies. As well as narrative or visual aspects, science fiction films are used to explore ‘big’
thematic questions, such as issues of politics, theology, sociology or philosophy. As a result, what
qualifies as a sci-fi film can vary enormously, but some core aspects that may help identify a film as
being sci-fi may include:
• recognisable or ‘believable’ imagery;
• liberties taken with scientific knowledge of the time of the making of the film;
• aliens, alien lifeforms, metaphorical aliens and the ‘extra-terrestrial’;
• disasters;
• identity;
• robots and
• time, time travel and time manipulation.
Of course, the ideas above aren’t a definitive list and the significant development of the genre over the
last 100 years has meant that the genre is a vast and fascinating one. Below is a brief, and potted,
history of the genre, allowing us to consider not only what a science fiction film is, but what it has been
at different point and therefore how BLADE RUNNER sits amongst the genre.
1900s
THE ROUNDHAY GARDEN SCENE is now widely recognised as the
first film recording in 1888 and whilst the Lumiere Brothers developed
and popularised film at the turn of the century, they believed that, just
like ROUNDHAY GARDEN SCENE, that film was the preserve of
essentially, science. They believed that film had the sole purpose of recording actualities, an early
form of documentary that showed real people, places and events and did
not seek to tell a story. However, it was George Melies who as a former
theatre performer, began to push the boundaries of what film could be,
with his short films A TRIP TO THE MOON and THE IMPOSSIBLE
VOYAGE, released in 1902 and 1904 respectively. Both films represent
the general idea science fiction films at the time, though today we’d
perhaps consider the films more of a work science fantasy. Méliès films
generally followed groups of intellectuals or adventurists who make a
voyage to a fantastical place or through use of vaguely scientific
equipment. These films were wildly popular and spawned a wealth of
imitators, both in the 1900s and later on.
SCI-FI

1910s
With Méliès' last film, THE CONQUEST OF THE POLE, being
released in 1912, science fiction films began to move away from his
fantastical approach and becoming more ‘grounded’. Movies such
as 1916's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, which was the first
movie film partially underwater, and MASTER MYSTERY, an
American film from 1918 starring illusionist Harry Houdini, typified
the move towards a more grounded, harder, and more tangible
scientific fiction. Subject matter tended to include scientific
expeditions and robotic automatons which showcased the world's budding curiosity about
technological advancements of the day. ‘Cine-literate’ and mature also began to become more
accustomed to the feature length film and understanding of more complex techniques of
filmmaking to help tell narratives, such as cross-cutting. Early in camera tricks and demand for
‘recognisable’ films also leads to “sci-fi” hybrids emerging, with adaptations of FRANKENSTEIN
and DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE being especially popular.
1920s
As we have seen, many of the sci-fi films in the 1910s were escapist fantasies.
However, the 1920s marked a shift and filmmaking became more sophisticated,
with screenwriters and directors beginning to infuse social commentary into the
movies they made. Science-fiction literature had set the precedent but the 1920s
helped to establish movies to be social allegory. Perhaps the greatest example of
this in the decade is Fritz Lang's 1927 masterpiece METROPOLIS. A perfect
example of the German expressionist movement and heavily inspired by German
industrialism, the film featured an allegorical exploration of the widening gap
between the rich elites and the poor working class. METROPOLIS does this by depicting a future in
which the lower-class workers are forced to toil away underground while the 1% lives in towering
skyscrapers. The disparity of living between the two classes was a direct parallel to the economic
turmoil experienced by Germany in the aftermath of World War 1 and to this
day, METROPOLIS is a beacon for not only a spectacular example of dystopian future in film, but
as sci-fi entertainment in general.
1930s
Films in the 30’s were influenced by the effects of the Great
Depression. New technology in film, primarily the ability to
record dialogue, should have made the 30s a time for
innovation and success, but instead the decade largely saw a
rise in film serials which were low budget, quickly produced
short films that included futuristic adventures filled with action
and new, ambitious gadgets. Sci-fi can be said to be a form of escapism, but in the 30s sci-fi can
be said to have got darker and more intense. Adventure films like THE PHANTOM
EMPIRE (1935), a film about a cowboy who stumbles upon a technologically advanced
underground civilization with ray guns, robots and advanced TV’s, were supported with other films
that continued to use elements like space travel, high tech gadgets, and mad scientists. Other
popular films weren’t exactly sci-fi films, with Universal pushing their roster of ‘monster movies’ that
blurred the lines between sci-fi and fantasy, such as THE INVISBLE MAN.

1940s
Whilst Universal and Paramount continued to churn out monster films and the
world burned under the weight of a second global war in less than 30 years,
cinema produced a new kind of sci-fi film, one of allegory and parable. Films
like FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE and STRANGE HOLDAY
explored the effects of war and the horrors of fascism and authoritarianism by
using the sci-fi genre as a way of providing political commentary whilst also
considering how new technology, such as the atomic bomb, offers insight into
the future. However, the sci-fi genre took a back seat to war films which
dominated the box office for years during the 40s.
1950s
The end of the war should have bought with it a new, optimistic view of
the world that continued to offer entrainment in a world that had been
dramatically altered. Th dropping of nuclear weapons on Japan in
1945by the Americans however, had a devastating effect on the world.
Killing over 200,000 people in a matter of days and seeing entire cities
levelled created new anxieties for everyone. Perhaps the most
remarkable film that came from this ‘nuclear shadow’, was GOJIRA
(1954) which was directly borne out of the fears Japan had about the
nuclear nightmare it suffered. Beyond this, the growing influence of
communism, the Soviet Union and the paranoia of the cold war saw a
slew of films that were thinly-veiled allegories for both external threats
such as the Soviet Union, but also the ‘internal’ threat of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his
communism with-hunt. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS demonstrates these fears clearly,
but this decade kick started the so-called ‘Golden Age of Sci-Fi’.
1960s
The popularity of the films made during the "Golden Age" of
science fiction persisted through the 1960s, and audiences
continued to be treated with a deluge of atomic-inspired sci-fi
horror films. Aliens, UFOs, invasion and space travel were
the dominant forms of sci-fi film in the decade, but radioactive
creatures continued to be popular and relevant, but as ever, students like films that could be made
quickly, for as little money as possible and leaning into classic franchises or sequels to help ell new
films or nearly guarantee success in others. Because of this, the types of that could be produced
with relatively small budgets were guaranteed money-makers for the studio. However, the tail end
of the 1960s rejuvenated the sci-fi genre with two films that abandoned the hokey or playful tone
of their predecessors: THE PLANET OF THE APES and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Both offer a
wealth of different themes ranging from humanity's search for meaning to the sentience of artificial
intelligence and both movies re-ignite the spark for intellectual science fiction on-screen and paved
the way for many of the movies we have now. 2001 in particular, was ground-breaking for its time
in regards to the quality of visual effects, the realistic portrayal of space travel and the legendary
scope of its story. After this film was released, sci-fi films that followed would have immensely
larger budgets and an improvement in special effects.

1970s
Fuelled by the success of the Apollo missions in the 60s, sci-fi films
that featured ‘space adventures’ were hugely popular in the 70s.
The early 70s so many sci-fi films still include themes of paranoia
with a threat against humanity, but these were often portrayed
through ‘conspiracy thrillers’ that leaned into the philosophical
implications of the stories being told in ‘smart sci-fi’ films like THE
ANDROMEDA STRAIN, SOYLENT GREEN, and SOLARIS. The end of the decade saw a move
away from ‘New Hollywood’ and the repeated success of STAR WARS in 1977, SUPERMAN in
1978 and STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE in 1979 helped to firmly establish the blockbuster
as a type of film that featured aspects, or direct use of, sci-fi conventions.
1980s
It is hard to truly explain the magnitude of the impact of STAR
WARS. At the very least, Hollywood saw the financial rewards of the
and wanted to replicate it. This led to a wealth of imitators, most of
which were cheaply and quickly made and often poor. BATTLE
BEYOND THE STARS is arguably the most famous of these imitations,
mostly because the advanced special effects were done by nonother than James Cameron.
Cameron would then go on to define the science-fiction genre in the 80s (and later in the 2010s)
with his own film, THE TERMINATOR. One of a few truly original time-travel films, essentially wrote
the book on time-travel paradoxes and but was also one of the first in a budding trend for sci-fi in
the 80s, which was the futuristic apocalypse setting. Many different films used this in different
ways, including of course, BLADE RUNNER and the animated AKIRA, but sci-fi in the 80s reflected
the collective panic surrounding a bleak technological future. This was also undoubtedly inspired
by the uncertainty revolving the ongoing Cold War.
1990s
As sci-fi films tend to, the films of the 90s reflected the fears and paranoia of the time: the internet.
Many films approached technology with curiosity, terror and cynical apprehension. Films like
LAWNMOWER MAN, EXISTENZ, HARDWARE, TERMINATOR 2 and perhaps most notably of all.
THE MATRIX. The Wachowskis' vision of a dystopian future in which humanity
has been enslaved by robots perfectly captured the cultural zeitgeist and
inspired a wave of films that picked at those same themes. Borrowing thematic
and some visual cues, from anime such as GHOST IN THE SHELL, as well as
taking inspiration from religion and comic books, THE MATRIX is perhaps most
superficially know for its innovative use of CGI and practical camera effects
which were simply not achievable before the 90s. Somewhat ironically then, it
was the technology that people were concerned about that was able to make
the films that explored this idea.
2000s
The advent of near-photo realistic CGI heavily influenced the production of big budgets films in the
2000s. It was the sci-fi genre perhaps more than any other, used pioneering work with CGI to try
and realise evermore ambitious, complex and ambitious worlds. The STAR WARS prequels of the
early 2000s and sequels to THE MATRIX showcased grand worlds and aesthetics, but in time,
these effects have not held up as quite as effective as hoped. It was James Cameron's 2009
film AVATAR that, to this day, remains ne of the most ground-breaking movies ever made because

of the strides made in the department of visual effects, enabling Cameron to create worlds and
characters that weren’t possible before.
2010s
Superheroes. And more superheroes. Superhero films had been around for
decades, but it was the Marvel Cinematic Universe that was the foremost form
of ‘sci-fi’ in cinemas and the films that cemented how superhero films should
look and ‘operate’. Other huge blockbuster franchises
such as TRANSFORMERS performed consistently well at
the Box Office, but as with many blockbuster sci-fi film, the
experience and the spectacle outweighed the more
complex, thematically rich sci-fi films in decades before.
However, the small budget, art-house sci-fi film was more popular than
every. UNDER THE SKIN, EX MACHINA and even metaphysical, low-budget
sci-fi films found audiences with the likes of ANOTHER EARTH, THE ENDLESS
and COHERENCE. Even the large studios were bankrolling intellectual sci-fi
films like INTERSTELLAR, ARRIVAL and BLADE RUNNER 2049.
TASK 17: Which decade do you feel was most significant or influential for sci-fi? Give reasons
and evidence for your response and decision.
TASK 18: watch this clip from MINORITY REPORT, directed by Steven Spielberg.
https://youtu.be/BmSarhudhiY Without any further research can you identify any of the key features
of sci-fi and begin to explore why each has been created in that way. Think about:
FEATURE WHERE/WHEN FEATURED EFFECT ON AUDIENCE
Lighting
Cinematography
Genre
Setting
Key characters
Narrative

Given the hugely varied nature of sci-fi films and the huge development that has taken place in the genre
overall, trying to define the core characteristics and conventions of sci-fi can be tough: they can be quite
broad.
DISCUSSION TASK: Using the headings below, discuss what you would expect to be in a sci-fi film. Try to
be as specific as possible and be prepared to use your ideas and knowledge for the next task, below.
TASK 19: For each of the headings below add detailed explanations of what you would expect to
see/hear/experience if you were to watch a sci-fi film. For each, aim to add at LEAST 2 ideas or bullet
points and for each, WHY they would be included, referring to the history of the genre thus far.
Subject Matter/Genre:
•
•
•
•
Characters
•
•
•
•
Narrative
•
•
•
•
Lighting
•
•
•
•
Cinematography
•
•
•
•
CHARACTERISTICS AND CONVENTIONS OF SCI-FI

Editing
•
•
•
•
Settings
•
•
•
•
TASK 20: In the boxes below research and include the names of at least 2 sci-fi films that feature that
key convention in an especially memorable, innovative or stand-out way. Then, rank the convention
from 1-7, reflecting which you think is more important in establishing genre.
SUBJECT MATTER/THEMES RANK
CHARACTERS
NARRATIVE
LIGHTING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
EDITING
SETTINGS
TASK 21: Watch this clip and write a one-paragraph explanation of what makes this film and this clip
typical of a sci-fi film, using the ideas over the last few pages. https://youtu.be/BH-UmA5Lt3g

“High tech, low life”. If any simple phrase could summarise the cyberpunk aesthetic, this is it.
Cyber punk is a genre, an aesthetic and a thematic exploration, all of which could be applied to a text like
BLADE RUNNER either together or separately, but combine to produce a holistic work. Because of this,
cyberpunk can often be identified relatively easily because it is not only visually unique but because it
features specific generic conventions and thematic aspects that can be experienced through the narrative.
THEMES
Thematically, cyberpunk tends to explore the role of artificial intelligence, class
uprising, lack of social mobility, governmental and corporate corruption, anarchy,
gang warfare, and transhumanism (defined by Wikipedia as a “philosophical and
intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by
developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies able to greatly
enhance longevity, mood, and cognitive abilities, and predicts the emergence of
such technologies in the future.”). Whilst these ideas lead to broad definitions, they
are largely used to convey deeper meanings that allow those using the movement to
commentate on society and perhaps make predictions of the future.
GENRE
The New Wave science fiction genre of the 1960s and 1970s is where cyberpunk first emerged. Authors of
the New Wave genre tried to depict a civilization that managed a continuous upheaval of new technology
and culture, usually with dystopian results. A strong influence was the counter-culture and the Beat
Generation which had previously explored the impact of drug culture, technology, and the sexual
revolution through poetry and literature in the 50s and 60s. These then impacted upon the sci-fi writers like
JG Ballard who, whilst influenced by cultural movements before him, rejected, the notion that narratives
should adhere to "archetypes”, with story structures popular since the Ancient Greeks
that the likes of Joseph Campbell in his work The Hero With a Thousand Faces,
argued would be just as relevant to a modern audience. Ballard however, wanted to
create a new myth for the modern reader, and authors like Bruce Bethke (who first
coined the phrase cyberpunk in 1980, Isaac Asimov and William Gibson were writing
stories with similar generic conventions. It was Gibson’s novel Neuromancer in 1984
that was perhaps the breakthrough for the cyberpunk movement but overall, the
genre is perhaps
characterized by a focus on advanced science, technology, the internet and is set in a
dystopian future with a breakdown of social order. Other common conventions of the
genre include:
• A world where corporations have more power than governments
• The use of artificial intelligence and cybernetic implants
• A bleak, urban setting with a highly advanced
technological society
• A focus on the effects of technological and societal
changes on the individual
• A strong element of rebellion or subversion
against authority
• A noir-like atmosphere of moral ambiguity and
crime
• A sense of pessimism or social critique.
AESTHETICS – NOIR & CYBERPUNK

AESTHETICS
The term "Neuromantics" was a common alternative usesd at the time to describe the
visual style. A pun on the name of the novel Neuromancer plus "New Romantics", a
term used for a New Wave pop music movement that had just occurred in Britain. This
fashion was a style that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United
Kingdom and was characterized by elaborate, flamboyant, and often androgynous
clothing, inspired by a range of sources such as Victorian and Edwardian fashion,
science fiction, and punk. Common features of New Romantic fashion included:
• Exaggerated, oversized clothing
• Lace, frills, and other ornate details
• Military- and historical-inspired clothing, such as capes and coats with epaulettes
• Faux-fur coats and jackets
• Victorian-style ruffled shirts and cravats
• Tight-fitting trousers, often made of leather or PVC
• Heavy makeup, particularly for men, including eye makeup and lipstick
• Hairstyles that were often teased and styled into elaborate, towering creations.
Whilst not all of this can be seen in the cyberpunk style, the two shared many aspects to the extent that
music videos for the likes of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and Culture Club often resembled the visual style
of cyberpunk films like BLADE RUNNER.
As well as this, the visual style of cyberpunk specifically incorporates elements of high-tech and futuristic
imagery, as well as elements of decay and grittiness. In many respects, the style tends to incorporate a
strange mix of styles, from 1940s/50s film noir, those more traditional styles of the New Romantic era of
the, military uniforms and more the experimental and futuristic cybernetic details deriving from the New
Wave sci-fi style. This can include settings that are depicted as futuristic megacities, with towering
skyscrapers, holographic advertisements, and advanced technology like drones and cybernetic implants.
The colour palette of cyberpunk can also be darker and more muted, with a focus on neon lights and other
forms of artificial illumination. In terms of costume and fashion, cyberpunk characters may be depicted as
wearing clothing that incorporates advanced materials or technology, such as armor or functional apparel
with built-in gadgets. Overall, the visual style of cyberpunk is meant to evoke a sense of a futuristic society
that is both highly advanced and also somewhat oppressive or dystopian.
BLADE RUNNER AND CYBERPUNK
Blade Runner is considered a classic work of cyberpunk for a number of reasons. The film is set in a
dystopian future in which advanced artificial intelligence and biotechnology have led to the creation of
"replicants," which are essentially human-like androids. The replicants are banned from Earth and are
hunted by a special class of law enforcement known as "blade runners" when they illegally return to the

planet. The film explores themes of what it means to be human, the ethics of artificial intelligence and
biotechnology, and the nature of reality.
The visual style of Blade Runner is also highly influential in the cyberpunk genre, and it features a number of
iconic elements that are associated with cyberpunk, such as a futuristic cityscape with towering skyscrapers,
holographic advertisements, and advanced technology like drones and cybernetic implants. The film's use of
a muted color palette and its focus on neon lights and artificial illumination also contribute to its cyberpunk
aesthetic.
TASK 22:
List 10 key words that you would use to summarise what cyberpunk is.
TASK 23:
Using the space around the images above, label the various parts of the images using your key words to
show where/how the images typify cyberpunk.
TASK 24:
Conduct research online and find at least 5 images that represent cyberpunk. Prepare to share with others
in the class at the start of the next lesson where that will explain why the images you choose are examples
of cyberpunk.

TASK 25:
Based on everything we have discovered and learned so far for both BLADE RUNNER and LADY FROM
SHANGHAI, analyse the still image below to explore what this still from the film (albeit reedited so that it is
now in black and white) looks like and why it does.
You need to consider every aspect of the details around context, not just the most recent information on
cyberpunk.

A-Level Film Blade Runner booklet

A-Level Film Blade Runner booklet

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A-Level Film Blade Runner booklet