Blade Runner and Prometheus

It may seem strange to draw comparisons between Sir Ridley Scott’s latest Blockbuster and his 1982 Neo-Noir, Sci-fi classic, especially when Prometheus is linked to another Scott classic Alien, but if we look closely the comparisons are there.

Hype.

Alien: Scott's most revered movies

It’s ironic but both films, Prometheus and Blade Runner, suffered from the hype from Scott’s 1979 classic Alien. Here was a movie that announced Scott’s auteur status as a director and hence created and huge sense of anticipation around any of projects he is involved in since.

In the summer of ’82 Blade Runner was released amongst huge hype as Scott was returning the sci-fi genre he had so successfully handled a few years previously. What was lost in the hype was the fact that Blade Runner was a different type of sci-fi movie altogether. It was also probably the first of its kind: a Neo-Noir, Sci-fi drama. This was probably why Blade Runner’s commercial success and critical acclaim came years later. Blade Runner was probably the first underground or cult classic ever as it created a huge dedicated, albeit small, fan base. The hype around Blade Runner was that it was going to be a continuation of Scott’s sci-fi vision, one that was very different from any other directors at the time working with the genre (Lucas, Spielberg, etc.), and it had Harrison Ford as it’s star. Ford’s work on Star Wars and Indiana Jones had fuelled his image as an all-action, devil-may-care, honourable hero, which is somewhat dismantled in Blade Runner, (shooting Zhora in the back, being saved by Rachel when he is attacked by Leon). Therefore the hype around Blade Runner at the time seems somewhat justified as it has been with Prometheus.

The hype surrounding and overshadowing Prometheus is the same. This would be Scott’s glorious return to the genre he “redefined”, as one teaser trailer for the trailer (yes, marketing has reached a new low) boldly put it. The pressure on Scott to deliver then was quite similar with Prometheus. The link with Alien was one that was being discussed ever since the project was announced. Was this a prequel? Was this a movie that was just set in the same universe as Alien or would the events in this movie have an impact on what happened in Alien? These questions were never really answered as well as I would have liked, even after seeing the movie I felt there were more questions about the link between the two. The link between the two films was being talked about so much that I expected a huge reveal or some sort of precursor, but nothing really jumped out at me from Prometheus. Hence the hype about it being an Alien-esque movie could have sent people in the wrong direction about the movie.

Another aspect was that in some ways the hype for Prometheus was self-inflicted. At every opportunity there was talk about Alien and how the movies were linked, this was almost used to get seats into multiplexes. There was also a huge viral campaign that accompanied Prometheus, along with numerous trailers, each revealing a little bit more hence justifying the increasing number of trailers being released. These were all used to maximum effect to keep the appetite for information among fan boys and fan girls up.

Like the Blade Runner the cast that Scott had assembled meant there was also added hype. Ford, of course was a major box office draw before Blade Runner came out. This allowed Scott to assemble a cast of character actors to flesh the other characters out. This is done similarly with Prometheus. The major cast members are Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender. Rapace and Theron seem to fit the Alien Universe. Both women have a reputation for playing strong characters, both physically and mentally (Rapace most notably in the Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Theron in Monster). Therefore the link of strong women within this universe was not going to be broken, fuelling speculation that Rapace’s Dr. Elizabeth Shaw was going to be the next Ripley. This of course helped kept the levels of hype as high as possible. Fassbender has rightfully won acclaim for daring and demanding roles and excelling in these roles which helped to give Prometheus an aura of blockbuster, but allowing people to see that with an actor of Fassbender’s credentials on board the story would also be impressive. With big names like this on board it again allowed Scott more to cast indie actors or relatively unknown actors in the other roles – Guy Pearce and Idris Elba being the prime examples (indie in the sense that these actors may not be well know to a great of movie going populace). This was also done in Blade Runner with Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, Sean Young and Daryl Hannah rounding off the cast.

It is clear that the element of hype was is one of the major factors that can be compared when looking at the two movies but all that happens before the movies were released, what about the movies themselves? Well there are clear comparisons that can be drawn there too.

Visuals.

Visual aspects of both films are extraordinary

Obviously Prometheus greatly benefits from the technological advances, something that can’t be held against Blade Runner, whose own visual style is rightfully praised as mesmerising. However in both movies there is a strong visual presence. In Prometheus it’s the scale of the visuals that we see. The huge waterfalls, the huge Head inside the crypt, Prometheus, the ship itself is huge, etc. are all used to show the scale of what is facing the main characters. In Blade Runner the visual impact is the same. By swapping scale for intensity the same strong visual display is on show. The perpetual night and rain of Los Angeles, the neon soaked city street scenes etc. all the intensity that Scott manages to pack in that attacks the viewer much like the scale of Prometheus does. The striking visuals that Scott presents the audience in both films are different but ask them the same questions: Are you ready for this? Are you prepared to go where I’m looking to take you? These questions are vital to the way the audience reacts to the films and it’s the question Scott asks of his audience with every film. With Blade Runner many people were probably overwhelmed and found the story impenetrable because of it. There seems to be a certain level of that too with Prometheus. Audiences were left seeing a story on a much grander scale then that of Alien and for many people they may not have wanted that or found that this just doesn’t fit with the Alien Universe. Similarly with Blade Runner it doesn’t fit any real sci-fi archetype that was around at the time. It was too dark and dreary to be seen as a movie like Star Wars or Logan’s Run, it had moved away from what was seen as the pristine version of the future to a much more realistic dystopia of a future.

The visuals in both movies are not entirely similar granted, but the visual nature of the stories can’t be underestimated. Scott has created the world and he wants to show you it. That may mean looking around this odd alien planet or it may mean walking the damp and dirty streets of Los Angeles. Either way the visual element of both stories is paramount.

Storyline.

Prometheus and Blade Runner at their most basic level have two very different stories. One is about exploring an alien planet, the other about chasing down and retiring Replicants. However, if we scratch the surface of both we can see a very similar thread through each. This is a thread of existentialism running through them both.

David searches for meaning in life

Prometheus’ existential message is more overtly stated then that of Blade Runner. The exposition that the team go on is on the basis that these doctors want to find out where humans come from and why these other beings “created” us. This message is of course continually stated to us throughout the movie.  Shaw and Peter Weyland (played by Guy Pearce) are especially fascinated with what the discovery of this size could mean.

Batty: Has very human questions

Blade Runner’s existential message is much more confined to the subtext. Roy Batty is the character who fuels this side of the story. He too is on a quest to see his maker (literally) in Tyrell. He wants to know why he was made and if he can be given prolonged life. Much like Weyland when he goes to meet the Space Jockey, he gets David to ask him for more life. Then of course the scenes turn violent in both. The Space Jockey attacks and kills those around him, while Batty kills Tyrell when he is told his life can’t be prolonged.

Both movies ponder the question about Life and Death and what does it truly mean to either live or die. Blade Runner perhaps meets this challenge better as it is left to the audience to ask these questions. In Prometheus these questions are expressed by the characters themselves meaning that the audience can sometimes feel as though they are being told what they should be thinking about rather than them coming to those conclusions themselves.

This sense of questioning reality and spiritualism is relevant to both. What most likely hinders Prometheus is that none of this type of material was discussed in the other Alien movies. Therefore it can be hard to equate Prometheus with the franchise it was supposedly linked to. There is a sense that both movies are focusing on what Paul M. Sammon said in the Dangerous Days documentary “Blade Runner, ultimately is about the spiritual.” The same can be said in many respects about Prometheus.

Main Characters.        

Shaw: survived against great odds

Deckard: Hero out of his depth?

Shaw in Prometheus and Deckard in Blade Runner have very similar characteristics. Both are very vulnerable at times and at other times show great bravery. The best example of this is in Prometheus where Shaw has the climatic fight against the Space Jockey is very similar to the sense of dread and terror that the audience can feel when Batty chases Deckard at the end of Blade Runner. Both characters in many ways follow a similar path in their respective films. Both characters are shown to be human (in Deckard’s case possibly “human”) but also heroic in a human way. Neither are all out action heroes, but they do show an amazing turns of heroism. In many respects both displays of heroism are very human and realistic ones.

Another aspect that resides in both characters is that they are both influenced by those around them. Shaw is influenced by Charlie, David and Vickers to the extent that she takes serious risks (taking her helmet off, going to see the Space Jockey after major surgery). Deckard for his part is influenced by Rachel and the Police to take a job that he didn’t want in the first place. Also at the end of the Final Cut Deckard sees Gaff’s origami unicorn figure. This leaves us wondering is Deckard as independent of others as we thought?

Both Shaw and Deckard have this amazing drive to get the job done and to get their answers. This is the driving force behind the movies and because of this the two movies are similar in relation to their main characters impact on the stories.

After Release.

It’s fair to say that the critical reaction to Prometheus has been patchy. Many either saw great things or didn’t get as much out of it as they expected. The same can be said about Blade Runner when it was released back in ’82. People were expecting a completely different animal to what they got in both cases.  

The parallels between both are quite numerous. I think that for the most part both films have a lot to recommend them. In Prometheus’ case they can only hope to have the same cult following Blade Runner has obtained, which knowing the type of film it is may very well happen. In my opinion the fact that Prometheus was not marketed as a stand alone movie, setting up possibly its own franchise actually may have worked against it. Making a pseudo-Alien prequel didn’t really help Prometheus when you take into account that it has a very different feel and air about it. Blade Runner was the same, it was a very different Sci-fi film and this was a reason for its lack of success after its release.

Many may think that the links here are manufactured or that I’m seeing things that aren’t there but I think that there are real comparisons between the two and that this article will make you think a little deeper about it at least.