Blade Runner Scene-by-Scene

by John David Ebert

With this new book by John David Ebert, Blade Runner Scene-by-Scene, Ebert performs an archaeology of Ridley Scott's main thematic death, origin, genesis and the quest for immortality. In doing so, he compares the film to such ancient and classic texts as The Gilgamesh Epic. Scott's vision of the Los Angeles of 2019 is seen as a type of decaying, late stage cosmopolis; and the Replicants as slave labor manufactured to work their modern latifundia.

136 pages, Paperback

Published December 30, 2015

About the author

John David Ebert is a cultural critic and the author of 26 books. He has a series of videos and audio albums on various philosophers posted on YouTube, Google Play and two websites: cinemadiscourse.com and cultural-discourse.com.

Reviews

[Michael Jarvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ebert wears his learning rather heavily at times in this short book. Nevertheless it is interesting to see someone drawing on the likes of Baudrillard, Derrida, Foucault and Heidegger to elucidate the film and he certainly makes some thoughtful comparisons with Greek, Sumerian, Babylonian and Greek mythology. His notion that the signifiers are “deworlded” in nature is a clear indication that he fully appreciates the Blade Runner universe. Once Deckard’s old certainties of human/replicant and fake/real start to break down this film certainly does explore some extremely interesting ontological questions and Ebert is adept at providing an assured guiding hand through the labyrinth.
There are two minor errors regarding dialogue which I happened to notice. Deckard’s “quick” on page 40 should read “quit” and his “catskin wallet” on page 50 should be “calfskin wallet.”
I tend to disagree over the “blue sky” ending which was simply occasioned by overrunning on filming. So altering it to a night sky was merely a case of Ridley Scott correcting what he believed to be a continuity error. I am also not convinced with Ebert’s advocacy for the tacked on “happy ending” utilising the Kubrick footage from “The Shining.” There is no indication in the film that there is another verdant world beyond the polluted Hades cityscape with its merciless acid rain. Despite the odd caveat, this is a thoughtful work on what I believe is the most important science fiction film ever made.

[Austin Sisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viewing Blade Runner through the lens of human mythology somehow gives an already dense film (and source material) added weight. It was nice to see the symbolism that I caught myself confirmed and fleshed out, and even nicer to see those symbols and "signifiers" weaved in to a much bigger picture. Great comparison of the different versions of the film; this book presents a complete picture. If you already love Blade Runner, this book will make you love it more. If you don't, this book will hopefully help you appreciate it.

[Dhal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just isn’t compelling or revealing enough to warrant 120 pages. Most of it’s summary and what little attempt is made at analysis is tenuous, contrived, and sometimes contradictory. Save your money, rewatch the film, and draw your own connections and conclusions. The time spent doing so will undoubtedly prove more fruitful than reading Blade Runner: Scene-by-Scene.