The novels and short stories of Philip K. Dick have had a bit of a rough ride on the whole when it comes to movie adaptations - Dick's work is often rich and detailed in their depictions of strange futurescapes in which perception - and distortion - of reality often plays a central role. More often than not the end result feels like a dumbed-down and sanitized version of a far more complex - and compelling - concept. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner might have played loose with the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, but it is far and away one of the closest adaptations in terms of maintaining the atmosphere of the source material. The original theatrical release may have been marred by the unnecessary voice over from Harrison Ford's character Deckard, but the director's cut soon rectified that studio misjudgement. The closing monologue from Batty, the replicant Deckard is tasked with hunting down, remains one of the greatest in movie history, and much of it is thanks to the actor who played the part, Rutger Hauer. Hauer claims to have only added the line, "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain." But what a line it is - production reports suggest that it brought cast and crew alike to tears. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWXd1wVijqw
