The Cliffhanger: After Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) has "retired" the four replicants he's been tasked with taking down, the movie ends with Deckard and replicant lover Rachael (Sean Young) leaving his apartment. However, just as they're leaving, Deckard finds a tin-foil origami unicorn on the floor, which he stares at inquisitively, while Gaff's (Edward James Olmos) earlier quote of "It's too bad she won't live, but then again who does?" rings out, implying that he left it there. This has caused many to wonder if Deckard himself is a replicant, considering that earlier on in the film, we see Deckard dreaming of a unicorn: if Gaff knows what he's dreaming about, surely that must be because he has accessed Deckard's implanted memories? What Probably Happened: Director Ridley Scott maintains that Deckard is indeed a replicant, while Harrison Ford and producer Michael Deeley attest to the opposite, and co-writer Hampton Fancher falls somewhere in the middle, reveling in the brilliantly annoying ambiguity of it all. The evidence pointing towards Deckard being a replicant is pretty compelling, and though the uncertainty only makes the film more incredible, we'd be lying if we didn't admit to desiring a definitive cinematic answer, rather than just Scott saying, "Well, I made it with this in mind..." Still, we'll go with the idea that Deckard is a replicant, because it's so damn clever. What's your take on these classic movie cliffhangers? Let us know in the comments!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
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