10 Movies SIGNIFICANTLY Better Than The Book
9. Blade Runner
Philip K. Dick is one of the seminal names in science fiction literature. His works have been adapted many times, though Blade Runner is perhaps the best known adaptation of any of his works. While opinion is divided on the recent sequel film, Ridley Scott's 1982 masterpiece is undoubtedly a true success of cinema.
The original novel is vastly different from the film. Both follow bounty hunter Deckard as he attempts to retire Nexus-6 androids, though they quickly veer off into different directions. The novel develops the religion of Mercerism and the status symbolism of owning what is left of the livestock on Earth.
The move is a film noir, following this man on his hunt, working his way through the streets of L.A., trench coat over his shoulders and cigarette in hand. His battle with Batty is legendary, with that final monologue ranking among the great speeches in Hollywood. The success of the film is in its creation of its mood and setting. The visionary appearance of the future would be copied many times over, yet is both highly fictionalized and somehow accurate.
The future holds something of an evocation of Orwell's 1984, with the large pyramids rising in the skyline and looking down over everyone. The film offers a greater sense of scale to Deckard's hunt and life, raising it above his strive for status and becoming something more of a strive for existence.
The existential questions raised in Blade Runner have lasted for almost forty years and with any justice, will continue for years to come.