20 Things You Didn't Know About Blade Runner

1. The Film Has A Curse Attributed To It

Blade Runner Atari
Warner Bros.

One memorable aspect of Blade Runner's visual design is the use of large neon billboards for many real-world companies, displayed as product placement. While many of these were market leaders in electronics and other fields at the beginning of the 1980s, several of them collapsed in the years that followed. Most notable is Atari, which dominated the home video game market at the time, but was decimated by the infamous video game crash of 1983.

Others include the now defunct RCA and Pan American Airways. Even Coca-Cola, also featured prominently, risked bankruptcy with its 1985 New Coke disaster, though it's still going strong today. This trend for companies featured in the film to go under has become known as the "Blade Runner Curse". Maybe it's unwise to allow your company to be associated with a grim cyberpunk dystopia.

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A self-taught video editor with nearly 25 years of experience, Joe worked in freelance videography for many years before joining WhatCulture in 2018. During that time, he has expanded his work to include both writing and presenting, and has been at the forefront of several new channel launches including WhatCulture Horror and WhatCulture Star Wars, largely defining their visual identity through the design and curation of their bespoke assets. As a dedicated WhatCulture Gaming staff member, he has spearheaded numerous new content strategies and formats, and has taken the lead on various charitable projects that have raised large sums of money for charities close to his heart. Bluesky and Instagram: @jjpinwheel