Production History (Blade Runner) Blade Runner

Philip K. Dick rejected the first screenplay and the second changed his mind

Interest in adapting Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? began shortly after publication. Producer Herb Jaffe optioned it in the early 1970s, but Dick rejected Robert Jaffe's screenplay so forcefully he threatened to "beat him up" over its quality. Hampton Fancher wrote a new screenplay, optioned in 1977, that caught the attention of producer Michael Deeley. (wikipedia)

David Peoples was brought in to rewrite Fancher's script. Fancher departed on December 21, 1980, though he later returned for additional rewrites. Dick praised the 1981 revision: "Peoples had done a first-class piece of work." The film's title came not from the novel but from a William S. Burroughs treatment of an Alan E. Nourse novel — the rights to the title were purchased separately. (wikipedia)

Ridley Scott joined the project after his brother's death

Ridley Scott initially declined the project but reconsidered after leaving the slow production of Dune and wanting "a faster-paced project" to take his mind off his older brother's recent death. He joined on February 21, 1980, and pushed the financing from $13 million to $15 million. When Filmways withdrew after investing $2.5 million in pre-production, Deeley secured $21.5 million in ten days through a three-way deal: The Ladd Company (via Warner Bros.), Hong Kong producer Sir Run Run Shaw, and Tandem Productions. (wikipedia)

The visual design drew from Hopper, Hong Kong, and heavy industry

Scott's visual references were eclectic. He drew from Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, the French science fiction magazine Metal Hurlant (featuring artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud), "Hong Kong on a very bad day," and the industrial landscape of northeast England where he grew up. Syd Mead served as visual futurist, conceiving the spinner flying vehicles and the film's technological aesthetic. Lawrence G. Paull served as production designer and David Snyder as art director, realizing Scott's and Mead's sketches into physical sets. (wikipedia)

The Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles, the Warner Bros. backlot (housing the rain-soaked 2019 LA street sets), the Ennis-Brown House (Deckard's apartment exterior), and the 2nd Street Tunnel all served as locations. The film's resemblance to Fritz Lang's Metropolis is deliberate — wealthy residents live above workers, dominated by a massive central building. (wikipedia)

Casting Deckard was an ordeal that ended with Harrison Ford

Candidates for Deckard included Gene Hackman, Sean Connery, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Mitchum. Extensive discussions with Dustin Hoffman fell apart over creative differences. Harrison Ford was ultimately selected on the strength of his Star Wars performances and a recommendation from Steven Spielberg, who was completing Raiders of the Lost Ark. (wikipedia)

Rutger Hauer was cast as Roy Batty based on his performances in Paul Verhoeven's Dutch films — Turkish Delight, Katie Tippel, Soldier of Orange — without Scott meeting him in person. Sean Young took the role of Rachael after Barbara Hershey proved unavailable. Debbie Harry declined Pris; the role went to Daryl Hannah. (wikipedia)

Principal photography ran four months on rain-soaked sets

Filming ran from March 9 to July 9, 1981. The shoot was marked by tension. Harrison Ford later revealed: "I tangled with Ridley." He disliked the voice-over narration: "When we started shooting it had been tacitly agreed that the version of the film was the version without voiceover narration. It was a fucking nightmare." (wikipedia)

Scott and Ford later reconciled. In 2006, Scott called Ford "the biggest pain in the arse" he had worked with. Ford responded in 2000: "I admire his work. We had a bad patch there, and I'm over it." Hy Pyke delivered his bar owner role in a single take — "something almost unheard-of with Scott, whose drive for perfection resulted at times in double-digit takes." (wikipedia)

Douglas Trumbull supervised special effects using pre-digital techniques

Douglas Trumbull and Richard Yuricich supervised the special effects, with Mark Stetson as chief model maker. The techniques were non-digital but innovative: matte paintings, physical models, and multipass exposures where scenes were lit, shot, the film rewound, and rerecorded with different lighting — sometimes repeated sixteen times. Motion-controlled cameras operated by computers were frequently used. The Hades landscape opening used a 15-by-8-foot practical model with acid-etched brass buildings, fiber optics, and grain-of-wheat bulbs. (wikipedia, acmi)

Vangelis composed the score by improvising to videotape

Vangelis composed the soundtrack using synthesizers — most prominently the Yamaha CS-80 — fresh from his Academy Award-winning Chariots of Fire score. He worked at his London studio Nemo Studios, improvising pieces in synchronization with videotapes of scenes from the film. He incorporated chimes and vocals from Demis Roussos. British saxophonist Dick Morrissey performed the "Love Theme." Scott also used "Memories of Green" from Vangelis's album See You Later. (wikipedia, wikipedia — soundtrack)

The soundtrack was nominated for BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for best original score in 1982. Despite these nominations, the official release was delayed over a decade — bootleg recordings emerged at science fiction conventions as early as 1982, and a comprehensive bootleg CD in 1993 surpassed Vangelis's eventual official 1994 release. A three-CD Blade Runner Trilogy followed in 2007. (wikipedia)

Test screenings forced a voice-over, a happy ending, and firing the director

Test audience responses prompted significant changes: addition of voice-over narration (written by uncredited Roland Kibbee, after rejected versions by Fancher, Peoples, and Darryl Ponicsan), insertion of a happy ending using aerial footage from Kubrick's The Shining, and removal of a Holden hospital scene. The relationship between filmmakers and financiers deteriorated so badly that both Deeley and Scott were fired while still working on the film. Scott did not have final cut privilege for the 1982 theatrical release. (wikipedia)

Hauer improvised the most famous lines in the film

Rutger Hauer rewrote Roy Batty's final monologue and presented it to Scott before filming. He shortened the scripted version — which included more specific off-world imagery — and added "like tears in rain." The resulting speech became one of the most quoted passages in cinema history. (wikipedia — tears in rain)