Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner strikes a delicate balance between the genres of science fiction and film-noir. Essentially, the film is about the adventure of Rick Deckard, a “blade runner”, who is asked to retire bioengineered, robotic beings known as “replicants”. The replicants were manufactured by the Tyrell Corporation, under Eldon Tyrell, and were used for commercial purposes. A key scene in the film demonstrates Tyrell’s reach as it introduces us to the character of Rachel, a new, experimental replicant. Scott’s direction as well as the editing, cinematography, and mise-en-scene develop a somber mood and help shape Rachel’s character into a tragic victim of corporate meddling. The scene begins with Deckard administering the "Voight-Kampff", a test designed to distinguish replicants from humans, to Rachel, with Tyrell watching. Deckard’s face is obscured in shadow from his nose upward. This was an intentional lighting choice as immediately following this shot, we cut to a close up of Rachel sitting across the table, backlit and unobscured. The lighting implies a certain dynamic between Deckard and Rachel, a dynamic where Deckard remains at an almost anonymous level to the viewer whereas Rachel is brought to the center…show more content… The viewer can pick up on the fact that Tyrell has some sort of scheme to manage the replicants, but the specifics remain unclear. The editing decisions reward the viewers on some level because we are given answers after being forced to remain patient for them. Rachel is indeed an experiment, a product of Tyrell’s tinkering, and the direction implies that she is trapped in a manipulative scheme. If she is to get out, she should be treated the same as any other human being though Deckard confirms she is a replicant. This rather complex narrative theme was all accomplished through the cinematography, sound, and mise-en-scene on
