The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 14, 1982, Page 6, Image 6
_entertair
'Blade
By Richard Culbertson
Ridley Scott's "Blade
Runner" is an effective,
/lAno^ f KMIHA** Ofif
muiivy wrai"vuaai uu uici oci
in the stratified milieu of a
Los Angeles megalopolis of
the near future.
Scott ("The Duelists,"
"Alien") has created an
oppressive, sombre city with
soaring pyramids and
skyscrapers, obscured by an
ever-Dresent Dall. garishly
lit with neon advertisements
that leer from building-sized
video screens and omnipresent
blimps that slowly
ply the smoke-shrouded sky,
flashing travel ads and CocaCola
appeals.
life.:,.
Deckard (Harrison Ford} tra
Bush River Mall Theater.
r.hinann's
w . w
By Stephen Hibbard
After years of trying ne\
nuns, oufctigu iifiauy itiery na
the direction for which th<
searched with the release of 44
16."
Tlln ! .. ~ . . : 4
JL nc; iiiicgi aiuu HI LUU
reproduced on the jacket and:
the album symbolizes
departures made by the gr
changes vindicate the
searching; "Chicago 16" is tl
album since "Chicago 1
perhaps earlier.
Chicago now is not the Ch
yesteryear, but after 15 albu
since their biggest hit, "Sati
the Park," was released r
decade ago), trying to rep<
they once did would be as f<
our trying to return to grade s
Change itself is no sur
Chicago since the death of Te
and the departure of produce
William Guerico. With their
albums, Chicago has expe;
with different producers, ?
and foci.
THE CHANGES? Most nc
as the circuitry suggests,
thesizer permeates every so;
once were woodwind bridges
synthesizer runs. There
woodwind solos, as in "C
World," and there are no
woodwind parts.
Here the hand of Toto
heavily as three of Toto's six i
contribute: David Paich, syn
Stpup Porfarn ?unl
programming; and Steve L
guitars.
Laudir de Oliviera, percus
left Chicago and Bill Cainplir
has joined. Otherwise tl
remains as it has been:
Lamm, keyboards and lead
James Pankow, trombor
Loughnane, trumpet and ba(
vocals; Peter Cetera, bass
vocals; Danny Seraphin
cussion; and Walter Pai
woodwinds and background v
Thr? npu/ nlhiirri ic fhnir fi
Warner Brothers on the Fi
label, which is also Dan Fof
label. This album is the first f
by David Foster, who guide
all aspects of recording. Fo<
authored eight of the 11
assisted Cetera and Seraph
the rhythm arrangement
intent
Runner1
Within this environment, a
textured populace thrives
and the film's detective
story unfolds.
HARRISON FORD plays
Richard Deckard, the film's
narrator, a detective forced
out of retirement to rejoin
his old unit, called Blade
Runner. The Blade Runner
unit deals with deviant
replicants.
Replicants are laboratoryengineered
creatures indistinguishable
from adult
humans save for enhanced
abilities and a short life span
(five years or . so).
Replicants handle the dirty
work of humanity: hazar
I jHHK
v direc- album
VC lOllUU I I
?y have assisted Pankoi
Chicago arrangements.
board THE SONGS 01
sleeve of a small collage.
r;".ajor problems faced
oup.The preserve impor
group's yet, they are m
leir best awareness of ind
1" and that might m
"togetherness."
icago of "What You're
ms (and with a synthesis
urday in yields to n<
learly a arrangements.
;at what spliced with syi
oolish as instrumental bri
chool. choruses. Pai
prise to provides backgro
r/.ii. ThllC tho notti
rry jvain kWVir
James emerges: guitar
last four trombone,
rimented The son8 con
Guitarists having tolerated
his girlfriend, wa
she will be miss
ticeable, leave her.
the synne
What T,IK SECONI
fre now for You to E
are no Foster, Paich ar
olor My second sin
distinct captivating cl
touched upon
weighs blossoms here. 0
members this: "You've it
thesizers; why can 11 make
hesizer Track three
Aikather, features Cetera
bining with !
sion has trombone to
1 vocals reminiscent of
le band "Chicago X."
Robert "Chains" foil
I vocals- pseudo-philosoph
le Lee ttie a,bum. It ar|
'kground cannot be escap
and lead to Say 1>m Sorr
rmtvcfinn thic fl
e, per- 1 ? ?w
"azaider ^,e ^>es^ cu* on ^
ocals vocalist admits t
irst with difficult,but argi
ill Moon preserving. Unde
'elberg's provides the key:
Produced say 1>m sorry-1
d nearly know."
iter co- rhe son& suc<
songs, performed with
ine with not as though it1
ts, and consumption. So
BnaHBBBHaHaHHBBII
' entert
dous space exploration,
mining, warfare and the
like.
Replicants are no more
than slaves, and are ap
parently restricted on most
parts of the Earth. When
occasional replicants find
their way into the general
population, the Blade
Runner unit must detect and
"rptirp" thp rpnlirants ? hv
gunning them down on the
spot.
A particularly tough brand
of replicants, led by an
Aryan-type named Roy
Batty (Rutger Hauer), have
been discovered in a plot to
infiltrate the Tyrell Corp.,
where replicants are
r f? ?j WJM IpSs m
i "Blade Runner," playing at
m exemolif
P^no,
-V vvi^h?^?[ran^
th theu ,TheP
ie horn 'eavim
1 side one
T> ^dresfiT h T"R
To couple,
"f ?% ^
ui a
tant relationships; .'Get
arked by a mature "Hard
ividual needs, needs for pal
latter more than the mo
Side
; Missing," begins jn
^er introduction but panion
;>w-familiar horn synth<
Two guitar solos I .nnoV*
ithesizers form the followi
dge between closing panko
nkow's trombone is rem
und accompaniment. <?soi
*rn for the album Cham]
s, synthesizers and vanell
Serapl
icerns a man who, sc
too many lies from the a\i
ints her to know what break.
,ing if he is forced to
?wi
) TRACK, "Waiting p"gl?
ecide," written by 11
id Lukather, may be
gle because of its "
horus. Impatience , nJ
in the first tune ^
>ne line demonstrates
lade your point now W?Da
:minc." . , Kf.:
, "Bad Advice,"
s tunny bass com- .
Pankow's colorful produce
a tune , g
"Skin Tight" from RJ *
ows as the most 'p,"1
lie contemplation on m
gues that conscience e .
ed. Fittingly, "Hard f 1 1 !
y" follows. Without ?ecuhi
le current single, is an fUf)
he album. The lead ?onfus
hat times havt* hppn paroqi
les that life is worth ?
?rstanding, he hopes, inrons
"It's hard for me to mcons
just wanted you to All i
album
:eeds because it is is enc
intense feeling and perim
were canned for pop cessfu
>lo vocals, Lamm's decad<
aining
cks down renegade replicants in
latest albu
created. Ford's character
must hunt down and "retire"
these replicants.
THE ATMOSPHERIC
QUALITY of "Blade Runner"
is striking: the police,
in floating cars, range from
the luxurious heights of the
. . 111. A . 1 J*
weaiiny corporate ounaings
to the gritty, lower society of
street level (one suspects the
well-to-do never set foot on
streets, and that street
dwellers, huddled in neon
pools at the bases of mighty
buildings, can only dream of
thp lift* u htinHrpH c(nripc
overhead); the projected but
authentic sounding slang
(replicants are called "skinjobs");
the running together
of Eastern and Westen
cultures (represented by the
hodgepodge street-level
language composed of
Japanese, English, German
and other tongues, and
exemplified by Deckard's
partner Gaff (Edward
James Olmos), a man with
Oriental features and occidental
blue eyes); the
dream-like execution of one
of the replicants (Deckard
shoots her several times in
the back as she crashes in
slow-motion tnrougn successive
plate-glass windows
).
The action of the film
takes place almost entirely
at night, often in the rain, in
a gritty, incense-filled
landscape of urban tran"
^-L
les cnange
and an outstanding string
;ement mesmerize the listener,
ircussion and guitar are subtle,
* one wondering when they
1
CROWNING TOUCH is the
g chord progression which,
J II ? ?
u wim me strings, reminas one
mmodores ballad.
; Away," ar brief follow-on to
to Say," is a pleasant showcase
nkow and Lamm but interrupts
od created by "Hard to Say."
two begins with "Follow Me,"
lich Cetera asks for cornship
more than leadership. The
ssizer riffs are catchy,
nan's trumpet is heard briefly
mg another signature solo by
w, and the guitar solo at the end
iniscent of Kath.
my Think Twice" features Bill
plin, who sounds similar to Gino
li, as lead vocalist. As with
line's songs on other albums,
>ng is least like other songs on
mm, which makes a refreshing
IAT CAN I SAY/' a potential
, works well because of
A lir ' O m A *V* /\ ?* n K 1 ^ M M
u VT o niuuxui a UlC 11 U 1 II
cements. He begins with
ig crescenctos and sustained
g pitches. At the chorus, he
n syncopation with the bass and
;sion, and concludes this song
rich solo.
scue You" centers around an
ous chorus as Cetera offers to
i friend from a disappointing
and an unfulfilled life,
nan's trumpet at last has a solo
nd the band, with their refrain
Is on the Way," sounds a bit
e Little River Band.
album concludes with "Love
Tomorrow," an initially
sing ballad made distracting bv
ar shifts from melodic verses to
tempo chorus. Adding to the
ion, the song concludes with a
ie string arrangement sounding
orne accidental reprise. The
ion is excellent but the effect is
istent.
in all, "Chicago 16" is a solid
by a band that has endured and
luring, a band that has exented
and developed suclly.
It will restore confidence to
es of fans.
despite
sition.
Harrison Ford's Deckard
is a man who has somehow
acquired the gumshoe
mentality of the 1940s in the
next century. He is cynical,
punched around a lot, and
falls in love with a
mysterious woman, Rachael
(Sean Young), who is a
replicant with an experimental
lifespan (that is,
she will live a full life and die
at random, as humans do).
All he needs is a cigarette
drooping from his mouth.
AND YET, Ford's
character works because he
seems so convincingly
bewildered, so incapable of
quilt; a y u ui e s> i z. i u g
everything, that he is nearly
as cut loose from society as
the replicants he hunts. Los
Angeles of 40 years hence is
beyond the scope of a
gumshoe's intellect.
Rutger Hauer's Roy Batty
is a dramatic counterweight;
he and Ford's
character are balanced at
the film's center.
The replicants are imbued
with metaphysical concerns
representing a shorthand
version of the human condition.
Their shortened life
spans make the problems of
where they come from, why
they exist and when they will
die more immediate. Their
purpose in infiltrating the
Tyrell Corp. is to discover a
w*$ Ik.
v WtWmM
SCETV specials
Flutist James Galway will
Mostly Mozart Orchestra in
Fisher Hall on "Live From Li
FTU
The concert features "The
Sheba" from Handel's "Orat
and "Concerto No. 2 in D"
Seasons."
Tonight at 10 is "Mitsuye
poetry, ideas and memories
Mitsuye Yamada and Chines
in an attempt to capture ex|
women.
Thursday "Openline" presi
Magazine/' a behind thence
popular syndicated shows s
Thursday at 8:30 p.m. "El
Elizabeth at the height of hi
royal duties and her desire
coquettish in the light-heart
Friday at 9 p.m. "The Sui
documentary is narrated tr
flaws
rationale for their existence
and a method of lengthening
their lives.
"Blade Runner"'s main
flrtvir io ifo tvinf or\Vi?roino 1
lie* w AO 110 uicuxpujoivai
pomposity; these themes
should have been less explicit.
They are often
skillfully undercut by Hauer
(as when he initially meets
his maker, Tyrell, or
delivers a monologue
verifying his own humanity
as he dies), but sometimes
demonstrated excessively
(Hauer kills his maker, or
shoves a nail through his
palm). Generally, however,
Hauer is alternately wry
about or enraged at his
philosophical agonies at the
right moments.
THE SCRIPT (by Hampton
Fancher and David W.
Peoples) displays canniness,
but, with slightly off-key,
r* /\ rr* n ur V-% n 1 t f.A rn r* ir
ouiiiuw ua i mci ai j
philosophical heaviness,
never hits the stride it
should.
Douglas Trumbull's
special effects lend nice
support to the film and are
consistently excellent.
Scott's direction, as with
his previous two features, is
stylishly evocative, alert and
well-paced.
"Blade Runner," with its
fine acting and meticulous
detail, is an entertaining
thriller in a palpable, dense
and stylish future.
!
^g|?B9H|H5HnH
perform with and conduct the
a live concnrt from Awarv
incoln Center" tonight et 8 on
Arrival of the Queen of
orio," Mozart's "Andante in C"
and Vivaldi's "The Four
and Nellie," featuring the
of Japanese-American poet
to-American poet Nellie Wong
periences of Asian-American
9nts "The Making of PM
nes look at one of the most
een nationwide.
izabeth R" continues with
Br reign. Torn between her
for a husband, the queen turns
ed episode.
ii Dagger" will be aired. This
jf Robert Redford.