The title cards in Blade Runner are amazing

Post by thewisenerd » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 6:04 PM UTC

Terr_ wrote: post #60

> Here are the six that have made my cut [...] The question is: how do they make you feel? Feel, schmeel, I'd have vetoed Berkeley Mono right away for the very practical offense of making 0 resemble O. Even in my pre-coding youth, I already had an inordinate fondness for the disambiguations of OCR-A [0]... > HARRISON FORD Hold up... Why is that one twisted!? Is it an optical illusion? Am I going nuts? Nope. I opened…

Post by leephillips » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:21 PM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #188

rdiddly wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be surprised at how many famous professional musicians don't read music notation. Outside of the classical world, session work, and jazz fake-books, it's far from de rigueur .

Even a lot of session work. Tony Levin (bass player best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, but who’s also played with Chuck and Gap Mangione, Paul Simon, Dire Straits, Yes, … well, more than I could reasonably put here). commented in his book Beyond the Bass Clef , that he went years doing session work without having to read music. Most rock/pop/jazz music is largely improvisatory in its structu…

Post by m463 » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:27 PM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #94

ilamont wrote: post #26

Well, besides the language and the typeface, the other element of this sequence at the beginning of Blade Runner that makes it so special is the accompanying score by Vangelis, and the sound effects that start with twinkling computer notes and gradually build in volume to explosions and the whoosh of futuristic vehicles. It effectively immerses viewers into this incredible world and story.

I rarely read about the contribution a good music score has to a movie's popularity. A great score makes the movie. For example, The Blue Max, Ben Hur, the first Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Dr Zhivago, Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and, of course, Blade Runner!

Post by roughly » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:07 PM UTC

chipotle_coyote wrote: post #179

mindcrime wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's been reported that William Gibson saw Blade Runner before releasing Neuromancer and was worried that people would think he stole ideas from Blade Runner, as the aesthetic of Blade Runner was so close to the way he imagined the Neuromancer world. Now in turn people are worried that the Apple TV adaptation of Neuromancer will feel derivative because so many subsequent works are its hereditary kin. What can ya do?

I've seen a few people complain that the first trailer for the Neuromancer TV show looks "too bright" or "too clean." I think the real difference is that they're consciously trying to avoid that Blade Runner aesthetic, which includes avoiding the "never get brighter than dusk" trope.

Post by ilamont » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 9:04 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #193

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't know that and Donnie Darko is one of my favourite films. From Wikipedia: "The Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen was replaced with "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS, which Kelly had not had the rights to use in the film's theatrical release. Also: Kelly had originally wanted to use the songs "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS and "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys during the opening scene of Donnie cycling home…

Donnie Darko is (to me) one of those movies ruined by the director's cut. Not only due to the music changes, but also because the "message" of the movie is made more explicit and on the nose. And reading Kelly's interviews and opinions is even worse. One of those movies where keeping the original, and the mystery, is absolutely mandatory.