Saturday, March 20, 2010

HOLY CRAP: An actual typed Philip K. Dick letter reacting to a screening of Blade Runner. Via Barry Ritholtz. Five months before he died. Wherein he says:

What I am saying is that all of you collectively may have created a unique new form of graphic, artistic expression, never before seen. And, I think, BLADE RUNNER is going to revolutionize our conceptions of what science fiction is and, more, can be.

Considering Blade Runner is still the most influential science fiction movie ever (what would you substitute? Alien? Metropolis?)--he was right! He also says "[m]y life and creative work are justified and completed by BLADE RUNNER." Which is debatable. A Blade Runner-free universe is less rich than a Philip K. Dick-free universe, I think. (Did I get that right? I'm trying to say the collective works of PKD are more important than BR.) He also says "...it is going to be one hell of a commercial success. It will prove invincible." Yeah. I guess over time it's made it's money back--I helped by buying one of those Voight-Kampff briefcase sets--so he was right on a longer scale. It was more creatively invincible than commercially of course.

(I remember trying to watch Blade Runner back in high school with some friends and we were all like "the heck? This movie is famous?" Then in college I started loving it. You really need a few rewatches to get into it, so if you're a Blade Runner doubter keep than it mind. You need to approach it as a continuing project rather than something you grab off Netflix one stormy night.)

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