ABSTRACT
The formal element of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner for which it is most famous and which has received the most attention from critics and scholars is the physical world - the dark urban future of a polluted, oversaturated megalopolis with neon lights, monolithic buildings, gigantic animated billboards, congested air space, streets teeming with people and activities, and layer upon layer of visual and aural complexity. This chapter examines some of the ways in which the formal elements of the film influence how people experience and interpret its meanings. It considers how the film’s use of stylistic conventions of film noir, moving light, and an extremely detailed environment and atmosphere express and elicit mood responses in viewers, which influence the way viewers proceed to engage with and interpret the film. The chapter argues that the formal elements lead viewers to adopt an active stance in viewing the film by creating an ominous mood of paranoia and uncertainty.
