BLADE RUNNER - INTRODUCTION OF RACHAEL
MISE EN SCENE
PERFORMANCE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND / MUSIC
EDITING
Tyrell corp is built like a Mayan temple
Human sacrifices are made there
Built off slaves (replicants) to worship a god (Tyrell)
Also built like an Egyptian temple
Establishes this god-like prescence
The rest of the world is down at the bottom of the building (especially Eurasian people)
White supremacy
The owl
Raised in captivity
Represents Rachael being trapped in the confines of Tyrell corp
Owl are smart, and this owl is artificial
Artificial intelligence ;)
Orange haze in Tyrell corp
Warm, pristine and welcoming
Highly contrasted with the cold, dark blues of the world below
Class divide
Magical twinkling sounds in Tyrell corp
A heavenly, perfect world that establishes Tyrell corp like a god-like world
The random artifacts
Serves no greater use or purpose
Tyrell flexing his worth and excess
Establishes Tyrell's god-like presence
Eagles on the corners of the frame resembles the Third Reich symbol
Nazi imagery
Eagles also represent American pride
Rachael's drip
Powerful and professional business like look
Clunky shoulder pads
Black business dress
Against the patriarchy, very angular and tailored
Fetishized feministic too
Bright red lips and nails
Tight dress
Clearly defined hourglass
30s meets 80s
Resembles Hedy Lamarr, a famous femme fatale actress
Rachael walks out of the frame in the building and closer to the protagonist
Resembles that one moment in Vertigo
Deckard framed in the outside of the building
No association or interest with anything Tyrell related
Rachael's weird walk
A manufactured femenine walk
The table in the center of the room
Sacrificial table (for replicants)
Resembles the last supper
Mayan imagery
The one tower almost concealing the sun
Humans trying to reach heavenly, god-like status
"Have you ever retired a human by mistake?"
Testing to see if Deckard is a replicant
Deckard sits down while Rachael keeps standing
The hierarchy of power in gender dominance is about to change
Deckard intimidated by Rachael's presence
We hear Tyrell before we see him
Establishing his god-like figure
Corresponding high and low angle
Shimmering water reflected behind Tyrell
A heavenly, serene atmosphere
Tyrell's big glasses
"The eyes are the gateway to the soul"
Big reflecting glasses = no soul
Light white noise in the background
The horrors and dangers of the world below are far behind them
Tyrell doesn't directly answer Deckard's question ("who's the subject?")
Trying not to spill the beans that Rachael is a replicant
"It's too dark in here"
Steamy, sexy romance scene coming up
Backlit smoke
Twinkly romance music plays when the lights go out
Dreamy romance
Allows for the cinematographer (Jordan Cronenweth) to "paint with light"
The VK machine
Side profile of Rachael
Objectifying, painting Rachael as heavenly and perfect
Eye reader, seeing into the soul
Venitian blind effect, resembling jail bars
Gives Rachael a very femme fatale look
Lungs literally added to the machine
Anthropomorphized
Most of Deckard's face is obscured by the darkness
Shadow self
He doesn't know all of who he is
His eyes being blocked off = He doesn't know what his soul looks like
That one shot of Rachael
Smoke fills the air when she talks
Trying to dance around the truth
"Antisocial behavoiour"
Rachael being interrogated by the camera
A slight reflection in her eyes
Gives her slinky, cat-like qualities
Shows she's a replicant
US
Doubling down on the voyeurism of the scene with an interrogation sequence
Rachael under the darkness when she leaves the room
Deckard's monotone voice vs Rachael's defiant voice
"More human than human"
Foreshadows that Deckard's a replicant
Cross dissolve
Shows the passing of time
Also implies sex (because we cut through a "significant" chunk of time)
An east asain choir plays after Tyrell stops talking
God like motif continues
Metaphorically and literally in the dark about the secret Tyrell and Deckard knows
Establishing shots of Tyrell corp
Hollywood CLASSICISM
There's plenty of other grand, extensive wides throughout the film
Ridley Scott, the master of SPECTACLE
Symmetrical build
Divine and perfect place, a far cry from the world below
Scott wanted a "severe but beautiful" look for Rachel
Neither Deckard nor Rachel blink much
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
She is in control
Trying to find out more about reality, what it means to be human
Tyrell framed in front of Rachel
Now in control of the scene, Rachel is relegated to the sidelines
Rachel's strange, unnatural smile before she takes the VK test
She's becoming more paranoid about being a replicant and she's losing her professional composure
Another machine in the scene with human qualities (like replicants)
The smoke gives Rachel much more of a stereotypical femme fatale look
Dream-like quality
Deckard is far less tense after finding out she's a replicant
No longer threatened by her aura as a powerful woman, since she's not real
Tyrell starts to call Rachel "it" after spilling the beans
Tyrell sees their humans as only human, not as people
Tyrell talks about giving replicants memories to keep them sane and under control better
Controlling an individual's past, or the truth, for their desires
POWER CONTROL IDENTITY