Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film, directed by
Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young.
The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is based
on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
The film depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in November 2019 in which
genetically manufactured beings called replicants — visually
indistinguishable from adult humans — are used for dangerous or menial
work on Earth's "off-world colonies". Following a replicant uprising,
replicants become illegal on Earth and specialist police called "blade
runners" are trained to hunt down and "retire" escaped replicants on
Earth. The plot focuses on a brutal and cunning group of
recently-escaped replicants hiding in Los Angeles and the semi-retired
blade runner, Rick Deckard, who reluctantly agrees to take on one more
assignment. Blade Runner initially polarized critics: some were
displeased with the pacing, while others enjoyed its thematic
complexity. The film performed poorly in North American theaters.
Despite the box office failure of the film, it has since become a cult
classic. Blade Runner has been hailed for its production design,
depicting a "retrofitted" future. It remains a leading example of the
neo-noir genre. Seven versions of the film have been shown, for various
markets, and as a result of controversial changes made by film
executives. A rushed Director's cut was released in 1992 after a strong
response to workprint screenings. In 2007, Warner Bros. released in
select theaters and on DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray, the 25th anniversary
digitally remastered definitive Final Cut by Scott.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1639:
English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks made the first observation of a
transit of Venus .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/transit_of_Venus>
1676:
Scanian War: Forces led by Swedish Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
defeated the invading army of Denmark–Norway under the command of King
Christian V in an area north of Lund, Sweden.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lund>
1829:
The practice of sati was formally abolished in British India after
years of campaigning by Ram Mohan Roy against the Hindu funeral custom
of widows immolating themselves.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_%28practice%29>
1977:
Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the President of the Central African Republic, had
himself crowned as Emperor Bokassa I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-B%C3%A9del_Bokassa>
1992:
Operation Restore Hope: One day after the United Nations Security
Council passed Resolution 794, U.S. President George H. W. Bush ordered
American troops into Somalia to help provide humanitarian aid and
restore order after the dissolution of the country's central government
during the ongoing Somali Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Task_Force>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
piffle (v):
To act or speak in a futile, ineffective, or nonsensical manner
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/piffle>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is there any religion whose followers can be pointed to as distinctly
more amiable and trustworthy than those of any other? If so, this
should be enough. I find the nicest and best people generally profess
no religion at all, but are ready to like the best men of all
religions.
--Samuel Butler
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Butler>
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