Review by C.J. Bunce
It’s been six years since the premiere of Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi cult classic, Blade Runner, based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Since then we’ve seen three deep dives into the moviemaking process, Blade Runner 2049 Interlinked–The Art reviewed here and Blade Runner 2049–The Storyboards reviewed here. These were companion pieces to a 2017 book by writer Tanya LaPointe, who as partner to director Denis Villeneuve, had unparalleled access to the creators and production. It’s a new edition of that book, The Art and Soul of Blade Runner 2049–Revised and Expanded Edition, available here at Amazon, which has made its way into bookstores as we enter the new year.
With new sections by writer Simon Ward, fans of the movie get to see how Sean Young reprised her role as Rachael from the original Blade Runner and more. Another exploration of the late visionary Syd Mead, it’s also the first book since Star Wars: Frames (reviewed here) to showcase the extent of the artistry of its creators in this kind of presentation.
Where Blade Runner 2049 Interlinked–The Art (also by LaPointe) looked at the concept artwork and artistry exclusively, and Blade Runner 2049–The Storyboards was a practical guide in storyboarding, LaPointe does two major things in this book. First it’s what you’d think: a tour of the production from securing the rights to the final cut. But what makes it great is how she uses the photography. For major art pieces–key sets, highlights of lighting, explorations of meaning–she uses full 11″ x 14″ images. But when most books do that, it means hundreds of photos don’t make the book at all. LaPointe found a way around that. Here she uses some of her layouts to offer photos, crew photos in particular, but in big collages. She knows fans don’t need detailed images for those types of shots. Yet we also want to see who did what and with whom, and this approach sees that it’s covered. The author also makes this work with screen captures, storyboards, and concept artwork.
All the key creators from Villeneuve to stars including Ryan Gosling, as well as futurist/concept artist on both movies, Syd Mead, who died since the first edition of the book was written–along with dozens of other department heads share details of their contributions. Readers will find more photographs from Blade Runner 2049 than in the other two books, tracking with LaPointe the beginning, middle, and final ideas for the futuristic cars called spinners, weaponry like those bulky blasters, future landscapes and cityscapes, cyborg corporate logos, the look of residents of the future, and sites for shooting in the principal filming locations in Hungary.
Like George Lucas’s landmark book on Star Wars, Star Wars: Frames, this book is a celebration of the artistry of the film, and regardless of what you think of the movie, the story, or Villeneuve’s choices, you’ll undoubtedly walk away with more respect for the director and cinematographer Roger Deakins, who won an Oscar for the movie, and the entire production team, which garnered four nominations and two wins in total. Each image from the film was a carefully constructed–or framed–artwork, and it comes through clearly on the page.
The expanded content in a book doesn’t always justify the new over the old edition, but this edition is an improvement on the original. Simon Ward offers up more looks at props and set pieces, but even more fascinating is his coverage of Sean Young’s return as a new version of Replicant Rachael. Ward recounts the secrecy and lengths the crew went to to keep that secret from the press and public, and shows step by step how Young was de-aged with the contribution of another actress into the new character for the film.
The core creators from the film who participated in this book include director Villeneuve, the producers, set decorator Alessandra Querzola, makeup designer Donald Mowat, propmaster Doug Harlocker, screenwriters Michael Green and Hampton Fancher, concept designer Victor Martinez, production designer Dennis Gassner, concept artist Sam Hudecki, costume designer Renée April, among others.
The Blade Runner story lives on in the pages of comics now, but The Art and Soul of Blade Runner–Expanded and Revised Edition is a great second look at what prompted the second life of the franchise. It’s available now here at Amazon.
For more on Syd Mead’s work and futurism, catch up with The Movie Art of Syd Mead, reviewed here, Space Utopia, reviewed here, and Typeset in the Future, reviewed here.
