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Blade Runner: Difference between revisions
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==LAPD 2019 blaster== | ==LAPD 2019 blaster== | ||
Rick Deckard ([[Harrison Ford]]) is armed with an non-designated, unnamed blaster throughout the film. The prop was constructed from parts of a Steyr-Mannlicher Model SL (SL Images [http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=155140909#PIC 1] [http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/admin/product_details.php?itemID=12358 2]) rifle and a [[Charter Arms Bulldog]] revolver. Side covers were added to cover the bulldog's cylinder, and different bolt heads and screw heads were used to offer an illusion of knobs and controls. The gun was also equipped with at least 6 LED lights, though not all of them worked throughout the production. In addition to Deckard, several other characters are seen handling similar weapons including Holden ([[Morgan Paull]]) and Rachael ([[Sean Young]]). | Rick Deckard ([[Harrison Ford]]) is armed with an non-designated, unnamed blaster throughout the film. The prop was constructed from parts of a Steyr-Mannlicher Model SL (SL Images [http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=155140909#PIC 1] [http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/admin/product_details.php?itemID=12358 2]) rifle and a [[Charter Arms Bulldog]] revolver. Side covers were added to cover the bulldog's cylinder, and different bolt heads and screw heads were used to offer an illusion of knobs and controls. The gun was also equipped with at least 6 LED lights, though not all of them worked throughout the production. In addition to Deckard, several other characters are seen handling similar weapons including Holden ([[Morgan Paull]]) and Rachael ([[Sean Young]]). LAPD officers have black resin casts of the hero prop in their holsters, but they are just barely seen. | ||
[[Image:HERO1.jpg|thumb|400px|none|]] | [[Image:HERO1.jpg|thumb|400px|none|]] | ||
[[Image:Hero2.jpg|thumb|400px|none|Note the white electrical cord running from the "sight" which houses two green LED's.]] | [[Image:Hero2.jpg|thumb|400px|none|Note the white electrical cord running from the "sight" which houses two green LED's.]] | ||
Revision as of 01:13, 15 January 2012
Blade Runner is the 1982 science fiction classic directed by Ridley Scott from a script written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples and based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, who is known in the film as a "Blade Runner", a member of a special police squad tasked with eliminating (euphemistically called "retirement") "replicants", humanlike androids who have smuggled themselves back onto Earth, despite their banishment from the planet.
The following firearms were used in the film Blade Runner:
COP 357 Derringer
In the opening scene, Leon (Brion James) is armed with a COP .357 four-barrel Derringer. The prop gun was modified to fire two barrels at a time to provide a more dramatic muzzle flash.
LAPD 2019 blaster
Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is armed with an non-designated, unnamed blaster throughout the film. The prop was constructed from parts of a Steyr-Mannlicher Model SL (SL Images 1 2) rifle and a Charter Arms Bulldog revolver. Side covers were added to cover the bulldog's cylinder, and different bolt heads and screw heads were used to offer an illusion of knobs and controls. The gun was also equipped with at least 6 LED lights, though not all of them worked throughout the production. In addition to Deckard, several other characters are seen handling similar weapons including Holden (Morgan Paull) and Rachael (Sean Young). LAPD officers have black resin casts of the hero prop in their holsters, but they are just barely seen.
Original Design
The original design for the intended Rick Deckard blaster was done by production artists Syd Mead. It was a "black hole gun" and was to fire a black beam. An odd looking weapon, and a prop with a mysterious origin It is said that Deckard was originally intended to have a small COP derringer based customized blaster, but when Ridley saw the Steyr SL chamber on the prop masters workbench, he insisted it be used as his hero's main sidearm. The firing "hero" was, for years, thought lost, or put in mothballs on the studio lot somewhere. Stunt castings of the weapon made the rounds, and some of them hang on the walls of Planet Hollywood and reside among cherished private collections.
Double Triggers
Deckard is seen carrying his weapon in a crossdraw holster, where the weapon's double triggers can be seen. The double trigger nature of the weapon has fooled some into believing the gun had two barrels. In the Marvel comics adaptation of the film, we can even see some of the artists drawing the handgun with side by side barrels. In reality, it was a feature carried over from the Steyr design simply because director Ridley Scott liked the look.
Stunt Castings
Here is a picture of the stunt casting hanging in the Seattle Science Fiction Museum. It was coated with a glossy clear to keep the rubber from breaking down any further that it already had. The stunt castings vary from the hero gun in many ways. They were cast before the LED's were placed into the magazine, and before the "pinky groove" was cut into the hero grip, which was done at Ford's request as the grip was just too small for his hand. Also, some castings have "hero grips" meaning they have orange amber grips, and some have black grips, which were used by the street cops, and background players in the police station scene.
Note the casting seam clearly visible along the top of the "hero" stunt gun.
Stunt castings, and resin castings of the stunt guns have made the rounds through the hands of fans and private collectors over the years.
Fan Made Blasters
The Blade Runner Blaster stands as one of the most sought after props in the history of cinema. Since the release of the film many fans, and some prop companies, have stepped up and created their own versions of the gun based on images from the film, and also working from stunt castings.
An incredible fan made version of the Syd Mead design:
THE PKD
Plager Katsumate Series-D blaster replica
The above is a fan made blaster sculpted by Rick Ross. Rick has has also created many variations on the the blasters theme, including "snubby" blasters, a "magnum" blaster, and an "assassin" model with optics and a suppressor.
The gun in the film did not have any official name or designation, though fans of the film who seek to own a reproduction of this prop tend to call it a "PKD" coined by mister Ross in honor of Philip K. Dick.
Trivia
Several production problems led to re-editing of the film and several narrative elements added without the consent of the director, including the infamous narration track that the studio insisted be added to the theatrical release (the studio believing the audience would be lost without some kind of explanatory device).
A box office disappointment upon its initial release, the film is now hailed as visionary and highly influential to film to this day (the producers of the Battlestar Galactica reboot openly acknowledged the influence of the film by calling the organic Cylons "skinjobs" and even modeling the Colonial service pistols after Deckard's service weapon, as well as using the COP 357 Derringer one episode). After years of controversy, Scott released his final version of the film in 2007 as Blade Runner: The Final Cut in a 5-disc set that included the original theatrical release as well the three more versions of the film and the work print and a plethora of extras and commentaries [1].
Deckard's gun also appears in PC game Fallout 1, Fallout 2, and Fallout: New Vegas as rare weapons. This gun also appear in a canonical "side story" PC game from 1997 also called Blade Runner by Westwood Studio.
Information:
http://props.steinschneider.com/blade_runner/bldrunbl.htm
The hero prop surfaced a few years ago, and was profusely photographed by Karl Tate.
http://karltate.wordpress.com/2006/08/31/props-of-blade-runner/