Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner

'Future Noir', also known affectionately as 'The Bible' among Blade Runner fans is a very thorough examination all aspects of this groundbreaking film. Written by Paul M. Sammon, the book takes us through the making of the film, the initial screenings and subsequent release, interviews with the cast and crew, the special effects, mistakes and problems with the film, the question of "Is Deckard a replicant?" and much, much more. This book is very much a reference book so it can be read in almost any order and referred to when you have questions that need answering. The book provides some very interesting little insights into the film. One example, revealed during an interview with M. Emmet Walsh, is that Ridley Scott said that Walsh's character, Harry Bryant, had a stomach problem. This is the reason why he pours two shots for Deckard in his office and none for himself. He likes to see other people drinking since he can not.The book is quite long and goes into a lot of detail, particularly in the section dealing with special effects. If you're not interested in such things it can be skipped over, however I am happy that it was included. It is better to have too much information than not enough. One thing that bothers me a bit is the fact that shortly before the book was to be published the publisher cut almost 300 pages of material from the book. This left Sammon scrambling to figure out what to cut and where to put important information from those deleted chapters in the book. There is talk of republishing the book in an expanded, more heavily illustrated version in 2002, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Blade Runner's original release, but whether this will happen is not yet clear. A deleted chapter from the book about the BR crew has been made available online on the website 2019: Off World. Do a search on Yahoo! for 'Blade Runner' and you'll find it.The book also contains appendices outlining the many versions of the film, the soundtracks and many other useful tidbits of information.To sum up, this is a great book. It is a must for die-hard BR fans and for anyone who is interested in delving a little deeper into the mythology of Blade Runner.

Any fan of Blade Runner who wants to know the whole story should check this book out. Beware though, because it doesn't hold anything back and gets down to the tiniest detail (which in a way can spoil the way you view the film in the future).

For those interested in science fiction, movie making, special effects, and even hollywood gossip, this book contains pleanty to satisfy. If you are a big fan of Philip K. Dick and his works, especially Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the movie version Blade Runner, it is of particular interest. This book gets into the minute details of how Blade Runner was conceptualized as a movie, how it was developed, and how eventually it was filmed. Some of the details get a bit overwhelming at some points, like when Sammon talks about the special effects for almost every scene in the movie, but he appropriately forwarns the reader that there will be fairly technical material and to skip it if this is not up your alley. There are lots of interesting accounts from the actors themselves. Sammon did a lot of reporting during the actual filming, but this book over 10 years afterwards, so there are many interviews with the actors with the hindsight and perspective that comes from this amount of time. All in all, an extremely interesting read!

Future Noir almost reads like a novel with its behind the scenes examination of the making of Blade Runner. It is a must-read for anyone who goes to movies for it exposes the harsh realities of personality clashes, near financial disasters, humorous anecdotes, and ultimately a climax after a thrilling roller coaster of a ride of how could this movie have ever been made in the first place. Paul Simmon has put flesh and soul on the names normally ignored as the credits flashed by on the movie screen. He even offers optional sections of his book you can skip without losing the thread of the book (if you wish). This book is easily read, entertaining, and insightful. Learn how movies are funded, how earlier special effects were imaginatively put together, how books get altered into movies, what a director really does, discover the fascinating overlapping and intersecting parallels between movies, stars, and movie personalities. And perhaps most important of all "what was this movie all about anyhow". This book may make you laugh, perhaps even cry. But in all instances, it will give you a greater appreciation of what movie making is all about. With the exception of a number of elusive questions left answered (the delay of a soundtrack to the movie, the real story behind Harrison Ford and Sean Young) and a number of new mysteries raised (who was the third actress screen tested?), Mr. Sammon's book is a refreshing, important look into the one of the most intriguing movies of our time.