Book Review: Blade Runner: The Inside Story

The content of this book was originally published in July 1982 as Cinefex issue 9, which is out of print. This is a hardcover reprint by Titan Books in 2003.

This book is on how the Blade Runner was made. If you don't already know, the Blade Runner movie was re-released in 2007 as a 5-disc DVD collection — there's Blu-ray as well. I'm not sure if there are any duplication in content here compared to the discs since I don't have them.

There are some really cool — maybe retro by today's standards — behind the scenes photography on the set and miniatures. The writeup is detailed as you would expect from Cinefex. There are stories of how everything was conceived and created, like the set, miniatures, the level of details required to make everything believable, how they used the cameras, work around design limitations, and all the other challenges that crop up during production.

The book's introduction pretty much sums everything up.

"After more than a year of intensive labor, the visual effects craftsmen at Entertainment Effects Group have produced the definitive urban future for Blade Runner - Ridley Scott's stylish homage to film noir.

"A polluted overpopulated megalopolis, the Blade Runner city was created largely with miniatures and matte paintings - and effects supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer detail the arduous process by which it was generated and captured on film.

"On a broader scale, director Ridley Scott and design consultant Syd Mead discuss the evolution of the project and the philosophy behind its distinctive ambience. Adding further dimension are director of miniature photography Dave Stewart and cameraman Don Baker, matte painters Matthew Yuricichand Rocco Gioffre, designer Tom Cranham, model shop supervisors Mark Stetson and Wayne Smith and modelmaker Bill George, animation supervisor John Wash and cameraman Glenn Campbell. Compsy tech director Richard Hollander, optical supervisor Robert Hall, matte cameraman Robert Baily, still photographer Virgil Mirano, lab liaison Jack Hinkle and effects auditor Diana Gold.

"Together, they present one of the most thorough accounts ever of a major special effects project - covering the design, construction and photography of the massive Tyrell pyramids, the vast Hades wasteland, the extended cityscapes and the wondrous flying vehicles."

This book is for fans of Blade Runner and anyone looking to understand film making with miniature sets.

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