I’m in the camp with David below — I just never got into it. Because it’s such a cult favorite and all, I specifically made a point to watch it again, this time the Director’s Cut, but, again, to no avail.

I find the movie unrelenting in its dark, dreary mood. There is literally no sunshine in the entire film, save the unicorn dream and the hilly ending. It wears me thin. But, I can’t hold that against it: surely the film scores a monumental achievement in the art direction/set design area. I simply love, love, love the look of the pale yellow and blue neon signs in the streets amidst the dirty fog, wet ground, and claustrophobic confinement. The interior and exterior of the “Eye Shop” looks so beautiful, I had to take screenshots for reference of great set design. So, I think for the completely dark cinematography, its flashes of pure color contrast and work well to give the location its ludicrous futuristic stamp.

All that beauty aside, the story never ropes me in. I cannot get into it, and, frankly, because Blade Runner is so pointed and auteur-driven, it acquires an aloof perpetuity that runs off and away from the viewer. It’s too serious. Or maybe, it struggles to appeal to the emotions. It feels far-off and cold.

It may seem a contradiction that David Lynch’s Eraserhead is one of my favorite films in this context. Eraserhead, however, has moments of humor to break it up into chunks, and it has a deeper, palatable shade of sadness that I can actually feel and experience. Blade Runner, in my opinion, is somewhat deadpan and flat.

Ridley Scott’s Alien is an excellent movie at any rate.