The Stranger

Near the opening of the 20th century stands Fritz Lang's Metropolis; near its close is Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The state of things in the first big city of cinema, Metropolis, is pre-revolution; the state of things in the last big city of cinema, Blade Runner, is post-revolution. The mind and body of Blade Runner's hero, Deckard (Harrison Ford), are, like the sprawl he lives in, completely exhausted. He barely has enough energy to keep his eyes open. The revolution happened a long time ago, it lasted for years, and ended only when everyone was too tired to fight anymore. Now, everyone is too tired to love, work, and hope anymore. Blade Runner captures the mood of the world after the '60s, after the fall of the left and the rise of neoliberalism, the police state, and the emergence and establishment of a planetary economy and culture. Blade Runner, which returns to theaters with new edits and additions by the director (it is the "Final Cut"), is about the death of the state. By Charles Mudede