Only now does it occur to me... CASA DE LOS BABYS (2003)

Only now does it occur to me... that I have derived a BLADE RUNNER reference from John Sayles' sensitive and not-at-all science-fiction-related drama, CASA DE LOS BABYS. 

The story of six women (Mary Steenburgen, Lili Taylor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Susan Lynch, and Daryl Hannah) caught in limbo at a Mexican resort, waiting for the paperwork to clear on prospective adoptions, CASA DE LOS BABYS is par for the course in the 'Sayles catalogue': a mosaic of characters, rendered humanistically, and possessing a quiet and universal dignity. 

Of course I'm going to zero in on a moment when Daryl Hannah's character "Skipper"––a Coloradan hippie, who, of all the women, has been waiting the longest––is running along the beach. I couldn't help but feel she was channeling her performance as "Pris," from BLADE RUNNER,

who takes great running leaps as she attacks Harrison Ford with her replicant thighs, fists, sticks her fingers up his nose, etc.

This, you should note, is a stretch. Obviously "Skipper" and "Pris" run in a similar way because they are both portrayed by Daryl Hannah. However, in the following scene, the other women of the Casa are discussing "Skipper" as they wait for her to arrive at lunch.

Soon, a STEPFORD WIVES reference gets dropped and Lili Taylor offers some real (trash) talk.

 

 "Someday, one of her microchips is gonna misfire." Alright, I've seen enough, I'm calling it: this is an implicit BLADE RUNNER reference!

The Nexus 6 microchips barely ever misfire.

It's also worth noting that Hannah has a long history of Sayles performance, from CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR (whose screenplay Sayles wrote) to SILVER CITY (where she plays another Coloradan hippie in a performance which lightly riffs with her role in CASA DE LOS BABYS). In closing, you should watch this movie for reasons unrelated to BLADE RUNNER; it's a good one.

Only now does it occur to me... BREAKING GLASS

Only now does it occur to me...  that a British indie punk movie from 1980 would have such a far-reaching influence on 80s Sci-Fi.

Before I explain what I mean, I must compliment BREAKING GLASS, a gritty "rise to the top" record industry film (in a similar vein as SLADE IN FLAME or LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS).  Mostly it's a platform for Hazel O'Connor to sing the shit out of a variety of legitimately amazing punk, New Wave, and post-punk music she's written for the occasion. 

But there's also the part where she (and the costume design team) inspire the entire aesthetic for 1982's TRON:

BREAKING GLASS.


TRON.

Then there's the small matter that for large chunks of the film, she's in white-face and New Wave eye makeup with a teased-out, electro-bob haircut:  the spitting image of Daryl Hannah's "Pris" from 1982's BLADE RUNNER:

Hazel hangs out with her band in BREAKING GLASS.


Daryl Hannah hangs out with her replicant buddies in BLADE RUNNER.


Hazel freaks out on stage in BREAKING GLASS.


Daryl freaks out on Harrison Ford in BLADE RUNNER.

Clearly, Ridley Scott saw this, and was taking notes.  And it may be a bit of a stretch, but in some scenes she even looks like Joanna Cassidy's "Zhora," another replicant from BLADE RUNNER:
 
 Hazel in her dressing room in BREAKING GLASS.

Joanna Cassidy in her dressing room in BLADE RUNNER.

Before you chalk it up to coincidence, allow me to present one final, bizarre detail– BREAKING GLASS prefigures BLADE RUNNER's use of the "weird, reflective, robotic pupil" effect.  In BLADE RUNNER, it's generally used to indicate when a person (or a creature) is a synthetic "replicant":

Tyrell's replicant owl.

Replicant Rutger Hauer.

In BREAKING GLASS, it's used by Hazel and her band as they impersonate robots on stage:

Inspiration can be found in the most unlikely of places– and I'm sure that Hazel and the makers of BREAKING GLASS had no idea that they would exert such a stylistic influence on two of the biggest sci-fi flicks of 1982– and furthermore, at the time, I'm sure no one could have guessed that those two films would establish such cultural staying power.  But here's hoping that BREAKING GLASS can muster a little staying power, too:  it's an invaluable document of New Wave-Punk realness, and seriously, it's rare for a film to have such ass-kicking original music, across the board.  A gushing recommendation, for sci-fi fans and punk rock enthusiasts alike!

Film Review: BLADE RUNNER (1982, Ridley Scott)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 117 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, M. Emmet Walsh (MISSING IN ACTION, BLOOD SIMPLE), Edward James Olmos, Joe Turkel (the Bartender in THE SHINING), James Hong (BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA), Brion James (HOUSE III), William Sanderson (DEADWOOD), Joanna Cassidy (THE OUTFIT) . Cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth, music by Vangelis. Based on the novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K. Dick.
Tag-lines: "Man Has Made His Match... Now It's HIS Problem!" Wow.
Best one-liner: "Wake up, time to die!" (often and enthusiastically quoted by Abel Ferrara on his commentary track for THE DRILLER KILLER)
Schlitz Sign Sightings: 2

On a TV, BLADE RUNNER's an essential film; on the big screen, it's a revelation. From the ominous opening tones and expository scroll to the first shots of fireballs bursting forth from futuristic smokestacks, the viewer is immediately aware that they're about to embark on something enrapturing, exceedingly rare, and immaculately crafted.

Director Ridley Scott, cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth (ROLLING THUNDER, ALTERED STATES CUTTER'S WAY), special effects artist Douglas Trumbull (2001, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND), and production designer Lawrence G. Paull (BACK TO THE FUTURE) merge their talents to create a moody, jaw-dropping, futuristic atmosphere, the likes of which hadn't been seen since METROPOLIS and will likely be never seen again, so long as Hollywood clings to its CGI like a cured fool to his needless crutch.

Though not following his work to the letter, the film wonderfully replicates the Philip K. Dick 'aura'- a world of confusion, filth, wonderment, paranoia, disquiet, and mystery. A smoky Middle-Eastern nightclub with shades of PEPE LE MOKO; an icy laboratory where eyeballs are fashioned from bubbling, frigid vats; a dark, rain-soaked alley, intermittently lit by neon and the flashing headlamps of police spinners;

a sooty, decaying space, full of mannequins, robots, and incessantly chortling mechanical toys; a musty, shadowy, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired apartment

where Harrison Ford's Deckard pours bottle after bottle of stinging hooch down his throat– the sheer creativity and perfect realization of these places leaves them etched upon your mind, long after the film has finished. Combined with an ethereal Vangelis score, one sits, transfixed and with mouth agape, as one might while experiencing one of the great cathedrals.

Violence is handled with firm-handed Dickian weight: visceral and distressing, full of shrieks and spasms and existential dread. The acting is superb: Sean Young's art deco naivete, Brion James' detached brutality, Rutger Hauer's unsettling perfection, James Hong's yammering hermit, Joe Turkel's thick-lensed mogul, Edward James Olmos' craggy visage, William Sanderson’s sweet gullibility,

Daryl Hannah's raccoon-eyed urchin, and M. Emmet Walsh’s oily countenance all function to develop a colorful landscape of characters, remaining true to Dick's wider vision. Ultimately, Scott possesses a complete confidence in his material, and never second-guesses, never concedes a point, never gives in to showcasing some 'flavor of the month,’ and consequently has created a languid, timeless work of art.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: HIGH SPIRITS (1988, Neil Jordan)

Stars: 2 of 5.
Running Time: 99 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Peter O' Toole, Steve Guttenberg, Jennifer Tilly, Peter Gallagher, Liam Neeson, Beverly D'Angelo, Darryl Hannah.
Tag-line: " He's an American. She's a ghost. Vacation romances are always a hassle."
Worst one-liner(s): "No respectable ghost would live in California!" OR "I'm dead. So this is what it feels like. Like a hangover." OR "You're a ghost, I'm an American. It would never work out." OR "I mean I know you like passive women, Jack, but she's dead!"
Only good line, courtesy of Peter O'Toole: "What is going on here? Eamon? Why are chunks of masonry floating about?"

Neil Jordan. Director of THE CRYING GAME and MONA LISA. Hell, let's stick INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE up there, too. This cast. Peter O'Toole, one of the finest actors of all time. Steve Guttenberg, one of the most infectiously fun American comedy actors of the 80's. Darryl Hannah with an Irish brogue that kinda flits in and out. Solid actors like Liam Neeson, Beverly D'Angelo, and Peter Gallagher in the small roles that most comedies don't even attempt to cast with quality. A creepy mansion comedy of manners in the vein of CLUE. All these things should add up to something that's at least watchable.

I wanted to like this movie. I wanted to like it SO MUCH. I love questionable cinema of the 1980's. I love the Gute. I love Irishmen. I AM an Irishman. I love Peter O'Toole. He's one of the greatest drunks of all time, and he's in a movie called "High Spirits!" This is the guy who once went for a drink in Paris and woke up in Corsica. The guy who went on a bender with Michael Caine, and when they awoke, Caine asked 'What time is it?' 'Never mind what time it is, what fucking day is it?!,' O'Toole replied, and sure enough it was two days later. Now, O'Toole is obviously wasted for real for the duration of this film, which is the only reason this earned two stars.


He's even drinking with Guttenberg in one scene. I should love this. But dammit, there's not enough O'Toole and Gute. There's somehow too much, AND not enough. Instead, we get smacked over the head with a parade of some of the worst forced laughs in film history. The film is trying SO HARD to wring a laugh from me here and there, and I am trying SO HARD to love it, and somehow ne'er the twain shall meet. That makes me sad, and it makes me exhausted. Worth a rent only if you fast-forward between all the O'Toole drinking scenes.

-Sean Gill