BLOG POST #5

Any film enthusiast knows the significance of the Bradbury Building in Hollywood films.  It has starred in countless blockbuster hits like Chinatown, Lethal Weapon 4, Marlowe, and of course it played the infamous house of the Toy Maker in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The use of the Bradbury building in this film is significant because the film itself is set in a futuristic Los Angeles. I think that Scott wanted to pay homage to the famous building in the film and show that although its use in this imaginary world is far from what it used to be, the building will still withstand the strains of time. Blade Runner takes place in the year 2019, and because the building was built in 1893 that would make the Bradbury 126 years old. Scott’s use of the building as a “futurized” antique is phenomenal. The building is obviously recognizable when it is shown in the film as Scott chose not to add any decoration or futuristic aesthetics to the famous railings or halls of the building. Instead he chose to portray the building as an old and abandoned place that has remained true to itself despite all of the technological advances that have been happening around it. This not only proves the longevity of the building but also shows that someone or some people chose to leave the building as the piece of art that it really is. Again I think that Scott is paying homage to the legendary building by showing it as raw and unchanged  as possible.