Blade Runner: The Final Cut

Don’t miss this special Science on Screen presentation of the sci-fi classic, Blade Runner: Final Cut, featuring a live introduction/discussion on Artificial Intelligence by Dr. Eduardo Blanco, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Arizona. Dr. Blanco will discuss how A.I. informs the concept of “replicants” in Blade Runner, recent advances in A.I., and their implications for society.

Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.  

Visually spectacular, intensely action-packed and powerfully prophetic since its 1982 debut, the classic sci-fi/noir thriller Blade Runner returned in 2007 in a definitive Final Cut that gave director Ridely Scott full artistic control, allowing him to perfect this stunning masterpiece even further by including extended scenes and never-before-seen special effects culled from restored archive materials. In a future of high-tech possibility soured by urban and social decay, 21st-century detective Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) hunts for fugitive, murderous replicants (led by Rutger Hauer), and is drawn to a mysterious woman (Sean Young) whose secrets may undermine his soul. Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner gave the world a darkly cynical view of a rain-soaked, neon-lit future that has inspired countless homages and imitations, none of which have matched the hypnotic power of the original. Co-starring Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh and Daryl Hannah, and featuring a haunting score by Vangelis, this is the definitive version of a modern-day classic. If ever there was a film meant to be seen on the big screen, this is it! (Dir. by Ridley Scott, 1982 /2007, USA/UK, 118 mins., Rated R)

Eduardo Blanco is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Arizona. He received his PhD from The University of Texas at Dallas. Eduardo joined the College of Science at the UofA in Fall 2022 after holding faculty appointments at the University of North Texas and at Arizona State University. If you ask him, he will tell you that he has found his place here in Tucson, where the community and university mingle in meaningful ways. He conducts research primarily in natural language processing, the subfield of artificial intelligence that is making computers understand language. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Office of Naval Research, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and generous gifts from industry. Eduardo’s research has been recognized with a Bloomberg Data Science Research Grant and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Science on Screen creatively pairs screenings of narrative and documentary films with lively presentations by notable experts from the world of science and technology.   Each film is used as a jumping-off point for speakers to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages popular culture audiences.