Similarities Between Blade Runner And Double Indemnity

Even though they were produced in two completely different time periods, Blade Runner and Double Indemnity share a substantial amount of similarities. Each film’s use of cinematic elements points towards them following a film noir style of filming. Though Blade Runner’s sci-fi genre does push it towards a more modernized version of film noir, commonly known as neo-noir, it still shares many similarities with Blade Runner. Low key lighting, shadows, smoke, compact spaces, and pathetic fallacy are all classic film noir qualities seen throughout the films. Both films also focus their plots upon the main character's attraction to a “femme fatale”: Rachael in Blade Runner and Phyllis in Double Indemnity. The usage of these qualities and character
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The lighting is mainly focused upon one or two characters, putting everything around them in shadows. This brings about a claustrophobic atmosphere in the scene, creating a mysterious feeling among the audience. Both films use this technique to “hide” something in the background, like the replicants in blade runner. Moreover, the shadows defined by the key light create a more dramatic environment that promotes the mysterious vibe of the scene. It also serves as a way of displaying a doomed outlook onto the world, one that is filled with deception and lies. This “view” on the world is quite common in film noir, as the style was created around WWII. By creating a depressing mood, the shadows and lighting also allow the audience to sympathize with the main characters - as it does not paint any character as primarily good or evil. Without the use of the chiaroscuro effect, both films would fail to produce the elemental nature of the characters surroundings. The character’s emotions are not only exemplified by the low key lighting, but also by the camera’s angle and proximity to the
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It is because of the femme fatales, Rachael and Phyllis, that Deckard and Neff are forced to decide upon a question of morality. The plots of both films are fueled by the attraction between the femme fatale and male lead, thus allowing for many difficult decisions to be made. The plot often lead up to an unexpected twist, in which the femme fatale does something shockingly selfless. In Blade Runner this can be seen when Rachael retires a replicant to save Deckard, sparking the relationship between the two. A similar twist is prevalent in Double Indemnity, when Phyllis is unable to kill Neff because she had developed feelings for him. Both scenarios show how attraction influenced the femme fatales to make a difficult moral decision, causing them to commit an act in favor of the male lead. Although the femme fatales play an important role in both movies, Phyllis’ role in Double Indemnity carried much more significance than Rachel's role in Blade Runner. Rachael merely distracted Deckard from his main job, while Phyllis was the cause of the whole plot. Without Rachael, Deckard still would have had the mission to retire the replicants. However, without Phyllis, Neff would have never had the idea of killing a customer off for money, thus the rest of the plot would not