In Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner, several key scenes—including the climatic chase—were filmed at the landmark Bradbury Building located at Broadway and 3rd in downtown Los Angeles. Built in 1893 and designed by George Wyman, the Bradbury Building was supposed to represent a vision of a utopian society circa 2000 with its wrought-iron balconies and elevators, marble floors and polished wood all illuminated by a skylight five stories above.
How appropriate that Warner Bros. chose this architectural treasure to celebrate the December 18th home-video release of Blade Runner: The Final Cut, available packaged with other incarnations of the film on DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD.
The Bradbury, which by day is a government office building, was transformed into a futuristic wonderland filled with neon lights, fog, Asian cuisine and the haunting Vangelis music from Blade Runner. Stars of the film including Joanna Cassidy and Sean Young (pictured here with your humble editor) were on-hand to support the 25th-anniversary release, which is in my opinion the most impressive and lovingly assembled video set of 2007.
“I get photo approval,” said Young jokingly after our brief encounter, but she had no cause for concern. With sweptback hair and a furry coat, she looked not all that different from her character, Rachel, in a movie that was filmed over two decades ago. Cassidy, who is also still stunning, shot new footage for The Final Cut to fix the appearance of an obvious body double in her character’s death scene. Most of Blade Runner’s cast, like the movie itself and the Bradbury Building, have aged gracefully and were built to stand the test of time.
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Sean Young! I'd love to buy that crazy chick a drink -- or twenty!