I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
- Roy Batty in Blade Runner
I had a friend named Jim. He worked at a video store in Greenwich Village called Captain Video. That’s where I met him. Back in the early 1980s, I attended school less than an hour north of New York City and spent a lot of time on the weekends in the Village. This was back when video tapes were all the rage - not DVDs, but those big, clunky VHS tapes. After I graduated, I moved to Monterey, California to attend the Defense Language Institute, where I studied Dutch. Jim moved out to Carmel and opened a new Captain Video. By the time he got it going, I was leaving Monterey for The Netherlands. I didn’t see Jim again until after I got out of the service and moved to Carmel. By this time, Jim had closed the video store. He had AIDS and was very sick. Within the year, he was gone.
Jim was a movie buff. He pretty much knew everything about the movies. He recommended movies to me once in a while. I remember one in particular: Blade Runner. He told me about it shortly after it was released in 1982 when we were still in New York. However, I had no chance to see it in the theater and, once it was released on VHS, no videocassette recorder (VCR) to play the tape.
About six months after I returned to Carmel, I moved to Campbell and was working in Silicon Valley. By this time VCR players were cheap enough that I could afford one, and I started to watch many of the movies I had missed while I was in Europe. Blade Runner was one of the first.
I was taken by the music composed by Vangelis. It was so beautiful and majestic, yet melancholic. With the memory of Jim still close, the movie shook me. One of the movie’s themes was the strong desire to live, even when faced with the inevitable. This reminded me of my own mortality.
The songs Memories in Green and this one, Blade Runner Blues, convey that feeling:
Interestingly, the Blade Runner soundtrack didn’t come out until 1994, ten years after the release of the movie. It left off much of the film's score and included compositions not used in the film. The soundtrack is a masterpiece and has withstood the test of time. It’s as fresh and moving now as it was in 1994 - almost thirty years later.
The first time I remember hearing and taking note of Vangelis was while watching the 1982 movie The Year of Living Dangerously.
The theme song is L’Enfant from Vangelis’ 1979 album Opéra Sauvage:
I liked that song and bought the album Opéra Sauvage at Tower Records in the Village. I was already somewhat familiar with Vangelis' work when I saw Chariots of Fire, probably in 1985 or 1986.
I think Abraham's Theme from Chariots of Fire points the way to Blade Runner; however, in my mind, the seeds of the Blade Runner soundtrack go back to Opéra Sauvage. From this album, Rêve sounds as if it could have easily been heard in Blade Runner:
Here are two more great songs From Blade Runner. The beautiful Love Theme:
…and the introspective Damask Rose:
Here’s one more for the road. The end of the movie is stunning. That’s the time I’m reminded that my memories are just moments in time. They will not be handed down to my children, like my old records or books. They were only moments in my mind and will be lost in time. When my time comes, they will wash away unnoticed, like tears in the rain.
This is the epic “Tears in Rain” monologue, which the replicant Roy Batty delivers just before he expires:
The music after the monologue is another ethereal song hallmark of the Blade Runner soundtrack:
Movies like Blade Runner remind me to live for the moment. Absorb the present and keep looking onward and upward!
By far, my favorite version is the 2007 Warner Bros. The Final Cut, a 25th-anniversary digitally remastered version. This is the only version over which Director Ridley Scott retained artistic control. That is the one to watch - it’s a masterpiece. This week’s journey is in memory of my friend Jim, who never got the chance to see The Final Cut. Whenever I see it I think of you - I know you would have loved it.
Next week, on that Big River called Jazz, we’ll dig our paddles in and explore the music of the AACM’s Henry Threadgill.
Please hit this link to buy me a cup of coffee, if you’d like to show your guide some appreciation for this and past journeys. Know in advance that I thank you for your kindness and support.
If you like what you’ve been reading and hearing so far on our journey and would like to share this with someone you think might be interested in learning more about our great American art form: Jazz, just hit the “Share” button.
From Astaire to Sun Ra: A Jazz Journey is a reader-supported publication. If you feel so inclined, subscribe to my journey by hitting the “Subscribe now” button.
Also, find my playlist on Spotify: From Fred Astaire to Sun Ra.
Feel free to contact me at any time to talk shop. I welcome and encourage that.
Until then, keep on walking….
Well done, Tyler. I raise up a glass to your friend tonight.