--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Blade Runner' was one of several…" description: "\"'Blade Runner' was one of several dystopian science-fiction films to tank in the early and middle '80s. 'Tron,' 'The Dark Crystal,' 'The Keep,' 'Labyri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc0/richard-corliss-4476_audience_blade-runner-was-one-of-several-dystopia_1287767.png" --- # 'Blade Runner' was one of several dystopian… ![“'Blade Runner' was one of several dystopian science-fiction films to tank in the early and middle '80s. 'Tron,' 'The Dark Crystal,' 'The Keep,' 'Labyrinth': none found a large audience.” quote by Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc0/richard-corliss-4476_audience_blade-runner-was-one-of-several-dystopia_1287767.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc0/richard-corliss-4476_audience_blade-runner-was-one-of-several-dystopia_1287767.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc0/richard-corliss-4476_audience_blade-runner-was-one-of-several-dystopia_1287767.png) > “'Blade Runner' was one of several dystopian science-fiction films to tank in the early and middle '80s. 'Tron,' 'The Dark Crystal,' 'The Keep,' 'Labyrinth': none found a large audience.” [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Several sci‑fi films of the early‑80s failed commercially despite later cult status. **In simple terms:** Some movies flop initially but gain fans later. Key Takeaway Consider long‑term impact over immediate success. Themes film history cult classics market trends Mood nostalgic analytical Type historical critical When to use this quote - movie production - distribution - fan communities Key Concepts media studies economics Questions to Reflect On - Why do some films become cult classics? - What factors revive interest in older movies? A Different Perspective Box office isn’t the only measure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Blade runner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blade-runner/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-crystal-223821/) [Dystopian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dystopian/) [Dystopian Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dystopian-science-4184343/) [Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early/) [Keep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keep/) [Runner Dystopian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runner-dystopian-4184342/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [In 'Blade Runner,' the here is quite enough: a vision of dark, cramped, urban squalor. This is Los Angeles in the year 2019, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/in-blade-runner-the-here-is-quite-enough-a-vision-of-dark-cramped/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [The visual team of 'Blade Runner' - one of the last big fantasy movies to be made without much computer graphics finery - worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/the-visual-team-of-blade-runner-one-of-the-last-big-fantasy-movies-to/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-ve-seen-things-you-people-wouldn-t-believe-attack-ships-on-fire-off/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [I've seen things you people wouldn't believe..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-ve-seen-things-you-people-wouldn-t-believe/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [When 'Blade Runner' came out, and especially, even actually when 'Alien' came out, it kind of changed how all science fiction movies were designed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/when-blade-runner-came-out-and-especially-even-actually-when-alien/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [I'm a nerdy, geeky fan of' Labyrinth' and 'Dark Crystal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-patrick-harris/i-m-a-nerdy-geeky-fan-of-labyrinth-and-dark-crystal/) [Neil Patrick Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-patrick-harris/) > [Watching 'Dark Crystal' now, having made Muppet films, it really strikes me just how ambitious that film is in terms of the constructs, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bobin/watching-dark-crystal-now-having-made-muppet-films-it-really-strikes/) [James Bobin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bobin/) > [But with The Dark Crystal, instead of puppetry we're trying to go toward a sense of realism - toward a reality of creatures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-henson/but-with-the-dark-crystal-instead-of-puppetry-we-re-trying-to-go/) [Jim Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-henson/) > [We need new stories, but I am looking forward to 'The Dark Crystal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hale-appleman/we-need-new-stories-but-i-am-looking-forward-to-the-dark-crystal/) [Hale Appleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hale-appleman/) > [“Tell mea tale from the days when shadow cloaked the land, when the Dark Crystal and its missing shard had not yet been reunited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kesel/tell-mea-tale-from-the-days-when-shadow-cloaked-the-land-when-the/) [Barbara Kesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kesel/) > [When my brother and I were small, somebody pointed out that we looked like something out of 'The Dark Crystal.' I think it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-ball/when-my-brother-and-i-were-small-somebody-pointed-out-that-we-looked/) [Zoe Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-ball/) > [I grew up watching movies and being amazed at the animatronics you'd see in stuff like 'The Dark Crystal,' and all those kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-o-donoghue/i-grew-up-watching-movies-and-being-amazed-at-the-animatronics-you-d/) [Colin O'Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-o-donoghue/) > [“Struggling transforms her captor into a Chinese finger trap. She’s suffocating. Sucking in air without relief. Her lungs expand. Contract. Expand. They fill with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kreitzer/struggling-transforms-her-captor-into-a-chinese-finger-trap-she-s/) [Laura Kreitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kreitzer/) > [“Her gaze travels back to the lie twisted in a tempest of mud and blood. She witnesses the culmination of her recklessness through a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kreitzer/her-gaze-travels-back-to-the-lie-twisted-in-a-tempest-of-mud-and/) [Laura Kreitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kreitzer/) > [“A glacial chill rushes through Gage. He whips around just in time to see arms clutch Summer around the middle and drag her into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kreitzer/a-glacial-chill-rushes-through-gage-he-whips-around-just-in-time-to/) [Laura Kreitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kreitzer/) ## More by Richard Corliss > [In his musicals with Garland, Rooney was the sparkplug for prodigious entrepreneurship - that era's predecessor of the garage band, but with Gershwin tunes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/in-his-musicals-with-garland-rooney-was-the-sparkplug-for-prodigious/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [Hollywood was born schizophrenic. For 75 years it has been both a town and a state of mind, an industry and an art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/hollywood-was-born-schizophrenic-for-75-years-it-has-been-both-a-town/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [You know it's Oscar season when you see a slew of new movies based on true stories whose resolutions you can find in three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/you-know-it-s-oscar-season-when-you-see-a-slew-of-new-movies-based-on/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [In 'Blade Runner,' the here is quite enough: a vision of dark, cramped, urban squalor. This is Los Angeles in the year 2019, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/in-blade-runner-the-here-is-quite-enough-a-vision-of-dark-cramped/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [Every artist undresses his subject, whether human or still life. It is his business to find essences in surfaces, and what more attractive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/every-artist-undresses-his-subject-whether-human-or-still-life-it-is/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > ['Ouija' has a steady directorial hand, some attractive young actors who taking the silliness seriously, and few admirable genre elements. It renounces the faux-found-footage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/ouija-has-a-steady-directorial-hand-some-attractive-young-actors-who/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > ['Tammy,' the new movie starring, produced, and co-written by Melissa McCarthy, could be an artifact from some alternate universe: the creatures there resemble Earthlings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/tammy-the-new-movie-starring-produced-and-co-written-by-melissa/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > ['Noah' is about a man whose mission is to obliterate Earth's past and godfather its future. Replacing the word 'God' with 'Creator' and taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/noah-is-about-a-man-whose-mission-is-to-obliterate-earth-s-past-and/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [The lumpiness of 'The Good Lie's progression - from infancy to adulthood, and from ethnic horror to gentle social comedy to a heroic gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/the-lumpiness-of-the-good-lie-s-progression-from-infancy-to-adulthood/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath' also speaks urgently to today's concerns: the cratered trail of dreams for Mexican immigrants seeking a promised land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/john-steinbeck-s-the-grapes-of-wrath-also-speaks-urgently-to-today-s/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > ['TIME's spell-check always admonishes me whenever I compose a sentence in the passive voice, a warning that is often ignored by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/time-s-spell-check-always-admonishes-me-whenever-i-compose-a-sentence/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [In their plush melodies and plummy platitudes, many Rodgers-and-Hammerstein songs were secular hymns, which so insinuated themselves into the ear of the Eisenhower-era listener…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/in-their-plush-melodies-and-plummy-platitudes-many-rodgers-and/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [I first visited the Toronto fest in 1979, its fourth edition, when it was known as the Festival of Festivals and had an audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/i-first-visited-the-toronto-fest-in-1979-its-fourth-edition-when-it/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [Though not really a comedy, 'Rosewater' is a demonstration of the creed behind 'The Daily Show': belief in the crucial need for impious wit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/though-not-really-a-comedy-rosewater-is-a-demonstration-of-the-creed/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > ['The Birth of a Nation' occupies a view of the South not far from Scarlett O'Hara's in 'Gone With the Wind,' and modern audiences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/the-birth-of-a-nation-occupies-a-view-of-the-south-not-far-from/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) [Explore all 110 Richard Corliss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Blade Runner' was one of several dystopian science-fiction films to tank in the early and middle '80s. 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