Harrison Ford reunited with his Working Girl director Mike Nichols for this drama, released in the heart of the summer of 1991, in which he plays an unscrupulous hard-charging lawyer who yells at his kid and is generally kind of a jerk to everyone. Until, that is, he's shot in a convenience store robbery and his traumatic brain injury resets his personality. Annette Bening co-stars as Ford's wife alongside Bill Nunn as Bradley, an occupational therapist who may have a dark side (it's a subject of debate in the episode). Oh, and the screenplay comes from a young J.J. Abrams.

We're joined by Josh Horowitz, host of the Happy Sad Confused podcast and the Who's a Good Guest? video series (where he interviews celebrities alongside their pets) for a lively discussion of one of the most unusual films in the Ford Filmography.

Finally, if you like this podcast and want even more Ford Focus, please support us on Patreon, where we post bonus episodes and more.

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Since we launched Ford Focus we've been regularly releasing bonus episodes of the show for subscribers to our Patreon. We call this show within a show Ford Escape, as it usually covers movies in which Ford doesn't appear but are related, sometimes loosely, to the movie on our main feed. This week we decided to drop one on the main feed to give our free subscribers a listen to what they've been missing.

While talking about Blade Runner Mike brought up another sci-fi film he always associated with it because it played alongside Blade Runner on cable: Looker. If you don't know it, it's a Michael Crichton directed film in which Albert Finney plays a Los Angeles plastic surgeon who gets caught up in a conspiracy involving an evil corporation that's killing models. Why? It's complicated. And it involves light guns and smoke guns, for some reason. Obviously, Blade Runner has proven more enduring, but Looker's a fascinating film in its own right, one filled with smart ideas that's still somehow pretty dumb.

To help us talk about it we turned to Max Evry, a long-serving film journalist with a particular affinity for '80s science fiction, as evidenced by his two books: A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune, an Oral History and Stranded on Earth: How Night Skies Became E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. (The latter comes out October 27th, but can pre-order it now.)

We hope you enjoy this side trip. And, once again, that Patreon link is: patreon.com/c/FordFocusPodcast.

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Blade Runner is now recognized as not just one of the cornerstones of Harrison Ford's filmography but as one of the most influential and endlessly discussable films of its era. But it wasn't always so. Released on June 25th, 1982 (apologies for getting the date wrong in the episode itself), Blade Runner debuted to mixed reviews and disappointing box office but soon picked up a cult following. That cult expanded considerably in 1992, when Ridley Scott released his director's cut, which removed the clarifying voiceover recorded late in the production process, lopped off the original cut's "happy" ending, and restored a few moments Scott had to trim.

Which version is better has since become a subject of much debate, as it is in this episode. Vulture and New York magazine critic Bilge Ebiri joins us to discuss the film's themes, its legacy, Ford's performance and a lot more.

Also, here are a few links to more info about the items we referenced.

• Marvel's Blade Runner adaptation, written by Archie Goodwin with art by Al Williamson.

• Jonathan Rinzler's The Making of Return of the Jedi

• The Blade Runner FAQ

Finally, if you like this podcast and want even more Ford Focus, please support us on Patreon, where we post bonus episodes and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.