Blade Runner

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner is the 1982 science fiction classic directed by Ridley Scott from a script co-written by Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples and based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, who is known in the film as a "Blade Runner", a member of a special police squad tasked with eliminating (euphemistically called "retirement") "replicants", humanlike androids designated for different tasks offworld, but who have smuggled themselves back onto Earth, despite their banishment from the planet. The film also co-starred Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, and Brion James.

The following weapons were used in the film Blade Runner:

WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

COP 357 Derringer

In the opening scene, Leon Kowalski (a Nexus-6 replicant who infiltrated the Tyrell Corporation by working as a "waste disposal engineer") is armed with a COP 357 Derringer, smuggling it into his Voight-Kampff test (an empathy test administered to determine whether a subject is human or replicant). The prop gun was modified to fire two barrels at a time to provide a more dramatic muzzle flash and had a specialized sound effect added to the soundtrack to make it sound more futuristic.

COP 357 Derringer - .357 Magnum

Leon (Brion James) fires his Derringer.

Leon fires his second shot from his Derringer at Dave Holden (Morgan Paull), who is blown through a wall into the adjacent room behind him.

LAPD 2019 blaster

Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is armed with a non-designated, unnamed blaster throughout the film. The prop was constructed from parts of a Steyr Mannlicher .22 Model SL and a Charter Arms Bulldog revolver. Side covers were added to cover the Bulldog's cylinder, and different bolt heads and screw heads were used to offer an illusion of knobs and controls. The gun was also equipped with at least 6 LED lights, though not all of them worked throughout the production. Several other characters are seen handling Deckard's gun at times, notably Rachael (Sean Young). Blade Runner Holden (Morgan Paull) is seen briefly drawing a similar blaster. LAPD officers have black resin casts of the hero prop in their holsters, but they are just barely seen.

Charter Arms Bulldog - .44 Special

The Blade Runner 2019 Blaster. Note the white electrical cord running from the "sight" which houses two green LED's.

A behind the scenes image of Ridley Scott discussing a scene with Harrison Ford, Ford holding the blaster.

Deckard (Harrison Ford) draws his gun on a fleeing Zhora (Joanna Cassidy).

Deckard uses two hands to fire his weapon. Note here that the front Steyr magazine is fitted crooked - This may have been from on-set abuse, as later pictures of the gun do not reflect this crooked nature.

At the beginning of the film, Holden (Morgan Paull) is very briefly seen pulling his LAPD 2019 blaster in a confrontation.

Rachael (Sean Young) is seen holding the blaster.

Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) grabs Deckard's hand that is holding the blaster.

Closeup of Deckard's weapon near the conclusion of the film.

Trivia

Several production problems led to re-editing of the film and several narrative elements added without the consent of the director, including the infamous narration track that the studio insisted be added to the theatrical release (the studio believing the audience would be lost without some kind of explanatory device).

A box office disappointment upon its initial release, the film is now hailed as a visionary and highly influential film to this day (the producers of the Battlestar Galactica reboot openly acknowledged the influence of the film by calling the organic Cylons "skinjobs" and even modeling the Colonial service pistols after Deckard's service weapon, as well as using the COP 357 Derringer one episode). After years of controversy, Scott released his final version of the film in 2007 as Blade Runner: The Final Cut in a 5-disc set that included the original theatrical release as well the three more versions of the film and the work print and a plethora of extras and commentaries.

See the Talk Page for additional trivia and details (including additional images) on Deckard's gun.