“Blade Runner” (1982)
Famously, Harrison Ford wasn’t the first choice to play Replicant-hunting detective Deckard in Ridley Scott’s visionary sci-fi masterpiece “Blade Runner.” It was Dustin Hoffman, whose wiry collection of nervous tics seem pointedly at odds with the kind of tough guy stoicism Ford eventually brought to the role, who had several meetings and discussions with the filmmakers (he left for unspecified reasons). Although now seen as a genuine classic, “Blade Runner” was a stretch for Ford at the time. After all, this was a dark, moodily atmospheric piece that would push his dramatic range and came after completing the bubbly pop entertainments of “Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” Ford might have been his most handsome in “Blade Runner,” his hair sharply styled, his overcoat billowing in the movie’s constant downpour, and cutting an imposing figure is key in a movie like this, to stand out against the flying “spinners,” the Tokyo a-go-go cityscape, and Daryl Hannah’s make-up. Ford’s performance is a minimalist gem, his internal struggle is only amplified by the philosophical implications of the movie’s lingering question – is Deckard actually a Replicant, the thing he’s vowed to hunt down and destroy? In the end, the question is more interesting than the answer, thanks largely to Ford’s understated portrayal. While Ford has been fairly open about his dislike of “Blade Runner” – both the process, which involved taking direction from the mercurial Scott and being soaked to the bone, day in and day out, and the movie itself, which Ford felt was crippled by the last minute addition of voice over narration. Listening to that narration (which was inserted clumsily at the last minute to help audiences understand the film’s futuristic world), you can hear how bored and pissed off Ford is, each one sounding like a single take that probably ended with Ford shouting “Can I go now?” Thankfully, the theatrical version with the voice over has been dumped in favor of subsequent “director’s cuts” that preserve Ford’s magnificent performance while losing the junk that he rightfully rallied against.
“Witness” (1985)
For our money, Harrison Ford’s most interesting work came with his fruitful, but short-lived collaborations with Australian director Peter Weir. In a career that spans some of the most iconic genre roles in the history of cinema, good ol’ surly and suffer-no-fools-gladly Ford has been only nominated for an Oscar once. And that once was for Peter Weir’s near-perfect, flawlessly scripted 1985 drama, “Witness” — arguably Ford’s finest acting moment on screen and the filmmaker’s best film; it is a confluence of everything great about these two collaborators. While once again playing a heroic type — John Book, a Philadelphia cop with a badge and a gun — he’s not the insouciant wisecracker like Indy or Solo, nor is he a knight in shining armor either. Instead Book seems like normal, working-class detective trying to solve a case: a young Amish boy (Lukas Haas in his screen debut) witnesses a murder in a local bus station. During routine questioning, the boy fingers the perpetrator of the murder — a fellow Philly murder detective (Danny Glover). Book carefully tries to broach this news with his superiors, but an attempt on his life convinces him to go into hiding with the boy and his mother (Kelly McGillis) in the isolated milieu of Amish country. The thriller then becomes a romance cum culture clash and fish out of water tale with Ford’s character representing the big, oafish brute of society, ignorance and consumerism that is ruining things like the values of quaint, peaceful and non-violent Mennonites. As he falls for Rachel, the boy’s mother, he begins to empathize, understand and most importantly respect these people’s way of life (the film also featured excellent performances by Jan Rubes and Josef Sommer). While it’s an unflashy turn opposite his better known roles, it’s full of subtle dimension, quiet mood and tenor and just the right amount of intensity when needed. It’s overfull with memorable moments, including a song and dance in a barn to “Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke, to a moving moment where Ford disarms an armed villain with nothing more than righteous morality and self-sacrifice. Nominated for eight Academy awards (it won two) “Witness” finds the actor in a superbly graceful and thoughtful manner; this is Ford’s finest and yet most underrated moment on screen.
