Music to Two Si-Fi Cult Classic

Tonight feel like listening to ambient music with some context, ah yes soundtrack. No, not just any regular soundtrack to movies or TV shows but to two specific Si-Fi cult classic, both came out in 1982: Blade Runner and Cat People.

People who have seen Blade Runner would recall the futuristic setting in the film and the dull acting by Harrison Ford. But what stikes me is the film's dark atmospheric mood (90% of the shots are dark and damp), portrait of orientalism (the Japanese characters, widescreen TV showing Geisha), and conflicts between the real human and the "replicant" or humanoid if you will. Last but not least, it is the soundtrack by Vangelis which mixes all the elements of the film into a bowl of wax, a pretty darn good wax I would say. I am neither a film critics nor a journalist so I will spare all the glory details of this film. It is the soundtrack that I am most interested in. It is ambient, electronically epic, and to a certain extent soothing. Vangelis' electronic composition needs no introduction here but I cannot recommend highly enough of this soundtrack. Why the soundtrack was only made available in 1994, 10 years after the opening of the film is beyond my understanding. I really resent it when commercial and legal terms get between music and the listeners. It is a lose-lose situation for everyone.

In 2007, a 3-cd set celebrating the movie 25th anniversary was issued. The set contains the original soundtrack (same as that from 1994), previously unreleased materials, and new compositions by Vangelis that were inspired by the film.

Rachel's Song


Blush Response


Another Si-Fi film from the same year is Cat People. It is as dark as Blade Runner, or may be even darker. A neo-noir Si-Fi classic. This film stars Nastassja Kinski, who is considered as a sex symbol at that time due to the erotic nature of the film. Never mind about the plot, it is simply bizarre. A human would turn into a werecat after having sex and would turn back into human after killing another human? Forget that. I am here to share music. The soundtrack was by Giorgio Moroder, who needs no introduction again. The theme song was sung by David Bowie but what I really like is one of the songs called "The Myth". David Bowie just hummed the melody on this song and it is sexy enough.

The Myth