BRmovie.com: BR Locations - The Millennium Falcon Building

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So, you heard that the famous Millennium Falcon spaceship from Star Wars appears somehow in Blade Runner, but can't see where? Well, this page should help you find it.

(Note to Mr Search Engine Spider - sometimes incorrectly spelled Millenium Falcon and even Milenium Falcon.)

Thanks to Mike and POD for the vidcaps. Due to the very dark nature of Blade Runner, particularly the night flights across the city, I've enhanced the brightness and/or contrast on these pictures to try to make it a little easier to see.

Picture of the Millennium Falcon Building in Blade Runner

Yes, that is it, in the foreground. More pictures further down with precise details of where they appear in the film. But first, how did Han Solo's spacebucket get to be in Blade Runner? This is best described in these paragraphs from Future Noir, by Paul M. Sammon:

Amusingly, another very distinctive spacecraft also found its way into this part of the cityscape. "Bill George had been making a replica of the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's ship from the Star Wars movies, for his own amusement," Stetson explained. "It was about five feet tall. At the time we were so frantic to get more buildings into the cityscape that we grabbed Bill's ship, bristled it with etched brass, and plopped it into different shots. Instant building.

"If you want to pick out the Falcon in that Hero Spinner landing sequence, look at the first of the two separate model shots making up that scene," Stetson concludes. "The Millennium Falcon is right in the mid-foreground of the frame. In fact, the camera flies right over it during the beginning of that first shot. Just look for this little flashing blue Pan Am sign in the upper left of the frame at the start of that first shot, before the Hero Spinner starts coming in for a landing. The big, dark pointy building dead center in the foreground is the Millennium Falcon." (A Dark Star model spaceship was also used as a building behind the Asian billboard.)

Found it yet? As the time index for different formats vary, I'll be descriptive. At the very end of Chapter 4, Gaff has picked up Deckard from the noodle bar and they are flying to see Bryant. Just after we see the two of them from behind in an interior close-up in the spinner and just before they swoop in to the police station, you should see the following:

The Millennium Falcon Building in Blade Runner

As described in FN, that big shadowy triangle with all the bits sticking out of it is the Falcon. With the extra bits added to and some bits removed from the Falcon, not to mention the noirish look, it is difficult to recognise even when you know what to look for. We fly over it for a few seconds and the police station becomes visible behind it.

The Millennium Falcon Building in Blade Runner

Now, some might see a view of the Falcon a few seconds later, here outlined by POD.

The Millennium Falcon Building in Blade Runner

If that one is too difficult to spot, perhaps you'll have better luck with the following scene, which comes from the beginning of Chapter 4 - just after Leon has put a hole in Holden. Look on the left - can you see it? Perhaps if you watch the DVD and pause, you may have better luck than with a video capture.

The Millennium Falcon Building in Blade Runner

If you can't see it, then don't bother trying to find the Dark Star spaceship! I have suspicions of which one it is, but does anybody know for certain?.

Blade Runner model cityscape clearly showing the Millennium Falcon

Perhaps this picture of the model will gives a better idea of the model Falcon?

For a fun recognition of the Falcon's appearance in Blade Runner, the Star Wars team stuck some spinners into The Phantom Menace. In their big cityscape, a few spinners were added, but they are very difficult to see even if you know exactly where to look.

And I suppose the irony hasn't escaped you - of Deckard flying past Han Solo's ship, given that both were played by Harrison Ford ...

Oh, and in case you were wondering what that reference to "another spaceship" meant at the beginning of the FN excerpt, that was referring to the Close Encounters mould that was reused to create the police rooftop - more on this subject to be added to the cityscape section later.