Oscars 2021: Harrison Ford reads list of scathing Blade Runner criticisms as he presents Best Editing award

Actor read from a list of ‘editorial suggestions’ he had received about the film

Harrison Ford amused viewers at the 2021 Oscars by reading out a list of criticisms of his classic 1982 film Blade Runner.

Introducing the award for Best Film Editing, Ford read from a crumpled piece of paper, which contained a list of “editorial suggestions” he had supposedly received about the film.

“Opening too choppy,” he reads. “Why is this voiceover track so terrible? He sounds drugged. Were they all on drugs? Deckard at the piano was interminable. Flashback dialogue is confusing, is he listening to a tape? Why do we need a third cut off the egg?”

He continued: “The synagogue music is awful, we’ve gotta use Vangelis. Up to Zhora’s death, the movie is deadly dull. This movie gets worse every screening.”

Ford starred as detective Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott’s beloved sci-fi, later reprising the role for its 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049.

After reading the light-hearted criticisms, Ford gave the award for Best Editing to Sound of Metal.

The 93rd Academy Awards took place on 25 April, having been delayed for two months due to the ongoing pandemic.

The ceremony was held primarily in Los Angeles’s famed Union Station, with nominees from outside of the US attending the event via international hubs.

Among the films competing for top awards were Chloe Zhao’s independent road movie Nomadland, Emerald Fennell’s feminist revenge satire Promising Young Woman, and the August Wilson play adaptation Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.