In a genre filled with many noteworthy contenders for consideration as the best movie list of all time, one work consistently rises to the top as legitimate contender. Bladerunner incorporates the acting of a young Harrison Ford in this stark thriller set in a future rendition of Los Angeles. Here are the aspects of this film that make it the best movie of all time:

Realistic View of A Very Possible Future

Perhaps the most frightening and intriguing aspect of this motion picture is its believability. A rainy, dark and sullen Los Angeles of the future is all-too-credible, especially given what we now know about climate change and how our environment is deteriorating. This motion picture allows the harshness of a very real reality to slap the viewer across the cheek, even as it tells its story about man’s constant struggle with the concept of immortality.

The Use & Lack of Light

One of the true pieces of genius in the making of Bladerunner is how light and, just as critical – the absence of it – is used to add superb effects to this film. Director Ridley Scott makes light filtering through cigarette smoke, mist and rain into a special effect all by itself. The film is intended to be a realistic interpretation of a possible future for everyone. It accomplishes its mission by bringing attention and gluing viewers to the characters and storyline through what is perhaps the most ingenious application of light in the history of science fiction movie-making.

Lack of the Antiseptic Notion of the Future

Many science fiction fans are caught-up in the notion of a pristine, immaculate future world. Bladerunner dispenses with this facade early-on. You are taken to an all-too-believable world of the future that is so frightening because it may be a glimpse at a possible future reality. It is dark, brooding, dirty, wet and – real.

The world of Bladerunner is a study in the sharp contrasts of out-of-control technology woven into visions of overpopulation, rationing, acid rain, and all of the dark possibilities that most don’t like thinking about, but are frighteningly realistic. Perhaps it is this very real glimpse at a future that is terrifying because it is a striking representation of how things may truly be in the future.

Bladerunner isn’t a “pretty” film – and this is perhaps one of its greatest arguments for being the best movie of all-time in any category. It may be too accurate a depiction – and a future no one wants to acknowledge is not only possible – but probable.