Photo: Warner Bros.

Blade Runner (1982) dir. Ridley Scott

Blade Runner is one of the most lauded sci-fi films of all time and with good reason. Harrison Ford stars in this adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Ford is Rick Deckard, a cop whose job is to ‘retire’ androids who set foot on earth. We recommend the film’s final cut, which gave Ridley Scott full artistic control.

Akira (1988) dir. Katsuhiro Otomo

Based on a manga series of the same name, Akira is a landmark in anime movies. Set in Neo-Tokyo, 2019, high school dropout Tetsuo discovers a dark secret about the new government. On November 17 the Leeds International Film Festival is having a special 25th anniversary showing of Akira in the Town Hall. Don’t miss it.

A Scanner Darkly (2006) dir. Richard Linklater

Adapted from another of Dick’s novels, everyone’s favourite melancholy sandwich muncher Keanu Reeves stars as an undercover cop in a dystopian, drug fuelled future. The film stands out for its visual innovation: each frame was traced in post-production, allowing for special effects that never interrupt the film’s visual flow.