|
Leon's Gun: Mother's Defender Introduction
Leon: What do you mean I'm not helping?
Holden: I mean you're not helping. Why is that
Leon?
They're just questions, Leon. In answer to your
query, they're written down for me. It's a test, designed to provoke an
emotional response.
Shall we continue? Describe in single words, only the
good things that come in to your mind about.. your mother.
Leon: My mother?
Holden: Yeah.
Leon: Let me tell you about my
mother…BLAM
Assistant Art Director Stephen Dane produced several preliminary
sketches during pre-production of a gun that Deckard (Harrison Ford) was
to use throughout the movie. The drawings all appear to depict a COP .357
or a derivation of it. In the end, probably at the direction of Ridley
Scott, the COP was dropped as the gun to be used by Rick Deckard. Instead,
the COP, in completely unaltered form, was employed as the weapon Leon
uses to maim the Blade Runner Holden in the famous opening scene of the
film (see fig. 1).
History
and Critique
"The
COP was specifically designed as a police off-duty or back-up handgun. It
combines the flatness of the automatic with the instant readiness of the
revolver. Many special features not available in any other handgun are
built into the COP to make it a highly specialized personal defense
weapon." A fascinating weapon in appearance, the COP has some very interesting features: First, it provides the ability to fire four quick, successive shots. Second, it can safely be carried in the loaded and firing position with almost no chance of accidental discharge due to its very hard trigger pull. Third, it is virtually indestructible because of its stainless steel manufacture.
Nevertheless, some of the COP's primary features also act as
some of its major distractions. The trigger pull, as mentioned earlier, is
extremely long and hard. Furthermore, the weapon's stainless steel
construction makes it a small but relatively heavy weapon to carry. At a
hefty 28 oz. unloaded, the COP is certainly very noticeable when it is
strapped to your calf or other back-up weapon location.
Made
entirely of stainless steel, except for the grips, which are fabricated
out of
checkered wood, the COP is comprised of over 50 separate parts (see fig.
3). Although the gun can be taken apart, it is not easily field stripped
and requires that one screw and several pins be removed for
disassembly.
fig. 3
"The
gun I fired at Holden was real weapon that's made in Compton, California.
It looks space-age, but it's real. And it has four barrels on it. That way
you can shoot four shots one right after the other; it's sort of like a
quadruple-barrel gun." Excellent background information is available on Leon's gun and its creation, as well as the above quote from Mr. James, in Paul Sammon's book Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner on pages 109 and 239.
Additionally,
there is one important detail which will now be revealed for the first
time: According to Art Shippee, Jr., the property master responsible for
the weapons in the movie, the COP .357 used in Blade Runner had been
altered to fire two barrels simultaneously. This modification helped
create the greater than expected flash that is visible in the movie (see
fig. 4).
The
Gun List
There is anecdotal evidence that some replicas of the COP have been produced by the Japanese. Although this has never been confirmed, this author recently stumbled upon photographs of what appear to be replicas of a Stephan Dane design prototype and the COP pistol in Spinner Dokuhon Final Plus 44 (see fig. 5).
The COP Used in the Movie The actual COP used in the movie Blade Runner was supplied by the legendary but now bankrupt Stembridge Gun Rentals, Inc. of Los Angles, California. For many years Stembridge was Hollywood's supplier of choice for movie weapons. Unfortunately, due to the increasing number of productions going to Canada and overseas, Stembridge was forced to close their doors in the middle of 1999. According to a representative, a very wealthy individual purchased the entire collection, including Leon's gun from Blade Runner. The Blade Runner COP pistol is well documented and will probably show up at a Christie's or Sotheby's auction one day. However, if you accidentally stumble on a COP .357 that has been altered to fire two barrels at once, you may have found the original COP used during the filming of Blade Runner.
The
Blade Runner Sketchbook: Dolphin Publishing, 1982.
BladeZone http://www.bladezone.com RACProps http://www.racprops.com |
