Originally posted by timb64 Didn't Ridley Scott capture the atmosphere of cyberpunk best with Bladerunner?
I think Scott's movie predates most cyberpunk, I am certain that his movie influenced the gritty yet high tech settings of the genre. Then again, I am sure a lot of Japanese manga and anime influenced Scott, as well as other imagery. I'm no film historian, nor anime fan. I've never been to Japan, but the images I've seen of cities there, a mix of lots of people, neon lighting, fashion trends, technology and such, was a huge and futuristic contrast to the traditional, or more familiar, European architecture of cities. In he late 70s and early 80s, Japan's influence on Europe and america was growing tremendously for various reasons but esepecially in technology, the "Cyber", while there was a malaise in Europe and America, and unrest and new protests and creativity, the "punk". It was a timely match.
I live in a small town now, but I'll keep your cyberpunk idea in mind the next time I go to a big city.