First things first: I'm having a hard time believing that this film wasn't even listed in 1998. What the hell. I'm also having a hard time believing that the film was set in - well, you know:
From the start, Blade Runner really captures a mood: the cinematography and soundtrack give performances almost as powerful as the actors. The blu-ray version of the Final Cut of the film is just breathtaking. Totally my favorite [by the way, Warner Brothers is releasing a 4K version of the film in September, ahead of the release of Blade Runner 2049].
So why was it included other than being awesome? I don't know. The awesomeness of this movie is such that no other reasons are necessary if you ask me. But I'll make some guesses.
1) The emphasis on philosophical questions about humanity, like: Can robots have empathy? At what point does AI become "enslaved"? As technology increasingly becomes part of our lives, these questions are coming forward even more. I, for one, have to stop myself from correcting people who don't say please or thank you to Siri or Alexa.
So what would/could make AI "human"? On the flip side of that is the question of what makes a person human. Questions like these were to be raised years later in the epic film The Big Lebowski (Coen, Coen, 1998):
The Big Lebowski: What makes a man, Mr. Lebowski?
The Dude: Dude.
The Big Lebowski: Huh?
The Dude: Uhh... I don't know sir.
The Big Lebowski: Is it being prepared to do the right thing, whatever the cost? Isn't that what makes a man?
The Dude: Hmmm... Sure, that and a pair of testicles.
2) The successful use of film noir techniques (with the exception of the voiceover, which was notoriously unsuccessful) like chiaroscuro cinematography to create a truly immersive (and eerie) science fiction world:
above: Blade Runner (Scott, 1982)
above: Double Indemnity (Wilder, 1944)
3) The huge cult following it developed, and its influence on cultural objects, often directly stated by producers. For instance, in 2008 Ronald D. Moore and David Eick cited it as a major influence on the 2004 version of Battlestar Galactica, it has been listed by several organizations as the best science fiction movie of all times, the Visual Effects Society lists it as the second-most visually influential, and it has been one of the most musically sampled films (sources). It is also listed in the National Film Registry.
4) The extensive use of this movie in classes and academic writing - surely that must count for something. I mean, check it out: there are even "study guides" online (i.e. essay questions to cheat off of, not that I am holding a grudge from when students used to cheat in my classes or anything).
Blade Runner the film has definitely come to be a very influential cultural object. It was based on a book by Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, first published all the way back in 1968 (at which time it was supposed to happen in 1992 LOL). I read the book a few years ago, but it was a bit confusing because it's VERY different from the movie.
Some of the differences are things that don't really matter to me in the long run - Mercerism, his wife, the poor little goat. However, there are things about the book that I wish had been in the film, like the explanation of why Sebastian's building was empty. On the other hand, there are really interesting things that are in the film that aren't in the book: the ambiguousness of Deckard's replicant-ness, for instance. Blade Runner just wouldn't be the same if we all knew one way or another whether he's a human or robot.
One final thing about the movie: it is supposed to take place in 2019. Obviously LA is not really on track to be there by 2019.
I would say Dubai is getting pretty close, though:
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