Despite his long career, the late Rutger Hauer will probably always be remembered for his 50-second, 42-word monologue he delivered on screen in 1982 as famed replicant Roy Bat in Ridley Scott’s cult classic Blade Runner.
The monologue (below) delivered in the closing moments under Rick Deckard’s (Harrison Ford) bemused gaze has gone down in history as one of the most moving tirades in cinema, and it’s the actor himself – even the night before filming, cutting out parts of the original script and adding the poignant last sentence at the beginning.
Here is the tirade in question:
“I’ve seen things you humans can’t believe… Great ships on fire rising from Orion’s side… I’ve seen fabulous rays, C-rays shining in the shadow of the Tannhauser Gate… All these moments will be lost in oblivion like tears in the rain. It’s time to die.“
In an old interview (All The Right Movies on Tears in the rain monologue or “C-Beams Speech”).
“The pigeon was my idea. And the text was one page long and very complicated. many words I just thought we saw five deaths in an operatic way, with a lot of pathos, and I thought, “Now we have to hurry.” Batteries dead, bam, done. Don’t overdo it.“
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He processes the text himself
therefore Rutger Hauer They decided to rework the script the day before shooting, cutting out much of the original speech so that it wasn’t necessary, and adding one last sentence – the line “tears in the rain” – that really made the scene perfect.
“I squeezed a little the other day and this sentence was a big ending. I suggested it to Ridley and he agreed to do so. We took pictures with and without pigeons. All the scenes where I have a pigeon were shot in two days because neither he nor I was sure. The idea was that when a soul goes, something must go. This is, of course, funny, because when a car dies, nothing disappears.“
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The actor then talked about the tricks used on screen, especially in this scene, and how he lets the audience fool themselves into loving cinema.
“What I love most about movies is that you know you have them. Like in this scene. And yet you have no problem accepting it. I love it. It makes the audience a little more involved. I find it interesting.“
Check out the original version of his interview below:
The freedom offered to all actors in the film
In another interview with Radio Times in 2017, Rutger Hauer He mentioned the poetry of the text and the freedom that Ridley Scott gave to the actors on the set.
“I kept two lines because I thought it was poetic. I thought they belonged to this character because somewhere in his digital head he has poetry and knows what it is. He feels it! And as long as his batteries are running, he finds both lines.“
He added: “Ridley gave me complete freedom because he wanted it to be a character-driven story. He has never done a character-driven film.”– explained the actor. “He said, “That’s what I want to do: bring me anything you can and I’ll do it if I like it.”“
Rumor has it that on the day of filming, crew members clapped and cried after the scene was finished. Anyway, the fans were moved to tears.
Rediscover Rutger Hauer’s famous tirade in Blade Runner (1982) below:
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
