Tannhauser Gate
Encyclopedia
Tears in rain is the final soliloquy
of the android Roy Batty in the movie Blade Runner
. It is much quoted and has been described as "perhaps the most moving death soliloquy in cinematic history". The final form of the speech was improvised by Rutger Hauer, the actor who delivers it.
Roy Batty introspectively makes the speech during a rain downpour, moments before his own death:
In the Channel 4
documentary On the Edge of Blade Runner, Hauer, director Ridley Scott
, and screenwriter David Peoples
asserted that Hauer wrote the "Tears in Rain" speech. There were earlier versions of the speech in Peoples' draft screenplays; one included the sentence "I rode on the back decks of a blinker and watched c-beams glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate" In his autobiography, Hauer said he merely cut the original scripted speech by several lines, adding only "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain" although the original script, displayed during the documentary, before Hauer's rewrite, does not mention "Tanhauser Gate":
Hauer described this as "opera talk" and "hi-tech speech" with no bearing on the rest of the film, so he "put a knife in it" the night before filming, without Scott's knowledge. In interview with Dan Jolin, Hauer said that these final lines showed that Batty wanted to "make his mark on existence ... the robot in the final scene, by dying, shows Deckard what a real man is made of."
When Hauer performed the scene, the film crew applauded and some even cried. This was due to the power of the dying speech coming at the end of an exhausting shoot.
that scores the scene. Elements of the Main Titles theme support Batty's speech, structured with strings, brass, and church bells. Michael Hannan and Melissa Carey describe the feeling of the scene as calm but forceful in its impact:
Jason Vest, writing in Future Imperfect: Philip K. Dick at the Movies, praised the delivery of the speech, "Hauer's deft performance is heartbreaking in its gentle evocation of the memories, experiences, and passions that have driven Batty's short life."
in this monologue. It has since been reused in other science fiction
sub-genres, in popular music and critically reviewed. The name probably derives from Richard Wagner
's operatic adaption
of the legend of the medieval German knight and poet Tannhäuser
. Joanne Taylor, in an article discussing film noir
and its epistemology, remarks on the relation between Wagner's opera and Batty's reference, and suggests that Batty aligns himself with Wagner's Tannhauser, a character who has fallen from grace with men and with God. Both, she claims, are characters whose fate is beyond their own control.
's Mason & Dixon
(1997) says he has "look'd on Worlds far distant, their Beauty how pitiless", evoking the similar lines in the soliloquy. The actual speech is repeated in whole or in part by characters in the novel And Another Thing...
, the webcomic Darths & Droids, the television show Venture Brothers, and the film Drillbit Taylor
. A reference to Tannhäuser Gate in Soldier
(1998) links that film to Blade Runner. Rutger Hauer's speech is sampled in the song "Tears in Rain" by The Retrosic
, in the song "Rain" by Horsepower Productions
, and in a song titled "Attack Ships on Fire" by London Elektricity
.
Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters, and is delivered often when they are alone or think they are alone. Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and...
of the android Roy Batty in the movie Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
. It is much quoted and has been described as "perhaps the most moving death soliloquy in cinematic history". The final form of the speech was improvised by Rutger Hauer, the actor who delivers it.
Script and improvisation
In Blade Runner, the dying replicantReplicant
A replicant is a bioengineered or biorobotic being created in the film Blade Runner . The Nexus series—genetically designed by the Tyrell Corporation—are virtually identical to an adult human, but have superior strength, agility, and variable intelligence depending on the model...
Roy Batty introspectively makes the speech during a rain downpour, moments before his own death:
In the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary On the Edge of Blade Runner, Hauer, director Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
, and screenwriter David Peoples
David Peoples
David Webb Peoples is an American screenwriter.-Life and career:Peoples was born in Middletown, Connecticut, the son of Ruth and Joe Webb Peoples, a geologist. He studied English at the University of California, Berkeley...
asserted that Hauer wrote the "Tears in Rain" speech. There were earlier versions of the speech in Peoples' draft screenplays; one included the sentence "I rode on the back decks of a blinker and watched c-beams glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate" In his autobiography, Hauer said he merely cut the original scripted speech by several lines, adding only "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain" although the original script, displayed during the documentary, before Hauer's rewrite, does not mention "Tanhauser Gate":
Hauer described this as "opera talk" and "hi-tech speech" with no bearing on the rest of the film, so he "put a knife in it" the night before filming, without Scott's knowledge. In interview with Dan Jolin, Hauer said that these final lines showed that Batty wanted to "make his mark on existence ... the robot in the final scene, by dying, shows Deckard what a real man is made of."
When Hauer performed the scene, the film crew applauded and some even cried. This was due to the power of the dying speech coming at the end of an exhausting shoot.
Score
"Tears in Rain" is also the name of the last track of the official score for the film by VangelisVangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
that scores the scene. Elements of the Main Titles theme support Batty's speech, structured with strings, brass, and church bells. Michael Hannan and Melissa Carey describe the feeling of the scene as calm but forceful in its impact:
Here the mood is more serene but the strings and brass orchestration is nonetheless very powerfully scored. Both these cues are examples of monumentalising the drama of near death and death itself. The church bells bring an effective religious dimension to the scenes to strengthen visual imagery such as the dove that Roy releases as he dies.
Critical reception
Sidney Perkowitz, writing in Hollywood science, praised the speech, "If there's a great speech in science fiction cinema, it's Batty's final words...". He says that it "underlines the replicant's humanlike characteristics mixed with its artificial capabilities."Jason Vest, writing in Future Imperfect: Philip K. Dick at the Movies, praised the delivery of the speech, "Hauer's deft performance is heartbreaking in its gentle evocation of the memories, experiences, and passions that have driven Batty's short life."
Tannhauser Gate
Tannhauser Gate, Tannhäuser Gate and Tanhauser Gate are variant spellings of this unexplained placename which is used only onceHapax legomenon
A hapax legomenon is a word which occurs only once within a context, either in the written record of an entire language, in the works of an author, or just in a single text. The term is sometimes used incorrectly to describe a word that occurs in just one of an author's works, even though it...
in this monologue. It has since been reused in other science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
sub-genres, in popular music and critically reviewed. The name probably derives from Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's operatic adaption
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
of the legend of the medieval German knight and poet Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser was a German Minnesänger and poet. Historically, his biography is obscure beyond the poetry, which dates between 1245 and 1265...
. Joanne Taylor, in an article discussing film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
and its epistemology, remarks on the relation between Wagner's opera and Batty's reference, and suggests that Batty aligns himself with Wagner's Tannhauser, a character who has fallen from grace with men and with God. Both, she claims, are characters whose fate is beyond their own control.
Allusions
Other works and media reference the soliloquy. A character in Thomas PynchonThomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
's Mason & Dixon
Mason & Dixon
Mason & Dixon is a postmodernist novel by American author Thomas Pynchon published in 1997. It centers on the collaboration of the historical Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in their astronomical and surveying exploits in Cape Colony, Saint Helena, Great Britain and along the Mason-Dixon line in...
(1997) says he has "look'd on Worlds far distant, their Beauty how pitiless", evoking the similar lines in the soliloquy. The actual speech is repeated in whole or in part by characters in the novel And Another Thing...
And Another Thing... (novel)
And Another Thing… is the title of the sixth installment of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy". The book, written by Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series, was published on the thirtieth anniversary of the first book, 12 October 2009, in hardback. It was...
, the webcomic Darths & Droids, the television show Venture Brothers, and the film Drillbit Taylor
Drillbit Taylor
Drillbit Taylor is a 2008 comedy film starring Owen Wilson as the eponymous character and based on an original idea by John Hughes. It was directed by Steven Brill and the screenplay was written by Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen. Paramount Pictures released the film on March 21, 2008.Drillbit...
. A reference to Tannhäuser Gate in Soldier
Soldier (film)
Soldier is a 1998 science fiction-action film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film stars Kurt Russell as Sgt. Todd, a soldier trained from birth...
(1998) links that film to Blade Runner. Rutger Hauer's speech is sampled in the song "Tears in Rain" by The Retrosic
The Retrosic
-History:The Retrosic project was born in April 2001 with the release of the debut Prophecy. The Retrosic's second release, Messa da Requiem, reached the top of the Deutsche Alternative Charts in 2002, and was named "Album of the Year" by the Dutch Alternative Charts.The Retrosic's third album God...
, in the song "Rain" by Horsepower Productions
Horsepower Productions
Horsepower Productions are an electronic music duo, initially a trio, who released experimental garage recordings, and helped pioneer the dubstep genre.-Lineup:...
, and in a song titled "Attack Ships on Fire" by London Elektricity
London Elektricity
London Elektricity is the DJ and stage name of musician Tony Colman who is best known as a recording artist of five albums, international DJ and formerly a live drum and bass act "London Elektricity Live".-History:...
.