At the end of Blade Runner, Roy Batty told us that all his memories will be lost in time, like tears in rain. His memories may be gone but ours of him and the actor who played the character, Rutger Hauer, will forever live on.
Variety reports that the Dutch actor has passed away at the age of 75 after a short illness, which was confirmed by his agent.
Rutger has had an illustrious career that’s spanned over six decades and included memorable lead roles in titles such as Soldier of Orange and Escape from Sobibor, as well as supporting parts in films like Batman Begins and Sin City.
But we’ll forever remember him as the antagonistic replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s seminal 1982 sci-fi film, Blade Runner, almost purely because of one single scene. You know which one I’m referring to.
Reducing Rutger’s impressive body of work down to a single two-minute movie scene is not really fair on him, but this is an exception as it one of those moments that transcends cinema and has almost become something of a cultural touchstone for filmgoers.
After spending most of Blade Runner getting hunted by Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard, Roy ends up saving Rick’s life. In the moments just before he dies, Roy delivers arguably the single most memorable death soliloquy in film, one that captures both the life he’s had and his hopes that replicants may one day be considered human.
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”
It’s open-ended, operatic and doesn’t make a lick of narrative sense but goddamn if it doesn’t capture our imaginations with its vivid imagery.
We also owe more to Rutger for this monologue than just his performance as he also reportedly rewrote the whole thing by cutting down all the excess lines and adding in the final “all those moments” line.
Roy’s memories may be like tears in rain, but ours of Rutger’s and his monologue will forever linger like attack ships off the shoulder of Orion.