Tears in rain monologue in Blade Runner (1982)
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“Tears in rain” (also known as the “C-Beams Speech” is a 42-word monologue, consisting of the last words of character Roy Batty (portrayed by Rutger Hauer) in the 1982 Ridley Scott-directed film Blade Runner. Written by David Peoples and altered by Hauer, the monologue is frequently quoted. Critic Mark Rowlands described it as “perhaps the most moving death soliloquy in cinematic history”, and it is commonly viewed as the defining moment of Hauer’s acting career.
Context
The monologue is near the conclusion of Blade Runner, in which detective Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) has been ordered to track down and kill Roy Batty, a rogue artificial “replicant”. In a rooftops chase in heavy rain, Deckard misses a jump and hangs by his fingers, about to fall to his death. Batty turns back, and lectures Deckard briefly about how the tables have turned, but pulls him up to safety at the last instant. Then, recognizing that his limited lifespan is about to terminate, Batty further addresses his shocked nemesis, reflecting on his own experiences and mortality, with dramatic pauses between each statement:
