MovieChat Forums > Blade Runner (1982) Discussion > Did we EVER find out...

Did we EVER find out...

posted 8 years ago by twofacetoo
18 replies | jump to latest

...what Roy was saying before he died?

Don't get me wrong, I love this movie, especially Roy's character and his final lines, but let's be real, what was he actually saying?

I'm sure it was just a bit of world-building fluff like when 'Star Trek' talks about an alien race we've never seen, but does any of it mean anything? The C-Beams, the Tannhauser Gate, all of the things he said, was it ever given any context or explanation?

I'm not trying to pick holes, I get why they did it, I just want to know if it was ever explained in 'The Blade Runner Handbook' or anything like that.

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[–] edisonnosidE 8 years ago

Mostly it was ad-libbed by Rutger Hauer.

Some of it was script.

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

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[–] kaskait 8 years ago

The point was that he had all these remarkable memories that he thought were special and deserved to be told. He was sad that they would all go with him. But he also realized that EVERYONE dies both naturally born and replicant clone alike and EVERYONE takes their memories with them. He was in possession of what he wanted all along (his humanity) and wasted what time he had left on a fool's errand.

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[–] twofacetoo 8 years ago

Yeah, I get it. I thought it was clear that I got it. I got the point of the movie, I got the point of Roy's character. The point is lit up in a neon sign it's so clear and obvious. It's about mortality, about the futility of a long life, and embracing every moment as important, while reminding us that every life ends and in the end they're all insignificant.

I'm not asking 'what was the point of the movie', I'm asking a simple yes / no, 'did we ever find out what that meant?' Do me a favour and don't talk down to me while blatantly missing the point of my question.

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[–] kaskait 8 years ago

Your missing the point of the answer.

The last speech are memories personal to him that he states outright will be gone when he dies. That's it. What else do you need? Do you need to know the exact base he was stationed on at Orion?

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[–] twofacetoo 8 years ago

That isn't what I was asking for, I was asking for a simple bit of explanation about the fluff-text. It probably meant nothing, I just wondered, out of simple *beep* CURIOSITY if it was ever given any context.

This isn't a 'I'll die if I don't find out' situation, I just wanted to know, for fun, if there was ever an explanation. Do yourself a favour and keep the snark to yourself.

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[–] kaskait 8 years ago

No snark at all.

The film gives you enough context if you just put the pieces together.

It continually harps on off world colonies. These colonies and earth are under the powers of huge corporations. Roy and the rest were slaves used as fodder for staking claims for the colonies or stealing claims. All they knew was continual war for exploitation.

You don't need to know specifics of his memories. Only that they will be lost and the tragedy that he was tortured with only a 4 year life span.

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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] twofacetoo 8 years ago

Cheers, I know the type.

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

the Tannhauser Gate

Tannhauser is a hero of love and poetry and songs, by Wagner.

Tannhauser Gate means that Roy Batty is the gate. Jesus is the gate.
The white dove that Roy Batty holds in his hands - crossed in the pharaoh pose, is the Divine Spirit.
Roy Batty puts a nail through his hand to delay his death. Jesus got a nail through his hands, died, and resurrected.

Apollo is the god of poetry and songs, the shining one, he found a tortoise in a desert, killed it, and made a lyre out of her shell.

There you have it, Roy Batty (meaning The Mad King - look up the meaning of the names Roy and Batty), is Apollo, Lucifer, Jesus.

...or Hermes, whatever, this movie is gnostic esotericism, so it's all very obscure.

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[–] twofacetoo 8 years ago

Interesting. Any word on the C-Beams?

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

Interesting. Any word on the C-Beams?

occult symbolism. Orion's belt has 3 stars, C is 3rd letter, a third - that is 33% - of the angels rebelled in the Off-World, 33 is the age Jesus died, 33 is the max degree in masonry, Diddley Squat is a low ranking knight of the queen. google "prince edward mason" or "prince george mason" or "queen england mason"

therefore 3 beams is trinity, google "morpheus as above so below pyramid sign".

They're a bunch of occultists...

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[–] twofacetoo 8 years ago

Hm, not a bad suggestion, I like it

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[–] HerBrain-i8 8 years ago

There is no occult or symbolism.

You are waaaaaaaaaay overthinking this.

In the 5 disc Blu-ray collectors edition Special featurette "Dangerous Days"- The Making of Blade Runner; There is a voice over by Deckard where he talks about the "The Tennhauser Gate" and a "Orion off world battle" for colonial rights that was witnessed by Batty.

The voice over was not used in any of the film cuts.

If I remember correctly in The P.K. Dick book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. There were disagreements and fights between the off world colonies. That's why There were Replicant "combat" models.

Guess she didn't like the cornbread either.

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

There is no occult or symbolism.

There's plenty occult symbolism in Bladerunner, you only have to learn the symbols. Take a look at Eldon Tyrell name:

Eldon - google says "Ella's hill" or "of old age" or "elves town".
Tyrell - google says "to pull" or "stubborn". Sure, alright, but let's think of the following names:

El - God, the name Elohim meaning "the gods" is the name of Eloah, that is, God.
Don - Lord, master, from Latin 'dominus'

Tyre - the devil - Ezekiel 28:13 "You were in Eden, the garden of God" and Ezekiel 28:2 "and you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god" and Ezekiel 28:14 "You were on the holy mountain of God"
Tyr - father of gods in the Germanic pantheon, the one who sacrificed his right hand to wolf Fenrir
El - God

The occult meaning of the name Eldon Tyrell is thus God, God's mountain, the one of old age, the stubborn one, the devil, the father of gods, lord, master, God.

It just so happens that Eldon Tyrell lives at the top of a pharaoh pyramid, a mountain like building, and Roy Batty calls him "the god of bio-mechanics" and "the maker" and "Father".

It also happens that in gnosticism, the Christian God Elohim, is merely an inept god, of a lesser rank than the Supreme Principle, having created an imperfect world, into which he trapped us, the humans, slaves to his might.

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[–] HerBrain-i8 8 years ago

Oh yes, I agree that there is tons of symbolism in the film in total.
I was talking about one part; Specifically about Batty's final monologue and why he said what he did. Which BTW was not ad-libbed by Rutger on the spot as many believe. He says he ad-libbed the "tears in rain" part at the first cast script read through.

Guess she didn't like the cornbread either.

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

I was talking about one part; Specifically about Batty's final monologue and why he said what he did.

Well the name Tannhauser is certainly symbolic. You can't possibly pretend it's a random name. And Wagner's work is certainly gnostic.

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[–] little_wing 8 years ago

Hi twoface too - In answer to your question: The C-Beams, the Tannhauser Gate, all of the things he said, was it ever given any context or explanation?

Tannhauser was a renowned Physicist who theorized that 2 black holes revolving around a common point will create a rift in the time/space continuum which theoretically will be a gateway to another part of the universe or time if a ship could travel through it. Thus the name Tannhauser Gate.

C-beam is short for Cesium beam, a type of particle beam weapon designed for use in space combat. Highly reactive isotopes of C55 would be accelerated to near light speed and blasted at targets at relatively short range, shorting out E-shields (the "glitter" effect) and reacting explosively with elements in the ship's hulls. If Roy saw the C-beams glittering, that means he was observing the combat at point-blank range - either firing the beams or the target of them.

Reaction time is a factor in this, so please pay attention.

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[–] Snake_MacReady82 8 years ago

I've also been under the impression that the Tannhauser Gate part of an artificial wormhole technology for sending ships to other star systems (not other universes) and that C-beams were a type of futuristic space weapon. The Gate was attacked by some faction(s) that wanted to wrest control of it from the U.N. or whatever and Batty was at the battle. But I think describing the C-beams glittering in the dark means he saw them at long distance instead of point-blank-range. The way Batty said it made it sound like it was beautiful. Like a fireworks show, or a meteor shower.

Thit and thpin!

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