By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 12 seconds ago

Supernatural is among the very few shows to reach 15 seasons, and among genre shows, it’s outlasted everyone. As the Winchester brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles were at the forefront of almost every episode, but they weren’t alone. With them all the way from the humble beginnings, trying to find the demon who killed their mother, to the very end, when they battle God, is the 1967 Chevy Impala: Baby. 

Through thick and thin, possessions, ghosts, wendigos, angels, and the Devil himself, Dean’s Impala was right there, which is why, when it took center stage in 2011’s “Baby.” When fans heard an entire episode would be shot inside the Impala, they didn’t know quite what to expect, but the crew of Supernatural turned the old “bottle episode” gimmick into one of the best of the show’s entire run. 

Baby The Impala Is Supernatural’s Third Lead

From the moment “Baby” starts, you know it’s going to be a different type of episode. The usual recap begins in 1967 with footage of a Chevy plant assembling Impalas. It quickly jumps forward to the present, as Dean and Sam give it a good wash before a road trip to investigate another case, and that’s when you notice every single camera shot is from the perspective of Baby. This leads to some unique angles over the dash and into the side mirrors, and then later on, an overhead shot from the roof of the car as the boys settle in for the night. 

Every single inch of the Impala helps ground the Supernatural episode right when the series was starting to go off the rails. Granted, “grounded” is a bit of a stretch for an episode in which the term “were-pire” is used. The real monster of the episode, a Nachzeher, feels like a throwback to the early seasons, and how it’s finally defeated, through a series of small payoffs to the various passengers in Baby during the episode, is classic Supernatural. 

A Back To Basics Monster Of The Week

The meat of the episode, Sam and Dean going on a road trip together, also gives the brothers time to reconnect and establish their relationship. For years, it was the bedrock of the series, but over 10 seasons, a lot went unsaid, and a gulf began to form between the two as fans had to endure more and more episodes that split them up, or worse, put them at odds. In “Baby,” the two get a chance to sit, talk, and reconnect. It’s a quiet scene with the camera going from one close-up to the other, but it’s what helps make the episode so good, especially for longtime fans who relish every moment with the pair. 

As much as the dramatic side of their relationship helps drive Supernatural forward, there’s also the complete goofball side to each of the brothers, and to the actors behind the roles. Goofs and bloopers from the series get more views than the dramatic moments on social media. Dean popping in Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” and then singing along is one of those moments that makes fans wonder if Jensen did it between takes and they wrote it in, because it’s exactly the type of offbeat, corny humor and brotherly chemistry the stars showed on screen for over a decade. 

Turning The Bottle Episode Format On Its Head

“Baby” was an immediate hit when it aired, nailing the sweet spot of “monster of the week,” classic Supernatural chemistry, and a few nods to the final major story arc of the series. Bottle episodes are usually done as a cost-cutting measure, such as on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Stargate SG-1, but the unique hook of filming entirely in and around a car makes “Baby” look and feel different from every other episode. The talented production crew turned a budget-saving gimmick into a wildly inventive new way to frame, shoot, and present a show that had been airing for over a decade. 

Supernatural may have outlasted the story it was trying to tell, but for any show to run for 15 seasons and develop a fervent fan base that, years after its conclusion, is still going strong. “Baby” is a perfect example of why the show became a hit and how self-imposed restrictions can lead to new levels of creative genius. 

By Jonathan Klotz & Joshua Tyler | Published 8 seconds ago

Tim Burton’s Batman lit the box office on fire in 1989, setting off a rush by studios to push out the next big superhero film. Unlike the early 2000s superhero rush, those earlier studio executives went back to the pulp heroes of the 1930s. 

Dick Tracy, The Shadow, and The Phantom hit theaters, bringing classic radio serials and comic books to life. In parallel with producing The Shadow, Universal Studios also launched a more straightforward approach to the problem of trying to duplicate Batman’s success by making their own, modern-day superhero franchise, just like Batman. 

To do it, they hired a man who’d established himself as an up-and-coming genius in the horror space. Sam Raimi was the right man for the job, but he was too far ahead of his time. His big superhero success wouldn’t come until 12 years after the release of his Universal film.

Sam Raimi Makes His Own Superhero After Being Denied By Hollywood

Sam Raimi was coming off Evil Dead 2, still considered by many to be his best movie, and Hollywood studios were starting to take notice of the offbeat filmmaker. Sadly, Universal Pictures, the rights holders to The Shadow, passed on Raimi helming their Alec Baldwin pulp hero film.

Dejected, Raimi instead wrote a screenplay around a character called Darkman, a superhero he created in a short story years earlier. With that, he captured Universal’s attention.

Played by Liam Neeson, Darkman begins life as Dr. Peyton Westlake, a scientist working on synthetic skin who becomes disfigured when his lab is ransacked by thugs looking for proof their boss is engaged in white-collar crime. 

Westlake is left horribly burned, but an experimental surgery gives him superhuman strength, which he puts to use alongside the synthetic skin that lets him disguise himself as anyone, so long as he stays out of the light, to dismantle the criminal network. On the surface, it’s a standard superhero revenge story, but Sam Raimi puts focus on Westlake’s changing emotional state as he embraces life as a monster, turning his back on his girlfriend Julie after she expresses her love for him. 

Darkman is equal parts pulp heroic fisticuffs and gothic tragedy, but it proved Sam Raimi knows what makes a superhero movie work. Unfortunately, it didn’t give Universal what they wanted.

Darkman’s Sequels Get Dumped In The Bargain Bin

Darkman is one of those movies people like to retroactively call a success because it didn’t lose money. That’s a very low bar. Universal didn’t make Darkman to turn a modest profit; they made it to create a franchise that could ride the post-Batman superhero wave. 

On that front, it absolutely failed. A true success gets sequels that people actually see in theaters. Darkman got dumped into the straight-to-video bin with a recast lead, which is Hollywood code for “we’re embarrassed but not quite done squeezing the IP.”

The warning signs were there immediately. Yes, Darkman opened at number one, but it did so with numbers that were already disappointing in a market recalibrated by Tim Burton. This was 1990, when studios were hunting the next pop-culture monster, not celebrating “pretty good.” 

Darkman didn’t dominate the summer conversation, didn’t generate a cultural footprint, and didn’t turn Liam Neeson into a genre icon. Instead, it quietly exited theaters while Batman knockoffs and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ate its lunch.

Why Darkman Failed

Part of what makes Darkman a great movie is also what made it a tough sell for audiences. Darkman isn’t weird enough to be a cult midnight classic, and it isn’t clean enough to be a four-quadrant hit. 

It’s grotesque, mean, occasionally brilliant, and completely unsellable to kids, who were the actual money engine of Batman and early-’90s genre filmmaking. You can’t build an empire on a hero whose face melts, whose rage is chemically induced, and whose romance ends in a parking lot goodbye.

Darkman was quickly forgotten by the mainstream in the early 90s, overshadowed even by inferior box office failures like The Shadow, and is rarely talked about now outside of hardcore Raimi fan circles. 

That happened not because it’s bad, but because it missed the moment it was built for. It arrived just early enough to look experimental, and just late enough to feel overshadowed. Universal wanted its own Batman. What they got was a cult favorite, a director calling card for Sam Raimi, and a franchise that limped off to VHS hell. 

Sam Raimi Proves Everyone Wrong With Spider-Man

Sam Raimi would, of course, go on to direct one of the most influential superhero movies of all time, 12 years later, when he made Spider-Man. Drawing on his experience with Darkman, Raimi wanted to approach the story of Peter Parker from a different angle, opting to bring in Green Goblin as the villain and embrace the loose father/son dynamic between the two.

Amazingly, you can catch a brief glimpse of Darkman in Spider-Man during Peter’s dream sequence right after he’s been bitten.

If you’re looking for the true origin of modern superhero movies, that’s where it all started. With a genius filmmaker being denied the job he wanted, and then making it happen his way, anyway.

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Hilary Duff is a comfort queen. The fashion icon has perfected rich mom style and recently wore a classic pair of UGG boots that made for an effortlessly cozy look.

Duff was spotted making her way through the Toronto Pearson International Airport last month in an oversized shearling blanket coat and the Classic Ultra mini Boot from UGG. Lucky for Us, the exact pair is available on Amazon, making this a budget-friendly find you can add to your wardrobe without splurging on designer footwear. It’s a reminder that great style doesn’t have to come with a sky-high price tag — sometimes, it starts from the ground up.

Get the UGG Classic Ultra Mini Boot for $160 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

A signature staple of the 90s, UGG footwear is beloved for its soft suede exterior and fuzzy, ultra-warm shearling lining. Perfect for winter’s frigid days, it makes total sense that the singer-actress would choose to wear them while braving Toronto’s icy weather.

Related: Jennifer Lawrence’s Comfy Micro Boots Put a Cool Mom Spin on the Classic

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If anyone has perfected the art of cool-mom dressing, it’s Jennifer Lawrence. Her off-duty style always feels relaxed but intentional, striking that rare balance between comfort and polish. This winter, she’s leaning into cozy footwear that still feels undeniably cool. The actress was photographed in New York City on January 5 wearing the Ugg Women’s […]

Duff opted for Ugg’s mini style, which hits right above the ankles, leaving feet and socks covered and protected without veering into full boot territory. You can purchase them in the same chestnut color as the “Mature” singer, or choose from over a dozen other colors ranging from similar rich mom-inspired neutrals to bold pops of color.

A fan favorite for decades, this Ugg boot has racked up well over 1,200 five-star ratings from Amazon shoppers who praise its soft comfort and long-lasting durability.

“These Uggs are simply the best! They’re cute, cozy and are super easy to come on and off without a hassle,” wrote one shopper. “The way they were designed to be sort of minimalist looking but also still have a very distinct, warm look definitely was the part that hooked me.”

Others raved they’re so comfortable, they double as slippers. “The softness is amazing! It always keeps my feet warm, and sometimes I just wear them around the house, they’re so comfy!”

If you need a chic travel outfit, follow Duff’s lead with these mini UGG boots that will elevate any look while providing cozy warmth and iconic style.

Get the UGG Classic Ultra Mini Boot for $160 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

Looking for something else? Explore more UGG boots here and don’t forget to check out all of Amazon’s Daily Deals for more great finds!

Related: Kate Middleton’s Exact Ugg Boots Are Back on Amazon — For Now

Kate Middleton has a talent for turning even her coziest winter outfits into something effortlessly chic. Anytime she steps out in a practical piece, it tends to vanish from shelves in minutes. So spotting her exact ultra-comfy boots sitting pretty on Amazon felt like a rare fashion win. The style in question? Ugg’s Classic Tall […]

While the season 1 plot of The Last Thing He Told Me largely mirrored Laura Dave’s novel of the same name, season 2 will deviate slightly from the sequel.

“It’s so interesting because we were filming the show at the same time that the book was being written. So we only just read the book as it came out,” Angourie Rice exclusively told Us Weekly during a joint interview with Judy Greer earlier this month, who noted, “Yeah, I read it last weekend.”

“So it’s such a different way to make a show based on a book,” Rice, 25, continued. “They were in conversation with each other while we were making it.”

From Greer’s perspective, there wasn’t as much of a conversation as she envisioned.

“I remember [asking showrunner Josh Singer], ‘What happens now?’ And he’d be like, ‘I don’t know, she hasn’t told me,’ or like, ‘We’re doing it this way, and she’s doing another [way].’ It was so funny to me that we were kind of on two little islands,” Greer, 50, explained with a laugh, adding that “loads of surprises” are in store for book lovers.

For Rice, the book and show “complement each other so well.” Rice explained that the two mediums “bring out certain different notes and elements.”

“That’s what is so kind of interesting and unique about this situation is that I think if you’ve seen one or read one, it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’ve got the whole story.’ Or like, ‘I don’t need to see the other or read the other,’” she said, while Greer added, “Yeah, they’re different enough … Some characters are more prominent, some characters are less prominent.”

Rice replied, “Yeah, but the core is the same.”

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Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies and You are among the best-selling books that made their way to the small screen in the form of TV adaptations. Reese Witherspoon is at the center of many of the most successful TV shows based on books, thanks to her passion for bringing fresh stories to a new […]

Dave’s sequel, The First Time I Saw Him, was published in January. The highly-anticipated second book begins with a time-jump five years later, with Hannah (Jennifer Garner) crossing paths with Owen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) after he goes on the run. For season 2 of the mystery-thriller, Hannah and stepdaughter Bailey (Rice) have to navigate the fallout from Owen’s reemergence as faces from the past — like Quinn (Greer) — return.

While recalling the process to Us in January, Dave explained that she had “written a draft of the book” which was what gave the season 2 showrunners a plan of where to go with the show.

“I walked them through the book. They had the world and the themes and everything, but I only had 100 pages I was willing to share at that point,” Dave shared. “While I was doing some of that editing, they were off creating the second world for the show. I think they speak to each other really beautifully.”

Through it all, Dave noted that Garner, 53, is the “heart and soul” of her adaptation.

“Everyone says to me, ‘What’s it like having your book adapted?’” Dave gushed. “I say, ‘If you’re lucky enough to have Jennifer Garner play your protagonist, you just say, thank goodness in the end.’”

The Last Thing He Told Me season 2 airs Fridays on Apple TV.

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 1 minute ago

You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know there’s a new version of Dracula in theaters. The movie was released on February 6, 2026, to almost no fanfare or media buzz. Critics have given it mixed reviews, earning it a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by French creative Luc Besson, who brought us The Fifth Element and Valerian and the City of 1,000 Planets, the movie was first released in France in July 2025, despite having an American cast that includes Caleb Landry Jones of X-Men: First Class, Christoph Waltz from Inglorious Basterds, and newcomer Zoe Bleu, the latest generation of the famous Arquette family. The six-month window between releases may have hurt the movie, as critics move at the speed of the Internet, not theater chains.

Making Dracula A Love Story Is No Longer Interesting

However, another mark against the film is right there in its original subtitle, on the posters: A Love Tale. Following in the footsteps of the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola version and 2014’s Dracula Untold, the movie sets up a past-life romance between the titular vampire and Mina Harker, the wife of his British legal representative.

For some reason, the temptation to add this romantic garnish to Bram Stoker’s novel is irresistible to modern Hollywood. It gives the monster a sympathetic motivation and a tragic backstory. Dracula is a scary monster, based on a historic dictator known for his brutality. He is not someone to be pitied, and Bram Stoker did not have this element in his book. But producers seem to think that inserting this absurd origin story will sell tickets.

A Copycat Of Other Draculas?

Trailers for the movie also look derivative of prior versions, most specifically the 1992 version. Count Dracula, in his youthful disguise, looks almost exactly the same as Gary Oldman’s rendition, right down to the top hat. Elder Count Dracula is possibly wearing the very same wig from over three decades ago. So much emphasis is placed in the trailer on Dracula’s time as the war leader we know as Vlad the Impaler, and an apparent disagreement with a Catholic cardinal dominates the presentation.

Christoph Waltz, who is billed on Google as Van Helsing, is listed as playing “priest” on IMDB, suggesting liberties were taken with his character. Further liberties were definitely taken with the story, with the insertion of a character named Maria that seems to replace the infamous bug-eating Renfield. Rather than having a magnetic allure generated by the power of his evil, Dracula’s appeal is in a perfume he and his minions produce. The trailer claims it “reimagines” Stoker’s novel, but it seems to just borrow a few character names to lend it legitimacy.

Vampire Flop Or French Success?

As of this writing, Luc Besson’s Dracula has taken in $39 million at the box office against a budget of $52 million. I suppose they saved a lot on advertising, which should help cushion the blow of not recouping their investment.

Despite hints of its financial failure, it remains one of the highest-grossing French films of recent years. Audiences who see it are enjoying it (it has an 81% audience approval score on Rotten Tomatoes), but apparently, it’s not inspiring moviegoers to flock to the theaters.

So yeah, there’s a new version of Dracula out, but its reception is so muted that more people know about that Daily Wire King Arthur show critics are desperately trying to ignore. If you want to see Dracula on the big screen, don’t blink, because you might miss it entirely.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 12 seconds ago

In recent weeks, the impossible has happened: Starfleet Academy, a show that had a very controversial start, has managed to deliver consistently interesting episodes. There are many reasons the show has improved, including the fact that it is finally ditching the forced humor that made earlier episodes so cringeworthy. But the series’s real secret weapon is that it isn’t afraid to shamelessly draw from the best that Star Trek has to offer.

The first example of this was “Series Acclimation Mil,” an episode in which the titular cadet does her best to discover the fate of Benjamin Sisko. That adventure channeled Deep Space Nine, serving as a love letter to the best show in the franchise. Now, the Starfleet Academy episode “Ko’Zeine” used one of its worst characters to illustrate a concept that Spock first brought up in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: that for some people, Starfleet represents nothing less than their first, best destiny. 

To Explore Strange New Desks

Back in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, we discover that Kirk has been rewarded for his successful five-year mission with a promotion to admiral. But he gets sick of riding a desk, and when a mysterious threat approaches the Earth, he abuses his connections to take command of the Enterprise for one last mission. By The Wrath of Khan, though, Kirk is back to desk duty, and the Enterprise is only being used for training exercises.

In that seminal sequel, Spock doesn’t mince words, telling Kirk that it was a mistake to accept that promotion to admiral. He bluntly tells Kirk that “Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny; anything else is a waste of material. Weirdly enough, the most recent episode of Starfleet Academy emphasized this theme, all while drawing on the kinds of logic that would have made Spock proud.

The Aquaboy Becomes An Aquaman

In the episode “Ko’zeine,” we discover that Darem, a cadet who has mostly been presented as a cocky bully, is Khionian royalty. He is betrothed to a young woman with whom he would eventually rule over his entire society, but they were originally planning to wed only after he graduated from Starfleet Academy. When she (thanks to parental pressure) calls her marker in early, Darem willingly abandons his academy life, marrying his childhood sweetheart and getting ready to be the kind of leader his planet needs him to be. 

During the ceremony, Jay-Den (who followed Darem through a portal, fearing he was being kidnapped) gives a best man speech in which he hypes up Darem’s accomplishments, including walking on a hull to save the day. Later, his new wife encourages him to nullify the marriage, and she cites Jay-Den’s speech as the reason why. 

The Toast With The Most

More specifically, she tells her husband that “the man [Jay-Den] described is someone I’ve never met,” noting that she never saw Darem quite so happy as he was the day he applied to Starfleet Academy. She then speculates as to why this small act pleased her betrothed so much. “Maybe it’s because you finally had a chance to be yourself in a way you never could here.”

Now, what do Darem’s newlywed woes have to do with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? In that fan-favorite film, Spock opined that destiny was real and that Kirk made a mistake accepting a promotion to admiral and subsequently riding a desk. Sure, Kirk might have been able to do great things as an administrator, but as far as his best friend was concerned, he could do much more as the captain of a Starfleet vessel. 

Embracing His First, Best Destiny

Darem is someone with a pretty special destiny of his own: he is supposed to rule Khionia, giving billions of people the guidance that will change their lives forever. However, his new bride clocks that this destiny effectively changed Darem, turning him into a self-sacrificing people pleaser who will always put his needs aside to help others. Only in Starfleet was Darem able to become the cocky, self-assured young warrior that he was always destined to be.

For Darem, service in Starfleet is his first, best destiny, and he would be just as unhappy running a planet as Kirk would be riding a desk. In choosing to go back to the academy, he channels the wisdom of Spock. As if to drive that point home even harder, Jay-Den asks Darem a very straightforward question: would he be a better man if he ruled Khionia, or would he be a better man if he spent life “in service to many” as a Starfleet officer?

Embracing The Needs Of The Many

Here, the Klingon Jay-Den seems to be ironically channeling the guiding ethos of the Vulcan people: “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.” Sure, Darem could do good for a whole planet by staying behind to rule it. But he could do good for an entire galaxy by remaining a Starfleet officer, and he decides to stay behind and complete his training as a cadet.

Star Trek fans aren’t likely to call this the “Spock episode” the same way they call “Series Acclimation Mil” the “Sisko episode.” Nonetheless, the famous Vulcan’s wisdom echoes throughout this story, both in Darem’s decision to remain in Starfleet and his motivation for ultimately leaving a life of royalty. In this way, this Starfleet Academy episode celebrates the 60th anniversary of Star Trek with the sagacious Vulcan wisdom that helped make Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan the best film in the franchise.

Chris Brown has shared a message for his fans following the viral blow-up between Diamond Brown and Jada Wallace.

RELATED: Oop! Some Social Media Users Speculate If Diamond Brown May Have Revealed The Gender Of Chris Brown’s Alleged “Baby On The Way”

Chris Brown Shares Message For His Fans Following Viral Blow-Up Between Diamond Brown & Jada Wallace

During the early hours of Friday, February 20, Chris Brown took to Instagram to share an apparent clip from his music video feature on Zoe Dollaz’ ‘Post & Delete’ track. In the clip, Chris let his fans know that he’s “stepping on s**t all summer.”

“Stepping on S**T ALL SUMMER. Be patient with me,” Breezy wrote. “BROWN ALBUM COMING SOON, and make sure Yall save ya money. Summer time is next level. I’m dropping videos and songs. #R&BSUMMERSURPRISE”

Peep the post he shared, along with his message, below.

Social Media Reacts To His Message

Social media users reacted to Chris Brown’s message in TSR’s comment section.

More On The Viral Blow-Up Between Diamond Brown & Jada Wallace Ahead Of Chris Brown’s Message For His Fans

As The Shade Room previously reported, earlier this week, Diamond Brown shocked the internet when she shared a message telling Chris to leave her alone while alleging he has a “new baby on the way.”

Afterward, Diamond even shared why she was heated at Brown. She alleged he has been attempting to run off her new relationships.

Ultimately, Jada Wallace, Chris’s rumored girlfriend, stepped in and accused Diamond of dating Chris’s friends to get him mad. Additionally, she accused Diamond of keeping their daughter, Lovely, from Chris.

Diamond clapped back, denying Wallace’s claims. She alleged that she hasn’t been dating Chris’s friends and even stated that she would “whoop” Wallace once her baby dropped.

Ultimately, neither Chris nor Jada confirmed nor denied the baby allegations.

But Diamond also appeared to reveal that Chris is expecting a “baby boy.” Furthermore, social media users even caught Chris appearing to agree with a TikToker who shared a strong message for Diamond airing out his business.

RELATED: Chris Brown Reacts After TikToker Blasts Diamond Brown For Airing Out Their Co-Parenting Issues & Feuding With Jada Wallace (VIDEO)

With human experiences being so subjective, it’s easy to overhype a movie. Whatever things happened to you in the lead-up to seeing that movie could influence how you feel about it, and if someone tells you that something is the best thing ever, it could set your expectations too high and leave you disappointed. That being said, I still think Rutger Hauer’s climactic speech in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is one of the best things ever depicted in a movie.

Blade Runner is generally regarded as a sci-fi masterpiece, even separated from Hauer’s speech, and it has an 89 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes (which is too low). It also says a lot that Harrison Ford’s starring role as futuristic cop Rick Deckard is just one step or so below Han Solo and Indiana Jones in terms of iconic movie characters. In addition to him and Hauer, the movie stars Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, and Daryl Hannah.

What Is the Great ‘Blade Runner’ Quote?

Image via Warner Bros.

The plot of Blade Runner concerns Rick Deckard’s mission to “retire” (meaning kill) a group of rogue replicants — essentially advanced robots that are practically indistinguishable from humans but often have superior strength and intelligence. Replicants have predetermined lifespans, and the rogue ones in the movie are mostly just trying to find a way to prolong their brief lives. Eventually, Deckard tracks them all down and kills them except for one, Hauer’s Roy Batty, who was designed for military combat.

Batty and Deckard fight, with Batty easily winning just as his lifespan is about to end. Given a chance to let Deckard die, Batty saves his life instead and laments the fact that his own life is over:

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.

And then he dies, releasing a dove that he had grabbed and letting it fly up into the sky.

Why Is the ‘Blade Runner’ Speech So Incredible?

Image via Warner Bros. 

There are a lot of reasons why this is so good: First, Hauer’s delivery is both chilling and heartbreaking, and every word seems carefully considered — the way he says “people,” as if he’s spitting out venom, is particularly brilliant. There’s also the fact, which may not be clear to people who aren’t big Blade Runner fans, that he’s not referring to things that are ever acknowledged in the movie. We don’t know what it means for C-beams to glitter near the Tannhäuser Gate, because we don’t know what any of those things are. It underlines the fact that Batty has had life experiences beyond what anyone else can comprehend, and, when he dies, they’ll just be gone.

Even better: Hauer largely came up with the speech himself, with the “tears in rain” bit being his own improvisation. Different versions of the speech had been written in the script, but Hauer thought they were all a little much and cut out most of it without telling anyone because he wanted to preserve what he thought Batty’s thought process would be at the moment of his death. Ridley Scott evidently approved, because it’s in the movie, and it has helped make Blade Runner an unforgettable sci-fi classic.

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Release Date

June 25, 1982

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Runtime

118 minutes

Writers

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David Webb Peoples, Hampton Fancher, Philip K. Dick

Producers

Michael Deeley, Run Run Shaw

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