“The human race is unimportant. It is the self that must not be betrayed.”
“I suppose one could say that Hitler didn’t betray his self.”
“You are right. He did not. But millions of Germans did betray their selves. That was the tragedy. Not that one man had the courage to be evil. But that millions had not the courage to be good.”
― John Fowles, The Magus
Photo credit: By Moyan Brenn from Anzio, Italy – Fire, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40604816
If you’re acquainted with this blog at all, then you’re already aware of the sheer reverence I have for Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” (1982). So I won’t belabor that subject yet again in order to note Rutger Hauer’s passing this past Friday.
Hauer was a prolific actor, and his fans can remember him fondly from any number of roles. Below are the trailers for my three favorites.
The first is 1986’s “The Hitcher,” which might have been the first modern, adult horror film that I truly loved. (This is leaving aside Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 “The Birds” and various monster movies aimed at kids.) I’m a little concerned that the trailer below misrepresents the movie, though. “The Hitcher” aspired to be a serious film, and was truly a great horror-thriller, in my opinion. It was moody, atmospheric, thoughtful and methodically paced (although it didn’t lack blood and violence either). It was far better than the 80’s action-horror boilerplate movie that the trailer seems to depict.
Hauer was terrifying. (If you are wondering, that is indeed C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh costarring. And if you watch the trailer very closely, you can see Jeffrey DeMunn — who contemporary audiences will recognize as Dale from “The Walking Dead.”)
The second is movie is 1985’s “Ladyhawke,” which saw Hauer co-star with none other than Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer. It had far more mainstream appeal, and it reliably kicks up nostalgia every time it’s mentioned on social media. (Seriously, go try it.)
The third is one that far fewer people will remember –1989’s “Blind Fury,” which rode the tail end of the decade’s martial arts craze. It was zany stuff, and it didn’t hold back on the 80’s-era cheese, but it had a lot of heart and was surprisingly earnest. Some of the action sequences were damned impressive too. (And if you were a nut for 80’s ninja movies, you’ll of course recognize Sho Kosugi as the acrobatic villain here.)
DC Comics.
Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale!
— from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, 1851
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.
— Rutger Hauer’s closing soliloquy in “Blade Runner” (1982), Ridley Scott’s seminal adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1968 science fiction novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.” The actor co-wrote the speech that appears in the movie.
Hauer died Friday at age 75. The news of his passing was reported today.
His role in “Blade Runner” will always define him in my mind. But I also grew up seeing him in “Ladyhawke” (1985), “The Hitcher” (1986) and “Blind Fury” (1989); and later was pleased to discover him in “Batman Begins” and “Sin City” (2005). Believe it or not, it was “The Hitcher” and not “Blade Runner” that first made me love Hauer’s performances. I was still in early high school when I saw both films. The former was among the first horror movies I truly loved, and I wasn’t yet mature enough to fully appreciate the latter.
Hauer was Knight in the Dutch Order of the Netherlands Lion.
What an amazing artist, whose creativity in his craft brought so much enjoyment to others.
This is Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” on steroids.
“Crawl” (2019) is an often corny creature feature that still delivers the scares quite nicely, given its decent special effects and its successful mashup of man-vs.-nature plots. (Our father and daughter protagonists here must face off not only against the movie’s reptilian horrors, but also against the hurricane that conspires to aid the lizards’ hunt.) Our heroes are portrayed by the terrific Barry Pepper and Kaya Scodelario, both of whom are better than the script’s forced and clunky family drama.
But the real stars here are the alligator-related catastrophes that we bought a ticket to see, and those are inventive and fun. The movie feels like a particularly creative 10-year-old playing with his toy alligators in his sister’s dollhouse — but I mean that in a good way. It totally works. I jumped a couple of times, and that’s a pretty good sign that a horror movie is working.
I’d rate “Crawl” an 8 out of 10, and I’d cheerfully recommend it to someone looking for a decent new summer monster movie.
Mute Records.
Still a better attack plan then sending Dothraki cavalry ahead unsupported at the Battle of Winterfell.
And … still a better love story than “Twilight.”
I didn’t make this meme — I found it on Twitter. Everyone knows this is a gag cooked up by the young people, right? PLEASE tell me that everyone knows this is a gag. Otherwise, someone is going to get shot.
Probably me, even though I’ll be nowhere near Area 51, because that’s just how my luck works.
Me, I’d rather storm Pier One than Area 51 — get me some nice furniture. (I’m old.)
If you want to read some fantastic postapocalytic poetry, then do stop by The Bees Are Dead.
There is some outstanding work by Linda Imbler, Benjamin Blake, Howie Good, Jake Tringali, Cody Simpson, Yuan Changming, Holly Day and more.
Photo credit: Engin Asil [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 