Tannhauser Gate

The Tannhauser Gate is a location originally referred to in dialogue in the 1982 film Blade Runner, and again in the 1998 film Soldier.

Blade Runner
In the 1982 film Blade Runner, the replicant Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer) refers to the gate while recounting his experiences as an off-world commando:


 * I've... seen things you people wouldn't believe; attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion; I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate.''

Fans of the film have suggested that the Tannhauser Gate may be a stargate or similar construct, given the fact that Earth has off-world colonies in Blade Runner, and the typical functions of devices incorporating the word "gate" in science fiction. Some have speculated that as a stargate, it would provide faster-than-light travel between star systems. Also it has been speculated &mdash; given its name &mdash; that it would perhaps be located near or in orbit of a colony named Tannhauser. However, there is nothing else in the film that would suggest any of this. The location of the off-world colonies and whether or not Blade Runner has faster-than-light travel is not mentioned in the film.

Soldier
In the 1998 film Soldier, the soldier character Sgt. Todd (played by Kurt Russell) is a veteran of the Battle at Tannhauser Gate. This fact is based on the text displayed momentarily on a computer screen near the beginning of the film. The screen displays a list of battles that the character has fought in, and the awards that he has earned in these battles. Tannhauser Gate is also tattooed on Todd's arm, along with the other battles that he is a veteran of. Later on in the film, when Sandra notices the names tattooed on his arm and mentions it to Mace, it is explained by Mace that "Tannhauser Gate was a battle."

The original script was to have the film actually depict the battle. However, this idea was eventually cut for budgetary concerns. The original script even gave a detailed description of the gate. It described it as "a huge wall of metal; an impregnable fortress bristling with futuristic weapons." Some of this scene was completed, and can be briefly viewed in the film's theatrical trailer.

Origin
The Gate's name comes from a poetic piece written by Rutger Hauer, prior to the filming of his famous monologue in Blade Runner. Segments of this were then used in the scene.

Out-of-universe references

 * Perhaps in a reference to Blade Runner, or through an independent resource, the Japanese animation series Gunbuster created by Gainax also makes several references to space travel through a Tannhauser Gate.
 * The Heavy Gear series of games and fiction also make use of the term to describe "a fault in the space-time continuum where two normally distant points of space touch one another." In the Heavy Gear universe, Tannhauser Gates can be "opened" by bombardment with a precisely modulated stream of anti-matter, and are indeed used as a method for achieving faster-than-light travel (between specific star systems).
 * In the computer game Homeworld, the player must save the Bentusi from Taiidan forces at a place called Tenhauser Gate.
 * Tannhauser Gate is also the name of a Poland-based games design and development studio.
 * Tannhauser Gate is also the title of a song by The Electric Hellfire Club on the album Electronomicon.
 * Tannhauser Gate is also the title of a Demoscene demo by the group Cubicle, which features a few Blade Runner inspired 3D scenes
 * Tan-Hauser Gate is the name of an English electronic rock band.
 * The anime Gundam Seed Destiny features two super weapons known as "Tanhauser" and "Lohengrin," both of which are very simliar in firepower and function. One episode features a so-called "Lohengrin Gate." As both weapons are nearly indentical, this is most likely a hidden joke.
 * The anime GunBuster offers an explanation of the Tannhauser Gate during one of the many "lesson" scenes.